tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post5317177461617686726..comments2024-03-26T17:54:54.592+01:00Comments on Speculiction...: Review of Beyond Apollo by Barry MalzbergUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post-24513241306415608192014-04-06T21:59:09.169+02:002014-04-06T21:59:09.169+02:00Before listening to an interview with Malzberg (li...Before listening to an interview with Malzberg (link below), I wouldn't know how to answer your question - and even after, I'm still not confident. But I'll try.<br /><br />I think the astronaut really was on a Venus mission, returned crazy, and the resulting narrative is fragmented along the lines of his now multiple perceptions of reality. I say this because NASA's pre-flight training regiment pushes Evans to the extreme-extreme, not to mention the "debriefing" by NASA's psychologists is unconcerned with his humanity, rather the 'truth' regarding the mission. NASA's disregard for Evans' physical and mental well-being while remaining focused on what's next after the moon seems to be the point at which Malzberg is aiming his critical guns, and no better a tragic figure could exemplify that than a crazy Evans. Then again, it could be just the fictionally artful diatribe of space program dissenter...<br /><br />See here for that interview:<br /><br />http://www.jonathanstrahan.com.au/wp/2012/02/18/episode-89-live-with-gary-k-wolfe-and-barry-malzberg/Jessehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07796098208589965362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post-78980010051219640612014-04-06T19:02:43.586+02:002014-04-06T19:02:43.586+02:00If there is a novel that deserves -- above all oth...If there is a novel that deserves -- above all others that have been passed over so far -- a spot on the Gollancz masterwork list it's Beyond Apollo....<br /><br />*spoilers*<br /><br />Do you think he even went on a mission? Or, perhaps, his previous mission resulted in a breakdown and this novel is a construct (which he his writing) and a strange attempt to get over (which he can't) his psychological state.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com