# Most Memorable Last Lines in Science Fiction Literature? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 8, 2019, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738 "2019-07-08T23:27:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/21 "2019-07-09T12:07:30Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Most of the ones I thought of have been posted already. > > I’ve always remembered the last line of Fritz Leiber’s “Gonna Roll the Bones,” even though I don’t remember much else about the story. _Then he turned and headed straight for home, but he took the long way, around the world._ Great story, even though I’ve never completely understood it. You can find a copy [here](https://pot.home.xs4all.nl/scifi/gonnarollbones.pdf). ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/22 "2019-07-09T12:21:31Z")
From Ursula K. Le Guin: \*But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas. \* ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/23 "2019-07-09T12:48:45Z")
Alfred Bester’s “Adam and No Eve.” It even impressed John Updike, who hated science fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/24 "2019-07-09T12:52:58Z")
Wow, the bolded part of the OP lasted a whole 18 posts. That must be a record for the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/25 "2019-07-09T12:58:01Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Wow, the bolded part of the OP lasted a whole 18 posts. That must be a record for the SDMB. Shit. Mods, please edit - or delete - my posts. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/26 "2019-07-09T13:33:08Z")
I forget the name of the story and the author’s name… A space mission is exploring Mars, mostly from orbit, and they discover a third moon quite close to the surface of the planet. Unfortunately, all three members of the expedition have a fondness for horrible puns and the final line–the final word of the story, in fact–is the name one of them gives the third moon. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/27 "2019-07-09T13:40:27Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > I forget the name of the story and the author’s name… A space mission is exploring Mars, mostly from orbit, and they discover a third moon quite close to the surface of the planet. Unfortunately, all three members of the expedition have a fondness for horrible puns and the final line–the final word of the story, in fact–is the name one of them gives the third moon. The Holes Around Mars by Jerome Bixby ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/28 "2019-07-09T13:55:50Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > The Holes Around Mars by Jerome Bixby That’s the one! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/29 "2019-07-09T14:09:03Z")
The OP’s directive was not to spoil the stories by giving the last lines. While some last lines have been given, they mostly haven’t been spoilers. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/30 "2019-07-09T14:37:30Z")
I see Harlan Ellison’s stories have been mentioned, but… No mention of **A Boy and His Dog**? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/31 "2019-07-09T14:41:57Z")
The complete works of Grendel Briarton and his adventures of Ferdinand Feghoot. Indeed, the stories are usually identified by their last lines. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/32 "2019-07-09T14:54:30Z")
Definitely Bradbury’s _The Martian Chronicles_. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/33 "2019-07-09T15:55:44Z")
Is Theodore Sturgeon’s “It” SF, or just straight-out horror? (“Babe” is a young farm girl) “…And Babe screams at night, and has grown very thin.” ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/34 "2019-07-09T15:56:58Z")
Same question: Ronald Dahl’s “Royal Jelly.” “Come and cover up our little Queen.” ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/35 "2019-07-09T19:44:28Z")
The Giver, by Lois Lowry. “The Mountains of Mourning”, by Lois McMaster Bujold “Founding Father” by Isaac Asimov ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/36 "2019-07-09T20:03:28Z")
The last line of _The Dispossessed_ by Ursula LeGuin is of a piece with the rest of the work, and therefore both haunting, and beautiful. As I have mentioned before, I will be a better person the rest of my life because I read that book. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/37 "2019-07-09T20:10:17Z")
Another Isaac Asimov short containing a last line with teeth: “The Ugly Little Boy” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/38 "2019-07-09T20:22:48Z")
The best last line in a science fiction story is in Duane Ackerson’s “Sign At The End of The Universe”. It is also the best first line in a science fiction short story. ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/39 "2019-07-09T21:05:36Z")
Came in here after a day’s rumination to add _The Ugly Little Boy_ (the short story, don’t know about the later novel), but **AHunter3** beat me to it. :o ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738/40 "2019-07-09T22:05:29Z")
Arthur C. Clarke in the book version of _2001: A Space Odyssey_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-memorable-last-lines-in-science-fiction-literature/836738.md?page=3)