Of the 10 works of fiction nominated for the next Prometheus Hall of Fame for Best Classic Fiction, two coincidentally were published in 1968.
One is “Conquest by Default,” a novelette by Vernor Vinge – a frequent Prometheus Award nominee, finalist and winner.
And the other is The Demon Breed, a novel by James H. Schmitz – a first-time Prometheus nominee.
Here, in part 3 of the Prometheus Blog’s series about this year’s candidates for induction into our Hall of Fame, are capsule review-descriptions of each work.
Along with the previous two posts of the four oldest nominees (by Rudyard Kipling, C.S. Lewis, Arthur C. Clarke and Mack Reynolds), these capsule reviews and descriptions are written, edited and compiled in part from the nominating statements of LFS members and descriptions by the judges on the Hall of Fame finalist-selection committee, chaired by LFS President William H. Stoddard. Thanks to all involved!
VINGE’S “CONQUEST BY DEFAULT”
“Conquest by Default,” by Vernor Vinge (first published 1968 in Analog), was Vinge’s first exploration of anarchism.
He tells a story about human civilization being overwhelmed by a superior alien force, told from the point of view of an alien sympathetic to the underdogs. The alien finds a way to save the humans by breaking up governments into much smaller components.
The alien culture uses a legal twist to foster extreme cultural diversity, as characters draw explicit parallels between the plight of humanity in the face of superior alien tech and the fate of Native Americans faced with European invaders.
SCHMITZ’S THE DEMON BREED
The Demon Breed, first serialized in Analog as The Tuvela and part of the author’s Hub series, is a 1968 SF adventure novel by James H. Schmitz.
Notably, this was one of the first SF novels to have a strong female protagonist. An optimistic writer, Schmitz was forward-thinking in his well-thought-out and richly detailed ecology and in focusing on heroines who save the day.
Unlike Schmitz’s earlier Hub-series character Telzey Amberdon with her wide range of psionic abilities, Nile Etland is a competent everywoman, further reinforcing Schmitz’s universalist themes of individualism and self-determination.
The story centers on Nile’s resourcefulness as a young female scientist who faces an alien invasion on Nandy-Cline, an isolated water world.
As prelude to a wider invasion, the aggressive amphibian Parahuans have stealthily invaded Nandy-Cline to gather information about the Federation’s strengths and weaknesses.
Trapped on a floating-plant island that the previously defeated Parahuans (believed wiped out 70 years ago) are preparing to take over, Nile strives to stay alive, working only with two intelligent mutated otters as allies.
Her ultimate goals include using guerrilla tactics to try to rescue an imprisoned friend and sending a message to the rest of the population and her interstellar Federation’s warships, while doing everything possible to impede the alien invaders and demonstrate how difficult it would be to invade and take over humans.
Most intriguingly, Schmitz shows us more of how the Hub is governed and what its “over government” thinks it’s doing – which is a kind of libertarian alternative to war, based not on centralization and regimentation but on encouraging individual adaptability and initiative.
THE FULL LIST OF HALL OF FAME NOMINEES
Here, for the record, are the 10 Hall of Fame nominees for the 2025 Prometheus Awards, listed in chronological order of publication or recording:
“As Easy as A.B.C.,” by Rudyard Kipling (1912), a novelette
That Hideous Strength, by C.S. Lewis (1945), a novel
“Death and the Senator,” by Arthur C. Clarke (1961), a short story
“Ultima Thule,” by Mack Reynolds (1961), a novella
“Conquest by Default,” by Vernor Vinge (1968), a novelette
The Demon Breed, by James H. Schmitz (1968), a novel
“The Trees,” by Rush (1978), a song
Orion Shall Rise, by Poul Anderson (1984), a novel
Between the Rivers, by Harry Turtledove (1998), a novel
Singularity Sky, by Charles Stross (2003), a novel
For more information about all 10 works listed above, visit the Prometheus Blog’s announcement of the Hall of Fame nominees.
For capsule review/descriptions of the two oldest works nominated, check out the recent Prometheus Blog post about Rudyard Kipling’s 1912 novelette “As Easy as A.B.C.” and C.S. Lewis’ 1945 novel That Hideous Strength.
Read the capsule reviews of the two Hall of Fame nominees first published in 1961: Arthur C. Clarke’s short story “Death and the Senator” and Mack Reynolds’ novella “Ultima Thule.”
Coming up: Part 4 of our series offering capsule review/descriptions of each of this year’s Prometheus Hall of Fame nominees.
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PROMETHEUS AWARDS:
* Prometheus winners: For the full list of Prometheus winners, finalists and nominees – including the annual Best Novel and Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame) categories and occasional Special Awards – visit the enhanced Prometheus Awards page on the LFS website, which now includes convenient links to all published essay-reviews in our Appreciation series explaining why each of more than 100 past winners since 1979 fits the awards’ distinctive dual focus on both quality and liberty.
* Read “The Libertarian History of Science Fiction,” an essay in the international magazine Quillette that favorably highlights the Prometheus Awards, the Libertarian Futurist Society and the significant element of libertarian sf/fantasy in the evolution of the modern genre.
* Watch videos of past Prometheus Awards ceremonies (including the recent 2023 ceremony with inspiring and amusing speeches by Prometheus-winning authors Dave Freer and Sarah Hoyt), Libertarian Futurist Society panel discussions with noted sf authors and leading libertarian writers, and other LFS programs on the Prometheus Blog’s Video page.
* Check out the Libertarian Futurist Society’s Facebook page for comments, updates and links to Prometheus Blog posts.
* Join us! To help sustain the Prometheus Awards and support a cultural and literary strategy to appreciate and honor freedom-loving fiction, join the Libertarian Futurist Society, a non-profit all-volunteer association of freedom-loving sf/fantasy fans.
