{"id":8296,"date":"2024-11-07T00:01:45","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T06:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/?p=8296"},"modified":"2024-11-07T17:55:28","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T23:55:28","slug":"prometheus-hall-of-fame-nominees-capsule-reviews-of-the-rush-song-the-trees-and-andersons-novel-orion-shall-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/prometheus-hall-of-fame-nominees-capsule-reviews-of-the-rush-song-the-trees-and-andersons-novel-orion-shall-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"Prometheus Hall of Fame nominees, part 4: Capsule reviews of the Rush song \u201cThe Trees\u201d and Anderson\u2019s novel Orion Shall Rise\u2028"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Unlike the annual Prometheus Award for Best Novel, the other annual Prometheus category for Best Classic Fiction is open to works being renominated.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Neal Peart, Rush drummer and songwriter of “The Trees.” Credit: Creative Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of the 10 works of fiction nominated for the next Prometheus Hall of Fame for Best Classic Fiction, three are returning nominees after reaching the level last year of Hall of Fame finalists.<\/p>\n

One is the Rush fantasy-fable song \u201cThe Trees,\u201d first recorded in 1978.<\/p>\n

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

The other is Poul Anderson\u2019s novel Orion Shall Rise, <\/i>published in 1984.<\/p>\n

Here, in the fourth part of the Prometheus Blog\u2019s series about this year\u2019s Hall of Fame nominees, are capsule review-descriptions of those two finalists.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

RUSH\u2019S \u201cTHE TREES\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201dThe Trees,” a 1978 song by Rush, was released on the Canadian rock group’s album “Hemispheres”.<\/p>\n

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

The lyrics are by Neil Peart and the music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. Clearly framed within the fantasy genre and a cautionary tale, the song warns against coerced equality in a beast fable \u2013 or in this case, a \u201ctree fable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peart poetically present a Nature-based fable of envy, \u201coppression\u201d and misguided revolution motivated by a true-believer ideology of coercive egalitarianism.<\/p>\n

The survival and individuality of different kinds of trees \u2013 both agitating Maples and lofty Oaks \u2013 are threatened when a seemingly \u201cnoble law\u201d is adopted in the forest to keep the trees “equal by hatchet, axe and saw.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information, read the full Prometheus Blog review of \u201cThe Trees,\u201d one of last year\u2019s Hall of Fame finalists.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Poul Anderson (Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

ANDERSON\u2019S<\/b> ORION SHALL RISE
\n<\/b>
\nOrion Shall Rise,<\/i> a 1983 novel (Timescape) by frequent Prometheus winner Poul Anderson, explores the corruptions and temptations of power and how a free society might survive and thrive after an apocalypse.<\/p>\n

The story is set in a post-nuclear-war Earth with four renascent civilizations in conflict over the proper role of technology: the libertarian Northwest Union, the neofeudal Skyholm, and the environmentalism of the Maurai and the Mong (the former an oceanic federation, the latter a continental interior society based on military discipline oddly combined with something like Buddhism).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>While Anderson regards all four civilizations with some sympathy and characteristically plays fair with both sides (ultimately making the side he favors more sympathetic), his novel focuses on forward-thinking visionaries in a now-feudal, empire-dominated world who dream of reaching for the stars while trying to revive forbidden nuclear technology.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s something that most of these future societies can\u2019t afford to do, deeply dread and are willing to pay a high price to avoid – or to stop if anyone looks likely to succeed at it, which gives the novel its central conflict.<\/p>\n

Among the most intriguing elements: the depiction of a clearly libertarian society with minimal government operating in formerly western Canada and northwestern United States.<\/p>\n

For more information, read the full Prometheus Blog review<\/a> of Orion Shall Rise<\/i>, one of last year\u2019s Hall of Fame finalists.<\/p>\n

THE FULL LIST OF HALL OF FAME NOMINEES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here, for the record, are the 10 Hall of Fame nominees for the 2025 Prometheus Awards, listed in chronological order of publication or recording:<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Easy as A.B.C.,” by Rudyard Kipling (1912), a novelette<\/p>\n

That Hideous Strength,<\/i><\/b> <\/i>by C.S. Lewis (1945), a novel<\/p>\n

“Death and the Senator,” by Arthur C. Clarke (1961), a short story<\/p>\n

“Ultima Thule,” by Mack Reynolds (1961), a novella<\/p>\n

“Conquest by Default,” by Vernor Vinge (1968), a novelette<\/p>\n

The Demon Breed,<\/i><\/b> by James H. Schmitz (1968), a novel<\/p>\n

“The Trees,” by Rush (1978), a song<\/p>\n

Orion Shall Rise,<\/i><\/b> by Poul Anderson (1984), a novel<\/p>\n

Between the Rivers<\/i><\/b>, by Harry Turtledove (1998), a\u00a0 novel<\/p>\n

Singularity Sky,<\/i><\/b> by Charles Stross (2003), a novel<\/p>\n

For more information about all 10 works listed above, read the Prometheus Blog announcement<\/a> of the Hall of Fame nominees.<\/p>\n

Coming up in part five of this series:<\/strong> Capsule reviews of Harry Turtledove\u2019s 1998 novel Between the Rivers <\/i>and Charles Stross\u2019s 2003 novel Singularity Sky.<\/i><\/p>\n

For capsule review\/descriptions of the two oldest works nominated this year, check out Part 1 of this series<\/a>, exploring \u00a0Rudyard Kipling\u2019s 1912 novelette \u201cAs Easy as A.B.C.\u201d and C.S. Lewis\u2019 1945 novel That Hideous Strength.
\n<\/i><\/p>\n

Read Part 2<\/a> of this series, offering capsule reviews of the two Hall of Fame nominees first published in 1961: Arthur C. Clarke\u2019s short story \u201cDeath and the Senator\u201d and Mack Reynolds\u2019 novella \u201cUltima Thule.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read Part 3<\/a> of this series, offering capsule reviews of the Hall of Fame nominees \u201cConquest by Default,\u201d a 1968 novelette by Vernor Vinge; and The Demon Breed<\/i>, a 1968 novel by James H. Schmitz.<\/p>\n

Coming up:<\/b> Part 5 of our series offering capsule review\/descriptions of \u00a0the Prometheus Hall of Fame nominees Between the Rivers<\/em> and Singularity Sky.<\/em><\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PROMETHEUS AWARDS:<\/b><\/p>\n

* Prometheus winners:\u00a0For the full list of Prometheus winners, finalists and nominees \u2013 including 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, which now includes convenient links to all published essay-reviews in our Appreciation series explaining why each of more than 100 past winners since 1979 fits the awards\u2019 distinctive dual focus on both quality and liberty.<\/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

*\u00a0Watch videos of past Prometheus Awards ceremonies (including the recent 2023 ceremony<\/a> with inspiring and amusing speeches by Prometheus-winning authors Dave Freer<\/a> and Sarah Hoyt)<\/a>, 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

* Check out the Libertarian Futurist Society\u2019s Facebook page<\/a> for comments, updates and links to Prometheus Blog posts.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0Join us! 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 association of freedom-loving sf\/fantasy fans.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Michael Grossberg Unlike the annual Prometheus Award for Best Novel, the other annual Prometheus category for Best Classic Fiction is open to works being renominated. Of the 10 works of fiction nominated for the next Prometheus Hall of Fame for Best Classic Fiction, three are returning nominees after reaching the level last year of … Continue reading Prometheus Hall of Fame nominees, part 4: Capsule reviews of the Rush song \u201cThe Trees\u201d and Anderson\u2019s novel Orion Shall Rise\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":[31,1125,8],"tags":[1827,2162,6,268,266,2512,270],"class_list":["post-8296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-awards-news","category-updates","category-review","tag-nominations","tag-orion-shall-rise","tag-poul-anderson","tag-prometheus-hall-of-fame","tag-rush","tag-song","tag-the-trees"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe8nGl-29O","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8296","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=8296"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8325,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8296\/revisions\/8325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}