Torchship trilogy – Prometheus Blog

The biggest novels in Prometheus history: An annotated list of the top dozen in page length (and why such epic works reward readers) 

Size matters – or at least it can make a big difference, in helping a novel to achieve greater dramatic impact in its scope, depth, narrative complexity and emotional power.

Quite a few longer novels have been recognized by the Prometheus Awards over the past 47 years, whether as nominees, finalists or winners – from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon and Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged to the recent nomination of Sarah Hoyt’s three-volume No Mans Land for the next Prometheus Award for Best Novel.

The three classic and epic works by Tolkien, Stephenson and Rand rank No. 1, 2 and 3 in page length in the history of the Prometheus Awards – as detailed in previous Prometheus Blog articles about the three bestselling winners and No Man’s Land.

So what are all the Prometheus-recognized novels and their ranks in page lengths on our top-12 list?

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Why leading libertarian, economist and novelist David Friedman admires the science fiction of Karl K. Gallagher  

By Michael Grossberg

Leading libertarian thinker and economist David D. Friedman counts himself a fan of science-fiction writer Karl K. Gallagher.

David Friedman (Photo provided by Friedman)

In a fascinating question and answer session at the end of the 45th Prometheus Awards ceremony, Friedman singled out just a few science fiction authors for praise – including Vernor Vinge, Robert Heinlein, C.J. Cherryh, Lois McMaster Bujold and Gallagher.

Karl K. Gallagher (2024 photo courtesy of Gallagher)

Gallagher’s novels are “well-written and interesting,” said Friedman, himself a Prometheus-nominated fantasy novelist.

Friedman, nominated for Harald, also has written Salamander, which he views as his favorite and best-written novel, and Brothers, a sequel to Harald.

Continue reading Why leading libertarian, economist and novelist David Friedman admires the science fiction of Karl K. Gallagher  

Ultimate Conclusions: Karl K. Gallagher’s first short-story collection on verge of publication

Karl K. Gallagher, a frequent Prometheus Best Novel finalist, is about to publish Ultimate Conclusions, his first collection of short stories.

Most stories in the anthology will be stories Gallagher has published in other collections or webzines, but several will be new.

“They range from the tale of an Amish boy on the Moon to visits with a Norse God and Death himself,” Gallagher said on Kickstarter, where he has been getting support for the project.

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The Karl Gallagher interview, part two: On the pleasures of writing, challenges of series, and what’s next in his Fall of the Censor series

Here is the second part of the Prometheus-blog interview with sf writer Karl K. Gallagher.

A 2022 Best Novel finalist for his Fall of the Censor novels Between Home and Ruin and Seize What’s Held Dear, Gallagher is in the midst of completing his projected nine-volume Censor series.

His fourth novel in the series, Captain Trader Helmsman Spy, was published in May.

Continue reading The Karl Gallagher interview, part two: On the pleasures of writing, challenges of series, and what’s next in his Fall of the Censor series

Interview: Frequent Prometheus-finalist Karl K. Gallagher on sf, growing up, and the roots of his Fall of the Censor series

SF author Karl K. Gallagher is in the midst of writing his ambitious multi-volume Fall of the Censor series, an interstellar saga set in the distant future.

The series, popular with libertarian sf fans, now includes four published novels, two of which became 2022 Best Novel finalists: Between Home and Ruin and Seize What’s Held Dear.

Author Karl K. Gallagher (Creative Commons license)

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Author update: Karl K. Gallagher continues writing his Fall of the Censor series

Author Karl K. Gallagher, a frequent Prometheus Awards nominee and Best Novel finalist, is keeping busy and catching up with an ambitious writing schedule – including a new novel just published: Captain Trader Helmsman Spy.

This is the fourth novel in the Fall of the Censor series for the Texas-based writer, currently a 2022 Best Novel finalist for two different novels (the second and third) in that series.

Captain Trader Helmsman Spy, published May 9, 2022 by Kelt Haven Press, focuses on an exploratory mission to gather more information about the authoritarian Censorate in the ongoing series about a complex interstellar conflict between two long-separated but newly connected sets of human-colonized solar systems – one relatively free and peaceful, blending diverse cultures through mutual trade, and the other near-totalitarian in its murderous control of many planets and Orwellian cancellation of history and culture.

Continue reading Author update: Karl K. Gallagher continues writing his Fall of the Censor series