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A review by jmkemp
Beyond Apollo by Barry N. Malzberg
5.0
This was a difficult read. At first it seemed incoherent trash, and I put it down frequently. Having finished it I believe it is a work of genius.
Only the relative shortness made me keep picking it back up.
I picked it to read as it seemed like it would be a hard SF space flight story. To some extent it is, however what it really covers is the ascent from insanity of the lone survivor of the failed two man mission to Venus. The seemingly incoherent start is merely a reflection of the main character's madness and lack of grip on reality. Slowly we are presented with many different explanations for what may have happened, which grow more and more plausible as the character recovers. Although it is never properly resolved, but it doesn't need to, the point of the story being about the effects of long term travel in a confined space.
Only the relative shortness made me keep picking it back up.
I picked it to read as it seemed like it would be a hard SF space flight story. To some extent it is, however what it really covers is the ascent from insanity of the lone survivor of the failed two man mission to Venus. The seemingly incoherent start is merely a reflection of the main character's madness and lack of grip on reality. Slowly we are presented with many different explanations for what may have happened, which grow more and more plausible as the character recovers. Although it is never properly resolved, but it doesn't need to, the point of the story being about the effects of long term travel in a confined space.