Best of the blog 2024, part three: Reviews of Naomi Kritzer’s controversial Liberty’s Daughter, Wil McCarthy’s first-contact sequel Beggar’s Sky, Sandra Newman’s Orwell-inspired Julia, and Salman Rushdie’s liberal/libertarian novel Victory City


By Michael Grossberg

While most reviews published on the Prometheus blog tend to focus on our Best Novel or Best Classic Fiction finalists or winners, other works deserve attention, too.

As time permits, and when nominated (or nominatable) works capture our attention and stimulate both enjoyment and further thoughts, we strive to bring it to the attention of Libertarian Futurist Society members and the wider public by writing about it – hopefully, in ways that make it clear how the work is relevant to Prometheus Award themes.

Here are excerpts from four such novels of note that we reviewed in 2024 – and that continue to deserve recognition and wide readership:

Continue reading Best of the blog 2024, part three: Reviews of Naomi Kritzer’s controversial Liberty’s Daughter, Wil McCarthy’s first-contact sequel Beggar’s Sky, Sandra Newman’s Orwell-inspired Julia, and Salman Rushdie’s liberal/libertarian novel Victory City


Review: The pros and cons of “libertarian” seasteading communities in Naomi Kritzer’s Liberty’s Daughter

By Michael Grossberg

It’s nice to see more sf writers exploring various visions of a fully free future – even writers who aren’t avowed libertarians.

Case in point: Naomi Kritzer, whose Liberty’s Daughter (published by Fairwood Press) is one of 17 diverse 2023 works nominated for the next Prometheus Award for Best Novel.

Well-written and well-paced, with believable characters, an interesting plot and setting and a controversial theme, Liberty’s Daughter explores the drawbacks and benefits of a constellation of linked seasteading communities, most set up with libertarian rationales.

Continue reading Review: The pros and cons of “libertarian” seasteading communities in Naomi Kritzer’s Liberty’s Daughter

A guide to the Best Novel nominees, Part 3: Capsule descriptions of Liberty’s Daughter, Paul Lynch’s Prophet Song, and Sandra Newman’s Julia

By Michael Grossberg

Here is Part 3 of the Prometheus Blog guide to this year’s Best Novel nominees, an effort to illuminate why LFS members nominated 17 2023 sf/fantasy novels for the next Prometheus Award.

These capsule descriptions also aim to highlight the diverse range of novels nominated while outlining how each nominee fits the distinctive focus of the Prometheus Awards.

The nominees highlighted in Part 3, alphabetized by author, include Naomi Kritzer’s Liberty’s Daughter, Paul Lynch’s Prophet Song, and Sandra Newman’s Julia.

Continue reading A guide to the Best Novel nominees, Part 3: Capsule descriptions of Liberty’s Daughter, Paul Lynch’s Prophet Song, and Sandra Newman’s Julia