Galaxies by Barry N. Malzberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’m not sure I can recommend this book to other readers. It’s like recommending cilantro or anchovies. Some people love them, others can’t stand them. I liked this novel, but it’s a niche piece, and you very reasonably might not.
The book is actually notes for a novel, not a novel, as Malzberg says right at the beginning. We learn a lot about the struggles of the author, who ponders what to include and what not, and how to approach various tropes and expectations. The book addresses issues like sex and death from a nervous 1970s perspective, returning to these issues from several angles. The science, however, which involves a black hole, was squishy even for its time.
Here is an example of the text:
“We are upon the conclusion and that conclusion, obviously, is open-ended. Cunningly it has been built into the construct from the very outset. It is a characteristic of a certain kind of well-structured fiction that it will lead toward a resolution which in retrospect may appear inevitable…”
Despite all these caveats, I found the conclusion satisfying. I’m glad I read this book. Maybe I found it interesting because I am a writer, and it dealt with many writerly concerns, handling them with wit. However, you may prefer a more conventional book, and I won’t blame you.
By the way, here’s a review of my novel Usurpation at Hidden Sci-Fi and Semiosis and Interference at C Gockel Writes.
Semiosis 