Martha Wells – Prometheus Blog

Bradbury, Heinlein, Le Guin, Vonnegut stories ranked among the 26 best SF stories by New Scientist 

E.M. Forster isn’t the only Prometheus-recognized author on New Scientist’s intriguing list of the 26 best science fiction/fantasy stories of all time.

Kurt Vonnegut in 1972 (Creative Commons license)

Although Forster’s “The Machine Stop” is the only story on the list specifically inducted into the Prometheus Hall of Fame, as described in a recent Prometheus blog post, several other enduring authors have stories on the magazine’s list – just not the ones our award has recognized.

Ursula K. Le Guin (Creative Commons license)

Among those writers: Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Ursula K. Le Guin and Kurt Vonnegut.

It’s interesting to see which of their stories are recognized by the magazine, and why.

Continue reading Bradbury, Heinlein, Le Guin, Vonnegut stories ranked among the 26 best SF stories by New Scientist 

“Rapport: – A new Martha Wells’ Murderbot story has just been published, free to read at Reactor

If you’re a Murderbot fan, here’s some good news.

Reactor has just published a Murderbot novelette by series author Martha Wells. And it’s free to read.

Titled “Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy,” Wells’ new novelette can be read as a stand-alone but related story for those who have read Artificial Condition, the second book in The Murderbot Diaries.

Many Libertarian Futurist Society members have read Wells’ Prometheus-nominated series about a rogue security robot who secretly gains free will – especially her first four books including Artificial Condition.

So the new story should be of great interest, and also easy to read in context.

Continue reading “Rapport: – A new Martha Wells’ Murderbot story has just been published, free to read at Reactor

Apple TV’s entertaining adaptation of Wells’ Murderbot stories reflects their libertarian themes of free will, anti-slavery and bodily autonomy

By Michael Grossberg

It’s not that often that a Prometheus-award-recognized novel or story is adapted to the large or small screen.

So it’s newsworthy, as well as something of a relief, to report that the Apple TV+ new streaming series of Murderbot is pretty entertaining.

Martha Wells’ Murderbot stories and novels have won Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards, and have been nominated for the Prometheus Award, where her first set of novellas was recognized as a Best Novel finalist. So hopes were high for the TV series, which began streaming in May.

Based on the suspenseful and intelligent half-hour episodes of its first season, Apple TV’s series seems faithful to Well’s acclaimed series of novellas and novels about a rogue security robot who secretly gains free will.

Continue reading Apple TV’s entertaining adaptation of Wells’ Murderbot stories reflects their libertarian themes of free will, anti-slavery and bodily autonomy

Achieving personhood, escaping slavery and defending bodily autonomy: Why Martha Wells’ bestselling Murderbot series appeals to libertarian SF fans 

By Michael Grossberg

Martha Wells, author of the Murderbot series (Creative Commons license)

Martha Wells’ Murderbot novellas and novels have become bestsellers and award-winners.

Besides winning Hugo and Nebula and Locus awards, various works in the series also have been recognized with Prometheus Award nominations, resulting in the first four linked novellas being selected together as a Best Novel finalist.

The Murderbot series has now been adapted into an Apple TV+ streaming series starring Alexander Skarsgard.

Why are these stories so popular – not only with SF fans in general but libertarian SF fans in particular?

Continue reading Achieving personhood, escaping slavery and defending bodily autonomy: Why Martha Wells’ bestselling Murderbot series appeals to libertarian SF fans 

TOR publishes three-volume set of Martha Wells’ Prometheus-nominated Murderbot novellas

By Michael Grossberg

Good news for Murderbot fans: All of the novellas in Martha Wells’ acclaimed, bestselling and Prometheus-nominated series about a self-aware robot have been bound together in paperback for the first time.

The three-volume set – accessibly but unimaginatively titled The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 1, 2 and 3 – has been published by TOR Books, to capitalize on the Apple TV new TV series based on the stories.

The set includes all four Murderbot novellas that were combined into one 2019 Prometheus Best Novel nomination and went on to be selected among that year’s finalists: All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol and Exit Strategy.

Network Effect, a full-length Murderbot novel, also was nominated for a Prometheus Award in 2021 in the Best Novel category.

Continue reading TOR publishes three-volume set of Martha Wells’ Prometheus-nominated Murderbot novellas

Forster, Bradbury, Heinlein, Le Guin, Vonnegut stories ranked among the 26 best SF stories by New Scientist 

By Michael Grossberg

Several Prometheus-recognized authors are included on New Scientist’s intriguing list of the 26 best science fiction/fantasy stories of all time.

E.M. Forster’s “The Machine Stops” is the only story on the magazine’s list previously inducted into the Libertarian Futurist Society’s Prometheus Hall of Fame. Yet, several other enduring and Prometheus-winning authors have classic stories on the magazine’s list – just not the ones our award has recognized.

Among them: Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Ursula K. Le Guin and Kurt Vonnegut.

It’s interesting to see which of their stories are recognized by the magazine, and why.

Continue reading Forster, Bradbury, Heinlein, Le Guin, Vonnegut stories ranked among the 26 best SF stories by New Scientist 

Two Prometheus Best Novel finalist authors recognized as Dragon Awards’ Best SF Novel finalists; winners to be announced at Dragon Con

The Dragon Awards, presented annually at Dragon Con in Atlanta, have announced their 2024 finals – and one of this year’s Prometheus Best Novel finalists is among them.

Plus, among its finalist competitors is an author and her series previously recognized as a Prometheus Best Novel finalist.

So congratulations to Devon Eriksen and Martha Wells!

Continue reading Two Prometheus Best Novel finalist authors recognized as Dragon Awards’ Best SF Novel finalists; winners to be announced at Dragon Con

British Science Fiction Association Awards’ 2023 long list includes several Prometheus-nominated authors

Prometheus-winning author Charles Stross and Prometheus-finalists Martha Wells and John Scalzi are on the BSFA list.

So is Sandra Newman, author of Julia, the acclaimed sequel to Orwell’s 1984 that’s recently been nominated along with a dozen other 2023 novels for the next Prometheus Award for Best Novel.

What list are they on? It’s the fascinating and far-flung long list of nominees for the BSFA Awards, recently announced for works published in 2023.

Sponsored by the British Science Fiction Association, the BSFA awards have been presented annually since 1970 – and can be a harbinger of the Hugos, the Nebulas and other major sf/fantasy awards.

The BSFA awards also overlap to some extent with the Prometheus Awards over the decades, recognizing several of our favorite writers.

Continue reading British Science Fiction Association Awards’ 2023 long list includes several Prometheus-nominated authors

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

LFS judges weigh slate of Best Novel nominees

Eleven novels have been nominated by Libertarian Futurist Society members for the 2021 Prometheus Award for Best Novel.

These novels, published 2020, reflect a wide range of subjects, styles and settings – from the day after tomorrow to the distant future, and from right here on Earth to far-flung solar systems.

Yet, each novel in some way illuminates the value and meaning of freedom, explores the ethics and benefits of cooperation over coercion, and/or dramatizes the dangers of tyranny, aggression, war and authoritarianism in its myriad forms of the Left or Right.

Continue reading LFS judges weigh slate of Best Novel nominees