Beyond Apollo
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| Beyond Apollo | |
 First paperback edition cover |
|
| Author | Barry N. Malzberg |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Random House (original 1972 edition) & Pocket Books (1974 paperback edition) |
| Publication date | 1972 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 156 pp (Pocket Books edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-671-77687-8 (1974 paperback) |
Beyond Apollo is a novel by Barry N. Malzberg, first published in 1972 in a hardcover edition by Random House.
Malzberg credits the inspiration for the novel to "I Have My Vigil", a 1969 short story by fellow science fiction writer Harry Harrison.
[edit] Plot summary
Beyond Apollo is arguably Malzberg's most famous work and is generally considered[who?] one of his finest books. The novel's protagonist is Harry M. Evans, the lone survivor of the disastrous first manned expedition to the planet Venus. Evans provides details of the doomed expedition as a novel in progress, and he proves to be a remarkably unreliable narrator, constantly changing the particulars of his story as it progresses. It quickly becomes apparent to the reader that he may be completely insane, as a feeling of deep (and comical) paranoia underlies Evans's descriptions of the absurd conversations that ensue with the Venusian inhabitants. There is some indication that Evans could very well have murdered his fellow crewmember. The novel ends with a publishing house offering to purchase the rights to Evans's outlandish tale.
[edit] Literary significance & criticism
Like much of Malzberg's work, Beyond Apollo was extremely controversial at the time of its publication, receiving both praise and scorn from literary critics. Harlan Ellison was one of Malzberg's great defenders, and noted that "Beyond Apollo put me out of commission for three days after reading it." The novel won the first John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, presented in 1973.
