The Last Castle

by Jack Vance

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Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Novella, Science Fiction Fantasy, Novels

115 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1966

About the author

Aka John Holbrook Vance, Peter Held, John Holbrook, Ellery Queen, John van See, Alan Wade.

The author was born in 1916 and educated at the University of California, first as a mining engineer, then majoring in physics and finally in journalism. During the 1940s and 1950s, he contributed widely to science fiction and fantasy magazines. His first novel, The Dying Earth , was published in 1950 to great acclaim. He won both of science fiction's most coveted trophies, the Hugo and Nebula awards. He also won an Edgar Award for his mystery novel The Man in the Cage . He lived in Oakland, California in a house he designed.

Reviews

[Vit Babenco · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Last Castle is a dystopian parable, fanciful and frilly…
After returning from the stars the gentry of the very distant future dwell in the castles – some kind of ivory towers… They are served by several types of aliens… Meks are one of these alien races…

The Mek, standing as if a specimen in a museum case, was a man-like creature native, in his original version, to a planet of Etamin. His tough rusty-bronze hide glistened metallically as if oiled or waxed. The spines thrusting back from scalp and neck shone like gold, and indeed they were coated with a conductive copper-chrome film.

One day Meks revolt…

The most reasonable conjecture was also the simplest: the Mek resented servitude and hated the Earthmen who had removed him from his natural environment.

They start destroying castles with all the inhabitants… Hagedorn is the last castle standing…

Castle Hagedorn occupied the crest of a black diorite crag overlooking a wide valley to the south. Larger, more majestic than Janeil, Hagedorn was protected by walls a mile in circumference, three hundred feet tall. The parapets stood a full nine hundred feet above the valley, with towers, turrets and observation eyries raising even higher.

The Last Castle is The Time Machine – the doers and the thinkers thrown worlds apart – and The War of the Worlds – the battle with the extraterrestrial intelligence – rolled into one…

“Any compromise becomes degradation; any expedient diminution of our standards becomes dishonor. I have heard the word ‘emergency’ used. What a deplorable sentiment! To dignify the rat-like snappings and gnashings of such as the Meks with the word ‘emergency’ is to my mind unworthy of a gentleman of Hagedorn!”

He who fights using arrogance as a weapon will never win.

[mark monday · Rating 4 out of 5]

WITH VANCE PEST CONTROL, PESTS DON'T STAND A CHANCE!

In addition to bugging you, the pests known as Humans pose serious risks to your health and property – all year long. Humans carry various diseases, so it’s important to keep them in their place. No matter what season it is, they will sneak onto your world searching for food, water and a comfortable habitat. Our technicians work to deliver solutions – rooted in science ‐ that protect every world, including "Earth" - where these pests apparently originate.

IT STARTS WITH AN INSPECTION

Our residential pest control process is simple. Friendly, certified technicians hailing from a range of former slave races will perform a thorough inspection of your world to uncover potential issues. As we were all once enslaved and modified by these pests, we know where humans like to live and lurk, and how they "think". We'll provide you with a fully customized program to treat and eliminate entry points and nests. With award-winning training and advanced technology, your technician will look for conditions that invite human pests, tackle current infestations, and stop the life cycle to prevent future invasions.

EACH WORLD IS UNIQUE

When you have a pest problem or want to protect your home world from future invaders, we apply our science-based approach to help identify the root of your problem and implement a solution made expressly for your world. During each visit, you can count on a highly-trained technician to investigate, protect, fortify, keep watch, report, and follow up to maintain our high service standard. Our technicians live to exterminate humans!

YEAR-ROUND PEST CONTROL SERVICE FOR YEAR-ROUND PEACE OF MIND

Humans, like most pests, are often quite persistent. So we are too. Vance Pest Control works around the calendar to maintain a human-free environment. Within 30 days of your first treatment, we'll activate our Pest-Away® program. This includes a thorough inspection of your world to ensure that any newly emerging humans do not re-infest the area. Then we'll administer treatment regularly to protect your property - and your peace of mind. They may run and hide in their fanciful little castles, but we shall administer treatment to every last one of them!

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good.

Jack Vance’s 1966 thin novel was thought well enough of to garner the 1967 Hugo for Best Novelette and the 1966 Nebula for Best Novella. High praise and well deserved, this is a special work.

An observant reader will see the obvious allegory against aristocratic prerogatives gone awry, will concede the superficial message decrying slavery, class consciousness and xenophobia (an SF euphemism for real world racism).

But Vance gives us more. The character of Xanten demonstrates a dynamic evolution from aristocratic discontent to a pragmatic, if still prideful, survivability. Among the ruling class, Vance shows an understanding of what changes must be made.

Vance also portrays the dark underside of class distinction that provides only a pencil thin distinction between outright slavery. his depiction of the alien Meks and their eventual rebellion is well played and enacted with a simplicity akin to fable.

“Since we have no future, to our glorious past!”

Vance’s “gentlemen” and the privileged class was inspired, according to the author, by Japanese feudalism, but I thought of the stereotypical British imperialist cast in B movies and TV: the pompous and condescendingly elite absentee landlord and the insensitive royal blithely dismissing the working class. To be sure, Vance’s illustration of this group approaches caricature but it is also powerfully, if not too subtly drawn and Vance’s talent is evident.

The tone and structure of the tale was somewhat reminiscent of Michael Moorcock’s Corum series.

A must read for a fan and probably not a bad choice for a new reader of this SF/F Grandmaster.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novellete won the Hugo in '67 and the Nebular in '66, and it happens to be my very first reading of Jack Vance.

I expected nothing other than Silver Age SF, under-topics that were very important to the day, and what might seem to be very old tropes. So what did I get?

Silver Age SF, a fairly deeply buried reflection on a topic of "Doing The Job Yourself"... as opposed letting another class, be it race, socioeconomic, or sex, to do it for you. You know, American Work Ethic, and why the hell is everyone hiring maids to do all their housework, damnit? And of course we get the standard SF tropes that all you fans love, such as highly stratified societies and a huge War With Robots. Yeah! And don't forget castles and neat twists that make them seem almost like metaphors for tightly controlled generational ships.

The afterward tells us that he's bringing in some of the surface layers of Japanese Shogunate verbal niceties, too, so definitely keep an eye out in the read for that. :)

There's a ton of great ideas flitting and flying about here, and some of them have 2 foot wingspans even if they're craven cowards and don't want to dominate the text. Which is a shame, because the juxtaposition of all these tropes and a few more I haven't even mentioned is what makes this story a truly cool one.

Jack Vance was one hell of a talesmith, and I am thrilled enough to start building a collection right next to my tiny but growing shelf of Poul Anderson. Sweet!

Oh, and for those purists that hate to read old SF because of all the sexism, prejudice, and other cringeworthy social artifacts, don't worry yourselves with this one. It's pretty damn clean and interesting without being a misanthrope.

After all, the slaves get freed and the old masters have to get their crap together. :)

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Vance's The Last Castle won both a Hugo and Nebula Awards for excellence. It tells the story of a human race that has spread out to other planets. Elements of them have returned to earth and enslaved other races to do their work for them, including the talented Meks and the insectlike Phanes.

The returned earthlings mostly live an epicene existence in isolated castles. (Others are spread out in small towns -- these are called expiationists).

The action begins when the Meks rebel and begin conquering the castles one by one until only Castle Hagedorn is left. The hero, Xanten, leader of the clan of the same name, doesn't want to fall prey to the Meks and tries to find some way of mobilizing his reluctant fellows to defend themselves.

This is an excellent read which I recommend to anyone who likes fantasy literature.

[Manny · Rating 2 out of 5]

- So what is this book about, dwarling?

- Oh, another of those ghastly little science-fiction novels. The decadent aristocrats sit in their beseiged castle, which is being systematically undermined by the nasty, uncouth Meks. As one tower after another collapses in ruins, they try to decide which bottles of priceless old wine most urgently need to be drunk before the inevitable end.

- What a frightfully unsubtle metaphor. I presume it's poorly written and stylistically uninventive?

- Alas, you presume correctly. You must forgive me, I was only a teenager when I read it.

- I forgive you, dwarling. Anything on the news?

- More catastrophes in the third world, I believe. I'm afraid I lost interest after a minute and turned it off. Thought I'd go back to Proust.

- Very sensible, dwarling.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Very solid, Hugo and Nebula award winning sci-fi tale of a far future Earth repopulated by man and his legions of alien servants after having been abandoned for millennia in the wake of planetary disaster. As the humans face revolt and possible annihilation from the subjugated aliens they question their traditional world view and supposed superiority. Sharp prose, perfect pacing and structure as only one would expect from a grand master such as Jack Vance.

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Last Castle" was first published in Galaxy Magazine in April, 1966. It is a 59/66/113 page novella, but it has sometimes been incorrectly labeled as a novelette and as a novel. It won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 1967 and the Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1966. It was also nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Novel.
For the most recent review and other Vance reviews please see:
https://vancealotjackvanceinreview.bl...

The setting is in the far future where for the past seven hundred years most humans on Earth live in luxury castles as elite clans of arrogant, ruling aristocrats who call themselves “gentlemen.” Working under them are two alien, nonhuman species the Peasants and the Meks. The Peasants are “small andromorphs originally of Spica Ten” who are incapable of being aggressive. The Meks were brought to Earth from another planet called Etamion Nine and seem very submissive. They have a large maw and syrup sacs on their body that were once used for extracting “decayed swamp vegetation” on their home planet. Now the syrup sacs are filled with a syrup manufactured by humans. Mek brains seem to function as radio receivers that allow them to communicate with each other and to work as one. They are described as being a “hybrid of sub-man and cockroach” and are thought to be devoid of feelings. The “gentlemen” are also served by giant birds that talk and provide transportation for the humans and strange beings called Phanes that are beautiful but very fragile. On Earth there are also some humans, called Nomads, who have revolted against the gentlemen and live an independent, self-sufficient life without Meks, Peasants, Phanes, giant birds and castles.

Most of the labor in the castles, even the most technical such as the maintenance of spaceships is performed by the Meks. The humans think the docile Meks are content working for them, so are taken by surprise when there is an uprising and all of the Meks begin to fight and kill humans. The Meks rightly view themselves as being slaves to the humans and think there is room on Earth for only one species. The Meks defeat all castles except the largest and best defended one called Castle Hagedorn. One of the Hagedorn clan leaders there, Xanten, organizes a final stand against the Meks.

Using lively dialog and interesting customs and interactions, Vance presents humanitarian and ethical issues in a well written and absorbing story. The Meks might be insect like and nonhuman but they clearly can think for themselves and don’t want to be enslaved anymore. This is one of Vance’s better works even though it is not among his very finest efforts. It is a pity that more of Vance's writings did not receive awards. I’ve read The Last Castle five times so far and rated it a 4 “Really liked it.”

[Chazzbot · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first Jack Vance novel that I've read. It is one of those novels in the grand SF tradition, providing a wide view of a particular "historical" moment with all its history and cultural quirks in the midst of an engaging story about the individuals caught up in it.

The story concerns a society living on a future Earth that has "adopted" several alien species for use as workers, servants, and sexual objects. The society is indolent, ignorant, and arrogant (with a few notable exceptions). As the novel begins, rumours are floating around about an uprising of some of the alien species. The pampered humans either dismiss the rumours or are annoyed by what they regard as the impertinence and rudeness of the uprising.

Although I wouldn't call this a heavy-handed novel, it would certainly be difficult to miss the message this novel offers on slavery and complacency. Vance's language is witty and engaging, however, and the novel reads so quickly you won't be bothered by the obviousness of its moral. The characterization of the indolent castle-dwellers alone makes the novel worth reading.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-El Vance menos sarcástico.-

Género. Novela corta.

Lo que nos cuenta. Castillo Janeil acaba de ser destruido, junto con sus habitantes, por los meks rebelados que no hacen distinciones entre la clase social que tanto importa a los humanos ni respetan los seis siglos que la fortaleza llevaba en pie. El mek es un organismo nativo del planeta Etamin Nueve de aspecto entre hombre e insecto a cuya psique y razonamiento los humanos no han prestado mucha atención durante todo el tiempo que los han tenido como esclavos y cuya rebelión ha sido toda una sorpresa. En Castillo Hagedorn, del que sus meks han desaparecido repentinamente creando perspectivas ominosas, sus líderes reciben con incredulidad y enfado las noticias del levantamiento y de los ataques a los castillos mientras debaten sobre qué hacer a continuación.

¿Quiere saber más del libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com....

[Lannie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is sort of a perfect old-school sci-fi in that it showcases both the highs and lows of the genre.

Pros
- Lore/world-building: What would a good, old-school sci-fi be without meticulous thought put into the shape and function of its peoples, its classes, and its technology? If there's one reason to read this book, it's to see how Vance has taken the myriad slave-borne pleasures of the aristocracy and transformed them each into their own shape of alien.
- Ideas: A good old-school sci-fi also has some sort of neat idea, often bordering on allegory. Here, there is an inspection (and, possibly, critique) of aristocracy. The upper class of extravagant do-nothings are attacked by their own alien slaves. They rely on these slaves so much that it is beneath them to fight back—a sort of dishonor to man their own machines and stoop to the level of the slave class. There is definitely a socio-political idea in here that can't be ignored, and I appreciate that.

Cons:
- Prose: I'm not a big fan of the prose style here. It is as extravagant and needlessly verbose as the melancholic, mildewed lamentations beseeching our unthinkable prodigality. You get the point. It's not as color-reliant as I find most old-school sci-fi (ex: the aubergine, emerald, and plum-colored skies!), but the author's voice and the voice of the over-the-top aristocrats is too similar. It would be a bit of fun to mock the way the aristocrats talked if the author didn't narrate in the same style.
- Ideas: If the ideas are a cool part of the story, the uncool part is the muddling of ideas—or rather, the lack of clarity. The slave class revolts, but not the whole slave class, just one particular race, the Meks. What does it say that the Birds, Power Wagons, and Phanes are still just sort of there? And worse, how come the solution is to take the Meks back to their home planet? Why not live in peace together? Why send them away, like they don't belong in the world they helped build? And also, how are the Meks going to survive on their homeworld when they literally rely on the syrup the aristocrats use to control them? And what about the Power Wagons which, as far as I can tell, are just beasts of burden? Did they send those back as well, and then also swear off using cows? I think there are a lot of little things that fall apart in this story, which tends to happen in stories that prioritize lore over messaging.
- Plot and Pacing: The plot is okay, but too long. I guess, like most old-school sci-fi, the focus on the world overwhelms any movement. Things don't happen a lot, and when they do, they're sudden. The ending, for example, just happens. Bam. Ending. It makes you think, why even have a plot? Either write less of it (maybe do a sort of pseudo-documentary style) or have more of it by filling the lore parts with character and motion. This story could have been a full novel in the right hands.
- Characters: I'm not one to think "likable" or "memorable" characters are a necessity, but I can't write this without pointing out the obvious: the character names are more complex than their personalities. This is also pretty classic sci-fi, and it isn't really a big con for me. However, being that the story does have a character viewpoint rather than a fly-on-the-wall documentary lens, it's worth noting that the characterization isn't anything special.

Overall, it's a good enough read with some cool ideas in it, but only because of those ideas. I'd love to see this story again in different hands, though. If it were shorter and just about its ideas, I think I could get behind it more. Or, even better, if it were longer and had more meat in the plot and characterization, it might be pretty special. As it is, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, even sci-fi enjoyers, just because the good parts aren't strong enough to make it worth reading a whole novella.

[Vladimir (mecha_yota) Altukhov · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Last Castle by Jack Vance

Read with the book club. This one was bad.

I'm so disappointed by this novella. It had many great ideas to develop, the lore I wanted to follow, and yet it ended up being a flop. First of all, what is it with so many SF writers clogging their prose with over-the-top, hard-to-get, what-the-fuck lingo? As if writing a normal story with understandable, simple vocabulary is a mauvais ton. Getting through the text was painful. What's funny, I've heard the same complaint from the native speakers in our club. So you know it's bad.

Second, the plot is 95% battle preparation, 4% the battle, 1% the aftermath. Seriously, the Meks we've heard so many scary things about, were destroyed in a blink of an eye. And then comes the epilogue, one of the shortest nonsense epilogues, I've ever seen. Wow.

Look, you had the idea of slaves going against their masters, the idea of misunderstanding and its disastrous consequences, the mockery of high-class society, their indecisiveness and clinging to money and fame. But in the end, it wasn't developed that well. It simply existed to be left in the unfinished state.

I do not recommend it.

[Ayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A group of castles back on Earth, run by aristocrats and serviced by alien people. In their complacency they feel it beneath them to stop the Mec who have revolted against. Since the Mec were the slaves/servants in charge of all technology and workings of it, they are left defenseless. To condescending of their honor to make the needed repairs it is almost the end of them, until the last castle. Xanten finally gets them to defend and fight and in the end they bring down the uprising not without lost to many. They learn tone self-sufficient in the end.

[Kevin Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolute banger, Vance rocks. It’s golden age Sci Fi with more than a little Franz Fanon in it. A quick and punchy story about a slave rebellion, with plenty of strange touches (weird fleshy chariots, odd Bug Woman, dandyish neoconfederate/feudalists). My one complaint is that the ending pulls its punch a bit.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating story that is applicable even today, 47 years after it was written. Indeed it might even be more relevant today than when was written. The story centers around a small group of aristocratic "gentleman" who treat all beneath them as slaves fit only for subjugation and basic tasks. When comes the inevitable revolt, they are ill prepared physically, mentally, and socially to deal with such a thing, because they never believed it could happen. One imagines the French aristocracy having thought the same way.

[Epichan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitabın hacmi çok küçük olsa da yarattığı dünya gerçekten hoşuma gitti. Kaleler, köleler, lordlar, kuşlar ve diğer öğeler ile ufak bir dünya yaratılmış ve çok güzel aktarılmış. Bazı şeylerin biraz daha derinlemesine inmesini isterdim. Bazı soruların cevaplarının olmasını ama yazar bizi sanırım bir şey üzerinde yoğunlaşmamızı istediği için bazı olayları hızlı ve açıklamadan geçiyor. Buna rağmen okuması zevkli bir eser.

[Mohammed Abdikhader Firdhiye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thi story was one of the best i have read by Jack Vance short story,novella or novel.

This is a story that deserves its highly rating as vintage Vance. Even by Jack Vance standards i was surprised by the great writing,story.

[TK421 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A prescient novella with themes that could be taken from today's headlines.

THE LAST CASTLE should be read and discussed by all today. To say more of this brief (115 page) story would only ruin the impact of its message.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

[Tim Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as half of a double with Silverberg's "Nightwings." And yes, I am old enough to have read it the first time; I probably did.

Another inimitable Vance, with a castled aristocracy running aliens as slaves and mostly unaware that it can't last and a revolution is inevitable. It's like a castle full of Jacob Rees-Moggs, with a few moe sensible people being tutted down. Until ....

Most of all this is worthwhile just because it's Vance, who is so easy to read and so enjoyable. It's like having your favourite uncle tell you a story by the fire.

[chickienuggies™ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very middling but I liked the whimsical creatures and the attempt at a good lore/world building. Too long for what it was in the end.

[George K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Βραβευμένη με Hugo και Nebula νουβέλα εκατό σελίδων του Τζακ Βανς, γραμμένη το 1966. Από Τζακ Βανς έχω διαβάσει τα δυο πρώτα βιβλία της Ετοιμοθάνατης Γης και οπωσδήποτε οι προσδοκίες μου ήταν υψηλές, μ��ας και αυτά τα δυο βιβλία τα βρήκα υπέροχα. Σε ένα μικρό βαθμό οι προσδοκίες μου εκπληρώθηκαν, σε καμία περίπτωση όμως δεν φτάνει το επίπεδο των άλλων του βιβλίων. Ουσιαστικά πρόκειται για ένα μείγμα φαντασίας και επιστημονικής φαντασίας, με την δεύτερη να είναι πιο έντονη.

Σε εκατό περίπου σελίδες, εξιστορείται η επανάσταση των πλασμάτων Μεκ, που για εκατοντάδες χρόνια υπηρετούσαν τα Κάστρα της Γης, δίχως παράπονα. Κανείς δεν προέβλεψε την πιθανότητα της επανάστασης εκ μέρους των υποτακτικών αυτών πλασμάτων και έτσι η έκπληξη ήταν ακόμα μεγαλύτερη. Οι ευγενείς και οι κάτοικοι των Κάστρων, όμως, εξακολουθούσαν να έχουν την ίδια νοοτροπία απέναντί τους...

Η βασική ιδέα σίγουρα είναι ενδιαφέρουσα και η εκτέλεση ικανοποιητική, όμως ήθελε πολλές περισσότερες σελίδες για να αναπτυχθεί καλύτερα. Κλασικά για βιβλίο του Βανς υπήρξαν κάποια πλάσματα πολύ ενδιαφέροντα, για τα οποία όμως ήθελα να μάθω περισσότερα. Οι χαρακτήρες μου φάνηκαν αδιάφοροι και μονοδιάστατοι και προτού καν μπω στο κλίμα της ιστορίας, αυτή τελείωσε!

Γενικά, αν θέλετε μια καλογραμμένη science fantasy νουβέλα, με λίγη δράση και κάποια μηνύματα, σίγουρα δεν θα περάσετε άσχημα διαβάζοντάς την, απλά μην περιμένετε το επίπεδο της Ετοιμοθάνατης Γης.

Και ένα σχόλιο για την μετάφραση: Έκανε την δουλειά της, δεν λέω, όμως ρε γαμώτο, σαν πολλά κόμματα δεν υπήρχαν; Εντάξει, δεν έκατσα να τα μετρήσω, αλλά δεκάδες από αυτά ήταν σε εντελώς άσχετα σημεία, δίχως νόημα, και όσο να'ναι έκοβαν την ροή του λόγου. Κοίταξα και τις πρώτες σελίδες της νουβέλας στ'αγγλικά στο amazon για να δω μπας και ήταν του Βανς αυτή η μανία με τα κόμματα, αλλά φυσικά δεν ήταν...

[Kayıp Rıhtım]

Metis Bilimkurgu dizisinin en kısa kitaplarından biri olan En Son Kale, bizlere Hugo ve Nebula Ödüllü bir öykü sunuyor.

Temelde bir adaletsizlik öyküsü sunuyor Jack Vance bizlere. Etamin Dokuz adlı gezegene konuk olup, gezegenin yerlileri Mekler’in safından bu adaletsizliğe seyirci oluyoruz. İnsanlar, Köylüler, Kuşlar, Feynler ve Meklerden oluşan tüm bu canlılar farklı gezegenlerden hizmet amaçlı getirilmişlerdir. Bu toplulukta eşitsizlik hat safhadadır ve soylu olduğunu düşünen insan ırkı, Mekler’e piramitin en alt tabakasını reva görmektedir.

Dünya adlı gezegenin en vahşi yaratıkları olan insanoğlu ebette Etamin Dokuz’a ayak basmış, kaleler yapmış, klanlara ayrılıp yerleşmiş ve Mekler’in yaşam alanlarını işgal etmiştir. Bu da yetmezmiş gibi, hiç kimseye zararı olmayan bu Mekler’i köle gibi kullanmaya ve en ağır işleri onlara yaptırmaya başlamışlardır. Günün birinde, adaletsizliğe maruz kalan her canlının ayaklanması sonucu gerçekleşen devrimde haksızlığın ortadan kaldırıldığı gibi, Mekler de ayaklanacak ve insanoğlunun inşa ettiği kaleler bir bir düşmeye başlayacaktır…

En Son Kale’nin geniş kapsamlı bir roman olmadığını, bir novella olduğunu hatırlatmakta yarar var. Kişisel fikrim, bu kısa romanın başarılı olduğu yönünde fakat daha uzun olması eseri daha da başarılı kılabilirdi pek tabii. Eserlerinde fantezi ile bilimkurguyu ustaca harmanladığı bilinen Vance’in dilimize kazandırılan ilk -ve muhtemelen son olan- Hugo ve Nebula Ödülleri’ni kucaklamış mekanik distopyasını okumanızı öneriyorum.

- Bahri Doğukan ŞAHİN

İncelemenin tamamı için: http://www.kayiprihtim.org/portal/inc...

[Metaphorosis · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this has all the usual trappings of a Vance story - declining society, strange environment, weird creatures - it's unusual in leaning more toward the macho he-man resolution of its time than toward Vance's usual sardonic onlooker.

Award winner or not, I wouldn't put it in the same category as The Languages of Pao or The Magnificent Showboats Of The Lower Vissel River Lune Xxiii South, Big Planet.

A good introduction to Vance, and a fun story for fans.

CVIE vol IV

[Ivan Lutz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uh, uh, uh... volim Vance ali ovo mi nije leglo ali uopće, nikako, ne znam...

[Devero · Rating 1 out of 5]

Storiella insignificante.

[Nickolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Jack Vance book. It was published in 1966 and won the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best Science Fiction Novella. It’s essentially about a ruling class, Royal/Colonial/Aristocratic, who brought alien slaves from another planet. Those slaves revolted and slowly toppled every castle/kingdom to wipe out their enslavers. Through complacency and haughtiness, the rulers were too arrogant and comfortable to see their own overthrowing even when it was right in front of their faces. One human, Xanten, was the only one smart and faced the reality with his head on.

“There are years ahead for all of us,” said Xanten in a wooden
voice, “if we free ourselves from the castle.”
“But the castle is our life!” declared Hagedorn. “In essence,
Xanten, what would we be without the castle? Wild animals?
Nomads?”
“We would be alive.”

The ending was rushed, but I enjoyed this classic.

[Chuck Byrd · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 Stars
Jack Vance had his shit together on this one..

[Phigaen · Rating 4 out of 5]

İnsanoğlunun altı boş kendini beğenmişliğini, kibrini, kendini tüm canlılardan üstün ve ayrıcalıklı görmesini anlatan ve gerçekten gelmesi yüzyıllar sürebilen sonuçlarını küçücük, kısacık bir novellada özetlemiş Vance. Bugün bir diziye konu olsa sezonlarca oynayacak, ona yakın spinoff’u çıkacak zenginlikte bir hayal gücü, bir novella’ya sığdırılmış.

[Alexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gustó más de lo que esperaba porque la narración es ágil y aunque al principio los nombres me enredan un poquito una vez que me familiaricé con ellos todo fue muy fácil de entender.

Interesante el sentido del honor que puede sobreponerse al instinto de sobrevivencia y que el dolor no fuera ocasionado por la posibilidad de morir sino de ver profanadas sus pertenencias.

[Rog Petersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish that this wonderful little book was longer.