The Hook

Barry B. Longyear

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The Hook is the fifth book of Jerome Track's autobiography. It was a college coffee house puzzle, a conundrum that excused freedom's purists from actually doing anything about governmental oppression except talk about it, make speeches, and write turgid tomes all of which did little to advance the cause of freedom in a world plummeting into a mire of collectivist control. The best freedom's advocates could offer were compromises until, as much of the world once again stood on the brink of yet another war and by the grace of a horrific hurricane and the efforts of a good many students, a patch of pure libertarian freedom came into existence. The Hook, however, still stood without an answer. Unless an answer could be found, that patch of freedom would be crushed out of existence, thousands would die, and millions would be returned to oppression. It was a problem for a particular kind of savant, but Jerry Track first needed to find something in which to believe.