A diverse slate of firsts and lasts: 11 Prometheus Best Novel nominees offer SF and fantasy, drama, mystery and satirical cautionary tales

By Michael Grossberg

Eleven 2024 novels have been nominated for the next Prometheus Award for Best Novel.

Writer Howard Andrew Jones (Photo courtesy of Baen Books)

Broadly embracing many forms of speculative fiction including science fiction, fantasy, dystopian cautionary tales and near-future political-tech thrillers, the diverse slate offers a wide variety and blends of genres, styles and themes – from the serious to the darkly satirical.

Two-time Prometheus winner Michael Flynn (Creative Commons license)

Most poignantly, this will be the last time that two authors are nominated for Best Novel because they’ve sadly passed away: Michael Flynn and Howard Andrew Jones.

Flynn, a two-time Prometheus winner for Best Novel, died in 2023 at 75.

Jones, a Best Novel finalist last year, died in January 2025.

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Championing cooperation over coercion: A Tor.com survey of some of the most intriguing sf, fantasy that finds alternatives to violence as the plot solution

Libertarian futurists champion peaceful, non-violent behavior over acts of aggression, whether committed by individuals, groups or governments.
In fact, modern libertarian political philosophy is based on the principle of non-aggression – coupled with self-ownership (and self-defense against aggression) as the core of property rights, the strongest and most practical base for all human rights, properly understood.
So it’s fascinating to read science fiction and fantasy that explores such themes.
In the latest issue of Tor.com, writer James Davis Nicoll surveys the sf/fantasy literature and offers several examples of works that fit that focus in “SFF Works In Which Violence is Not the Solution.”

Continue reading Championing cooperation over coercion: A Tor.com survey of some of the most intriguing sf, fantasy that finds alternatives to violence as the plot solution