When tyrant fanatics long have commanded both government and institutions of religion, what can ordinary people do? People just trying to live a decent life, sometimes just trying to live at all. People of sincere faith, or of none. King Freedom is a tale of escape from oppression. Both an actual escape, and the story of how one young man so beaten down he has no personality at all can grow to be a full human being. "If science fiction is the literature of outsiders, no one is better suited to writing it than Uncle River." ?Publishers Weekly "River's slow-paced perspective will challenge readers to stop and reflect on just what kinds of worlds are worth building." ?Publishers Weekly, reviewing Counting Tadpoles "River [has a] penchant for letting his quirky creativity guide each tale to its often surprising denouement, with mostly engaging results." ?Carl Hays, Booklist Citation and Review, about Counting Tadpoles "River's self-imposed isolation has undeniably nourished his fertile imagination to yield dreamlike tales that range widely across the speculative fiction universe." ?Stanley Schmidt, from his introduction to Counting Tadpoles