Free Live Free

1984 novel by Gene Wolfe

Free Live Free

First (limited) edition

Author| Gene Wolfe
Cover artist| Carl Lundgren
Language| English
Genre| Science fiction
Publisher| Mark V. Ziesing

Publication date

| 1984
Publication place| United States
Media type| Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages| 496
ISBN| 0-9612970-1-8

Free Live Free is a novel by American writer Gene Wolfe, first published in 1984.

## Plot

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Mr. Free has a house which is slated for demolition. He puts an ad in a newspaper advertising free living quarters to anyone who helps him find a mysterious lost object hidden in the house. Four strangers (a mystic, a private eye, a prostitute, and a salesman) arrive.

## Publishing history

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The novel was initially published as a limited edition small press item in 1984, then mass market published by Gollancz in 1985. In 1999, it was republished by Tor Books, with an appendix intended to "untangle some of the more serpentine elements of the plot."[1]

## Reception

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In Starburst, David Langford called Free Live Free a "fine, delightful book", while emphasizing that it is ultimately "unclassifiable".[2]

Dave Langford reviewed Free Live Free for White Dwarf #71, and stated that "the final surprises aren't even the kind of surprises anticipated. I refuse to say more. It's a breath of fresh air. Read it."[3]

Kirkus Reviews described it as "an uneasy, lurching mix of fantasy, science fiction, and mystery", stated that the conclusion was "a bust", and asked why Wolfe "can't put together a book that fully convinces and satisfies."[4]

At the SF Site, Jean-Louis Trudel called it "deeply engaging", with "a compassion not always evident in Wolfe's other books", but felt that its conclusion was "a bit of a letdown", with certain revelations and explanations being "not entirely persuasive".[5]

CNN states that it is "outrageous", "ingenious", "highly entertaining", and "masterful", but concedes that the ending is not only "contrived", but "confusing", and that only "Wolfe's mastery of the written word" prevents the novel from being entirely burlesque.[1]

## References

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1. ^ a b Manic intensity rivals the Marx Brothers: 'Free Live Free', by Gene Wolfe, at CNN; by L.D. Meagher; published August 3, 1999
2. ^ Short Langford Reviews - Gene Wolfe: Free Live Free, by David Langford; originally published in Starburst #88 (1985); archived at Ansible online archive; retrieved June 15, 2014
3. ^ Langford, Dave (November 1985). "Critical Mass". White Dwarf. No. 71\. Games Workshop. p. 6.`{{cite magazine}}`: CS1 maint: year (link)
4. ^ FREE LIVE FREE, By Gene Wolfe, at Kirkus Reviews; originally published November 19, 1985; retrieved June 15, 2014
5. ^ Free Live Free, by Jean-Louis Trudel, at the SF Site; published 1999; retrieved June 15, 2014

* v
* t
* e

Works by Gene Wolfe

The Book of the New Sun|

* The Shadow of the Torturer (1980)
* The Claw of the Conciliator (1981)
* The Sword of the Lictor (1981)
* The Citadel of the Autarch (1983)
* The Urth of the New Sun (1987)

The Book of the Long Sun|

* Nightside of the Long Sun (1993)
* Lake of the Long Sun (1994)
* Caldé of the Long Sun (1994)
* Exodus from the Long Sun (1996)

The Book of the Short Sun|

* On Blue's Waters (1999)
* In Green's Jungles (2000)
* Return to the Whorl (2001)

The Soldier series|

* Soldier of the Mist (1986)
* Soldier of Arete (1989)
* Soldier of Sidon (2006)

The Wizard Knight|

* The Knight (2004)
* The Wizard (2004)

Stand-alone novels|

* Operation Ares (1970)
* The Fifth Head of Cerberus (1972)
* Peace (1975)
* The Devil in a Forest (1976)
* Free Live Free (1984)
* There Are Doors (1988)
* Castleview (1990)
* Pandora, By Holly Hollander (1990)
* Pirate Freedom (2007)
* An Evil Guest (2008)
* The Sorcerer's House (2010)
* Home Fires (2011)
* The Land Across (2013)
* A Borrowed Man (2015)
* Interlibrary Loan (2020)

Short story collections|

* The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories (1980)
* Gene Wolfe's Book of Days (1981)
* The Wolfe Archipelago (1983)
* Plan(e)t Engineering (1984)
* Bibliomen (1984)
* Storeys from the Old Hotel (1988)
* Endangered Species (1989)
* Castle of Days (1992)
* The Young Wolfe (1992)
* Strange Travelers (2000)
* Innocents Aboard (2004)
* Starwater Strains (2005)
* The Best of Gene Wolfe (2009)

Short stories/Novellas|

* "How I Lost the Second World War and Helped Turn Back the German Invasion" (1973)
* "The Death of Doctor Island" (1973)
* "Straw" (1975)
* "The Woman the Unicorn Loved" (1981)
* "A Cabin on the Coast" (1984)
* A Walking Tour of the Shambles (2002)
* "Memorare" (2007)

Fictional creations|

* Severian
* Ascian language

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