Obits – Prometheus Blog

Award-winning libertarian author Barry B. Longyear, R.I.P.  

By Michael Grossberg

Barry B. Longyear (1942-2025) has passed.

The prolific sf author, who won the 2021 Prometheus Award for Best Novel for The War Whisperer, Book 5: The Hook, died May 6 at the age of 82.

Longyear is perhaps best known for “Enemy Mine,” an sf story about a risky confrontation but ultimately life-saving friendship between a human pilot and an alien fighter stranded on a harsh and distant planet.

“Enemy Mine,” part of Longyear’s first story collection Manifest Destiny, achieved the rare feat of science fiction’s Triple Crown by winning a Hugo, Nebula and Locus Award.

According to an obituary/tribute in Mike Glyer’s File 770, “fans sealed their approval of his amazing output by voting Barry the John W. Campbell Award as best new writer in 1980 (now the Astounding Award).

Continue reading Award-winning libertarian author Barry B. Longyear, R.I.P.  

Acclaimed fantasy writer and Prometheus finalist Howard Andrew Jones, R.I.P.

By Michael Grossberg

Acclaimed fantasy author Howard Andrew Jones has passed away.

Jones, a Prometheus Best Novel finalist last year for Lord of a Shattered Land, died almost five months after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in September 2024, according to the Fandom Pulse blog.

Continue reading Acclaimed fantasy writer and Prometheus finalist Howard Andrew Jones, R.I.P.

The late great Vernor Vinge: A major SF writer worth remembering (and reading) on his birthday 

By Michael Grossberg

Today, Oct. 2, is Vernor Vinge’s birthday.

Acclaimed SF writer Vernor Vinge (Creative Commons license)

If he had lived, Vinge would have been 80 years old.

Born Oct. 2, 1944, Vinge died in March, 2024 after struggling for several years with progressive Parkinsons disease.

Yet, Vinge is worth remembering (and likely to be well-remembered) for his consistently brilliant and often prescient science fiction – several works of which have been recognized with Prometheus Awards over the decades.

Continue reading The late great Vernor Vinge: A major SF writer worth remembering (and reading) on his birthday 

Sad news: Our sympathies to fantasy writer Howard Andrew Jones and SF author Ken MacLeod 

By Michael Grossberg

Writer Howard Andrew Jones (Photo courtesy of Baen Books)

Fans of acclaimed fantasy writer Howard Andrew Jones and SF writer Ken MacLeod have been saddened by bad news from both Prometheus-recognized authors.

Jones, a 2024 Prometheus Best Novel finalist, has announced that he has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

Meanwhile, MacLeod, a three-time Prometheus winner for Best Novel, lost his beloved wife Carol last month.

Continue reading Sad news: Our sympathies to fantasy writer Howard Andrew Jones and SF author Ken MacLeod 

RIP Vernor Vinge [UPDATED]

Vernor Vinge

Science fiction writer Vernor Vinge, a longtime star in the field, has died. He was 79, the science fiction news site File 770 reports.

Vince (1944-2024) won the Hugo Award multiple times: For the novels A Fire Upon the Deep, A Deepness in the Sky and Rainbows End, and for the novellas Fast Times at Fairmont High and The Cookie Monster.

He also won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Libertarian Futurist Society, won the Prometheus Award for A Deepness in the Sky and Marooned in Realtime, and won the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award for “True Names” and “The Ungoverned.”

“True Names,” inducted in 2004 into the Hall of Fame, is often cited as the first work of science fiction to depict cyberspace.

Updates:

David Brin on Vernor Vinge.

Tribute from John Scalzi.

Continue reading RIP Vernor Vinge [UPDATED]

R.I.P., David Drake (1945-2013), a Baen Books favorite and pioneer of realistic military sci-fi

David Drake, a prolific sf/fantasy author and Prometheus nominee, has died.

Sf/fantasy author David Drake (Creative Commons license)

Drake, who died Dec. 10 at 78 from cognitive health problems, is being remembered as a leader and pioneer in military science fiction.

Drake, drafted into the U.S. Army to fight in Vietnam and Cambodia in the early 1970s, later brought a new level of granular realism to the subgenre based on his own experiences as a soldier.

Perhaps because Drake’s more than 80 books were focused on military sf, an action-oriented subgenre that tends to focus more on battles and military sf than ideas, few of his novels fit the distinctive focus of the Prometheus Awards exploring libertarian and/or anti-authoritarian themes.

Continue reading R.I.P., David Drake (1945-2013), a Baen Books favorite and pioneer of realistic military sci-fi

Two-time Prometheus winner Michael F. Flynn has died

We are sorry to have to report that science fiction writer Michael F. Flynn has died. He was 75. Here is the obituary from his local newspaper in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Flynn won the Prometheus Award twice, in 1991 for In the Country of the Blind, and in 1992 for Fallen Angels (a collaboration with Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle).

Continue reading Two-time Prometheus winner Michael F. Flynn has died

Greg Bear, RIP: Prolific awardwinning sf author ( and Poul Anderson’s son-in-law) wrote more than 50 novels

Prolific SF/fantasy author Greg Bear has died at 71.

Greg Bear Photo by Kyle Cassidy, Creative Commons license)

Bear, who died in November after suffering several strokes during heart surgery, was widely acclaimed for his wide-ranging and epic science fiction and fantasy.

An international bestseller and Heinlein Award-winner, Bear wrote more than 50 novels and almost as many works of short fiction, and edited an important Poul Anderson anthology.

Even though Bear never won a Prometheus Award, much of his life and work were “Prometheus-adjacent.”

Continue reading Greg Bear, RIP: Prolific awardwinning sf author ( and Poul Anderson’s son-in-law) wrote more than 50 novels

R.I.P., Joseph Martino: Sf author, scholar, engineer, Prometheus judge and LFS board member made a difference in his 91 years

Libertarian Futurist Society members, science-fiction fans and Ohioans are remembering Joe Martino, a prolific writer-speaker and libertarian policy expert.

Martino, who died recently at 91 after a lengthy illness, wrote several fiction and non-fiction books and science fiction stories, several of which are still worth reading.

A knowledgeable and literate libertarian, Joe frequently appeared as an sf-con panelist at Marcon and other major Midwestern sf/fantasy conventions – including at an LFScon at Marcon.

Continue reading R.I.P., Joseph Martino: Sf author, scholar, engineer, Prometheus judge and LFS board member made a difference in his 91 years

Bruce Sommer, R.I.P. – Veteran Prometheus judge, board member helped sustain the LFS and its annual awards for decades

Libertarian Futurist Society leaders are remembering Bruce Sommer, a stalwart West Coast science-fiction fan and left-libertarian who helped sustain the Prometheus Awards for many years.

Bruce made a big difference as one of the earliest LFS members – and one of the few Life members – who remained active year after year, reading potential award candidates, weighing the pros and cons of nominees and serving for years as a board member.

Yet, even after disability and ongoing health issues began to limit Bruce’s energy and ability to work full-time, he expressed his love of science-fiction fandom and his libertarian ideals of a better and more just, peaceful and cooperative world by reading widely and diligently year after year to find science fiction and fantasy novels that might fit the distinctive pro-liberty and anti-authoritarian focus of the Prometheus Awards.

Continue reading Bruce Sommer, R.I.P. – Veteran Prometheus judge, board member helped sustain the LFS and its annual awards for decades