Quotes from book
The Last Castle

Name: The Last Castle
Author: Jack Vance

The Last Castle is a science fiction novella by American writer Jack Vance written in 1966. It won the 1966 Nebula Award for Best Novella and the 1967 Hugo Award for Best Novelette. It is about a future civilization of wealthy nobles who live in high-tech castles, which are maintained by an enslaved alien race, the Meks. After centuries of slavery, the Meks revolt, destroying the castles and slaughtering their elite inhabitants, until only one castle is left.

“You emphasize morality. But the ultimate basis of morality is survival. What promotes survival is good; what induces mortifaction is bad.”

Jack Vance book The Last Castle

Source: The Last Castle (1966), Chapter 3, section 2

“In the end, death came uniformly to all, and all extracted as much satisfaction from their dying as this essentially graceless process could afford.”

Jack Vance book The Last Castle

Source: The Last Castle (1966), Chapter 1, section 1

“Claghorn had long insisted that no human condition endured forever, with the corollary that the more complicated such a condition, the greater its susceptibility to change.”

Jack Vance book The Last Castle

Source: The Last Castle (1966), Chapter 2, section 1

“The life we’ve been leading couldn’t last forever. It’s a wonder it lasted as long as it did.”

Jack Vance book The Last Castle

Source: The Last Castle (1966), Chapter 2, section 1