Note: this is a list of works of science fiction and fantasy by anarchists. For criticism of SF and fantasy by anarchists (and for anarchist critiques of SF and fantasy), see the Literary Theory and Criticism list. Lots of entries and commentary lifted from
Benjamin Beck’s excellent reading list, with bibliographic information added.
Anderson, Poul (1958). “The Last of the Deliverers.” Fantasy & Science Fiction 14.2: ??-??. <–Collected in Backdrop of Stars, ed. Harry Harrison (London: NEL, 1975), pp. 27-40. “In a world where the US and USSR have become decentralized, libertarian socialist townships, the last capitalist debates the last Communist, and everyone else is bored by their irrelevance” (Dan Clore). “A creaky, cold-war yarn with some attractive post-consumerism and a tinge of green” (Benjamin Beck).
<–revised version 1976
– – – (1963). “No Truce With Kings.” <–In ‘No Truce with Kings’, Earth’s states have broken into small, feudal realms; alien invaders attempt to reintroduce civilization to the “starveling anarchs” of the planet, who prefer the relative freedom offered by a choice of masters.’ (Dan Clore)
Anonymous (1989). “Visit Port Watson!” Semiotext(e) SF. Ed. Rudy von Bitter Rucker et al. New York: Semiotext(e). <–“Spoof travel-guide to the utopian island of Sonsonal, combining ideas from various libertarian strands” (Benjamin Beck).
Ashbee, C.R. (1910). The Building of Thelema. London: Dent. <–“A utopian romance influenced by William Morris” (Dan Clore). See Alan Crawford, C.R. Ashbee: Architect, Designer, And Romantic Socialist (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1985).
LeGuin, Ursula K. (1974). “The Day Before the Revolution.” <–A sort of short-story prequel to The Dispossessed, concerning Odo, the philosopher whose ideas undergird the anarchist colony of Anarres.
– – – (1974). The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia. <–“The Dispossessed concerns two worlds, one moon to the other, with vastly differing political systems. One of these is ‘Odonianism,’ a form of Taoist anarchist communism. For Le Guin, anarchism ‘is the most idealist, and to me the most interesting, of all political theories’ (LeGuin, “Introduction” to The Wind’s Twelve Quarters, 1975). She is well-versed in the historical anarchist tradition (especially Kropotkin, Goodman, and Bookchin), and this shows. The utopia itself is ‘ambiguous’ because flawed and mutable. The novel succeeds in presenting the most believable, and perhaps the best, exploration of anarchism in a science fiction context, of any yet written” (Benjamin Beck).
– – – (1973). “The Ones Who Walk away from Omelas.” <–The name of the utopia in the story, “Omelas,” is an anagram of “Salem, O[regon]” — LeGuin‘s home.
– – – (1982). “Sur”
MacLeod, Ken (1999). The Cassini Division. New York: Tor.
– – – (1999). The Sky Road. New York: Tor.
– – – (1996). The Star Fraction. New York: Tor.
– – – (1997). The Stone Canal. New York: Tor.
<–“Distinctive left-wing Scottish take on sf, displaying evidence of the author’s own activism” (Benjamin Beck). “Portrays a future that includes both a libertarian socialist society and a libertarian capitalist society” (Dan Clore).
Moorcock, Michael (1976). The Adventures of Una Persson and Catherine Cornelius in the Twentieth Century. A Romance.
– – – (1969). The Black Corridor. New York: Ace Books.
– – – (1971). Breakfast in the Ruins: A Novel of Inhumanity. New York: Random House.
– – – (1982). Byzantium Endures. New York: Random House.
– – – (1977). The Cornelius Chronicles. New York: Avon.
– – – (1993). The Dancers at the End of Time. London: Millenium. <–(“Originally publ. in three volumes, 1972–6.”)
– – – (1980). The Entropy Tango: A Comic Romance. London: New English Library.
– – – (1984). The Opium General and Other Stories. London: Harrap.
– – – (1981). The Steel Tsar. New York: DAW Books.
– – – (1971). The Warlord of the Air. New York: DAW Books.
Piercy, Marge (1976). Woman on the Edge of Time. New York: Knopf.
Russell, Eric Frank (1962). The Great Explosion. New York: Avon.
– – – (1948). “Late Night Final.” Astounding 6.10: ??-??.
– – – (1957). Wasp. New York: Avalon Books.
Stross, Charles (2004). The Atrocity Archives. Urbana, IL: Golden Gryphon Press.
– – – (2006). Glasshouse. New York: Ace Books.
– – – (2003). Singularity Sky. New York: Ace Books.
Starhawk Fifth Sacred Thing
Kim Stanley Robinson Nearly anything, will append a list later.