| To Live Forever | |
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Cover of second edition of To Live Forever |
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| Author(s) | Jack Vance |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Ballantine Books |
| Publication date | 1956 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 185 pp |
| ISBN | NA |
To Live Forever is a science fiction novel by Jack Vance, first published in 1956. In the Vance Integral Edition, it was retitled Clarges.
Contents |
The city of Clarges in the future is a near-utopia, surrounded by barbarism throughout the rest of the world. Abundant resources and the absence of political conflict lead to a pleasant life that should be stress-free. However, nearly everyone is obsessed with a perpetual scramble for life, as measured by slope.
Medical technology has led to a great lengthening of the human lifespan, but, in order to prevent the Malthusian horrors of over-population, it is awarded only to those citizens who have made notable contributions. Five categories have been created for those playing the life-extension game, the first four each offering an additional twenty years of life. The ultimate prize is the top category, called Amaranth, which offers (to the fortunate few) true immortality.
The Grayven Warlock was one of those accomplished few, but he has become a fugitive after a feud with another Amaranth resulted in the latter's death. Masquerading as his own "relict" (clone) using the name Gavin Waylock, he lives in obscurity, looking for the accomplishment that will reinstate him among the immortals. However, Waylock's dramatic stratagems result in changes to society far beyond anything he had intended.
Galaxy reviewer Floyd C. Gale praised the novel as "frighteningly logical". saying that "[t]he sick, inbred society of Vance's imagination comes fully alive, even though his characters remain mere symbols."[1]
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