Bradford Swain Linaweaver (September 1, 1952 – August 29, 2019) was an American science fiction writer, film producer, actor, and magazine publisher.
[2] Although he spent the better part of his career in Hollywood, he eventually settled at the family lake front home in Apopka, which his father designed and built shortly after moving to Florida in 1958.
In late 1970, during his freshman year at Florida State University, Linaweaver joined the local college chapter of the national conservative organization Young Americans for Freedom (YAF).
[3] Both conservative and libertarian ideologies were represented within the local YAF chapter, prompting Linaweaver to begin writing and debating about the various political philosophies competing for followers on college campuses at that time.
[14] The work allowed Linaweaver to expound upon the different outcomes of economic models (National Socialism in Germany, Libertarianism in the United States), as well as the little known cultist underpinnings and beliefs of the Nazi regime.
The work began in the form of a novella, which soon drew the attention of the science fiction community, resulting in a 1983 nomination for the Nebula Award, and finishing as a finalist in that category.
Linaweaver then expanded the story to novel length, firmly establishing himself within the realm of Libertarian science fiction writers, and winning a Prometheus Award.
The novel garnered the endorsements of Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, and William F. Buckley, Jr.[11][15] While many reviews praised the handling of economic themes, and Linaweaver's research into the little known cultist beliefs of some Nazi elites (including a hollow earth, and a moon made of ice), some found fault with the story telling, opining that the torrent of information "numbs rather than stimulates".
[2] Linaweaver's 1995 story collaboration with Victor Koman, The Light That Blinds featured an occult battle between Aleister Crowley and Adolf Hitler.
The hardcover coffee table book featured cover art from science fiction's Golden Age, from Ackerman's considerable collection, and included full color reproductions and commentary from the authors.
[23] Linaweaver shared a second Prometheus Award with Ed Kramer for co-editing Free Space, a libertarian science fiction anthology from TOR books.
The Science Fiction story, Wells of Wisdom made the preliminary Nebula ballot and was part of the Galaxy Audio Project, read by Catherine Oxenberg.
Linaweaver also wrote and produced online content, including the award-winning web series Silicon Assassin, starring Richard Hatch, currently available on YouTube.
[26] The magazine featured literary contributions from, and articles about, Linaweaver's eclectic list of celebrity friends and contacts, including Battlestar Galactica actor Richard Hatch; science fiction author and collector Forrest J. Ackerman; the conservative commentator, publisher, and television personality William F. Buckley, Jr.; adult cinema legend Traci Lords and poetry from speculative fiction icon Ray Bradbury and Linaweaver's college friend and YAF colleague, Georgia State Representative Chesley V. Morton.