Calling all Murderbot fans: Apple TV+ to stream Martha Wells’ series

Talk about a killer show!

Murderbot, Martha Wells’ popular book series about the diaries of a self-aware robot struggling to overcome his programming to kill, will be adapted into a 10-episode science-fiction drama.

Actor Alexandr Skarsgard (Creative Commons license)

Apple TV+ recently announced plans stream the series, which will star Emmy-winning actor Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood, Battleship, Succession, The Legend of Tarzan, The Northman, The Stand), who also will serve as executive producer.

The news should spark wide interest from sf/fantasy fans, since Well’s bestselling Murderbot Diary books have won both Hugo and Nebula awards – and from LFS members and libertarian futurists, since several books in the series have been nominated for the Prometheus Award.

Continue reading Calling all Murderbot fans: Apple TV+ to stream Martha Wells’ series

Best of the blog, Part 2: Was Shakespeare a libertarian? Has cancel culture peaked? And what was that crossword puzzle clue mentioning the LFS?

By Michael Grossberg

Was Shakespeare a libertarian?

Has the “cancel culture” trend peaked, or will it continue in 2024?

With Shakespeare increasingly in disfavor among some elite precincts of academia and popular authors like Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming posthumously having their classic fiction bowdlerized and edited to be politically correct, what artists and authors will be next?

Will 2024 deepen disturbing trends undermining artistic freedom and other civil and economic liberties? Or will a new year bring fresh hope for civility, voluntarism, tolerance and respect for other people’s rights?

Such questions continue to linger in the back of my mind as I recall some of my favorite posts in 2023 on the Prometheus Blog.

Although it’s now the start of 2024, it’s not too late to look back again at the past year to savor (and perhaps reread) a few especially timely and relevant favorites from the blog – beyond the three already highlighted last week.

Continue reading Best of the blog, Part 2: Was Shakespeare a libertarian? Has cancel culture peaked? And what was that crossword puzzle clue mentioning the LFS?

The Best of the Blog: Three 2023 posts worth remembering (and rereading)

By Michael Grossberg

Although 2023 has ended, it’s interesting and illuminating to look back at the highlights of the past year – and perhaps read an article that you may have overlooked. For the Prometheus Blog, there were quite a few memorable posts.

Robert Heinlein (Photo courtesy of the Heinlein Trust)

Among my personal favorites:

* author Karl Gallagher’s tribute to Robert Heinlein and appreciation for his 2023 Hall of Fame winner, “Free Men.”

* William H. Stoddard’s illuminating essay on “Economics in Science Fiction” (along with a critique of the common “overproduction” myth), and

* a commentary on one of the most unheralded firsts of the year: basically, the first libertarian-individualist-themed sci-fi film to ever win the Oscar for best picture.

Continue reading The Best of the Blog: Three 2023 posts worth remembering (and rereading)

A Prometheus blog milestone: A record number of posts in 2023

Numbers count.

In 2023, the Prometheus Blog surpassed previous years in the number, frequency and regularity of posts.

By the time this year ends, the Prometheus blog will have posted a record 78 articles – from essays, reviews and commentaries to news, awards updates, tributes and progress reports.

Ever since 2017, when the Prometheus Blog replaced Prometheus, the Libertarian Futurist Society’s former printed quarterly review and newsletter, the goal has been to gradually increase the frequency of posts to equal and then surpass the amount of material previously published in the four quarterly printed issues.

And this year, we succeeded.

Continue reading A Prometheus blog milestone: A record number of posts in 2023

A banner year for Prometheus blog interviews: 2023 winner Dave Freer, frequent finalist Karl Gallagher, author/judge John Christmas and the late great James Hogan

By Michael Grossberg

This was an excellent year for interesting and informative interviews with a variety of authors, all worth reading (or rereading.)

Dave Freer with his 2023 Prometheus Awards Best Novel plaque for Cloud-Castles (Photo courtesy of Freer)
James P. Hogan (Creative Commons license)

The Prometheus Blog boasted more posted interviews in 2023 than ever before – most notably, with Australian sf writer Dave Freer, the first individual from the Southern Hemisphere to win a Prometheus award; and with the late great James Hogan, a two-time Prometheus winner for Best Novel.

Continue reading A banner year for Prometheus blog interviews: 2023 winner Dave Freer, frequent finalist Karl Gallagher, author/judge John Christmas and the late great James Hogan

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

The Hogan Interview, part 6: On AI, favorite novels and advice to aspiring writers

By Michael Grossberg

Two-time Prometheus Award-winner James P. Hogan left a lasting legacy for sf fans and liberty lovers.

James P. Hogan (Creative Commons license)

Hogan had a lot to say, both in fiction and non-fiction, about humanity, technology, liberty, science and politics.

Here is the sixth and final part of a Hogan interview previously unpublished in its full, uncut form:

 

Continue reading The Hogan Interview, part 6: On AI, favorite novels and advice to aspiring writers

Leading sci-fi publications and other media highlight news of Prometheus Hall of Fame finalists

By Michael Grossberg

Every year, when the Libertarian Futurist Society announces its Prometheus finalists in press releases, the two leading science-fiction/fantasy trade publications and other influential media cover it well – and promptly.

Happily, such positive coverage has occurred again this year, all within 24 hours of the LFS press release going out to the media.

The attractive new image used by one major blog to accompany its Prometheus awards news update

Continue reading Leading sci-fi publications and other media highlight news of Prometheus Hall of Fame finalists

Short-listed for the next Prometheus Hall of Fame: Novels by Poul Anderson, Terry Pratchett and Harry Turtledove and a Rush song

By Michael Grossberg

Almost four dozen classic works of science fiction and fantasy have been inducted into the Prometheus Hall of Fame, first presented four decades ago in 1983.

Libertarian Futurist Society members will select the next Best Classic Fiction inductee from four finalists, all first published or released more than 20 years ago.

The 2024 Hall of Fame finalists – just announced to the media in an LFS press release that’s already been reported on in full by File 770, a leading sf-industry trade publication –  is varied in artistic form (including three novels and one song) and in its balance of the old and the new.

The current finalist slate, selected from 10 works of fiction (novels, stories and song) nominated by LFS members, recognizes both a first-time nominee and several stalwart candidates that have found favor with judges and voters in recent years.

Continue reading Short-listed for the next Prometheus Hall of Fame: Novels by Poul Anderson, Terry Pratchett and Harry Turtledove and a Rush song

The Hogan interview, part 5: His views on science, writing YA novels and how The Saint inspired him

By Michael Grossberg

Prometheus-winning author James P. Hogan was a maverick thinker who championed both liberty and technology while recognizing the reactionary and harmful impact of government, bureaucracy and irrationality on our lives.

Such themes are woven into his 26 novels, many short stories and essays – almost all of which remain available in print and mostly remain fresh and timeless today.

Continue reading The Hogan interview, part 5: His views on science, writing YA novels and how The Saint inspired him