L. Neil Smith (1946–2021)
Author of The Adventures of Lando Calrissian
About the Author
L. Neil Smith is the three-time winner of the Prometheus Award for Best Libertarian Fiction for his novels Pallas (1993), Forge of the Elders (2000), and The Probability Broach (1980). As founder and National Coordinator of the Libertarian Second Amendment Caucus, publisher of the on-line magazine show more The Libertarian Enterprise, and a Life member of the National Rifle Association, Smith is renowned for his prominence in the Libertarian movement, of which he has been a part for more than thirty-five years. Author of more than twenty books, Smith has been hailed for his ability to combine adventure, humor, and rivetingly original political concepts to create more compellingly than any other writer, novels that embody Libertarian concepts. He currently resides in Fort Collins, Colorado, with his wife and daughter. show less
Image credit: Courtesy of L. Neil Smith.
Series
Works by L. Neil Smith
American Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR): 1 - Forge of the Elders (Omnibus) — Author — 2 copies
A Matter of Certainty 1 copy
TimePeeper 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Smith, Lester Neil, III
- Birthdate
- 1946-05-12
- Date of death
- 2021-08-27
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Denver, Colorado, USA
- Place of death
- Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
- Places of residence
- Denver, Colorado, USA (birth)
Fort Collins, Colorado, USA - Education
- Colorado State University
- Occupations
- science fiction writer
political activist - Organizations
- Libertarian Party
Prometheus Award (founder)
The Libertarian Enterprise
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 37
- Also by
- 6
- Members
- 3,534
- Popularity
- #7,188
- Rating
- 3.3
- Reviews
- 55
- ISBNs
- 85
- Languages
- 2
- Favorited
- 6
L. Neil's writing style just got better and better -- most of the time. (He had a vocabulary bigger than the dictionary and sometimes he did use too many words -- an understandable, and minor, flaw, I guess.)
As I've said in other reviews, L. Neil was so well-read and knowledgeable, he could over-awe near-hermits like myself who simply don't have the knowledge of popular culture he had. Therefore, some of the references went and go over our heads.
But that just means we can re-read and re-re-read his books and get fresh insight each time.
Yes, first we read L. Neil Smith's books for the philosophy, the ideas, the support of human rights and individual liberty, but we also read for his enjoyable style, his frequent tongue-in-cheek references.
Though Neil and I talked often on the phone, and e-mailed back and forth a lot, we never met. Still, I miss him every day. Selfishly: We need, we desperately need, thinkers and writers to help us spread the message of freedom.
We can, though, continue to be grateful we have what Schopenhauer called "that paper memory of mankind," books, plus Neil's powerful essays are also available on the Internet.
His influence remains. And we are grateful.… (more)