{"id":5039,"date":"2022-10-25T20:52:12","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T01:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lfs.org\/blog\/?p=5039"},"modified":"2024-05-10T19:41:46","modified_gmt":"2024-05-11T00:41:46","slug":"real-world-entrepreneurship-advancing-humanity-across-our-solar-system-an-appreciation-of-wil-mccarthys-rich-mans-sky-the-2022-prometheus-best-novel-winner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/real-world-entrepreneurship-advancing-humanity-across-our-solar-system-an-appreciation-of-wil-mccarthys-rich-mans-sky-the-2022-prometheus-best-novel-winner\/","title":{"rendered":"Real-world entrepreneurship advancing humanity across our solar system: An Appreciation of Wil McCarthy\u2019s Rich Man\u2019s Sky, the 2022 Prometheus Best Novel winner"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Rich Man\u2019s Sky,\u00a0<\/em>the 2022 Prometheus winner for Best Novel, brims with the excitement, adventure, uncertainties and anxieties of real-world entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Wil McCarthy\u2019s kaleidoscopic novel, which thrillingly ventures beyond our Earth to chart the exploration, colonization and industrialization of our solar system, realistically and insightfully portrays the inevitably messy and risky progress of free men and women pursuing various goals through the cooperation of free markets.<\/p>\n

Yet, the 291-page Baen Books novel \u2013 which launches a projected trilogy \u2013 also perceptively contrasts markets, warts and all, with the grimier and darker realities of politics \u2013 which unlike the voluntary transactions of the marketplace, unavoidably involves various forms and degrees of coercion, outright violence or the threat of violence and thus leads to some benefiting unjustly at the expense of others.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

McCarthy\u2019s understanding of age-old human psychology as well as the challenges inherent in new technology grounds his episodic novel in plausible dramatic conflicts as fearful governments and competing interests plot to undermine some of the more audacious space ventures led by four very different billionaires.
\n
\n<\/strong>As the billionaires (actually \u201ctrillionaires,\u201d dubbed the Four Horsemen by Earth\u2019s suspicious governments and media) propel humanity\u2019s expansion beyond Earth, McCarthy\u2019s writing conjures an epic mosaic of ambition, desire, fear and hope.<\/p>\n

While one billionaire aims at settling Mars with a 100-person lottery, another plans more long-range for the first human interstellar trip to Proxima Centauri.<\/p>\n

Yet another billionaire, of murkier motivations and accustomed to darker manipulations, is a Russian gangster-oligarch who runs a refueling station and is eager to seize control of lunar colonies and Earth-orbiting space stations.<\/p>\n

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

Meanwhile, the British fourth Horseman, Sir Lawrence, has invested much of his fortune in developing a grand, near-city-sized aerial-balloon-ship, but his more ambitious plans largely haven\u2019t gotten that far off the ground yet.<\/p>\n

This latter subplot, one of several introduced in Rich Man\u2019s Sky but not yet fleshed out much, sparks anticipation and expectations about how McCarthy may develop some characters and plot lines more centrally in his projected sequel, Poor Man\u2019s Sky <\/em>(Baen Books, January 2023) and Beggar\u2019s Sky<\/em>, the trilogy\u2019s unscheduled finale that is now being written.<\/p>\n

ENSURING FREE ACCESS TO SPACE<\/strong><\/p>\n

McCarthy\u2019s rich and dense novel imagines a wide variety of such massive and expensive long-term projects across the solar system – set up on and off Earth, in near-Earth orbit, on the Moon, at L5 points, on an experimental habitat near the moon, and heading towards Mars and beyond. Overall, it\u2019s a fascinating future, and one many people might wish to live in.<\/p>\n

Such mega-projects demand new technology \u2013 for terraforming, interstellar propulsion and hibernation for long space voyages, among other things \u2013 and McCarthy makes such developments plausible and interesting.<\/p>\n

Writing in his private diary, perhaps for posterity, one billionaire Horseman observes toward the end of the novel: \u201cThe very governments that have declined to meet the demand of ordinary people for access to space, are now throwing muscle around to prevent private parties from doing it for them. This shameful demonstration is no doubt meant to intimidate, and it succeeds handily\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it makes an opposite point as well, that space-based enterprise must do its level utmost to cut these ties and dependencies, so people like (the US president) can only watch and ask, as opposed to dictate.”<\/p>\n

CHALLENGING STEREOTYPES OF THE RICH<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of the \u201cFour Horsemen\u201d ultimately prove to be mostly admirable, and some not, but McCarthy makes all four real people, each with various strengths and flaws and a variety of ambitious goals, as they spearhead game-changing private-enterprise projects that governments aren\u2019t able or willing to do.<\/p>\n

Each aims to fulfill their dreams and get the job done, no matter what obstacles may arise from politics, economics, society, technology or science.<\/p>\n

Mostly, the implicit libertarian and anti-authoritarian themes emerge slowly but naturally, as different interests maneuver and scheme and a fearful and controlling government sends a clandestine mission to subvert the most dangerous space effort involving a solar shield.<\/p>\n

Despite its male-oriented title, Rich Man\u2019s Sky <\/em>focuses on several strong women characters \u2013 including one subplot in which female space colonists participate in a breeding experiment on a distant space habitat.<\/p>\n

One of the most suspenseful threads in McCarthy\u2019s mosaic follows a team of elite military women sent into space to infiltrate one billionaire\u2019s visionary and idealistic space project before he can change the world \u2013 for good and (as some fear) for ill.<\/p>\n

A focal point of the novel is Alice, a former experienced US Air Force medic assigned to violently take control of the solar shield. Built halfway between the Earth and the sun, the shield \u2013 if misused \u2013 could spark an ice age or threaten some parts of our planet with much colder or warmer weather, disrupting international politics.<\/p>\n

Overall, this hard-science Heinlein-esque tale of State-threatened market innovations in space persuasively counters anti-capitalist stereotypes.<\/p>\n

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

Beyond its implicit critique of what Austrian-school economist Ludwig von Mises billed as the Anti-Capitalist Mentality,<\/a> Rich Man\u2019s Sky\u00a0<\/em>further illuminates today\u2019s real-world issues by dramatizing the vast possibilities for voluntary cooperation and progress based on investment, cooperation, and scientific\/tech innovations.<\/p>\n

Today, reflecting age-old prejudices and economic ignorance, many continue to vilify the wealthy (the super-rich, even more so). Yet, many of those same critics paradoxically excuse, minimize, hide or ignore State aggression, assassination, spying, sabotage and other abuses from \u201cthrowing muscle around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rich Man\u2019s Sky,\u00a0<\/em>by welcome contrast, exposes the limitations and downside of coercive government while fairly portraying each billionaire as an individual \u2013 and without demonizing the rich.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Wil McCarthy surrounded by books (Photo: Baen Books)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Biographical note:<\/strong> Wil McCarthy, a prolific sf author, has published the novels\u00a0Aggressor Six, The Fall of Sirius\u00a0Bloom, Flies From the Amber, Murder in the Solid State<\/em>; the short-story anthology\u00a0Once Upon a Galaxy <\/em>and a non-fiction book\u00a0Hacking Matter.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Novelist Wil McCarthy (Photo courtesy of Baen Books)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His acclaimed Queendom of Sol series encompasses the Nebula-Award-nominee\u00a0The<\/em>\u00a0Collapsium\u00a0<\/em>and its sequels\u00a0The\u00a0Wellstone, Lost in Transition\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0To Crush the Moon.<\/em><\/p>\n

A former contributing editor to\u00a0Wired<\/em>\u00a0magazine and a lifetime member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, McCarthy has been nominated for the Nebula, Locus, Seiun, Theodore Sturgeon and Philip K. Dick awards, and contributed to projects that won a Webbie, an Eppie, a Game Developers\u2019 Choice Award and a General Excellence National Magazine Award. His imaginary world of \u201cP2\/Sorrw\u201d was named one of the 10 best science-fiction planets of all time by\u00a0Discover<\/em>\u00a0magazine.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
SF author Will McCarthy in command of some sort of starship (Photo: Baen Books)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

McCarthy also has invested years in leading a solar technology company, served as science columnist for the SyFy Channel and chief technology officer for Galileo Shipyards, an aerospace research company. He previously worked as a flight controller for Lockheed Martin Space Launch Systems and later as an engineering manager for Omnitech Robotics. He holds patents of his own in seven countries, including 31 issued U.S. patents in The field of nanostructure optical materials.<\/p>\n

Rich Man\u2019s Sky <\/em>was<\/em>\u00a0the first McCarthy novel nominated for a Prometheus Award.<\/p>\n

Note: This Appreciation is an edited, updated and revised version of Michael Grossberg\u2019s initial June 2022 review<\/a> of Rich Man\u2019s Sky<\/em>, one of several reviews in the spring and early summer of the five 2022 Best Novel finalists, as LFS members were reading and voting to select the winner.<\/p>\n

Read the Prometheus Blog preview<\/strong><\/a> of McCarthy\u2019s projected sequels to Rich Man\u2019s Sky.<\/em><\/p>\n

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

*\u00a0Watch\u00a0<\/strong>videos <\/strong>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.<\/strong><\/a>
\n
\n<\/u><\/strong>* Prometheus winners:\u00a0<\/strong>For the list of Prometheus winners, finalists and nominees \u2013 for the annual Best Novel and Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame) categories and occasional Special Awards \u2013 visit the enhanced\u00a0Prometheus Awards page\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>on the LFS website, which now includes convenient links to the full set of published appreciation-reviews of past winners.<\/p>\n

* Read\u00a0\u201cThe Libertarian History of Science Fiction,\u201d<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0an essay in the international magazine\u00a0Quillette<\/em>\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

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

*\u00a0Join us<\/strong>! To help sustain the Prometheus Awards,\u00a0join\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>the Libertarian Futurist Society (LFS), a non-profit all-volunteer association of freedom-loving sf\/fantasy fans.<\/p>\n

Libertarian futurists believe that culture matters! We understand that the arts and literature can be vital, and in some ways even more powerful than politics in the long run, by sparking innovation, better ideas, positive social change, and mutual respect for each other\u2019s rights and differences.<\/p>\n

Through recognizing the literature of liberty and the many different but complementary visions of a free future via the Prometheus Awards, the LFS hopes to help spread better visions of the future that help humanity overcome tyranny, slavery and war and achieve universal liberty and human rights and a better world (perhaps eventually, worlds) for all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Michael Grossberg Rich Man\u2019s Sky,\u00a0the 2022 Prometheus winner for Best Novel, brims with the excitement, adventure, uncertainties and anxieties of real-world entrepreneurship. Wil McCarthy\u2019s kaleidoscopic novel, which thrillingly ventures beyond our Earth to chart the exploration, colonization and industrialization of our solar system, realistically and insightfully portrays the inevitably messy and risky progress of … Continue reading Real-world entrepreneurship advancing humanity across our solar system: An Appreciation of Wil McCarthy\u2019s Rich Man\u2019s Sky, the 2022 Prometheus Best Novel winner<\/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":[43,159,2353],"tags":[1540,1559,505,1603,1693,540,1025,1539,1487,1695,1694,1697,1696,1484],"class_list":["post-5039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appreciations","category-best-novels","category-book-reviews","tag-beggars-sky","tag-billionaires","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-four-horsemen","tag-lunar-colonies","tag-markets","tag-politics","tag-poor-mans-sky","tag-rich-mans-sky","tag-solar-shield","tag-space-stations","tag-the-collapsium","tag-the-wellstone","tag-wil-mccarthy"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe8nGl-1jh","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5039","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=5039"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5055,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5039\/revisions\/5055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}