Depends on how you look at it. There are two catagories; Best Novel Award, and Hall of Fame Award.

FPW won the very first Best Novel Award in 1979 for Wheels Within Wheels, he won again in 2004 for Sims.

A number of authors have won this award twice, but so far, no one has won it three times.

In the Hall of Fame Award catagory; in 1990 he won for Healer, and in 1991 he won for An Enemy Of The State.

In this catagory, Robert Heinlein has won six times; The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1983), Stranger in a Strange Land (1987), Red Planet (1996), Methuselah's Children (1997), Time Enough for Love (1998), and Requiem (2003).

No one else has won this award more than once.

As an aside, in 2005, the winner in this catagory was A.E. van Vogt, for The Weapon Shops of Isher. (You get the connection I'm sure . . . Isher Sport Shop . . . Abe's sign; "The right to buy weapons is the right to be free."

Paul is right though, RJ is Libertarian, but the novel Harbingers isn't . . . particularly.

Still, I wish him (you) luck.

Ken V.

Actually, Ken, your namesake Ken MacLeod has won the award three times, as has Victor Koman and L. Neil Smith. See complete list below.

Anders

2006 -- Ken MacLeod, Learning the World
2005 -- Neal Stephenson, The System of the World
2004 -- F. Paul Wilson, Sims
2003 -- Terry Pratchett, Night Watch
2002 -- Donald Kingsbury, Psychohistorical Crisis
2001 -- L. Neil Smith, The Forge of the Elders
2000 -- Vernor Vinge, A Deepness in the Sky
1999 -- John Varley, The Golden Globe
1998 -- Ken MacLeod, The Stone Canal
1997 -- Victor Koman, Kings of the High Frontier
1996 -- Ken MacLeod, The Star Fraction
1995 -- Poul Anderson, The Stars are also Fire
1994 -- L. Neil Smith, Pallas
1993 -- James P. Hogan, The Multiplex Man
1992 -- Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Michael Flynn, Fallen Angels
1991 -- Michael Flynn, In the Country of the Blind
1990 -- Victor Koman, Solomon's Knife
1989 -- Brad Linaweaver, Moon of Ice
1988 -- Victor Koman, The Jehovah Contract
1987 -- Vernor Vinge, Marooned in Realtime
1986 -- Victor Milan, Cybernetic Samurai
1985 -- No Winner ("None of the Above")
1984 -- J. Neil Schulman, The Rainbow Cadenza
1983 -- James P. Hogan, Voyage from Yesteryear
1982 -- L. Neil Smith, The Probability Broach
1979 -- F. Paul Wilson, Wheels Within Wheels

It's a crying shame that Enemy of the State didn't win in its year. What won instead?

An Enemy of the State was a finalist in 1982, but L. Neil Smith's debut novel, The Probability Broach, won that year. Had I voted that year, it's hard to say which one I would have picked. They're both damn good books, and libertarian to the core. KYFHO!

Anders

Actually, Ken, your namesake Ken MacLeod has won the award three times, as has Victor Koman and L. Neil Smith. See complete list below.

Yep . . . you're right.

Oops. :o

Ken V.

An Enemy of the State was a finalist in 1982, but L. Neil Smith's debut novel, The Probability Broach, won that year. Had I voted that year, it's hard to say which one I would have picked. They're both damn good books, and libertarian to the core. KYFHO!

True that!

What happened in 1983? What kind of finalists were there? James P. Hogan won that year for his novel Voyage from Yesteryear. That novel was considerably more socialist than libertarian. His novel The Mirror Maze on the other hand was an excellent libertarian adventure novel. The Infinity Gambit wasn't too bad either.

Ken V.

True that!

What happened in 1983? What kind of finalists were there? James P. Hogan won that year for his novel Voyage from Yesteryear. That novel was considerably more socialist than libertarian. His novel The Mirror Maze on the other hand was an excellent libertarian adventure novel. The Infinity Gambit wasn't too bad either.

Ken V.

I'd probably consider Hogan's book in a "left libertarian" civil disobedience/non-violent tradition, somewhat like Eric Frank Russell's story, "And then there were none." However, no other book as caused as much controversy in the LFS as Ursula Le Guin's novel, The Dispossessed, which is a syndicalist anarchist novel.

The finalists in 1983 were a diverse lot.
Robert Heinlein, Friday
James Hogan, Voyage from Yesteryear
Ann Maxwell, Fire Dancer
Julian May, The Many-Colored Land
Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle, Oath of Fealty

I've read all but Maxwell's. Other surprises from that year included two novels from L. Neil Smith, neither of which were finalists (shock), plus
Robert Anton Wilson's wickedly subversive novel, Masks of the Illuminati.

But, as with all awards, there's bound to be confusion and controversy, since we as humans tend to vote as much with our hearts as with our minds.

Anders

You show your gracious nature in saying that, Paul, but the $1,000,000 prize is nothing to sneeze at.

*passes out*

Are you kidding me, Bluesman? LOL! Because if that's true I'm going to start writing a sci-fi Libertarian novel TODAY.

Susanita

*passes out*

Are you kidding me, Bluesman? LOL! Because if that's true I'm going to start writing a sci-fi Libertarian novel TODAY.

Susanita

No kidding? Me, too. I never heard of the Prometheus award before, but if it has a million dollar prize, I'm making sure to put in all kinds of libertarian themes.

Of course, I still have to write it. Then it has to be good enough. Then I have to find an agent. Then the agent has to convince someone to publish it. Then I suppose people have to buy it. It sounds like the equivalent of running a marathon to the top of the Matterhorn.

According to the web site, the first Prometheus Award was a gold coin supposed to be worth $2500, awarded to F. Paul Wilson in 1982 for Wheels Within Wheels.

Someone's joshing about the million dollar prize, aren't they?

I'd probably consider Hogan's book in a "left libertarian" civil disobedience/non-violent tradition, somewhat like Eric Frank Russell's story, "And then there were none." However, no other book as caused as much controversy in the LFS as Ursula Le Guin's novel, The Dispossessed, which is a syndicalist anarchist novel.

I never have understood the terms "left libertarian" or "right libertarian." And to me, syndicalist-anarchist is a contradiction in terms. But I understand the controversy.

But, as with all awards, there's bound to be confusion and controversy, since we as humans tend to vote as much with our hearts as with our minds.

I understand that too, but that doesn't mean that I agree with it.

For a good libertarian read, I still suggest The Mirror Maze, by James P. Hogan. Used copies can still be found. Here's the listing from abebooks:

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchRe...+maze&x=41

Ken V.

Someone's joshing about the million dollar prize, aren't they?

Most definitely. If I remember right, the prize was/is a plaque and a one-ounce gold coin . . . or a plaque with a one-ounce gold coin mounted on it.

Ken V.

For a good libertarian read, I still suggest The Mirror Maze, by James P. Hogan. Used copies can still be found.

Ken V.

I agree with you Ken. I like Jim and his work (he has a terrific sense of humor in person that doesn't always show up in his fiction), but sometimes I tend to forget the contents a little too quickly after reading them. I also recommend his novel, Code of the Lifemaker. I've read Mirror Maze a couple of times, but there are many just as good or better libertarian sf books out there. I'd go for Vernor Vinge any time as my first choice there. I don't want to hijack this discussion into one of libertarian fiction, but I think the quality of the five finalists is superb. I look forward to reading the three books on the list which I haven't read, and I may have to re-read Harbingers, despite the painful conclusion of that novel.

Anders