Quotes from book
The Pirates of Zan

The Pirates of Zan

Murray Leinster

The Pirates of Zan is a science fiction novel by Murray Leinster, originally serialized in Astounding Science Fiction in 1959 as "The Pirates of Ersatz". It was nominated for the 1960 Hugo Award for Best Novel. It first appeared in book form in 1959 as one component of an Ace Double, bound with Leinster's The Mutant Weapon; this edition was reissued in 1971. A German translation was issued in hardcover in 1962, an Italian translation appeared in 1968, and a Dutch translation was published in 1972. Bart Books published a stand-alone American paperback edition in 1989. and Baen Books included Pirates in a Leinster omnibus, A Logic Named Joe, in 2005.

“This was the second time in his life he’d been on a horse. It was two too many.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 4

““You are wonderful!” she said with conviction.
“I used to cherish that illusion myself,” said Hoddan.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 5

“From the Near Rim to the farthest of occupied systems, planets circled their suns, and men lived on them, and every man took himself seriously and did not quite believe that the universe had existed before he was born or would long survive his loss.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 3

“A practical man can always make what he wants to do look like a noble sacrifice of personal inclinations to the welfare of the community.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 6

“When in the course of human events somebody does something that puts somebody else to the trouble of adjusting the numb routine of his life, the adjustee is resentful. The richer he is and the more satisfactory he considers his life, the more resentful he is at any change, however minute. And of all the changes which offend people, changes which require them to think are most disliked.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 1

“Hoddan angrily suspected fate and chance of plain conspiracy against him.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 4

“But it might not be true enough. It might be less than…well…sufficiently true in a particular instance.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 9

““You’ve got to do something!” insisted Fani. “I saw Father talking to them! He looked happy, and he never looks happy unless he’s planning some skulduggery!””

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 6

““It’s no use!” it was the custom of his grandfather to say. “There’s not a bit o’ use in having brains! All they do is get you into trouble! A lucky idiot’s ten times better off than a brainy man with a jinx on him! A smart man starts thinkin’, and he thinks himself into a jail cell if his luck is bad, and good luck’s wasted on him because it ain’t reasonable and he don’t believe in it when it happens! It’s taken me a lifetime to keep my brains from ruinin’ me! No, sir! I hope none o’ my descendants inherit my brains! I pity ‘em if they do!”
Hoddan had been on Darth not more than four hours. In that time he’d found himself robbed, had resented it, had been the object of two spirited attempts at assassination, had ridden an excruciating number of miles on an unfamiliar animal, and now found himself in a stone dungeon and deprived of food lest feeding him obligate his host not to cut his throat. And he’d gotten into this by himself! He’d chosen it! He’d practically asked for it!
He began strongly to share his grandfather’s disillusioned view of brains.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 4

“The hearts of the rich are hardened. The existence of the poor is a reproach to them.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 7

“He signed himself prince of this, lord of that, baron of the other thing and claimant to the dukedom of something else.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 2

“Again time passed. In one of the remoter galaxies a supernova flamed, and on a rocky, barren world a small living thing squirmed experimentally—and to mankind the one event was just as important as the other.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 3

“He’d gone to Walden in the hope of achievement. There, of course, he failed because in a free economy industrialists consider that freedom is the privilege to be stupid without penalty. In other than free economies, of course, stupidity is held to be the duty of administrators. But Hoddan now believed himself in the fascinating situation of having knowledge and abilities which were needed by people who knew their need.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 10

“There was a beautiful row. You’ve really scared people, Hoddan! You deserve well of the republic! Every government and every person needs to be thoroughly terrified occasionally. It limbers up the brain.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 2

“It is the custom of all men, everywhere, to be obtuse where women are concerned.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 10

“He irritably suspected himself of a tendency to make enemies unnecessarily.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 3

“It couldn’t happen! Hoddan couldn’t conceive of such a thing. But a recently developed pessimism suggested that since everything else, to date, had been to his disadvantage, this was probably a catastrophe also.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 5

“There are some people so stupid you have to show them everything. I didn’t realize that there are people so stupid you can’t show them anything.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 1

“Hoddan felt the anger any man feels when he sees betrayal of that honor a competent machine represents.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 7

“He was in a state of doubt which passed very well for modesty.”

Murray Leinster book The Pirates of Zan

Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 10

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