Free (DRM-free) Pallas [Award-Win Sci-Fi Libertarian Asteroid Colony Drama]

[ATDrake]

Pallas by L. Neil Smith (ISFDB, Wikipedia) is the 1st in his Ngu Family Saga trilogy of far future libertarian science fiction dramas set on the titular experimental asteroid colony, this installment setting up the tensions between the dystopian prison which Our Hero escapes, and the closer-to-utopian society to which he escapes, which then becomes a target of destruction by the apparently Javert-like prison official, free courtesy of publisher Phoenix Pick Press, who are e-printing it from its original 1993 Tor Books edition.

This is PPP's featured Free Ebook of the Month for July and won the 1994 Prometheus Award (Wikipedia) which specializes in libertarian-themed science fiction (even if the authors are not necessarily themselves professed libertarians, although L. Neil Smith, as the founder of the award, is), and according to people who have actually read LNS' works, seems to be one of his better-written and more entertaining novels (apparently they tend to be somewhat heavy on the proselytizing political content and a bit clunkily infodumpy because).

It's also previously been offered free in 2012, but since it's been such a long while and it's an award-winner and we're getting some deep-discount tie-in sales and there's been a bunch of other repeats today, I'm just going to count it as a new offering for the purposes of the daily thread count, unless something really nice and new pops up later and can't wait until tomorrow.

Currently free throughout the month of July @ Phoenix Pick Press' special promo page (DRM-free ePub/Mobi bundle available worldwide).

You also have a choice of 3 tie-in sale bundles for, respectively:

1. Ceres, the award-nominated 2nd-in-series novel for $2.99 (this is officially offered a freebie online read over at the author's blogsite, so you might as well splurge for bundle #2, which is much better value for money)
2. a 9-book bundle of L. Neil Smith's PPP-published fiction works (8 additional titles, including Ceres) for $15.00
3. a 2-book bundle of non-fiction libertarian/politics-related works, 1 by L. Neil Smith, the other by Robert A. Heinlein who needs no Wikipedia linkage if you've any acquaintance with science fiction so I shall not be linking him, for $7 (NB: the Heinlein book was offered in a previous Baen Monthly Bundle a long time ago, though it was one that had 2 versions as an opt-out since one of the other books it came with was a controversial Tea Party tract that a number of Baen store buyers objected to subsidizing via their bundled purchase)

Description
Ex-U.S.-Senator Gibson Altman rules the prison colony where everyone is expected to live by rules that govern every aspect of their lives.

The inhabitants of the experimental colony survive in a society plagued by crime, corruption and despair, toiling endlessly at tasks they are appointed to. Altman lives a life of luxury, ruling the lives of the souls trapped within his experiment and brooking no opposition to mandate.

However, Pallas, the terraformed asteroid, is also home to Curringer, a society in stark contrast to Altman's prison. It is a community where individual freedoms are championed and men and women are free to live as they please.

Emerson Ngu escapes from Altman's prison colony and becomes a hero of Curringer. Altman is driven by a deep hatred of Emerson and his triumph and will do anything to get his revenge on him. But in the process will he also destroy his own daughter and even the world of Pallas?

[ATDrake]

Just a reminder that today will be the last day to pick up the freebie or get the tie-in bundle deal, if you haven't already.