Fifty Works of Fiction Libertarians Should Read
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Liberty, Art, & Culture Vol. 30, No. 3 Spring 2012 Fifty works of fiction libertarians should read By Anders Monsen Everybody compiles lists. These usually are of the “top 10” Poul Anderson — The Star Fox (1965) kind. I started compiling a personal list of individualist titles in An oft-forgot book by the prolific and libertarian-minded the early 1990s. When author China Miéville published one Poul Anderson, a recipient of multiple awards from the Lib- entitled “Fifty Fantasy & Science Fiction Works That Social- ertarian Futurist Society. This space adventure deals with war ists Should Read” in 2001, I started the following list along and appeasement. the same lines, but a different focus. Miéville and I have in common some titles and authors, but our reasons for picking Margaret Atwood—The Handmaid’s Tale (1986) these books probably differ greatly. A dystopian tale of women being oppressed by men, while Some rules guiding me while compiling this list included: being aided by other women. This book is similar to Sinclair 1) no multiple books by the same writer; 2) the winners of the Lewis’s It Can’t Happen Here or Robert Heinlein’s story “If This Prometheus Award do not automatically qualify; and, 3) there Goes On—,” about the rise of a religious-type theocracy in is no limit in terms of publication date. Not all of the listed America. works are true sf. The first qualification was the hardest, and I worked around this by mentioning other notable books in the Alfred Bester—The Stars My Destination (1956) brief notes. I mostly excluded shorts stories but included two This novel is about a man adrift with no ambition, until he plays, one of which appeared several thousand years ago. is abandoned in space and his pleas for help are ignored. He This is a personal list. As with any list there may be debate is filled with a burning sense of passion for revenge, propel- and questions of the compiler’s taste and sanity, etc. We read ling a raging torrent of events. Bester wrote vivid prose and and enjoy fiction for a variety of reasons, but these books I strong characters. believe are compelling for the spirit of liberty, which burns brightly within their pages. Karin Boye — Kallocain (1940) Some of these books I last read decades ago, others very A dystopian story about the use of a truth drug by a totali- recently. They are ordered alphabetically by author, and mostly tarian world state to suppress rebellion. Grim and stark, this ignore the political beliefs of the author: the idea of liberty is book falls into the group of early 20th century dystopias, many one shared across the political spectrum. While some political reacting to the rise of the totalitarian Soviet state. philosophies clearly are at odds with individual liberty, names and labels change over time, and thus someone who considers Ray Bradbury—Fahrenheit 451 (1953) themselves a socialist may end up writing a book that seems Long after every book has been digitized and those made to counter certain views of socialism. Liberalism in the 19th of paper and cloth reside only in libraries, Bradbury’s classic and early 20th centuries is far closer to modern ideas of indi- vidualism than the idea of capitalism at that time. —Continued on page 4 Also, books have a life and soul of their own, often at odds with those of the author. Authors’ life experiences amidst certain world events also influence their fiction. As they fic- tionalize their experiences, thoughts and emotions bubble up Inside Prometheus: into their fiction in ways they must see through to the end. 2012 Prometheus Awards Winners Thus, you have the socialist writer George Orwell penning Fifty works of fiction libertarians should read perhaps the greatest critique ever of socialism: Animal Farm. Reviews: Once released into the wild, a book no longer belongs to the Mondo Cult #3 author, and must be judged on its own. Prometheus Volume 30, Number 3, 2012 2012 Prometheus Award winners The newsletter of the Libertarian Futurist Society For the second time in its history, there is a tie for the Best Novel award. The two winners are The Freedom Maze (Small Beer Press) by Delia Sherman and Ready Player One (Random Editor House) by Ernest Cline. The award for Best Classic Fiction Anders Monsen (the “Hall of Fame” award) goes to “The Machine Stops,” a short story by E. M. Forster, written in 1909. This was the first Prometheus nomination for both Sherman and Cline. Sherman’s credits include five fantasy novels and editing two collections. Ready Player One is Cline’s first novel; his official bio includes a variety of odd jobs, poetry slams and writing screenplays. Delia Sherman’s young-adult fantasy novel focuses on an adolescent girl of 1960 who is magically sent back in time to Letters and Submissions: 1860 when her family owned slaves on a Louisiana plantation. Anders Monsen She’s mistaken for a light-skinned slave fathered by a planta- 501 Abiso Ave. tion owner. She endures great hardships, commiserates with San Antonio, TX 78209 [email protected] others suffering worse, works in the household and the fields, and sees the other slaves demonstrating their humanity in the face of incredible adversity. In the process, she comes to ap- Award Chairs preciate the values of honor, respect, courage, and personal Best Novel — [email protected] responsibility. Classic Fiction — [email protected] Ernest Cline’s genre-busting blend of science fiction, romance, suspense, and adventure describes a virtual world LFS Online: http://lfs.org that has managed to evolve an order without a state in which entrepreneurial gamers must solve virtual puzzles and battle real-life enemies to save their virtual world from domination Subscriptions & Advertisements and corruption. The main characters work together without Basic Membership: $25/year ($30 international) meeting in the real world until near the end of the story. The Full Membership: $50/year novel stresses the importance of allowing open access to the Sponsors: $100/year Internet for everyone. Benefactors: $200/year “The Machine Stops” by E.M. Forster was published in Subscriptions: $20/year ($25 international) 1909. Forster described it as a reaction to H.G. Wells’s fiction. All memberships include one-year subscriptions to The story describes a future in which most people never leave Prometheus. their rooms and interact only through the Machine’s video and text facilities. People in this dystopia depend on the Machine Classified ads: 50 cents/word, 10 percent off for mul- for all their needs. When the Machine falls into disrepair and tiple insertions. Display ad rates available. All checks payable to the Libertarian Futurist Society. fails, the people are isolated from one another and many die, though Forster depicts it as a hopeful ending with a few wild Libertarian Futurist Society humans on the surface likely to carry on and learn to be self- 650 Castro St. Suite 120-433 sufficient again. Mountain View, CA 94041 The other finalists for the Best Novel award were The Children [email protected] of the Sky (TOR Books) by Vernor Vinge, In the Shadow of Ares (Amazon Kindle edition) by Thomas L. James and Carl C. Send mailing address changes to: Carlsson, The Restoration Game (Pyr Books) by Ken MacLeod, David Tuchman and Snuff (Harper Collins) by Terry Pratchett. MacLeod 1364 Mapleton Ave has won three Best Novel awards, Vinge has won twice, and Suffield, CT 06078 Pratchett has won once before. [email protected] The other finalists for the Hall of Fame award were “As Easy as A.B.C.,” a story by Rudyard Kipling (1912); “‘Re- Prometheus © 2012 the Libertarian Futurist Society. pent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman,” a story by Harlan The LFS retains a non-exclusive license to republish Ellison (1965); and Falling Free, a novel by Lois McMaster accepted articles on its web site; all other rights revert to the contributor. Letters and reviews are welcome. Bujold (1988). Bylined articles are strictly the opinion of the writer A list of past winners of LFS awards can be found on the and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the LFS LFS web site at http://www.lfs.org or its members. Page 2 Volume 30, Number 3, 2012 Prometheus Mondo Cult #3 etters Edited by Jessie Lilley L Published by Brad Linaweaver, 2012, 161 pages, $13 Reviewed by Anders Monsen Reading Richard Vowles’ essay on Karin Boye and Kallocain This brief re- in Prometheus was fascinating—a very knowledgeable text, yet view can in no way one which for reasons possibly having to do with the fact that do justice to the in 1965 such things were not mentioned manages to give a third issue of Mondo both distorted and incomprehensible view of both Boye and Cult, which packs in much of her work. several magazines’ Karin Boye, who lived during a time when homosexuality worth of material was still both taboo and criminal in Sweden as elsewhere, was between full-cover a lesbian. In Sweden, she initially never dared speak openly pages. Although of her feelings, and indeed during her active period in the adhering to no solid socialist Clarté organisation went so far as to marry another publishing schedule, Clarté member, Leif Björk; this is noted by Vowles, who says Mondo Cult, when it that this “early, unsuccessful marriage…was the first of several arrives, has become emotional defeats that finally led Karin Boye to seek psychi- a critical vehicle atric help in Berlin.” Boye was married to Björk in 1929, the for the review and year she became 29; hardly a particularly early marriage.