{"id":9196,"date":"2025-10-15T00:03:40","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T05:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/?p=9196"},"modified":"2025-11-02T17:21:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T23:21:20","slug":"sequels-part-10-like-the-prometheus-awards-the-hugo-awards-often-recognize-sequels-including-many-of-the-same-novels-and-authors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/sequels-part-10-like-the-prometheus-awards-the-hugo-awards-often-recognize-sequels-including-many-of-the-same-novels-and-authors\/","title":{"rendered":"Sequels, part 10: Like the Prometheus Awards, the Hugo awards often recognize sequels – including many of the same novels and authors"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Michael Grossberg<\/a>
\n<\/b>
\nWithin the 46-year history of the Prometheus Awards, 194 of the 505 novels nominated within the Best Novel category have been sequels, as previously reported – and 11 have gone on to win. Yet, the Prometheus Awards are not the only science fiction awards that often recognize sequels.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Quite a few have been honored by the Hugo Awards, voted by members of the World Science Fiction Society and presented annually at Worldcons.<\/p>\n

By my count, the Hugos have honored sequels nine times in the Best Novel category. Interestingly, quite a few of those authors also have been recognized in the Prometheus Awards – including Lois McMaster Bujold, Orson Scott Card, C.J. Cherryh and Vernor Vinge. In several cases, both awards have recognized writers for the same works.<\/p>\n

This overview of such recognition reminds us of the frequent overlap between the Hugos and the Prometheus awards while shedding light on the popularity and appeal of sequels.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

VERNOR VINGE\u2019S NEW SPACE OPERA<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Vernor Vinge (Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Perhaps most relevant to the Prometheus Awards is the double recognition for the late great Vernor Vinge, one of only four writers to receive a Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement.<\/p>\n

Vinge won his first Hugo in the Best Novel category in 1993 for A Fire Upon the Deep<\/i> and his second in 2000 for its prequel, A Deepness in the Sky – <\/i>also recognized by the LFS that same year with the Prometheus Award for Best Novel.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Both works rank among the best of the so-called New Space Opera, notable for its\u00a0 complex characters, epic scope, more intricate plots and subplots, and more diverse variety of humanity and alien cultures.<\/p>\n

Vinge, by the way, won his third Hugo award for Best Novel in 2007 for an unrelated stand-alone novel, Rainbows End, <\/i>also recognized that year as a Prometheus Best Novel finalist.<\/p>\n

ORSON SCOTT CARD\u2019S ENDERVERSE<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/b>Orson Scott Card won back-to-back Hugos for Best Novel for Ender\u2019s Game<\/i> in 1986 and for its direct sequel Speaker for the Dead<\/i> in 1987.<\/p>\n

I consider both awards well-deserved, recognizing a true SF classic and a sequel that deepens the story in exploring profound and bittersweet themes about war, violence, forgiveness and making amends.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Card, a major and versatile SF and fantasy writer with broad appeal, explored themes of abuse of government power in Empire,<\/i> a 2007 Prometheus Best Novel finalist, and its sequel Hidden Empire,<\/i> a 2010 Prometheus Best Novel finalist.<\/p>\n

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

Card, by the way, also was nominated for a Prometheus Award for Best Novel in 1999 for Heartfire, <\/i>the fifth novel in his\u00a0 <\/span>mythic and hugely enjoyable The Tales of Alvin Maker series. Card launched his masterful alternate-history and fantasy series with a powerful, poignant and visionary trilogy: Seventh Son, Red Prophet<\/em> and Prentice Alvin<\/em>. \u00a0When the acclaimed series became a hit, Card built on it with three more sequels: Alvin Journeyman, Heartfire<\/em> and The Crystal City.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Exciting news for Card and Alvin Maker fans: TOR Books has announced that they will publish Master Alvin<\/em>, the seventh and final novel bringing the series to a climactic close, in 2026. I, for one, can’t wait.<\/p>\n

Card’s masterwork of fantasy, which I consider comparable in some ways to what Tolkien did to recast the spiritual essence of British civilization into a story of good and evil in The Lord of the Rings,<\/em> is similarly inspired by the promise and best of American civilization. \u00a0In his Alvin Maker series, Card reimagines the history and evolution of our civilization into a believable alternate reality in which indigenous forms of magic are real. Within that framework, Card revisits key issues and turning points in American history, from the battle for freedom and independence in the American revolution to the conflict to end the evil of slavery.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
C.J. Cherryh, left, and Jane Fancher, at their wedding years ago. (The little guy, Fancher says, is Wiishu, their \u201cbracelet bearer.\u201d The couple have matching bracelets with \u201cnot all who wander are lost\u201d engraved on them. Photo courtesy of Jane Fancher<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

C.J. CHERRYH\u2019S ALLIANCE-UNION SERIES<\/b>
\n<\/i><\/b>
\nC.J. Cherryh may not have won a Hugo for her direct sequels, but she won separate Hugos for different novels set within her vast Alliance-Union series: Downbelow Station<\/i> in 1982 and Cyteen<\/i> in 1989.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Cherryh and her partner Jane S. Fancher won the 2020 Prometheus Award for Best Novel for Alliance Rising<\/a>,<\/i> the first work in their projected Hinder Stars trilogy, set in an earlier era of Cherryh\u2019s Alliance-Union universe.<\/p>\n

The vast series highlights the evolution of a network of free-trading merchant ships in an interstellar future. Alliance Unbound, <\/i><\/a>the direct sequel by Cherryh and Fancher, was a 2025 Prometheus Best Novel finalist.<\/p>\n

LOIS MCMASTER BUJOLD\u2019S VORSOKIGAN SAGA
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lois McMaster Bujold (Photo by Kyle Cassidy; Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another major SF writer who\u2019s won both a Hugo award and a Prometheus award for novels set within the same interstellar future history is Lois McMaster Bujold.<\/p>\n

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

She won the 1991 Hugo for The Vor Game<\/i>, the continuing adventures of Miles Vorsokigan, a military Academy graduate serving in the infantry in an interstellar future.<\/p>\n

Part of the Vorkosigan Saga, it\u2019s the sixth full-length novel in publication order and the sixth story, including novellas, in the series\u2019 chronology.<\/p>\n

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

Bujold won the 1992 Hugo for Barrayar, <\/i>Book 7 in the Vorsokigan Saga. Unlike most previous works in the series, which focus on Miles Vorsokigan, Barrayar<\/i> focuses on a woman, Cordelia, and her endangered baby.<\/p>\n

Bujold has the rare distinction of being a three-time Hugo Best Novel winner. Mirror Dance – <\/em>also part of the Vorkosigan Saga and focusing on Mark, Miles\u2019 clone – won the 1995 Hugo for Best Novel.<\/p>\n

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

Also part of her bestselling Vorkosigan Saga is Falling Free<\/i>,<\/a> inducted in 2014 into the Prometheus Hall of Fame. Exploring free will and self-ownership, two key concepts at the foundation of our humanity and liberty and also at the core of modern libertarianism, Falling Free <\/i>focuses on the creation of genetically modified people in a new human species and explores wider questions about the rights and liberties of \u201cmanufactured beings\u201d owned by corporations.<\/p>\n

ISAAC ASIMOV\u2019S FOUNDATION SERIES<\/b><\/p>\n

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

Isaac Asimov\u2019s Foundation\u2019s Edge<\/i> won in 1983, but I consider this in part belated recognition and a sort of \u201cmake-up\u201d award for a later and arguably lesser sequel to one of the most famous and influential trilogies from the classic golden age of science fiction.<\/p>\n

While Asimov\u2019s genre-defining Foundation trilogy won a special Hugo Award in 1966 for \u201cbest science-fiction series of all time,\u201d none of the original three novels received Hugo recognition. \u00a0That\u2019s because the publication of Foundation<\/i> (1951), Foundation and Empire<\/i> (1952) and Second Foundatio<\/i>n (1953) mostly preceded the establishment of the annual Hugo award, first presented in 1953.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Foundation’s Edge,<\/em> recognized with a Hugo in part and in my opinion as a welcome opportunity to acknowledge the classic trilogy, was the first of several sequels – and was followed by Foundation and Earth, Prelude to Foundation<\/em> and Forward the Foundation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the 1953 Hugo award for Best Novel went to Alfred Bester\u2019s The Demolished Man<\/i>. (Bester\u2019s other classic SF novel, The Stars My Destination,<\/a> <\/i>was inducted in 1988 into the Prometheus Hall of Fame.)<\/p>\n

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

There were no Hugo finalists for Best Novel in 1953, so the last novel in Asimov\u2019s original Foundation trilogy received no award recognition at any level – which, in retrospect, might be viewed as an oversight.<\/p>\n

However, Asimov was recognized just a few years later, in 1956, as a Hugo Best Novel finalist for The End of Eternity. <\/i>That novel has been nominated more than once for the Prometheus Hall of Fame, most recently in 2023.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, Donald Kingsbury\u2019s Psychohistorical Crisis, <\/i><\/a>a profound critique of the Foundation trilogy and Asimov\u2019s technocratic belief in central planning, won the Prometheus Award for Best Novel in 2002.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>While the Foundation trilogy still offers enough epic scope and interesting ideas about the rise and fall and potential rise again of a galactic civilization to reward a reading or rereading today, I highly recommend reading Kingsbury\u2019s brilliant novel soon after Asimov’s trilogy for perspective and an enriched appreciation of both.<\/p>\n

HALDEMAN, ROBINSON AND JEMISIN SEQUELS
\n<\/b>
\nOther Hugo-winning authors who have been recognized for Best Novel sequels include Joe Haldeman, a 1976 winner for his excellent anti-war SF classic The Forever War <\/i>and the 1988 winner for its sequel Forever Peace<\/i>; and Kim Stanley Robinson, who won in 1994 for Green Mars <\/i>and in 1997 for its sequel, Blue Mars, <\/i>part of his environmentalist-themed trilogy imagining the terraforming of the red planet.
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Most recently, N. K. Jemisin won Hugos for Best Novel for The Fifth Season <\/i>(in 2016) and her sequels The Obelisk Gate (2017) <\/i>and The Stone Sky <\/i>(2018), <\/i>all part of her Broken Earth series.<\/p>\n

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

While Card was the first person to win the Best Novel Hugo in two consecutive years <\/i>and Bujold was the second person to win back-to-back Hugos – all for sequel novels set within the same future history – Jemisin is the first person to win the Hugo there years in a row for all three books in a trilogy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A Hugo award trophy (File photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

THE CHALLENGE OF SEQUELS
\n<\/b>
\nComparing the Hugos to the Prometheus awards, it\u2019s clear that both LFS members and other sf\/fantasy fans share a love of a good story with compelling characters and an intriguing setting.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, both Hugo and Prometheus voters have a respectable track record of recognizing good novels (including some sequels).<\/p>\n

And that includes several novels with strong libertarian and\/or anti-authoritarian themes (even if Prometheus voters may tend to be more aware of the libertarian themes in some bestsellers, while other sf\/fantasy fans may simply be focused on an interesting story that’s well-told without being as conscious of its deeper themes).<\/p>\n

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

It\u2019s also pretty clear from this comparison that if fans love one novel, they\u2019re open to falling in love with its sequel.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, for better or worse, in this era of popular culture, millions seem to prefer sequels or series to stand-alone originals.<\/p>\n

At its worst, these days, one can begin to feel like almost everything in popular culture is being recycled, and often while growing stale. One hungers for something fresh, new and satisfying, something one hasn\u2019t experienced before.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, it seems to me, the challenge of creating truly satisfying sequels can only be fulfilled when their creators accomplish the tricky balance of achieving two disparate goals at once: Measuring up to their predecessors, while also finding fresh ways to sustain interest by breaking at least some new ground.<\/p>\n

For further reading: <\/b>The 11 sequels that have won the Prometheus Award for Best Novel, along with other Prometheus winners that inspired sequels, are discussed in Part 1<\/a>, Part 2<\/a> , Part 3<\/a>, Part 4<\/a>, Part 5<\/a>, Part 6<\/a>,\u00a0 <\/span>Part 7,<\/a> Part 8<\/a>, Part 9<\/a>\u00a0of this Prometheus Blog series exploring the popularity and appeal of sequels.<\/p>\n

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

ABOUT THE PROMETHEUS AWARDS AND THE LFS<\/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 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 more than 100 past winners 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

BOUT THE PROMETHEUS AWARDS AND THE LFS
\n*\u00a0Join us! To help sustain the Prometheus Awards and support a cultural and literary strategy to appreciate and honor freedom-loving fiction, \u00a0join the Libertarian Futurist Society, a non-profit all-volunteer association of freedom-loving sf\/fantasy fans.
\nLibertarian 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.
\n* Prometheus winners:\u00a0For 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\u00a0on the LFS website. This page 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.
\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.\u2028\u2028* Read \u201cThe Libertarian History of Science Fiction,\u201d an essay in the international magazine\u00a0Quillette\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.
\n* Check out the Libertarian Futurist Society\u2019s Facebook page for comments, updates and links to the latest Prometheus Blog posts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Michael Grossberg Within the 46-year history of the Prometheus Awards, 194 of the 505 novels nominated within the Best Novel category have been sequels, as previously reported – and 11 have gone on to win. Yet, the Prometheus Awards are not the only science fiction awards that often recognize sequels. Quite a few have … Continue reading Sequels, part 10: Like the Prometheus Awards, the Hugo awards often recognize sequels – including many of the same novels and authors<\/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":[249,9,2605,2021],"tags":[671,189,567,2643,2644,1071,2645,2200,46,1557,69],"class_list":["post-9196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-awards-history","category-essay","category-sequels","category-vernor-vinge","tag-c-j-cherryh","tag-hugo-awards","tag-isaac-asimov","tag-joe-haldeman","tag-kim-stanley-robinson","tag-lois-mcmaster-bujold","tag-n-k-jemisin","tag-orson-scott-card","tag-prometheus-awards","tag-sequels","tag-vernor-vinge"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe8nGl-2ok","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9196","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=9196"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10013,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9196\/revisions\/10013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}