Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Ace (1998), Paperback, 336 pages
Description
Fiction. Science Fiction. HTML:Abducted by the alien Catteni, Kristin Bjornsen was one of many humans brought to the planet Botany as part of an experiment to see if it could support life. Enslaved and forced to colonize a world not their own, the settlers have accepted Botany as their home�a home worth fighting for� Kristin�s people have learned that the aliens responsible for their imprisonment are merely mercenaries, subjugated by the parasitic Eosi Race, and that Botany is being farmed remotely by some unknown species�a species that may be sympathetic to the colonists� struggle for freedom. The �Farmers� refuse to join the humans in their rebellion against the Catteni, but they agree to use their technological skills to shield Botany and hide it from its enemies�buying Kristin and the settlers time to build up their forces and liberate their world�.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member reading_fox
More fairly unbelivable and lighthearted fun in a space colony.
Having gone from backwoods survivors to fully established colonists within 9 months, this the 2nd of the series marks the beginning of their even more outrageous plans to overthrow the rulers of hte galaxy. The Catteni were seen as hte
With the extremely duex et machina plot device of help from some even more advanced but benign mysterious and absent aliens - The Farmers - the colonists on Botany use their insider knowledge of Catteni protocols to lure unsuspecting ships and plan outrageous heists. Fortunetly the former Seargent in charge Chuk is able to pass control over to some proper Admirals and Generals to plan things 'sensibly'.
If you stop and think aout any of it it just doens't make sense, and there are heaps of logical, logistical and other realism problems that Mccaffery just skips over. But if you can really suspend your disbelief then it works quite well as fun escapades in space.
Enjoyable fluff.
Having gone from backwoods survivors to fully established colonists within 9 months, this the 2nd of the series marks the beginning of their even more outrageous plans to overthrow the rulers of hte galaxy. The Catteni were seen as hte
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bad guys, but the colonists co-droppee, Zaniel has persueded them that the Cats are also subject to a higher power and it is the Mentant race Esoi who should bear teh Terran's ire. With the extremely duex et machina plot device of help from some even more advanced but benign mysterious and absent aliens - The Farmers - the colonists on Botany use their insider knowledge of Catteni protocols to lure unsuspecting ships and plan outrageous heists. Fortunetly the former Seargent in charge Chuk is able to pass control over to some proper Admirals and Generals to plan things 'sensibly'.
If you stop and think aout any of it it just doens't make sense, and there are heaps of logical, logistical and other realism problems that Mccaffery just skips over. But if you can really suspend your disbelief then it works quite well as fun escapades in space.
Enjoyable fluff.
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LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
Not bad, but again, this is only part of a story. The Book of Freedoms is really a three-decker - not a series, but a three- (or possibly four-) volume novel. This one has a slightly wider range of viewpoints - Lenvec the Catteni and the Mentat Ix as well as Kris, for those parts that those on
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Botany couldn't possibly have learned. Botany's governance takes a sharp swerve, but it still manages to be pretty much idyllic - I like the solution for the shirkers. Solid new characters show up and develop throughout the book. Zainal's plans get a little firmer - well, a lot firmer by the end of the book, with several spaceships at his (their) disposal to start dealing with Eosi and Catteni. The Farmers show up and...kind of leave things up in the air, though Zainal still has hopes of enlisting them. The rescue of the brain-burned humans moves matters to a new level, and...the book stops, leaving the next part of the story to the next book. I don't remember if I read the books separately - I know I had Landing solo, but I may have bought the omnibus immediately after reading that. I don't remember being as frustrated as I would have been with a year or so between books... Show Less
LibraryThing member GlennBell
Well written, entertaining story. Leads you to sequel.
LibraryThing member puttocklibrary
A good second installment of this series. The plot continues to move along, and growth of the Botany's colony and colonists continues to be interesting and complex. My only critique is that the characters don't seem to change very much--they're almost stereotyped to be exactly the way they were
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originally introduced, and the only reason I think this book can get away with that fact is that the characters were originally extremely varied anyway. For all that the characters arcs seem stagnant, the plot of the story is interesting and moves along a quick pace. The menace of the Eosi becomes much more clear, and the mystery of the "Farmers" is both partially clarified...and ultimately still an enigma. Show Less
LibraryThing member AVoraciousReader
4.5
*Book source ~ My home library.
In Freedom’s Landing after Kris Bjornson, Zainal, Chuck Mitford and hundreds of others had been dropped on a distant planet to colonize it for the Catteni they discovered it was inhabited by automated machines farming the land. Taking apart the machines to create
However, they want more and need to get out from under the Catteni’s thumb. With Zainal’s help they intend to strike back at the Catteni and in doing so strike at the Eosi who have controlled the Catteni for two thousand years. With some strategic planning and a lot of luck they intend to free the Catteni and Earth from Eosi domination.
This story picks up where Freedom’s Landing left off. A probe has been sent to the whoever farms Botany and Zainal has made it plain to the Emassi who came to retrieve him that he was dropped and he will stay. Since he has refused to return and face his duty, his brother must take his place and be subsumed by an Eosi Mentat. The towering hatred Lenvec feels for Zainal intrigues the Eosi named Ix and soon Ix is consumed with the curiosity about the planet Botany and finding Zainal. Since it is quite unusual for an Eosi Mentat to become obsessed this behave starts to draw the attention of other Eosi.
In the meantime, the Botanists are setting up a three stage plan to free themselves from the Eosi and the Farmers of the planet help protect them from attack by encasing the planet in a protective bubble after they have acquired a scout ship and a cargo ship. The Botantists are allowed to go in and out of the bubble, but nothing else is allowed in. Since the Farmers live according to the ‘Do no harm.’ rule, the bubble is the extent of their help.
There is so much going on in this book that it’s hard to know where to start. Zainal’s refusal to leave, Lenvec’s subsumption by Ix, exploring Botany, a visit by the Farmers, several more slave drops on Botany by the Catteni increasing their population by thousands, a raid on Barevi, building homes, having children, adding one more ship to the fleet and planning how to stop the Eosi make for a jam-packed book. Even with everything going on the story flows along smoothly and at a good clip. I love watching it all come together and look forward to the next book to see how it’s all going to play out.
*Book source ~ My home library.
In Freedom’s Landing after Kris Bjornson, Zainal, Chuck Mitford and hundreds of others had been dropped on a distant planet to colonize it for the Catteni they discovered it was inhabited by automated machines farming the land. Taking apart the machines to create
Show More
usable items for themselves they’ve made a pretty good life for themselves. However, they want more and need to get out from under the Catteni’s thumb. With Zainal’s help they intend to strike back at the Catteni and in doing so strike at the Eosi who have controlled the Catteni for two thousand years. With some strategic planning and a lot of luck they intend to free the Catteni and Earth from Eosi domination.
This story picks up where Freedom’s Landing left off. A probe has been sent to the whoever farms Botany and Zainal has made it plain to the Emassi who came to retrieve him that he was dropped and he will stay. Since he has refused to return and face his duty, his brother must take his place and be subsumed by an Eosi Mentat. The towering hatred Lenvec feels for Zainal intrigues the Eosi named Ix and soon Ix is consumed with the curiosity about the planet Botany and finding Zainal. Since it is quite unusual for an Eosi Mentat to become obsessed this behave starts to draw the attention of other Eosi.
In the meantime, the Botanists are setting up a three stage plan to free themselves from the Eosi and the Farmers of the planet help protect them from attack by encasing the planet in a protective bubble after they have acquired a scout ship and a cargo ship. The Botantists are allowed to go in and out of the bubble, but nothing else is allowed in. Since the Farmers live according to the ‘Do no harm.’ rule, the bubble is the extent of their help.
There is so much going on in this book that it’s hard to know where to start. Zainal’s refusal to leave, Lenvec’s subsumption by Ix, exploring Botany, a visit by the Farmers, several more slave drops on Botany by the Catteni increasing their population by thousands, a raid on Barevi, building homes, having children, adding one more ship to the fleet and planning how to stop the Eosi make for a jam-packed book. Even with everything going on the story flows along smoothly and at a good clip. I love watching it all come together and look forward to the next book to see how it’s all going to play out.
Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Prometheus Award (Nominee — Novel — 1998)
Original publication date
1997-01
Physical description
336 p.; 6.7 inches
ISBN
0441005314 / 9780441005314