Born 12 May, 1946, SF writer and Libertarian activist L. Neil Smith passed away 27 August 2021. His entertaining books were not only fun but effective introductions to libertarianism, minarchism and anarcho-capitalism, without pages-long lectures. (Paisley hovercraft, dimensional travel and the occasional exploding planet, on the other hand...!)
The Probability Broach was perhaps his best-known novel and it's just as much fun to read now as it was when it was first published 41 years ago. You can find it and plenty more of his books here.
His family has set up a memorial page.
In recent years, L. Neil Smith and I had drifted apart politically but I never stopped respecting him as a writer and as an effective publicist of libertarianism. My condolences to his family and to his many other friends.
BUILDING A 1:1 BALUN
4 years ago
2 comments:
I loved the grass superhighways and superfast hovercrafts
Most libertarian fiction is heavy-handed, overly pedantic, and preachy, to the point where it isn't any fun. LNS's writing could be, too, but it was always fun, and it's one of the few in the genre I return to, or even own.
Goodbye, sir.
(I am open to suggestions on fun, inventive Lib fiction, BTW)
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