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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.
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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
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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".
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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."
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201:#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."
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The novel was initially published as a limited edition small press item in 1984, then mass market published by
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a "fine, delightful book", while emphasizing that it is ultimately "unclassifiable".
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Manic intensity rivals the Marx
Brothers: 'Free Live Free', by Gene Wolfe
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How I Lost the Second World War and Helped Turn Back the German
Invasion
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339:; originally published November 19, 1985; retrieved June 15, 2014
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The Island of Doctor Death and Other
Stories and Other Stories
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Short
Langford Reviews - Gene Wolfe: Free Live Free
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259:; by L.D. Meagher; published August 3, 1999
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359:; published 1999; retrieved June 15, 2014
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162:in 1985. In 1999, it was republished by
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298:(November 1985). "Critical Mass".
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106:Print (hardback & paperback)
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908:A Walking Tour of the Shambles
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137:is a novel by American writer
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333:FREE LIVE FREE, By Gene Wolfe
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894:The Woman the Unicorn Loved
683:Pandora, By Holly Hollander
428:The Claw of the Conciliator
141:, first published in 1984.
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880:The Death of Doctor Island
798:Storeys from the Old Hotel
635:The Fifth Head of Cerberus
444:The Citadel of the Autarch
420:The Shadow of the Torturer
275:; originally published in
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766:Gene Wolfe's Book of Days
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512:The Book of the Short Sun
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475:Nightside of the Long Sun
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285:; retrieved June 15, 2014
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499:Exodus from the Long Sun
465:The Book of the Long Sun
281:#88 (1985); archived at
16:1984 novel by Gene Wolfe
750:Short story collections
452:The Urth of the New Sun
436:The Sword of the Lictor
410:The Book of the New Sun
191:Dave Langford reviewed
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31:First (limited) edition
865:Short stories/Novellas
854:The Best of Gene Wolfe
283:Ansible online archive
774:The Wolfe Archipelago
651:The Devil in a Forest
491:Caldé of the Long Sun
969:1984 American novels
901:A Cabin on the Coast
782:Plan(e)t Engineering
707:The Sorcerer's House
483:Lake of the Long Sun
318:: CS1 maint: year (
926:Fictional creations
561:Soldier of the Mist
538:Return to the Whorl
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806:Endangered Species
619:Stand-alone novels
530:In Green's Jungles
154:Publishing history
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846:Starwater Strains
830:Strange Travelers
739:Interlibrary Loan
590:The Wizard Knight
353:Jean-Louis Trudel
219:Jean-Louis Trudel
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608:The Wizard
600:The Knight
401:Gene Wolfe
237:References
139:Gene Wolfe
41:Gene Wolfe
790:Bibliomen
355:, at the
278:Starburst
231:burlesque
177:Starburst
170:Reception
164:Tor Books
75:Publisher
933:Severian
918:" (2007)
916:Memorare
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889:" (1975)
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875:" (1973)
160:Gollancz
57:Language
551:Soldier
357:SF Site
215:SF Site
213:At the
184:called
60:English
911:(2002)
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37:Author
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643:Peace
397:Works
351:, by
335:, at
271:, by
255:, at
111:Pages
65:Genre
549:The
320:link
195:for
145:Plot
120:ISBN
90:1984
399:by
257:CNN
226:CNN
174:In
114:496
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316:}}
312:{{
245:^
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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