Freedom and Necessity

by Emma Bull and Steven Brust

Book Overview

It is 1849. Across Europe, the high tide of revolution has crested, leaving recrimination and betrayal in its wake. From the high councils of Prussia to the corridors of Parliament, the powers-that-be... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812562615
• ISBN13: 9780812562613
• Release Date: December 1997
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 589 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Brilliant, but not for all tastes

I note that most of the reviewers who gave this low ratings begin with "Epistolary novels are boring" or "I don't like Victorian settings". So look: this is a story told through letters and journal entries and it is set in the mid-1800s. Got that? If you can't stand either of those, this may not be the book for you. It also delves into philosophy (hence the title) and the politics of the time, and by the way it contains the best love letter *ever* and the best romance story since Dorothy Sayers' Gaudy Night. There are a few loose ends that could have been better tied up, and I really wish Bull and Brust had done a better job with the alternate universe subplot; as another reviewer has pointed out, the Golden Bough-type myths are hinted at but it is never clear whether there's anything to them in the world of the story, or whether Kitty's experiments are anything more than hallucinations. The story is not weakened if the magic some characters believe in is mythical, but a bit more exposition would be nice. Otherwise, just brilliant.

A Thumping Good Read

Okay, I stole that line from "A Common Reader", but it seems appropriate!Espistlatory novels, works written in the form of a series of letters and diary entries, are rather old-fashioned. They were very popular back in Victorian times but rather less so nowadays. To many they seem contrived. But consider this: this is a novel set in the Victorian Age. What better way to pay homage to the time then to attempt to copy the style and the verbage of that time? This is one of the many glories, great and small, of this novel and I raise my glass to Brust and Bull for it.The cast of the novel is fairly large by modern standards but much curtailed for Dickens and his ilk; there are essentially four main characters (James Cobham, a ex-Chartist part-time anarchist, Kitty Holbourn, devoutee of the arcane, Richard Cobham, James' cousin and erstwhile lover of Kitty, and Susan Voight, 'an houri in practical shoes and sensible stays'). The plot revolves around several points, but primarily it is a mystery -- James falls from a boat, is assumed drowned, and yet finds himself very much alive and working in an inn as a stablehand several months after the event. Working in and out from here are possible faery sightings, would-be Satanists, or at least individuals bent on human sacrifice, a possible government conspiracy, a traitor in the Chartist movement that may have led to the unravelling of the abortive revolutions of 1848, and even a wonderfully drawn appearance by Friedrich Engels. The characterizations are sharp, the descriptions clear, the manners superb; I never heard a false note in the cadences of voice and manner through the book, no sense of the 20th century imposing itself on the 19th. I ended up truly caring what happened to the characters and wondering what had happened to force them into their current horrible predicaments.I can recommend this novel as a great fun read, a wild ride, and not a half-bad intro into certain aspect of the mid-19th century, at least as far as England is concerned.

I've sent it to three friends

It's rare to come across a book that drives me to buy and send it to friends. Usually I will just recommend a book - but this one I happily have sent on at my own expense. I'm very cheap.A well-written X-Files meets Sherlock Holmes meets Lovecraft, meets Emma Bull and Steven Brust. Throw in the beginnings of communism and the 19th Century British Labor movement, elite British families, and a hearty dose of feminism, and you've got magic. (really - it works far better than you'd imagine!)Emma Bull is one of the great unsung writers of her generation. I stumbled across her 'War for the Oaks' in a used book store years ago, and was blown away. I then did the same with 'Falcon' and was again surprised. Unfortunately, she has been sucked into 'genre' writing and storylines that just plain don't differentiate her. But she writes so very well!I've never read anything by Steven Brust before, and I would guess that I'm one of the few out there that read this for Ms. Bull's reputation. But I'm going to be picking up his work soon.Outstanding just for the style. A VERY SMART BOOK!

Social Ideas Intertwined in a Complex Story

The idea of reading an epistolary novel is daunting enough, let alone writing one, but the authors have captured the spirit of the form with style in this book.Set in Victorian England at the close of 1849, the story begins with a letter from James Cobham to his cousin Richard, two months after James' presumed death by drowning. James has no recollection of what has transpired in the intervening two months, but his letters eventually reveal a need for secrecy and subterfuge. Meanwhile, Kitty, James' stepsister and Richard's lover, is in correspondence with another, more distant cousin, Susan Voight, who is determined to track down the events leading up to James' drowning. When she finds him very much alive, she enlists herself in his cause.Using letters and journal from James, Kitty, Susan and Richard, as well as "articles" from the London Times, the authors create a taut and gripping plot packed with intrigue, secret societies, gun running, social movements, murder and more.With its rich, complicated plot and complex characters, this is a book to try to savor, but don't be surprised if you can't put it down.

Like Climbing Everest...

some hard going, but that's why people do it. Most of the hard reading in this fabulous book can be attributed to neither Bull nor Brust, but rather to 19th century German philosophy. Anything is easy reading compared to that! Nevertheless, the letters and news clippings which tell the story require some work as they are written in 19th century English - and 19th century English is quite different from modern English (is this a surprise to anyone?). Despite the somewhat difficult reading, it is well worth it - Hegelian philosophy and all. Regarding the negative reviews, this book is definately not for everyone. If you have never read anything written prior to the latter half of this century be prepared to work hard - this doesn't come with Coles Notes to help you through like so many people needed to get through Shakespeare in high school. You are reading English that is 150 years old (or, rather, styled after English that is 150 years old) - it is understandable but not comfortable for a 20th century English speaker. I agree that billing this as fantasy is a misnomer, but Brust and Bull have been pigeon-holed - much like you'll find Bob Dylan in the Folk section at too many record stores (Shot of Love = Folk?). Regardless of the genre it has been assigned to, it is a fantastic book - period. Not an OK Historical, great Fantasy - just a great book regardless of the genre. It's just that too many books, even historical fiction, are written in modern English which make them easier to digest. The 19th Century letters and news clippings add a feeling of reality - there's not some omnipotent Narrator detailing everything that happened. I think it is a great way to tell the story and Brust and Bull pull it off with great flair. Think The Blair Witch Project - what is so powerful about it is it seems like it did happen, or at least like it could happen, because of the raw nature of the documentation (very "primary source" in History speak). But as to the originality of this device of telling the story through letters and news clippings, has no-one read Bram Stoker's Dracula? No, I am not refering to Bram Stoker's Dracula the movie, book, and marketing extravaganza from 1992, but rather the original from 1897. Overall, a great tale that gradually reveals more and more of an Epic plot (yes, only a few cities may be visited, but the Fates of Nations, the Clash of Idealogies, Revolution, and the questioning of Reality are the backdrop!). And the device of letters and journals revealing this Epic, while not entirely novel, is most certainly daring in the late 20th Century. Coupled with Hegelian philosophy, mysticism, the Occult, independance versus Love, Marx and Engels' Communist ideology, et cetera this is a book you should not miss.