Steve Buchheit | March 19, 2007 03:44 PM

Congrats, John. Mighty fine company to be in with there.

Cherikooka | March 19, 2007 04:24 PM

Holy Shnike! Very cool....I can't wait to read The Ghost Brigades.
-Cheri

Jenny Rae Rappaport | March 19, 2007 04:42 PM

Nice, John!

Michael Killean | March 19, 2007 04:59 PM

John,

You definately deserve it. I only found you (and your work) recently, but it has filled a void in my literary life. Thank you!

Queenie | March 19, 2007 05:03 PM

Gratters, man!

The Prometheus Award: Just Scalzified, Newly Scalziriffic!

Tumbleweed | March 19, 2007 05:12 PM

the value of personal freedom and human rights

Okay, so why would anything by Orson Scott Card, homophobe extraordinaire, be on any such list? Gimme a break.

Shawn Powers | March 19, 2007 05:19 PM

Tumbleweed:

Because the focus is on the novel not the author.

PixelFish | March 19, 2007 05:32 PM

I didn't much like Empire and found large chunks of it almost unreadable--pretty much a first for me and Orson, whose fiction work I've almost always inhaled whether I liked it or not--but I have to say it fulfills the latter part of that sentence:

"...which seriously or satirically critique abuses of power-- especially unchecked government power."

(There's almost a Watchmen-like quality to Empire's latter half in a weird way, although Watchmen is much superior, I thought.)

If it was a race between Ghost Brigades and Empire alone, I'd definitely plunk for GB. Haven't read the other three novels though, so it's hard to make a call on the awards altogether.

Congratulations on the award shortlist though. That's quite an achievement.

Jon | March 19, 2007 05:56 PM

I have actually read 3 of those 5. I'm almost up to date!

Out of the 3 I have read, I would put Rainbows End last, Empire second, and Ghost Brigades first.

Vox | March 19, 2007 06:18 PM

Glasshouse is quite good, although the idea of either you or Charles Stross winning a libertarian prize is more than a little amusing.

I quite like both you guys, but it's a bit like choosing between pyromaniacs for Fireman of the Year. That being said, I'm not aware of you ever expressing open support for a centralized transnational fascist empire like Mr. Stross does, so I'd give the Ghost Brigades the edge here.

Chang, for rizzle. | March 19, 2007 06:41 PM

Looks awesome to me! My vote is for you and Stross. Baldies rule!

Will there be cake served at the party? I like cake.

Jim Wright | March 19, 2007 06:49 PM

Dammit! Scalzi, Stross, and Vinge? How the hell am I supposed to figure out who to root for? Arrgh!

Old Jarhead | March 19, 2007 07:01 PM

OK, I invoke the "Center for WTF Full Disclosure Rule". Never having heard of the LFS I went to its website to learn that it is composed of an "international membership of libertarians and freedom-loving science fiction fans" The movers and shakers of the society appear to be entirely (or almost entirely due to a couple of non-gender specific names) male.

I note also that they sell the ability to vote for this award. $25 in dues gets you the ability to nominate candidate novels and vote on collateral awards but $50 allows you to vote for the Best Novel and $100 dues means the Committee MAY select you to be a member of the Best Novel Finalist Judging Committee.

The "Center for WTF Full Disclosure Rule" arises from the frequency with which op-ed pieces appear authored by "senior fellows" of some Center for This n' That. You are rarely told the membership/budget/background of the "Center" or sufficient information to know whether this group is a bunch of bought and paid for hacks or an independent organization with a large staff, smart people and a decent budget.

The website of the LFS doesn't reveal whether or not the Society is made up of thousands upon thousands of Government Fearing SF fans whose numbers and range of backgrounds can be depended upon to move choices toward the Golden Mean or if it is basically the folks whose names appear there who decided to form a club.

So basically we don't know if this is equivalent to being a finalist for a Pulitzer or for a Grimey (award given by Frank "Grimey" Grimes of Springfield.)

Anyway, I hope you win the Gold Coin, you old literary tregetour, you!

Old Jarhead

KevinQ | March 19, 2007 07:33 PM

I've always looked warily at awards given out by political or other advocacy groups, since they seem designed to focus more attention on the award giver, than on the award recipient.

Nevertheless, best of luck, because awards and accolades are always fun. Especially if you hate the award givers' politics.

K

B Reed | March 19, 2007 07:40 PM

"Empire" or "In the state of the puppetmaster"
as i call it is great at what i think is its one main goal... Showing that the Red Countryside will allways win a future Civil war unless Blue Cities develop Both power armor and Tesla coils.

atleast thats what i came away thinking it was about!

Glasshouse is a great future for the accelerondo universe, it would make a great future for a prequel novel or a sequel. I disagree that glasshouse is non libertarian because it shows a Godling Transhuman reduced to our own level and hating it. then risking his own life to save the humansphere from disaster.

TGB -one word- Perfect!
just cant wait for TLC: What about the consu?

Vinge= Good! I want a virtu-view like Vinge and Wright suggest is around the corner. laughed at the library/Fahrenheit 151 scene

Bookninja | March 19, 2007 07:47 PM

It seems weird to me that they keep giving a libertarian award to socialist Ken MacLeod. But hey, they're like *free* and can do whatever they want.

PixelFish | March 19, 2007 07:47 PM

B Reed: That's because the Red States have MECHS!

B Reed | March 19, 2007 08:01 PM

PixelFish: That's because the Red States have MECHS!

B Reed: Thoh that storywise it was the blue With the mechs and EMPG's and the reds with the tanks and planes?

Dave Sorgen | March 19, 2007 08:20 PM

hmmmm...

Read all except the Card piece. All struck me as pretty good, but Libertarian??? WTF?

The past winners have been pretty good; so, I presume that you're in reasonably good company here.

I've met a few of the "libertarion" SF folks at various cons and consider them to be kooks of varying descriptions. They seem to have little sense of reality and little or no understanding of human nature (as described by sociology anyway).

If you win yell "Yippee", take the prize and run. I suggest you literally run...

Dave

Adam Rakunas | March 19, 2007 08:31 PM

Not to snark, but isn't TGB all about the triumph of unchecked government power? Seeing how the CC is all secretive and mighty and other parts about the book that I realize will be spoilers if I talk about them?

Or is it libertarian in the "I like the bang bang" sense?

PixelFish | March 19, 2007 09:03 PM

B Reed: I stand corrected. The Blue States have mechs! (Honestly, about the time the mechs showed up, my brain revolted, and I put the book down and went away to take a breather. This has never happened with a Card book, even the Bean ones, which I think are fanfic for the rest of the Ender-verse.)

John Scalzi | March 19, 2007 09:17 PM

Old Jarhead:

"So basically we don't know if this is equivalent to being a finalist for a Pulitzer or for a Grimey (award given by Frank 'Grimey' Grimes of Springfield.)"

Man, I want a Grimey.

The Prometheus has been around a sufficiently long time (~30 years) that they are not thought to be unusually suspect. And, of course, I would also note that people who want to vote on Hugos can also buy in, simply by paying the membership fee for that year's Worldcon.

As for whether I am to be absconding with the gold coin, with the Prometheus Award, it's always prudent to bet on the Scottish socialist. I am, to put it mildly, neither.

Anonymous | March 19, 2007 10:11 PM

Gee, Old Jarhead, you got me twice today. Where did you get your vocabulary? I want one that big too.

Cassie | March 19, 2007 10:26 PM

Sorry, that was my anonymous quote, and it sounds a bit snarky but it wasn't meant that way at all.

Alex R. | March 19, 2007 10:39 PM

Ugh, tough choice here. I can't believe none of you have read Harbingers by F. Paul Wilson. Repairman Jack is one of the best characters in history. I'm waiting for TGB to come out in paperback before I pick it up, though I'm sure its awesome.

ian morris | March 19, 2007 10:40 PM

i plan to read all the books in the list except harbingers, glasshouse rocked

LIbertarians entry in "the tough guide to the rapture of the nerds
http://www.accelerando.org/_static/toughguide.html#LIbertarians

Steve Downey | March 19, 2007 10:41 PM

Wow. Congratulations! That's some awfully respectable company TGB is keeping there.

I've read three of five, plan to read Wilson's soon, and have mostly given up on Card.

Of the three so far, I enjoyed them all immensely, and will continue to give my support in the way that matters most (the folding green kind, usually through my local book store, on the first day the hardback shows up, so they get the appreciation, too).

But, of the three, I'd have to say Rainbows End. Near perfect, including the explanation of the grammatical error in the title, that irked me when I first read it.

Alex R. | March 20, 2007 12:28 AM

Just a heads up for any who are thinking of reading Harbingers...you can definitely read it on its own, but it helps if you read the other 8 in the series. Significant time investment, but certainly worth it.

Nick Stump | March 20, 2007 12:58 AM

One of the best educated men I know is an old jarhead who went to VMI. Then there's Jim Webb, a fine Marine, Senator, who has written in my estimation, the gold standard Vietnam novel, Fields of Fire. These jarheads tend to be pretty sharp, and as there was a platoon of those guys who kept my zoomie butt in one piece over thirty years ago, all I can say is Semper Fi and God bless the Marine Corps.

Riccardo | March 20, 2007 01:12 AM

Dave:

"I've met a few of the "libertarion" SF folks at various cons [...] They seem to have little sense of reality [...]"

And that is different from the other people at the cons how?

Tumbleweed | March 20, 2007 01:57 AM

Wilson's Repairman Jack is one of my favourite characters ever. Harbinger was one fine read.

john | March 20, 2007 07:59 AM

Congrats, looks like you are in good company! It would be hard for me to make a choice.

JulieW | March 20, 2007 08:48 AM

The comment queue suddenly made a lot more sense once I figured out the original post said "libertarian" not "librarian." No more Nyquil for me!

Matt Ruff | March 20, 2007 09:34 AM

The comment queue suddenly made a lot more sense once I figured out the original post said "libertarian" not "librarian."

The Vinge nomination would make a lot more sense to me if it really did say "librarian"...

James Nicoll | March 20, 2007 09:45 AM

John MacScalizi:
As for whether I am to be absconding with the gold coin, with the Prometheus Award, it's always prudent to bet on the Scottish socialist. I am, to put it mildly, neither.

Neither is Vinge and based on past voting patterns for this award, I'd give him the edge in this race.

Why are there so many Celts writing SF, anyway? I'm working on a thesis that it's the mirror image of the same process the famous Celtic tradition of misguided romanticism about the past, transformed into an activity where it isn't quite so obviously demented. Wait, no. That's all I have. It's not so much a thesis as a sentence.

Lawrence Schimel | March 20, 2007 10:19 AM

Congrats and good luck!

Steve | March 20, 2007 01:06 PM

I thought Harbingers was the 10th book?

Alex R. | March 20, 2007 01:17 PM

I believe it is the 9th, with Bloodline to be the 10th.

Bobarino | March 20, 2007 02:08 PM

Well, none of the nominees writes like Ayn Rand, something for which you can all be grateful.

Old Jarhead | March 20, 2007 06:24 PM

Anonymous: Although some might accuse me of practicing esquivalience I assure you that I do not and I am not giving up my pot of etymological gold, else I would lose the Bacon Crown of Pedantry.

Nick: It's another magnificent day to be of service to Corps, God, and Country, where every day is a holiday, every meal is a banquet, and every formation is a family reunion.

Semper Fi,

Old Jarhead

Dave Sorgen | March 20, 2007 09:58 PM

oooo... Guess I should have said even LESS connection with reality than the average con-goer.

Sorry for the lack of qualification.

At least they (the libertarians) don't run around in trek outfits...

Steve | March 21, 2007 07:01 PM

According to wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Repairman_Jack_Series)

1 # The Tomb (1984)
2 # Legacies (1998)
3 # Conspiracies (1999)
4 # All The Rage (2000)
5 # Hosts (2001)
6 # The Haunted Air (2002)
7 # Gateways (2003)
8 # Crisscross (2004)
9 # Infernal (2005)
10 # Harbingers (2006)

However, The Tomb is also part of The Adversary Cycle, that ends with Nightworld.

All of which I have learned in the last day, from Wikipedia and Amazon. I'm just hoping that I've found an untapped source of quality fiction to feed my habit.