Malzberg, Barry N

Entry updated 6 May 2024. Tagged: Author.

(1939- ) US author. For about seven years he was extremely prolific in the sf field, very quickly producing some twenty sf novels and over 100 short stories, and much other work; his sf output slowed dramatically towards the end of the 1970s, when he became disenchanted with the genre for reasons explained in his collection of essays The Engines of the Night: Science Fiction in the Eighties (coll 1982; much exp vt Breakfast in the Ruins: Science Fiction in the Last Millennium 2007); the revision won a Locus Award in 2008. He has also written numerous non-sf works, including several notable erotic novels, and four excellent thrillers in collaboration with Bill Pronzini, including Night Screams (1979), which makes use of ESP. His early sf appeared under the name K M O'Donnell, apparently derived from the initial letters of the surnames of Henry Kuttner and C L Moore plus the surname of one of their joint pseudonyms. Other pseudonyms, used on non-sf works, include Mike Barry, Claudine Dumas, Mel Johnson, Lee W Mason and Gerrold Watkins. His first sf story was "We're Coming through the Window" as by O'Donnell in Galaxy for August 1967, which was quickly followed by the bitter novelette "Final War" (April 1968 F&SF) also as by O'Donnell, about an unwilling soldier trapped in a never-ending Wargame. Books under the O'Donnell name were the short-story collections Final War and Other Fantasies (coll 1969 dos) and In the Pocket and Other Science Fiction Stories (coll 1971 dos), the novels The Empty People (1969) and Universe Day (fixup 1971), and two Recursive farcical Satires featuring sf fans and writers in confrontation with Aliens: Dwellers of the Deep (1970 dos) and Gather in the Hall of the Planets (1971 dos).

The first sf novels to appear under Malzberg's own name were sceptical commentaries on the Apollo programme: The Falling Astronauts (1971), Revelations (1972) and Beyond Apollo (1972). The third caused some controversy when it won the John W Campbell Memorial Award despite its sarcastic and negative attitude to Space Flight. The three novels feature astronauts as archetypes of alienated contemporary humanity, struggling to make sense of an incomprehensible world and unable to account for their failure. All Malzberg's central characters are caught in such existential traps, and the measure of his versatility is the large number of such situations which he was able to construct in a half-decade of intense productivity using the vocabularies of ideas typical of sf and erotic fantasy. In Screen (1968) the protagonist can obtain sexual satisfaction only by projecting himself into fantasies evoked by the cinema, while in Confessions of Westchester County (1971) a prolific seducer obtains satisfaction not from the sexual act but from the confessions of loneliness and desperation which follow it. The situation of the racetrack punter, unable to win against the odds by any conceivable strategy, becomes the model of alienation in Overlay (1972), in which aliens take an actual part in the process of frustration, and in the non-sf novel Underlay (1974). Aliens threaten the Earth, and set absurd tasks to decide its fate, in The Day of the Burning (1974) and Tactics of Conquest (1974). The underlying truth exposed in On a Planet Alien (1974) may be that the grotesquely threatening wilderness that faces the colonist protagonist may be a fever dream of the nightmare of the American West, hence the Western topoi lurking beneath the surface of the tale. In Galaxies (July 1975 F&SF as "A Galaxy Called Rome"; 1975) the central character is in command of a corpse-laden ship which falls into a Black Hole. The protagonist of Scop (1976) is a time-traveller (see Time Travel) trying desperately to change the history that has created his intolerable world. Even the situation of the sf writer, struggling to cope with real life and the pressures of the market, becomes in Herovit's World (1973) a metaphor for general alienation. In this novel, Galaxies and the introductions to some of his collections, Malzberg offers a scathing critique of the market forces shaping contemporary sf.

Malzberg's writing is unparalleled in its intensity and in its apocalyptic sensibility. His detractors consider him bleakly monotonous and despairing, but he is a master of black Humour, and is one of the few writers to have used sf's vocabulary of ideas extensively as apparatus in psychological landscapes, dramatizing relationships between the human mind and its social environment in an sf theatre of the absurd. The few novels which he has published since 1976 include three fine novels featuring real historical characters. The hero of the black comedy Chorale (1978) becomes Beethoven, while that of the remarkably intense The Cross of Fire (1982) becomes Jesus Christ; both are in search of a better psychological balance but find their quests frustrating. The Remaking of Sigmund Freud (fixup 1985) has the father of psychoanalysis failing miserably to master his own difficulties while trying to assist Emily Dickinson, and subsequently – following his technological Reincarnation – coming apart while failing to solve the problems involved in Communication with Aliens; the disparagement implied in this rendering of Sigmund Freud may more seem to address latter-day fragilities in the practice of psychoanalysis than it does the man himself. Malzberg's later short fiction – fully as intense and accomplished as his work of the 1970s – has been widely published; some of these stories have been assembled as In the Stone House (coll 2000). [BS]

Barry Nathaniel Malzberg

born New York: 24 July 1939

works

as by K M O'Donnell

The Empty People (New York: Lancer Books, 1969) as by K M O'Donnell [pb/Howard Winters]
Dwellers of the Deep (New York: Ace Books, 1970) as by K M O'Donnell [dos: pb/Jack Gaughan]
Gather in the Hall of the Planets (New York: Ace Books, 1971) as by K M O'Donnell [dos: with In the Pocket below: pb/Jack Gaughan]
Universe Day (New York: Avon Books, 1971) as by K M O'Donnell [pb/uncredited]

collections

Final War and Other Fantasies (New York: Ace Books, 1969) as by K M O'Donnell [coll: dos: pb/Panos Koutrouboussis]
In the Pocket and Other Science Fiction Stories (New York: Ace Books, 1971) as by K M O'Donnell [coll: dos: with Gather in the Hall of the Planets above: pb/Karel Thole]

as Barry N Malzberg

Screen (New York: Olympia Press, 1968) [hb/Judith Lerner]
Oracle of the Thousand Hands (New York: Olympia Press, 1968) [hb/]
The Falling Astronauts (New York: Ace Books, 1971) [pb/Davis Meltzer]
Confessions of Westchester County (New York: Olympia Press, 1971) [pb/]
In My Parents' Bedroom (New York: Olympia Press, 1971) [pb/]
The Spread (New York: Tower Books, 1971) [pb/]
Horizontal Woman (New York: Leisure Books, 1972) [pb/]
- The Social Worker (New York: Leisure Books, 1977) [vt of the above: pb/]
- The Spread / Horizontal Woman (Eureka, California: Stark House, 2019) [omni of the above two: pb/]
Revelations (New York: Paperback Library, 1972) [pb/]
Beyond Apollo (New York: Random House, 1972) [hb/Roger Hane]
Overlay (New York: Lancer Books, 1972) [pb/Ron Walotsky]
In the Enclosure (New York: Avon Books, 1973) [pb/Lila M Culhane]
Herovit's World (New York: Random House, 1973) [hb/Bob Alcorn]
The Men Inside (New York: Lancer Books, 1973) [Miniaturization: pb/Ron Walotsky]
Phase IV (London: Pan Books, 1973) [tie to the film: Phase IV: pb/]
Underlay (New York: Avon Books, 1974) [pb/]
The Destruction of the Temple (New York: Pocket Books, 1974) [pb/]
On a Planet Alien (New York: Pocket Books, 1974) [pb/Charles Moll]
The Sodom and Gomorrah Business (New York: Pocket Books, 1974) [pb/Charles Moll]
Conversations (Indianapolis, Indiana: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1974) [hb/Peter Cross]
The Day of the Burning (New York: Ace Books, 1974) [pb/Don Ivan Punchatz]
Tactics of Conquest (New York: Pyramid Books, 1974) [pb/Ron Walotsky]
Galaxies (New York: Pyramid Books, 1975) [pb/]
Guernica Night (Indianapolis, Indiana: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1975) [hb/Fred Samperi]
The Gamesman (New York: Pocket Books, 1975) [pb/Ed Soyka]
Scop (New York: Pyramid Books, 1976) [pb/Stephen Fabian]
- On a Planet Alien (New York: ibooks, 2002) [omni of the above plus In the Enclosure and On a Planet Alien above: pb/Robert Zohrab]
The Running of Beasts (New York: G P Putnam's Sons, 1976) with Bill Pronzini [hb/]
The Last Transaction (New York: Pinnacle Books/Futorian Science Fiction, 1977) [pb/Ron Walotsky]
Acts of Mercy (New York: G P Putnam's Sons, 1977) with Bill Pronzini [hb/Stan Zagorski]
Lady of A Thousand Sorrows (New York: Playboy Press, 1977) as by Lee W Mason [pb/]
- Lady of a Thousand Sorrows / Confessions of Westchester County (Eureka, California: Stark House Press, 2018) as by Barry N Malzberg [omni of the two titles: pb/]
Chorale (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1978) [hb/Gary Friedman]
Night Screams (New York: Playboy Press, 1979) with Bill Pronzini [hb/Anthony Russo]
Prose Bowl (New York: St Martin's Press, 1980) with Bill Pronzini [hb/John Clarke]
The Cross of Fire (New York: Ace Books, 1982) [pb/]
The Remaking of Sigmund Freud (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1985) [fixup: pb/Barclay Shaw]

collections

Out from Ganymede (New York: Warner Paperback Library, 1974) [coll: pb/Ken Longtemps]
The Many Worlds of Barry Malzberg (New York: Popular Library, 1975) [coll: pb/Jack Faragasso]
Down Here in the Dream Quarter (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1976) [coll: hb/Margo Herr]
The Best of Barry Malzberg (New York: Pocket Books, 1976) [coll: pb/Robert Schulz]
Malzberg at Large (New York: Ace Books, 1979) [coll: pb/Bob Adragna]
The Man Who Loved the Midnight Lady (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1980) [coll: hb/Michael Flanagan]
The Passage of the Light: The Recursive Science Fiction of Barry N Malzberg (Framingham, Massachusetts: NESFA Press, 1994) [coll: edited by Mike Resnick and Anthony R Lewis: pb/Merle Insinga]
In the Stone House (Sauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House, 2000) [coll: hb/Allen C Servoss]
On Account of Darkness and Other Sf Stories (Waterville, Maine: Five Star, 2004) with Bill Pronzini [coll: hb/Charles Bernard]
The Very Best of Barry Malzberg (New York: Nonstop Press, 2013) [coll: introduction by Joseph Ross as Joe Wrzos: pb/uncredited]
Collecting Myself: The Uncollected Stories of Barry N. Malzberg (Eureka, California: Stark House, 2024) [coll: pb/Jeff Jordan]
The Man Who Loved the Midnight Lady / In the Stone House (Eureka, California: Stark House, 2021) [omni/coll: comprising the two named titles: pb/]

nonfiction

The Engines of the Night: Science Fiction in the Eighties (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1982) [nonfiction: coll: hb/Stephen Hickman]
- Breakfast in the Ruins: Science Fiction in the Last Millennium (New York: Baen Books, 2007) [nonfiction: coll: much exp vt of the above: pb/Stephen Hickman]
The Business of Science Fiction: Two Insiders Discuss Writing and Publishing (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2010) with Mike Resnick [coll: pb/Shutterstock]
The Bend at the End of the Road (New York: Fantastic Books, 2018) [nonfiction: coll: pb/Mel Hunter]

works as editor

Final Stage: The Ultimate Science Fiction Anthology (New York: Charterhouse, 1974) with Edward L Ferman [anth: unauthorized amendments by the publishers: hb/Janet Halverson]
- Final Stage: The Ultimate Science Fiction Anthology (Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1975) with Edward L Ferman [anth: rev of the above: text restored: pb/David Pelham]
Arena: Sports SF (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1976) with Edward L Ferman [anth: hb/Robert Aulicino]
Graven Images: Three Original Novellas of Science Fiction (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 1977) with Edward L Ferman [anth: hb/Mike Mariano]
Dark Sins, Dark Dreams: Crime in Science Fiction (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1977) with Bill Pronzini; [anth: hb/Robert Korn]
The End of Summer: Science Fiction in the Fifties (New York: Ace Books, 1979) with Bill Pronzini; [anth: pb/David Egge]
- The Fifties: The End of Summer (New York: Baronet Publishing Company, 1979) with Bill Pronzini; [anth: vt of the above: pb/Segrelles]
Shared Tomorrows: Science Fiction in Collaboration (New York: St Martin's Press, 1979) with Bill Pronzini [anth: hb/Gary La Sasso]
Neglected Visions (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1980) with Martin H Greenberg and Joseph D Olander [anth: hb/One Plus One Studio]
Bug-Eyed Monsters (New York: HBJ/Harvest, 1980) with Bill Pronzini [anth: Bug-Eyed Monsters: pb/Ruby Mazur]
Mark Clifton. The Science Fiction of Mark Clifton (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1980) with Martin H Greenberg [coll: hb/Gary Gore]
The Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural (New York: Arbor House/Priam Books, 1981) with Martin H Greenberg and Bill Pronzini [anth: hb/Antler and Baldwin Inc]
- Great Tales of Horror & the Supernatural (New York: Galahad Books, 1985) with Martin H Greenberg and Bill Pronzini [anth: cut vt of the above: hb/]
- Classic Tales of Horror and the Supernatural (New York: William Morrow/Quill, 1991) with Martin H Greenberg and Bill Pronzini [anth: vt of the above: pb/James Victorie]
- The Giant Book of Horror Stories (London: Magpie Books, 1991) with Martin H Greenberg and Bill Pronzini [anth: vt of the above: hb/Les Edwards]
Kris Neville. The Science Fiction of Kris Neville (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1984) with Martin H Greenberg [coll: hb/]
Uncollected Stars (New York: Avon Books, 1986) with Piers Anthony, Martin H Greenberg and Charles G Waugh [anth: pb/]
The Best Time Travel Stories of all Time (New York: ibooks, 2003) [anth: Time Travel: pb/Ralf Heimisch]

about the author

Phil Stephensen-Payne. Barry N. Malzberg: Dweller in the Deeps: A Working Bibliography (Leeds, West Yorkshire: Galactic Central Publications, 2003) [bibliography: chap: in the publisher's Bibliographies for the Avid Reader series: pb/nonpictorial]

links

previous versions of this entry

Internet Archive