Freedom & Necessity

Freedom & Necessity (1997) Steven Brust and Emma Bull

Delving back into Brust section of my bookshelves, I came back with Freedom and Necessity, a book that I remember as complicated, although good. And since I remembered nothing of the plot, I figured it was a good candidate for re-reading.

I have to admit that as much as I like this novel, reading it makes me feel stupid.

There are tons of historical, political, and philosophical references that, if I were better educated, I am sure would have made the reading even deeper. Unfortunately, my political and philosophical education is sorely lacking, and my knowledge of history is spotty–some times and subjects I’m fairly familiar with, while my others I don’t have a clue.

The story, set in late 1849 is written as a compilation of letters, journal entries, and newspaper articles. It’s a style that takes some getting used to, but gives a strange sense of authenticity. Though as a regular letter writer, I have to wonder how the characters found the time to write everything down in the detail they did!

Interestingly, the book leads me to wonder about the line between fantasy and other types of fiction, in that there is very little “traditional fantasy” to be found. I have not read any other books by Emma Bull, but the style of this book is strikingly different from other books by Steven Brust I have read. Not to say that he has a specific style–anyone who has read the Khavvren books and the Vlad Taltos books should know better–but there is little familiar in this book to his other books.

This is, as I said, a very good book, but it is not the first Steven Brust book I would recommend to someone–it’s too different from his other books for someone to judge whether they liked his style or not. But I do recommend it. Though if you’re like me, it may create a desire to learn more about history, philosophy, and political science.
Rating: 7/10

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