Don D'Ammassa criticized "Freehold" as a political tract with an oversimplified and unrealistic view of humanity calling it a "very long but frankly not very entertaining diatribe". Michael M. Jones of "SF Site" conversely called Williamson's portrayal of a libertarian society "sound and believable" and described the book as "a satisfactory debut". Ginger Armstrong of "Kliatt" called "Freehold" a "highly readable SF adventure" with "a strong female protagonist". Carolyn Cushman of "Locus" noted heavy emphasis on the exposition of Libertarian ideology with plotting and pacing taking a back seat but described the novel as "amazingly entertaining".