Official Review: Freedom Novus by Mark Van Roosendaal

[rumik]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Freedom Novus" by Mark Van Roosendaal.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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It is the distant future: Earth has managed to establish colonies on some planets, all of which are under its dictatorial control. But the smaller planet of Freedom, led by Joseph Harkins, will have this no longer, requesting independence. Authorities on Earth are not about to tolerate anyone attempting to break free of their grip, and war is declared – will Freedom's people give in, or will they fight till their last breath? Are they alone, or will others rise up too? Extraterrestrial life forms suddenly make an entrance too, complicating things further. As you can tell by now, Freedom Novus by Mark Van Roosendaal is a very political science fiction novel.

The amount of research that must have been done to write this book is commendable. Roosendaal's political knowledge shines through his incredible worldbuilding, and his vision of the future is truly well thought out. Some readers may be daunted by the amount of detail present here, but at the heart of Roosendaal's philosophy lies only the simple value of individual rights.

Although we're told a lot about the economic and political results of the war, we are also given many glimpses into how it affects the lives of everyday people. I greatly appreciated this, as the rest of the book is not very character-driven. I was also rather impressed by the presence of important female characters. In a genre where women have often been overlooked, it was very refreshing to read about characters like Admiral Reese, Captain Jackson, and Mandee Johnson.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few things I did not enjoy as well. For one thing, the writing has much room for improvement. It took me a month to finish this book because I simply didn't enjoy the dry style. There is far too much telling and not enough showing. For example, if a character is scared, we are simply told that they're scared. We don't get to see it for ourselves through their expressions and body language.

On top of that, the countless paragraphs of exposition just read like a history textbook. Much of the historical details about Roosendaal's future could have been shown to us through scenes with actual characters interacting. I appreciate the effort he put into crafting his vision, and I can certainly see he knows what he's talking about—but it doesn't make for interesting fiction on its own.

There are some unfortunate editing errors present here as well. Besides the typos and grammatical errors, the PDF copy I received isn't edited like how a novel should be at all. It's like a poorly converted Microsoft Word document, one where chapters don't even start on new pages.

All in all, I give this book 2 out of 4 stars for its admirable message and worldbuilding. I do believe that the author has a valuable message to convey to us, it just needs some help with the execution.

This novel is suitable for all ages and religions, though people with differing political thoughts may not enjoy it as much. I agree with socialism on most points, but I was not particularly offended by the anti-socialism present here. I would recommend this to science fiction fans that hold libertarian views.

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Freedom Novus
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[kandscreeley]

It's too bad that the book is so dry. I can't stand books that tell instead of show. For that reason, I think I'll pass. Thanks for the review, though.

[Anon_Reviewer]

Reading a book that's easy to put down and hard to pick up again is never a pleasant experience. Thanks for soldiering on and sharing your review! It's a no from me for this one.

[Erin Dydek]

This book sounds like it could have been a great read with better execution. I’m not a huge fan of the telling instead of showing style of writing so I think its message would have been lost by my lack of interest. Thanks for the helpful review!

[Ekta Swarnkar]

It is indeed another unique creation that is worth reading, more if implemented well. Thanks for the interesting review!

[Erin Painter Baker]

The biggest challenge I have found in science fiction and fantasy writing is how to get the world-building in without lots and lots of exposition. Many authors find creative ways to do it or realize that not every bit of history they have figured out about their world needs to make it into the book. It is too bad this author did not find a way.

[Prisallen]

I am not a big fan of books that do more telling than showing either. Although I do like sci/fi novels, I like a healthy dose of character development with it. Therefore, I doubt that I will be reading this book. Thanks for the interesting and informative review, however!

[Aniza Butt]

Sounds too dry for me. I would pass this one. Thanks a lot for a great review ☺

[Kanda_theGreat]

I have realized that most sci-fi books are still grappling with how to break the monotony of narration and experienced authors manage to execute their plots well. It's quite disappointing that this author failed to achieve that.
Thanks for the review though.

[gen_g]

Oh, I might give this a pass – it seems like the book definitely needs more help. Thanks for the review still!

[unamilagra]

This sounds like a really interesting premise for a book. It's too bad the writing itself was so dry and difficult to get through. Thanks for an honest review!

[Connie Otwani]

There is far too much telling and not enough showing. For example, if a character is scared, we are simply told that they're scared. We don't get to see it for ourselves through their expressions and body language.

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What a bummer! As you rightly say, this turns a novel into a text book.

Congratulations for toughing it out! Must have been a long month for you.

Great review!

[MsH2k]

I’ll pass on the book, but thank you for your perseverance and for a great review.

[Arina Siaban]

Is it just me or do most science fiction books suffer from this very descriptive, textbook writing? I've certainly read a lot of those lately, so your review resounds with me on that aspect: an intriguing world isn't enough to support the reader's interest anymore. I can never get tired of political science fiction though, so perhaps this book will get a transformation and we can revisit? Thank you for your valuable, concise review!

[LinaMueller]

The plot is similar to any Star Wars movie. lol
Anyway, I loved your review, rumik. Well done.