Falling Free

Falling Free

Lois McMaster Bujold

First published 1988Original language EN

7.67.6 / 10
Score out of 10196 ratingsConfidence 57%: this much of the score is the readers’ own
307
Pages
about 6 h
Reading time
  • Nebula Award for Best Novel
  • Prometheus Award - Hall of Fame

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In our Atlas

Lois McMaster Bujold
United States
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Our view

“Falling Free” is a space adventure built on one strong idea: what becomes of people engineered for a job once the job no longer needs them. Set in the Vorkosigan universe before the main story, it follows four-armed workers living weightless on a space station. Some readers find the love story dated, the characters a little flat and the pace slack in places; others relish the way company rules get turned against the company.

The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.

About the book

Falling Free is a science fiction novel by American writer Lois McMaster Bujold, part of her Vorkosigan Saga. It was first published as four installments in Analog from December 1987 to February 1988, and was included in the 2007 omnibus Miles, Mutants and Microbes.

Description: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Reading order · The Vorkosigan Saga

Full order & progress →
Score per volume20 volumes on a timeline, 1986 to 2018 · Best-rated volume: Memory
  1. Shards of Honor
    Shards of Honor1986 · 118 ratingsStart here
    7.57.5 / 10
  2. The Warrior's Apprentice
    The Warrior's Apprentice1986 · 220 ratings · Not ranked yet
    –Not ranked yet
  3. Ethan of Athos
    Ethan of Athos1986 · 149 ratings
    7.57.5 / 10
  4. Falling Free
    Falling Free1988 · 196 ratingsThis book
    7.67.6 / 10
  5. Brothers in Arms
    Brothers in Arms1989 · 154 ratings
    7.97.9 / 10
  6. Borders of Infinity
    Borders of Infinity1989 · 72 ratings
    7.97.9 / 10
  7. Weatherman
    Weatherman1990 · Not ranked yet
    –Not ranked yet
  8. Barrayar
    Barrayar1991 · 270 ratings
    8.18.1 / 10
  9. Mirror Dance
    Mirror Dance1994 · 170 ratings
    8.28.2 / 10
  10. Cetaganda
    Cetaganda1996 · 180 ratings
    7.97.9 / 10
  11. Labyrinth
    Labyrinth1989 · 44 ratings · Not ranked yet
    –Not ranked yet
  12. Memory
    Memory1996 · 170 ratings
    8.38.3 / 10
  13. Komarr
    Komarr1998 · 149 ratings
    8.08.0 / 10
  14. A Civil Campaign
    A Civil Campaign1999 · 153 ratings
    8.18.1 / 10
  15. Winterfair Gifts
    Winterfair Gifts2004 · 85 ratings
    7.87.8 / 10
  16. Diplomatic Immunity
    Diplomatic Immunity2002 · 133 ratings
    7.97.9 / 10
  17. Cryoburn
    Cryoburn2010 · 136 ratings
    7.77.7 / 10
  18. Captain Vorpatril's Alliance
    Captain Vorpatril's Alliance2012 · 132 ratings
    8.08.0 / 10
  19. Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen
    Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen2016 · 94 ratings
    7.67.6 / 10
  20. The Flowers of Vashnoi
    The Flowers of Vashnoi2018 · 49 ratings · Not ranked yet
    –Not ranked yet

Where the score comes from

The sources average 7.3 across 196 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 57% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Science fiction average of 7.8. That is how 7.6 comes out. A further +0.10 comes from the small bonus for major awards.

SourceAverageRatingsWeight
Open Library7.519 10%
Google Books7.07 4%
Hardcover7.3170 87%

Frequently asked

How long is Falling Free?

It has 307 pages — shorter than 78% of the ranked books in Science fiction.

In this book

Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.

If you liked this

The same shelf — Science fiction — and a score of 7.6, the closest to this book.