Rating: 
Summary: Don't see what the fuss is
Review: A good start that promises much and then very quickly proves to be dull, ponderous and pretentious. In addition, there really is very little mystery or adventure and the "fantasy" component appears to be more of an afterthought than an integral part of the book. It was as if someone wrote a fairly dull historical romance and then realized it wouldn't sell unless "mysterious ancient rites" were added.
Rating: 
Summary: Misuse of terms
Review: After struggling with this book for about two weeks (And still not having finnished it), I must say that this book is not fantasy, but a fairly interesting book about English 19th century. Part of the book is very good, but some parts tends to be too long, and therefore a bit boring. As other perople have commented; this is not a book to read once, but I don't think I would like to read again for some time yet - there are other books to read....
Rating:
Summary: This is an EPISTILARY novel!
Review: And, as such, it contains, gasp, epistles! It's not a 'gimmick', it's a bonifide plot device used quite extensively, especially during the period when the novel was written. Admittedly, it does make the novel a bit difficult to get into, which lowers my rating of the novel, and makes it somewhat unlikely that I will pick it up again any time in the near future. Also, it isn't fantasy, which just goes to show that the people hired to write cover blurbs are not in anyway required to read the book. The book does showcase the craft of Brust and Bull quite nicely, and is a pleasant departure from their usual urban fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: Dont' let the heft fool you
Review: Be sure to give yourself time with this book - it will take over your reading time. Brust and Bull produced an excellent work filled with some of the best characters I've ever found. I'm happily midway through my 12th re-reading now.
Rating:
Summary: An awe-inspiring collaboration
Review: Brust and Bull, effective writers individually, have outdone themselves and each other with this novel. Framing it as a collection of letters, journal entries and newspaper reports from the mid-nineteenth century, the authors have managed to capture the language, tone, culture and habits of the England of that time.
The story is told with the same combination of wit, emotion, style and surprises we have come to expect from Steven Brust and Emma Bull, yet represents a departure in setting from their usual fields of play
Rating: 
Summary: How to solve a problem like an epistolary novel...?
Review: Epistolary novels used to be far more popular way-back-when people communicated by letters more often. It's an interesting device, but nearly impossible to pull off . Freedom and Necessity succeeds as well as it can, which is by no means meant as faint praise.
The advantages to a novel composed of letters, journal entries and newspaper clippings (and the occasional quotation from German philosophy) is that you get a half-a-dozen distinct voices telling the same tale, illuminating different aspects and hiding others to allow suspense to play out. The four main characters, Kitty, Richard, Susan and James, are all articulate and intelligent, and vastly different, and sufficiently intimate with each other to provide interesting insights into each other. (While collaborations occasionally suffer from differences in voice and style, in this case, it must have been a help.) That it also manages to make mid-19th century politics and German philosophy interesting is just a bonus. Where it fails is in the half-realized "fantasy" aspect. Somehow, in the middle of fighting for the freedom of the working class and chasing murderers and having dinner with Fredrick Engels, the old tale of the King Stag fighting the young stag seems irrelevant. If the family's interest/practice of magic and the Old Ways had been more developed than Kitty taking mind-altering drugs to "see beyond the doorway" it would have worked better. As it was, it felt like something that was poorly integrated into the plot because the publishers were suspicious of a historical novel from two fantasy writers that did not involve fantasy.
The other problem is common to all epistolary novels; the reality that you are one step removed from the action at all times. Even the great, melodramatic Les Liasons Dangerous couldn't solve that problem; despite the letter dripping with sympathy and imagined gore, Valmont's death is an anti-climax. The same is true here, that the characters already know what the end of the events they are recounting are when they begin their letter or journal entry, so much of the suspense is lost. Even abusing Susan and her "prodigious memory" (a devise to have Susan narrate many scenes in a manner indistinguishable from regular ordinary first person point of view) cannot solve that basic problem.
But even with all that, the book is well worth reading. The complex relationships around the four main characters make their letters to and about each other fascinating to read, even if the plot mostly exists to have hoops to jump through. If you are looking for a fantasy novel... try Emma Bull's War for the Oaks or Andre Norton's and Rosemary Edghill's Carolus Rex series (two books so far; The Shadow of Albion and Leopard in Exile).
Rating:
Summary: Like Eavesdropping on Another Time
Review: Freedom and Necessity is an excellent read, though I belive it is wrongly placed in "FICTION-FANTASY" catagory. If I'd been looking for a real sci-fi read, I think I'd have been disappointed.
I believe this book should be categorized in FICTION-HISTORICAL along with its ilk, another favorite of mine "The Quincunx", by Charles Palliser. Although the two books take place in different eras, the stories both unfold in England. Both tales are incredibly and delectably complex. Both books take you through a intricately woven adventure before ever revealing who the antagonists are, or their motives.
Unlike "The Quincunx" however, "Freedom and Necessity" is vastly easier to read. It lacks the Dickens-like gloom of the former. In addition, being created from a series of correspondence between a group of individuals, it is a great book for busy people. One can read it in bits and pieces as time presents itself, and not lose any effect.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!!!
Review: I am not yet finished with this book; however, I wish I could describe it in the space provided! My mind churns so much while I read it
that I often have to re-read passages several times
just to keep up. Isn't this what a good book
should do? It has all the right elements presented in such an unique way that I am sure
you won't be able to put it down either. I will
be sure to give a proper review once I finish!
Rating:
Summary: Difficult to get into, but quite worthwhile
Review: I bought the book to add to my collection of Brust and Bull, but it took me quite awhile to get it read. The first several letters and journal entries are confusing without background information, and I found myself putting it down in favor of other reads. Much if the discussion seemed tangential to the plot. Once I got past the first hundred pages, though, I was caught up in the story and finished it in a rush. Some other reviewers mentioned disappointment in the romantic ending. I disagree. I was quite impressed with the reconciliation of the heroine's love with her principles.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT worth the effort
Review: I consider myself a die hard Brust fan and have enjoyed Emma Bulls works as well. This book was near agony to read and I am still one third of the way from finishing it (I bought it about a year ago). The plot is slow because of the the need for the characters to write each other. Insights that are given into the plot were not stunning enough to keep my attention. I got bored. This book is one I reccommend you pass by, as for EVERYTHING ELSE that Brust writes buy doubles, you will wear out the first copy.
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