The Last Castle

People, enjoying the fruits of many centuries of progress, surrounded themselves with luxury. One of the components of this luxury is servants artificially bred from specially selected extraterrestrial beings. And these servants suddenly and inexplicably rebelled against their owners. Can the pampered inhabitants of castles—bogged down in abstractions and amusements—stand up to harsh reality?

It’s surprising how the great master managed to fit the complexity of an incredibly well-developed and distinctive world, exciting adventures, and profound philosophical conversations into such a thin book—without forgetting to season it with a couple pinches of his signature humor. On the other hand, it’s not for nothing that he was awarded as many as two prestigious literary prizes for it.