{"id":10675,"date":"2026-04-30T00:04:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T05:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/?p=10675"},"modified":"2026-04-28T20:20:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T01:20:07","slug":"robert-kroese-launches-five-novel-series-ransoms-law-a-five-novel-sf-series-about-corporate-law-in-an-interstellar-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/robert-kroese-launches-five-novel-series-ransoms-law-a-five-novel-sf-series-about-corporate-law-in-an-interstellar-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Kroese launches five-novel series Ransom\u2019s Law, a five-novel SF series about corporate law in an interstellar future\u2028"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Michael Grossberg<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Prometheus-nominated SF author Robert Kroese has launched an ambitious five-novel series about corporate law in an interstellar and entrepreneurial future.<\/p>\n

Acceleration Clause,<\/i> published April 29 in 255 pages by St. Culain Press, is the first book in Kroese\u2019s Ransom\u2019s Law series about a corporate lawyer struggling to find new footing after a career misstep as part of a spaceship repossession crew.<\/p>\n

Kroese is of interest to Libertarian Futurist Society members because he was nominated for the Prometheus Award for Best Novel in 2022 for Titan: Mammon Book 1.<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From the publisher\u2019s description, his new Ransom\u2019s Law series looks like it might fit the focus of our awards:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe used to weaponize contracts from a desk. Now he enforces them at gunpoint in deep space.<\/p>\n

\u201cCal Ransom is a corporate lawyer with a career in freefall\u2014and TrustUs! has found the perfect use for him: indenture on a spaceship repossession crew. His first assignment is straightforward on paper: recover the Celestial Aura, a missing research vessel last seen heading for the dead Koschei system. Except three other repo ships are already racing toward the same prize. Which means someone leaked the mission. And since Cal is the new guy, he\u2019s the obvious suspect.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the Hard Bargain closes on Koschei, the job turns into a three-way scramble for possession, with rival crews, corporate secrets, and a target ship that doesn\u2019t behave like any ship should\u2014because something aboard the Celestial Aura is talking back.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo survive, Cal will have to out-argue killers, outmaneuver a hidden power with its own enforcement muscle, and decide how much of the law he\u2019s willing to break to keep breathing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Acceleration Clause<\/em> and its four planned sequels are recommended for fans of \u201chard-edged space opera with tactical action, corporate intrigue and legal chess moves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

According to Kroese, each of the five novels in the Ransom\u2019s Law series will be published in print and ebook formats over the next five months.<\/p>\n

Acceleration Clause <\/i>will be followed in May by Book 2, Adverse Possession.<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Book 3, Discovery Motion, <\/i>is set for publication in June.<\/p>\n

Book 4, Force Majeure, i<\/i>s planned for publication in July.<\/i><\/p>\n

And August will see the conclusion of the series with Book 5, Alien Title.
\n<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

From the description, the apparent focus on law and contracts as a way of resolving disputes and as an alternative to the use of force seems intriguing and relevant to fans of freedom-loving science fiction.<\/p>\n

But of course, we\u2019ll have to wait and see – and LFS members will have to read and report on the novels in the Ransom\u2019s Law as they appear to confirm whether they do in fact fit the distinctive focus of the Prometheus Awards.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Meanwhile, the praise Kroese’s early Prometheus-nominated Mammon series received may be suggestive:<\/p>\n

“Mammon will scratch your itch for cranky libertarian sci-fi. Looking forward to the next part!” – John Carmack, creator of Doom and founder of Armadillo Aerospace<\/p>\n

“\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605 This is a compelling page turner and, once again, Kroese… not only gets the economics of hyperinflation absolutely correct, but, in the best tradition of science fiction, \u201cshows, not tells\u201d the psychology which grips those experiencing it and how rapidly the thin veneer of civilisation can erode when money dies.” – John Walker, Founder of Autodesk, Inc., co-author AutoCAD, author The Hacker’s Diet, operator of Fourmilab\u2028\u2028”<\/p>\n

“\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605 Kroese did his homework on financial bubbles, panics, mass psychosis, social collapse, cryptocurrency, and hyper-inflation…. [B]etter than Lucifer’s Hammer, and spookily realistic.” – Hans Schantz, physicist and author of The Hidden Truth\u2028\u2028<\/em><\/p>\n

For more information, visit Kroese\u2019s website at BadNovelist.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

ABOUT THE LFS AND THE PROMETHEUS AWARDS<\/b><\/p>\n

*\u00a0Join us!<\/b> To help sustain the Prometheus Awards and support a cultural and literary strategy to appreciate and honor freedom-loving fiction, \u00a0join<\/a> the Libertarian Futurist Society, a non-profit all-volunteer international association of freedom-loving sf\/fantasy fans.<\/p>\n

Libertarian futurists understand that culture matters. We believe that literature and the arts can be vital in envisioning a freer and better future. In some ways, culture can be even more influential and powerful than politics in the long run, by imagining better visions of the future incorporating peace, prosperity, progress, tolerance, justice, positive social change, and mutual respect for each other\u2019s rights, human dignity, individuality and peaceful choices.<\/p>\n

* Prometheus winners:\u00a0<\/b>For a full list of Prometheus winners, finalists and nominees \u2013 including in the annual Best Novel and Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame) categories and occasional Special Awards \u2013 visit the enhanced \u00a0Prometheus Awards page<\/a>\u00a0on the LFS website. This page includes convenient links to all published essay-reviews in our Appreciation series explaining why each of the 106 works that have won a Prometheus since 1979 fits the awards\u2019 distinctive dual focus on both quality and liberty.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0Watch videos of past Prometheus Awards ceremonies, Libertarian Futurist Society panel discussions with noted sf authors and leading libertarian writers, and other LFS programs on the Prometheus Blog\u2019s\u00a0Video page.<\/a><\/p>\n

* Read \u201cThe Libertarian History of Science Fiction,\u201d<\/a> an essay in the international magazine\u00a0Quillette<\/i>\u00a0that favorably highlights the Prometheus Awards, the Libertarian Futurist Society and the significant element of libertarian sf\/fantasy in the evolution of the modern genre.<\/p>\n

* Check out the Libertarian Futurist Society\u2019s Facebook page<\/a> for comments, updates and links to the latest Prometheus Blog posts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Michael Grossberg Prometheus-nominated SF author Robert Kroese has launched an ambitious five-novel series about corporate law in an interstellar and entrepreneurial future. Acceleration Clause, published April 29 in 255 pages by St. Culain Press, is the first book in Kroese\u2019s Ransom\u2019s Law series about a corporate lawyer struggling to find new footing after a … Continue reading Robert Kroese launches five-novel series Ransom\u2019s Law, a five-novel SF series about corporate law in an interstellar future\u2028<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[2837,1228,2835,2836,1483,1490],"class_list":["post-10675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-acceleration-clause","tag-adverse-possession","tag-mammon-series","tag-ransoms-law","tag-robert-kroese","tag-titan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe8nGl-2Mb","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10675"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10683,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10675\/revisions\/10683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}