Search Results for “Powerless”

“Tired of Giving Lies a Helping Hand” – A review of Harry Turtledove’s Best Novel finalist Powerless 

By John C.A. Manley Charlie Simpkins is no philosopher. He’s just another “comrade” in the West Coast People’s Democratic Republic, operating a vegetable shop in Los Angeles. He smokes the government-issued Progress cigarettes, he drinks the rationed rotgut at the local class-four tavern and, generally, lives a life of silent compliance. Until, one day, the … Continue reading “Tired of Giving Lies a Helping Hand” – A review of Harry Turtledove’s Best Novel finalist Powerless 

Review: Harry Turtledove’s Prometheus-nominated Powerless critiques communism and blind obedience to authority

By Max More Powerless, one of six novels nominated so far for the next Prometheus Award for Best Novel, is the first novel I have read by Harry Turtledove. I chose to read it because of its anti-authoritarian message. The structure and function of this alternate reality – in which communism has taken over the … Continue reading Review: Harry Turtledove’s Prometheus-nominated Powerless critiques communism and blind obedience to authority

Read our reviews of this year’s Best Novel finalists by Freer, Gallagher, Hoyt, Pierce and Turtledove 

By Michael Grossberg As a guide to Prometheus Awards voting, the Prometheus Blog has once again published full-length and in-depth reviews of each of this year’s five Best Novel finalists. Here, for your convenience, are the embedded links to the reviews of the five Best Novel finalists: Dave Freer’s Storm-Dragon, Sarah Hoyt’s No Man’s Land, … Continue reading Read our reviews of this year’s Best Novel finalists by Freer, Gallagher, Hoyt, Pierce and Turtledove 

Review: Karl K. Gallagher’s War by Other Means explores tensions between fighting to preserve freedom and giving up freedom to fight more effectively

By William H. Stoddard War by Other Means, a Prometheus Best Novel finalist, is the seventh volume in Karl K. Gallagher’s future history series Fall of the Censor. After several volumes focused on military conflict, War by Other Means changes its focus to diplomatic relations among the worlds fighting against the Censorate. In doing so, … Continue reading Review: Karl K. Gallagher’s War by Other Means explores tensions between fighting to preserve freedom and giving up freedom to fight more effectively

Capsule reviews of all five Best Novel finalists – with no spoilers! 

By Michael Grossberg The 2026 Prometheus Best Novel finalists have been announced – and Libertarian Futurist Society members are reading them, with the ultimate verdict and winners to be selected by July 4 on the final ballot. To spark thought and discussion, raise the visibility of these works and the award and hopefully serve as … Continue reading Capsule reviews of all five Best Novel finalists – with no spoilers! 

Former winners, finalists compete with newcomer as Prometheus Best Novel finalists 

By Michael Grossberg Three former Prometheus winners, a frequent Best Novel finalist and a first-time nominee are competing to win this year’s Prometheus Award for Best Novel. The Prometheus Best Novel Judging Committee, drawn from the LFS membership, has selected five 2025 novels as 2026 finalists from 14 nominated works. The Best Novel finalists, listed … Continue reading Former winners, finalists compete with newcomer as Prometheus Best Novel finalists 

The epic power and enduring appeal of the biggest Prometheus-honored novels: The Lord of the Rings, Cryptonomicon and Atlas Shrugged 

By Michael Grossberg Of the many novels that have won a Prometheus Award over the past 47 years and are still widely read today, a notable few have done so with the help of their longer length and epic scale. From J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings to Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon and Ayn Rand’s … Continue reading The epic power and enduring appeal of the biggest Prometheus-honored novels: The Lord of the Rings, Cryptonomicon and Atlas Shrugged 

New generation of writers dominates this year’s 14 Prometheus nominations for Best Novel 

By Michael Grossberg Libertarian Futurist Society members have nominated 14 novels for the next Prometheus Award for Best Novel. Of those, nine nominees were written by authors nominated for the first time for a Prometheus Award. With so many authors new to our awards, the Prometheus Awards may be entering a more hopeful period in … Continue reading New generation of writers dominates this year’s 14 Prometheus nominations for Best Novel 

Last call for Prometheus Best Novel nominations: With the mid-February nominating deadline approaching, 13 2025 novels have been nominated so far 

By Michael Grossberg With the annual nominations deadline for the next Prometheus Award for Best Novel now less than a month away, Libertarian Futurist Society members are encouraged to bring to our attention any eligible candidates they’ve come across. This is a reminder and last call for nominations for the oldest category of the awards, … Continue reading Last call for Prometheus Best Novel nominations: With the mid-February nominating deadline approaching, 13 2025 novels have been nominated so far 

The best of the blog: Our 2025 reviews of Prometheus winners, finalists and more 

Some of the most important, impactful and lasting articles posted on the Prometheus Blog this year were reviews. Of the 120 posts published here in 2025, more than 10 percent were reviews – perhaps most notably, the latest review-essays in our ongoing Appreciation series devoted to honoring each year’s Prometheus Awards winners for Best Novel … Continue reading The best of the blog: Our 2025 reviews of Prometheus winners, finalists and more 