The Last Castle by Jack VanceMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A satire on aristocratic values and a critique of the slavery that upholds them. The class struggle powering the story has a surprisingly harmonious conclusion, with the pampered learning the value of labour and the moral imperative of survival, and the oppressed defeated and carted off to their own planet. Once again Vance’s privileges heroic ingenuity over collective effort. And while he is happy to mock decadent gentlemanly refinement, there is an admiration for the achievements of civilisation made possible by a stratified society.
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