Storm-Dragon, a 2026 Prometheus Best Novel finalist, offers an entertaining tale embodying golden-age SF themes of initiative, imagination, resilience and self-reliance.
Dave Freer’s Young Adult novel appeals to adults, too — especially those of us who grew up reading YA novels by Robert Heinlein and Andre Norton.
The novelrevolves arounda boy who adopts an intelligent-alien pet on Vann’s World, an ocean-dominated planet with a small human colony facing dangers alien and human, visible and hidden.
Even after all of the inspiring, thought-provoking and occasionally poignant or amusing speeches by presenters and acceptors, the45th Prometheus Awards ceremony was worth watching through the very end of its 48 minutes.
David Friedman (Photo provided by Friedman)
During the post-ceremony Q&A discussions of the live Zoom event (recorded and later posted on YouTube), guest Hall of Fame presenter David Friedman offered interesting and revealing comments on a wide variety of science-fiction novelists – including Poul Anderson, the 2025 Hall of Fame winner for his novel Orion Shall Rise; Robert Heinlein, Jerry Pournelle and Vernor Vinge.
C.J. Cherryh in the 1990s (File photo)
A leading economist and libertarian theorist and author of half a dozen non-fiction books, Friedman’s views are worth quoting – especially because he understands the challenges of writing fantastical fiction from his own experience as a Prometheus-nominated writer of three fantasy novels: Harald, Salamander and Brothers.
Here is what Friedman had to say about C.J. Cherryh, among half a dozen sf authors that he commented on in the post-ceremony question period.
Storm-Dragon, a 2026 Prometheus Best Novel finalist, offers an entertaining tale embodying golden-age SF themes of initiative, imagination, resilience and self-reliance.
