Freedom and Necessity

Steven Brust and Emma Bull

Orb Books

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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 breathe sighs of relief. But the powers-that-be are hardly unified among themselves. Far from it . . .
 
On the south coast of England, London man-about-town James Cobham comes to himself in a country inn, with no idea how he got there. Corresponding with his brother, he discovers he has been presumed drowned in a boating accident. Together they decide that he should stay put for the moment, while they investigate what may have transpired. For James Cobham is a wanted man—wanted by conspiring factions of the government and the Chartists alike, and also targeted by a magical conspiracy inside his own family.
 
And so the adventure begins…leading the reader through every corner of mid-nineteenth-century Britain, from the parlors of the elite to the dens of the underclass. Not since Wilkie Collins or Conan Doyle has there been such a profusion of guns, swordfights, family intrigues, women disguised as men, occult societies, philosophical discussions, and, of course, passionate romance.

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From The Times
July 26,1849
 
 
Mr roebuck also begged to enter his protest against this ill-considered and crude piece of legislation, which he described as the result of a species of cant which was almost as dangerous as vice.
Mr mowatt had also felt himself obliged to oppose the bill, because it was calculated to mislead the people for whose benefit they affected to legislate, namely, the parents of females in humble life, by teaching them to dispense with the moral education and training of their children, and lean only on the legislature.

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Praise for Freedom and Necessity

“Resembling the works of Tolstoy and Dickens in the plethora of characters, Stoker and Mary Shelley in the exposition, the novel brings together intrigue, adventure, politics, and magic in a complex epic that astonishes the reader.” —Library Journal on Freedom and Necessity
 
“Complex and masterly . . . A skilful act of ventriloquism, faithfully reproducing the argot of the early Victorian upper classes with only a few lapses, and plausibily weaving the plot into the politics at the time.  Imaginative and finely written.” —Interzone on Freedom and Necessity
 
“Expertly styled after a 19th-century English epistolary novel . . . Engaging characters and surprises that, for all their thrills, stem quite naturally from the groundwork that the authors have so cleverly laid.”—Publishers Weekly on Freedom and Necessity
 
“One of the most impressive novels I’ve read in a long time.”—Locus on Freedom and Necessity
 
“Brilliantly written as an epistolary novel, rich with historical detail, enlivened by fully drawn characters, this is one of the most unusual and certainly one of the best fantasy novels of the year.” —Science Fiction Chronicle on Freedom and Necessity

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About the Author

Steven Brust and Emma Bull

The author of the bestselling "Vlad Taltos" novels (Dragon, Issola, Dzur, etc) and standalone fantasies such as To Reign in Hell, Steven Brust lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Emma Bull, author of War for the Oaks and Finder, lives in Tucson, Arizona.

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Emma Bull

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Available Formats and Book Details

Freedom and Necessity
Steven Brust and Emma Bull

Trade Paperback

Trade Paperback
Tom Doherty Associates
Orb Books
April 2007
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780765316806
ISBN10: 0765316803
6 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches, 448 pages
$18.95
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Mass Market Paperbound

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Mass Market Paperbound
Tom Doherty Associates
Tor Fantasy
December 1997
Mass Market Paperbound
ISBN: 9780812562613
ISBN10: 0812562615
4 3/16 x 6 3/4 inches, 608 pages
$6.99
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