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Liberty, Art, & Culture Vol. 31, No. 4 Summer 2013 In memoriam, Jack Vance: 1916 — 2013 By Anders Monsen Jack Vance, science fiction grandmaster, book amid the sea of mundane SF meant died on Sunday, May 26. Born on August reading the apex of imaginative writing. 28 1916, John Holbrook Vance wrote over The Dying Earth and The Eyes of the Over- 50 novels and many more short stories, most world, set in the same far future, stood apart published under the name Jack Vance. His from more traditional fantasy books. Other works ranged from science fiction, fantasy, fantasy stories I had read were either epics on mystery, and regional fiction. Vance’s first the scale of The Lord of the Rings, or vapid published story was “The World Thinker” tales of kingdoms and coming of age stories. in 1945 for Thrilling Wonder Stories, and Vance’s Dying Earth tales imagined a far-fu- his first published book The Dying Earth, ture earth, the sun threatening to extinguish by Hillman Press in 1950. His last novel, at any moment. This was an age of magic, Lurulu, appeared in 2004, and an autobi- although a magic diluted and faded from ography in 2009. previous aeons. Wizards conspired against Vance retired from writing fiction after each other, rogues like Cugel the Clever tried Lurulu, but he dictated a slim biography a to make his way in this dangerous world. few years later. Though he approached 100, Cugel, a rare anti-hero in fantasy akin to and I always expected to read something characters by Clark Ashton Smith and Fritz about his death, I felt a deep shock when Lieber, struggled through one adventure after I finally received the news. I have read all another, his plans always going slightly awry. his books, many of them multiple times. I imagined Vance must have a had a great They are like old friends. I have nominated deal of fun writing those stories. and voted for many of his works for the During the late 1980s and early 1990s Prometheus Hall of Fame. Now he is dead. Will it matter if he I trawled through used books stories (back when they still ever wins? Would he have cared to have won while still alive? existed) and amassed every single paperback of Jack Vance I do not know. Reflecting on his books are like reflecting on that I could find. Today discovering any Vance paperback in the lives of long-time friends. a used book store is a rare event indeed. Back then I found all While there are many reasons I like his fiction, I believe the DAW editions, including the five Demon Prince novels. many of his books contain individualist themes, and I believe These tales of revenge read like Rafael Sabatini novels in space. that libertarians who care about well-written fiction with an The protagonist, with the memorable name of Kirth Gersen, individualist bent will find many of his books well-worth hunts the five criminals who laid waste to his world. Raised by reading. his grandfather to be a resourceful detective and killer, Gersen In 1985 I picked up my first Jack Vance book, a collection of stories called The Narrow Land. The title story tells the tale of a very alien protagonist, born in a swamp, struggling to —Continued on page 4 survive among creatures similar to himself, yet also imbued with a desire to explore the environs of his world. Of the seven stories in The Narrow Land, along with the title story, tales like Inside Prometheus: “Chateau D’If,” “The World-Thinker,” and “Green Magic” displayed an unmatched imagination and an intricate display Reviews: of stylistic prose. Beginning with that collection I sought as Neptune’s Brood, by Charles Stross many Vance books as possible, each one a discovery of joy. Like Earth Girl, by Janet Edwards panning for gold or unearthing gems, reading a Jack Vance Prometheus Volume 31, Number 4, 2013 2013 Prometheus Award winners The newsletter of the Libertarian Futurist Society The Libertarian Futurist Society has announced the Prometheus Awards winners for Best Novel and Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame). Editor Cory Doctorow won the award for Best Novel for Pirate Anders Monsen Cinema (TOR Books). Doctorow previously won the Best Novel award in 2009 for Little Brother. Doctorow explores themes of Contributors artistic freedom, Internet freedom and peaceful social change William H. Stoddard while shedding light on issues of copyright and government surveillance in Pirate Cinema, an optimistic young-adult novel about a young pirate filmmaker whose Internet activity threat- ens his family with government reprisals and who learns to fight back against outdated forms of control. Cryptonomicon, a 1999 novel by Neal Stephenson, has won the Letters and Submissions: 2013 Prometheus Hall of Fame award for Best Classic Fiction. Anders Monsen Set during World War II and during the early 21st century, 501 Abiso Ave. Stephenson’s novel explores the implications for a free society San Antonio, TX 78209 [email protected] in the development of computation and cryptography. Also recognized as Best Novel finalists for the best pro- freedom novel of the past year are Arctic Rising, by Tobias Award Chairs Buckell (TOR Books); The Unincorporated Future, by Dani and Best Novel — [email protected] Eytan Kollin (TOR Books); Darkship Renegades, by Sarah Hoyt Classic Fiction — [email protected] (Baen Books); and Kill Decision, by Daniel Suarez (Dutton -Penguin). LFS Online: http://lfs.org Also recognized as Hall of Fame finalists: “Sam Hall”, by Poul Anderson (a short story, published 1953 in Astounding); Falling Free, by Lois McMaster Bujold (a novel, published 1988); Subscriptions & Advertisements “’Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman”, by Harlan El- Basic Membership: $25/year ($30 international) lison (a short story, published 1965 in Galaxy); Courtship Rite, Full Membership: $50/year by Donald M. Kingsbury (a novel, published 1982); and “As Sponsors: $100/year Easy as A.B.C.”, by Rudyard Kipling (a short story, published Benefactors: $200/year in London Magazine in 1912). Subscriptions: $20/year ($25 international) All memberships include one-year subscriptions to Prometheus. Classified ads: 50 cents/word, 10 percent off for mul- Prometheus Submission Guidelines tiple insertions. Display ad rates available. All checks payable to the Libertarian Futurist Society. Without content no publication can survive. In order to continue publishing future issues, Libertarian Futurist Society Prometheus seeks reviews, interview, essays, articles, 650 Castro St. Suite 120-433 and columns of interest to libertarian science Mountain View, CA 94041 fiction fans. Any individual may submit material [email protected] — membership in the LFS is not required. Send mailing address changes to: As the newsletter of the Libertarian Futurist [email protected] Society, Prometheus focuses on Prometheus Award- nominated works, but also publishes reviews and articles beyond the Prometheus Award candi- dates. Letters of comment also are welcome, whether Prometheus © 2013 the Libertarian Futurist Society. about the reviews, or any questions about LFS, or The LFS retains a non-exclusive license to republish accepted articles on its web site; all other rights revert the nominating and voting process. In this digital to the contributor. Letters and reviews are welcome. age, the printed press contiues to matter, but we Bylined articles are strictly the opinion of the writer need your help to sustain this newsletter. and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the LFS Contact the editor for more details via email or its members. at: [email protected] Page 2 Volume 31, Number 4, 2013 Prometheus Neptune’s Brood of debts is enforced inevitably has an authoritarian and repres- By Charles Stross sive government; another asserts that debt as such is slavery. Ace Books, 2013 By this definition, a free society would have to be one with no Reviewed by William H. Stoddard debt, no borrowing, and no capital markets—which seems to equate to a socialist society of some type. A key sequence in the novel has the protagonist encountering an ethically supe- The subtitle of Charles Stross’s latest novel proclaims it to rior society that in fact is internally communist—though, to be “A Space Opera.” I suspect a reader whose expectations Stross’s credit, he defines this not in terms of “post-scarcity,” are based on that label might be perplexed. Stross offers nei- but as the result of a much higher bandwidth of interpersonal ther the cinematic action of classic space opera, the radical communication, which at least is addressing the problem of speculative physics of “new space opera,” nor the hyperbolic economic calculation rather than imagining it away. And curve of technology common to both forms. more generally, however debatable Stross’s view of economic In fact, so far as its scientific substance is concerned, Neptune’s relations is, it’s also informed by a lot of actual knowledge of Brood is much close to hard science fiction, usually regarded market transactions and financial institutions. as the opposite pole of the sfnal universe from space opera. Neptune’s Brood is set in the same universe as Saturn’s Children, In the first place, its technology, though incredibly advanced, but isn’t exactly a “sequel” to it. For one thing, it doesn’t share is also conservative, with radical innovations being centuries the earlier novel’s wholesale borrowing of late Heinlein tropes. apart. Nearly all of it appears to be based on physics that we The main continuity lies in the characters of both novels being now understand, and on devices that we can at least imagine almost entirely “robots”—though Stross has come up with building, working in ways consistent with real science.

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