![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/The-Winter-of-the-World-3200_.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSo here is an overview of each 2021 finalist \u2013 Poul Anderson\u2019s The Winter of the World,<\/em> Rudyard Kipling\u2019s story \u201cAs Easy as A.B.C.,\u201d Rush\u2019s song \u201cThe Trees\u201d, Jack Vance\u2019s novel Emphyrio<\/em> and F. Paul Wilson\u2019s story \u201cLipidleggin\u2019\u201d – and the different places and editions and formats where they are available.<\/p>\n The Winter of the World<\/a><\/strong>, a 1975 novel by Poul Anderson, envisions a distant future Earth whose civilizations are recovering from the destructive impact of an ice age. A rising imperial power based at the future mouth of the Mississippi River seeks to conquer the thinly populated lands to the north and meets unexpected opposition.<\/p>\n Anderson\u2019s novel can be found in a Kindle combined edition: Two Novels of Far-Future Apocalypse: The Winter of the World and Twilight World.<\/em> (available for $17.99 on Amazon.)<\/p>\n \u2028\u201cAs Easy as A.B.C.,\u201d a story by Rudyard Kipling\u00a0<\/strong>(first published in 1912 in\u00a0London Magazine<\/em>), the second of his \u201cairship utopia\u201d stories, envisions a twenty-first century world founded on free travel, the rule of law, and an inherited abhorrence of crowds. Officials of the Aerial Board of Control are summoned to the remote town of Chicago, which is convulsed by a small dissident group\u2019s demands for revival of the nearly forgotten institution of (note: non-liberal, majoritarian-tyranny) democracy.<\/p>\n Kipling\u2019s story \u2013 available as an Amazon Kindle ($4.99) \u2013 has been reprinted in many collections over the decades, including:<\/p>\n A Diversity of Creatures<\/em>\u00a0(Doubleday, 1917)<\/p>\n 17 X Infinity<\/em>, ed. Groff Conklin (Dell, 1963)<\/p>\n John Brunner Presents Kipling\u2019s Science Fiction<\/em>\u00a0(Tor, 1992)<\/p>\n The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories<\/em>, ed. Tom Shippey, (Oxford University Press, 1992)<\/p>\n The Science Fiction Century<\/em>, edited by David G. Hartwell (Tor, 1997)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trees,\u201d a song by Rush\u00a0<\/strong>(released 1978 on their album\u00a0Hemispheres<\/em>), presents a fable of envy, revolution, and coercive egalitarianism among the different kinds of trees that make up a forest.<\/p>\n The song can be heard and seen as performed by Rush in this Youtube video:\u00a0https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JnC88xBPkkc<\/a><\/p>\n The full song lyrics can be found and read by Googling these words: \u201cThe Trees\u201d Rush lyrics.<\/p>\n Here is an excerpt from the lyrics:<\/p>\n \u201cThere is unrest in the forest \u2026 There is trouble in the forest Emphyrio<\/a><\/strong>, a 1969 dystopian thriller novel by Jack Vance, portrays a world where skilled craftsmen are economically exploited by a state-imposed monopoly that markets their work to off-planet buyers, and prohibits the use of labor-saving devices and mass production. Assuming the name of a legendary hero, a young craftsman struggles against bureaucratic officials and aristocratic rulers, seeking the truth about his society and its history.<\/p>\n This novel is available in several different editions on Amazon (currently priced at $6.60 to $14.99 in paperback, $5.99 on Kindle, and $80 hardcover).<\/p>\n Plus, Emphyrio <\/em>is available as part of a combined print edition of four classic sf novels: American Science Fiction: Four Classic Novels 1968-1969.<\/em><\/p>\n This volume, edited by Gary K. Wolfe, includes Past Master,\u00a0<\/em>by R.A. Lafferty; Picnic on Paradise<\/em>, by Joanna Russ; Nova,\u00a0<\/em>by Samuel R. Delany, and Emphyrio,\u00a0<\/em>by Vance. According to the description of this edition, Vance\u2019s novel \u201chas been restored to the author\u2019s original text, without later editorial interventions.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cLipidleggin\u2019,\u201d a story by F. Paul Wilson\u00a0<\/strong>(first published 1978 in\u00a0Isaac Asimov\u2019s Science Fiction Magazine<\/em>), takes a humorous look at a future United States where saturated fats have become controlled substances.<\/p>\n Wilson\u2019s story can also be read free online at this link:<\/p>\n https:\/\/billstclair.com\/DoingFreedom\/000623\/df.0600.fa.lipidleggin.html<\/a><\/p>\n Also, as a reminder, most finalists also can be found at libraries (where if they don\u2019t have a copy, they can obtain one within a few days from another regional library in their network), at both new and used bookstores and of course online from various booksellers. So the above is far from a comprehensive list.<\/p>\n For more information, visit the LFS website’s Prometheus press releases<\/a> page to read the full LFS press release about the 2021 Hall of Fame finalists.<\/p>\n Happy reading – and happy holidays!<\/p>\n Coming up soon on the Prometheus Blog:\u00a0<\/strong>An Appreciation of Robert Heinlein’s Time Enough for Love,<\/em> the 1998 Prometheus Hall of Fame winner for Best Classic Fiction; and H. Beam Piper and John McGuire\u2019s A Planet for Texans\u00a0<\/i>(aka Lone Star Planet)<\/i>, the 1999 Prometheus Hall of Fame winner.<\/p>\n * Read the\u00a0introductory\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>essay<\/b>\u00a0 about the LFS\u2019 40th\u00a0<\/sup>anniversary retrospective series of Appreciations of past Prometheus Awards winners, with an overview of the awards\u2019 four-decade history.<\/p>\n *\u00a0Other Prometheus winners:\u00a0<\/strong>For a full list of winners \u2013 for the annual Best Novel and Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame) categories and occasional Special Awards \u2013 visit the recently updated and enhanced\u00a0Prometheus Awards page\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>on the LFS website.<\/p>\n * Read \u00a0\u201cThe Libertarian History of Science Fiction,\u201d<\/strong><\/a>an essay in the June 2020 issue of the international magazine\u00a0Quintette\u00a0<\/i>that favorably highlights the Prometheus Awards, the Libertarian Futurist Society and the significant element of libertarian sf\/fantasy in the modern sf\/fantasy genre.<\/p>\n * Join us<\/strong>! To help sustain the Prometheus Awards,\u00a0join<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>the Libertarian Futurist Society (LFS), a non-profit all-volunteer association of freedom-loving sf\/fantasy fans. Libertarian futurists believe culture is as vital as politics (and often more productive and fulfilling in the longer run) in spreading positive visions of the future and achieving universal individual rights and a better world (perhaps eventually, worlds) for all.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n A 1912 story, 1969 novel, 1975 novel, 1978 rock song and 1978 story have been selected by LFS judges as finalists for the 2021 Prometheus Hall of Fame for Best Classic Fiction. But where can you find them? Two finalists \u2013 the song and a story \u2013 are easy to access, being online and free. … Continue reading Where to find the 2021 Prometheus Hall of Fame finalists for Best Classic Fiction<\/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":[31,10],"tags":[938,937,935,595,933,70,3,936,6,46,268,866,266,270,934],"class_list":["post-2755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-awards-news","category-news","tag-as-easy-as-a-b-c","tag-lipidleggin","tag-amazon","tag-best-classic-fiction","tag-emphyrio","tag-f-paul-wilson","tag-jack-vance","tag-libraries","tag-poul-anderson","tag-prometheus-awards","tag-prometheus-hall-of-fame","tag-rudyard-kipling","tag-rush","tag-the-trees","tag-the-winter-of-the-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe8nGl-Ir","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2755","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=2755"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2774,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2755\/revisions\/2774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>In particular, we hope this informal guide will be helpful to Libertarian Futurist Society members, who have the right to nominate works in all Prometheus Award categories and the option to read all Hall of Fame finalists over the next half year and to rank these finalists on their vote in May and June to help select the annual winner.<\/p>\n<\/a>Also, the original 1975 publication is still available on Amazon in hardback (new from $9.99, used from $2.50 and as a collectible from $12), in the 1976paperback (from $3.33 used, and $8.97 as a collectible) and in a mass-market paperback (from $7 new and $2.99 used).<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nThere is trouble with the trees
\nFor the maples want more sunlight
\nAnd the oaks ignore their pleas
\nThe trouble with the maples
\nAnd they\u2019re quite convinced they\u2019re right
\nThey say the oaks are just too lofty
\nAnd they grab up all the light\u2026<\/p>\n
\nAnd the creatures all have fled
\nAs the maples scream, \u201coppression\u201d
\nAnd the oaks just shake their heads
\nSo the maples formed a union
\nAnd demanded equal rights
\n\u201cThe oaks are just too greedy
\nWe will make them give us light\u201d
\nNow there\u2019s no more oak oppression
\nFor they passed a noble law
\nAnd the trees are all kept equal
\nBy hatchet
\nAxe
\nAnd saw.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>The rationale for this collection, the second volume of a two-volume set, is that it gathers \u201cthe best American science fiction from the tumultuous 1960s.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>The story was published in the anthology The Survival of Freedom <\/em>and was reprinted in recent editions of Wilson\u2019s novel An Enemy of the State <\/em>(2001 and 2005 editions.)<\/p>\n