Wide-Ranging Finalists Mark the 2004 Prometheus Awards

What works will win this year's Prometheus Awards? The possibilities are especially wide-ranging this year--including a dark-horse write-in candidate. (See related story.) From hard science fiction to fantasy, the Best Book finalists for the 2004 Prometheus Award offer something for almost everyone. Meanwhile, our Hall of Fame finalists for Best Classic Fiction encompass several genres, from novels to a landmark short story and a beloved trilogy. Here are the 2004 Prometheus award finalists for Best Novel, which honor books published in 2003:

• Naked Empire, by Terry Goodkind (Tor Books)
• The Pixel Eye, by Paul Levinson (TOR Books)
• Spin State, by Chris Moriarty (Bantam Books)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic Press)
• Sims, by F. Paul Wilson (Forge Books)

And here are the 2004 Hall of Fame finalists for Best Classic Fiction, which honor works published or broadcast more than five years ago, from novels, novellas and stories to plays, poems, films, TV series and episodes and more:

• It Can't Happen Here, a novel by Sinclair Lewis
• Lord of the Rings trilogy, novels by J.R. Tolkien
• The Weapon Shops of Isher, a novel by A. E. Van Vogt
• The Ungoverned, a short story by Vernor Vinge
• The Book of Merlyn, a novel by T.H. White

As was done last year, the LFS mailed ballots to all voting members between late May and early June, with a final voting deadline of July 4, 2004.

We hope everyone will read the finalists in both categories and vote this year to make the final choice truly representative of the Libertarian Futurist Society.

BEST NOVEL DESCRIPTIONS

Several reviews of some nominees and finalists have already been published in Prometheus, but here are capsule descriptions (alphabetized by author) of the Best Novel finalists in the hope they will intrigue and inspire you to pick up a copy and start reading it now:

• "Naked Empire," book eight in Goodkind's bestselling Sword of Truth fantasy series, truly stands alone as a battle between good and evil led by the heroic Sword of Truth Richard Rahl, who often upholds libertarian and even Objectivist values in his adventures in a world of magic, wizards and soul-stealers.
• "The Pixel Eye" is Levinson's cautionary near-future fable about a terrorist-plagued New York where law enforcement and civil-liberties groups clash over the proper boundaries between public safety and personal freedom. This is the latest adventure of NPD forensic detective Dr. Phil D'Amato, who Levinson has also written about in other stories.
• "Spin State" blends action, mystery and drama to tell a story about a cloned twin chasing a killer in an alien world through the dark alleys of black-market tech and interstellar espionage. This is Moriarty's first Prometheus Award nomination--and first novel.
• "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is the first novel in Rowling's bestselling series to be nominated for the Prometheus Award. Nominators and judges were impressed by the anti-authoritarian spirit of this sequel, which revolves around the efforts of students to resist an abusive and corrupt new regime at Hogwarts school.
• "Sims" explores the shifting boundaries of human rights and personhood in a future where dangerous or boring manual labor has been transferred to genetically engineered and enhanced chimpanzees. Wilson, a frequent Prometheus nominee and finalist, has won Prometheus Awards for "Wheels Within Wheels" (1979) and for two Hall of Fame classics: "Healer" and "An Enemy of the State."

THE OTHER NOMINEES

Fourteen novels were nominated for this year's Prometheus Award for Best Novel. The other nominees were:

• The Anguished Dawn, a novel by James Hogan (Baen Books)
• State of Disobedience, a novel by Tom Kratman (Baen Books)
• Crossfire, a novel by Nancy Kress (Tor Books)
• Hecate's Glory, a novel by Karen Michalson (Tor Books)
• Quicksilver, a novel by Neal Stephenson (Harper Collins)
• Ruled Brittania, a novel by Harry Turtledove (Roc/NAL/Penguin)
• Red Thunder, a novel by John Varley (Ace Books)
• Gateways, a novel by F. Paul Wilson (Forge)
• The Holy Land, a novel by Robert Zubrin (Polaris Books)

About two dozen works were nominated (or renominated) for this years' Hall of Fame award, including novels, short stories, films and TV shows.

Both awards honor outstanding science fiction/fantasy that explores the possibilities of a free future, champions human rights (including personal and economic liberty), dramatizes the perennial conflict between individuals and coercive governments, or critiques the tragic consequences of abuse of power--especially by the State.

THE AWARDS CEREMONY

The Prometheus Awards ceremony winners will be presented at the 62nd World Science Fiction Convention, Noreascon Four in Boston, Massachusetts, September 2-6, 2004, with the Best Novel winner receiving a one-ounce gold coin and a plaque and the Hall of Fame winner receiving a smaller gold coin and a plaque.

For more information about the Worldcon, visit www.boston2004.com or contact LFS Vice Chair Fred Moulton (programming@lfs.org), who is coordinating this year's LFS awards ceremony at the Worldcon. Several parties of interest to LFS members are being planned.

THE AWARDS JUDGING COMMITTEES

Special thanks to the 2003-2004 judges for helping to winnow down the nominees to five finalists in each category. The LFS is looking for volunteers to help choose future finalists. To volunteer, contact Lynn Maners(HallOfFame@lfs.org), chair of the Hall of Fame finalist judging committee; or Michael Grossberg (bestNovelChair@lfs.org), chair of the Best Novel finalist judging committee.

While the Best Novel judging committee often has a waiting list because it must be limited to 10 judges to ensure cooperation by publishers, the Hall of Fame judging committee and the Special Awards committee can have an unlimited membership and are open to all LFS members. Special note to Full members: The LFS Board of Directors recently voted to expand eligibility to serve on the Best Novel judging committee to include Full members (as well as the Benefactor and Sponsor members who traditionally have filled that judging committee.)