Poul Anderson 
Rudyard Kipling 
Rush “Hemispheres” 
Jack Vance. Photo by Hayford Peirce 
F. Paul Wilson. Photo by Jeff.
The Libertarian Futurist Society has selected five finalists for the 2021 Prometheus Hall of Fame Award for Best Classic Fiction.
- The Winter of the World, a 1975 novel by Poul Anderson
- “As Easy as A.B.C.,” a 1912 novelette by Rudyard Kipling
- “The Trees,” a 1978 song by Rush (recorded as part of the rock group’s 1978 album “Hemispheres”)
- Emphyrio, a 1969 novel by Jack Vance
- “Lipidleggin’,” a 1979 short story by F. Paul Wilson
The Prometheus Awards ballot will be emailed to LFS members at the usual time next May, The Prometheus Award, sponsored by the Libertarian Futurist Society (LFS), was established and first presented in 1979, making it one of the most enduring awards after the Nebula and Hugo awards, and one of the oldest fan-based awards currently in sf. Presented annually since 1982 at the World Science Fiction Convention, the Prometheus Awards include gold coins and plaques for the winners for Best Novel, Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame), and occasional Special Awards.
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If I’m remembering EMPHYRIO correctly (it’s been a lo-n-n-n-n-g time since I read it), that’s the Vance book where the main character we’ve been following the entire novel is never mentioned in the final chapter. I remember thinking “Well, it… kinda… works… sorta.”)
“With the Night Mail” is a far better story in the same setting as “As Easy as A.B.C”, but it’s not as pulpy and needs some fancy page layouts so it didn’t get into as many SF anthologies. It’s a shame.
The Trees by Rush? Great baseline; not so nuanced lyrics.
As Easy As A,B,C has now been a finalist 16 years in a row.
The Winter of the World is, IMHO, minor Anderson
(coincidentally, reading a bunch of Anderson stories at the moment)