Revelations

by Barry N. Malzberg

Marvin Martin is angry. Night after night, he strips the guests that appear on his talk show of their pitiful pretensions, their commonplace hypocrisies, but how long has it been since he uncovered a genuine revelation?

Hurwitz is scared. He selects Martin’s victims, and he made a bad mistake when he chose Doris Jensen; she turned out to be from a competitive network and ruined a taping. Hurwitz's job is in danger...

Walter Monaghan is desperate. The twenty-ninth man to have walked on the moon wants to tell the Revelations audience the truth about America's 'space program' - that it never got off the ground. If he's just another mad astronaut, why is it so important that he be silenced?

With Galaxies, The Falling Astronauts, and Beyond Apollo, Revelations is part of a thematically linked group of Malzberg's novels, all of which are now available from Anti-Oedipus Press. This special edition includes an introduction by D. Harlan Wilson, "Barry N. Malzberg and the Gravity of Science Fiction," and two afterwords by the author, one from the second printing of Revelations in 1976, the other written in 2019 for this latest reprint.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

He has also published as:
Mike Barry (thriller/suspense)
K.M. O'Donnell (science fiction/fantasy)
Mel Johnson (adult)
Howard Lee (martial arts/TV tie-ins)
Lee W. Mason (adult)
Claudine Dumas (adult)
Francine di Natale (adult)
Gerrold Watkins (adult)
Eliot B. Reston

Barry Malzberg lives with his wife and daughter in Manhattan and is worried about having recently reached the ominous age of eighty….

Mr. Malzberg’s first hardcover novels, Oracle of the Thousand Hands and Screen are seriously-intentioned works which, according to the author, were neither fun to write nor fun in retrospect. Major influences on his work in no particular order are Norman Mailer, J.D. Salinger, Saul Bellow, James Agee, Vladimir Nabokov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Nikolai Gogol.

Not quite. The major major influences upon the author’s "seriously-intentioned” hardcover novels, as well as eight paperbacks done for the Olympia Press America between 1968 and 1973 were really: Jayne Mansfield, Natalie Wood, Hope Lange, repentance, desire, lust, resentment, ambition and the collected opi of the Four Coins, Four Preps, Four Seasons and the Belmonts. (Dion, too.) Heady stuff for the kid, though, writing for Nabokov’s publisher, citing Gogol and Dostoyevsky as influences; I recommend this experience to everyone having real or even slight pretensions to artistry.--The New Olympia Reader

Reviews

[Nate D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's another crazy 70s Malzberg novel -- paranoia, unreliable and/or horrible narrators, bad sex, the destructive mechanization of the space program, psychological disintegration, all the thinfgs for which Malzberg is memorable. This time arranged as a series of diary entries, letters, and transcripts spiraling around a vicious talk show, designed to bring America into confrontations with hard truths about itself, but really no more than whatever sensationalist vitriol the disillusioned host is vomiting at the moment. The book, of course, seems designed to carry out similar social-satiric ends, interrogating the dissociative, disconnected malaises of modern life in an only-slightly-speculative 70s near future. Where this is barely science fiction, then Malzberg unsettles the realism of the story in other ways, mostly via surreally unsettling office scenes: disappearing visitors, robotic dialogue and corporate roles, interior descriptions streamlined into glyphs.

Malzberg can be a confusing voice behind the action, at times. He's always got narrative and thematic ambitions far beyond the usual scope of his rapidly-written-under contract pulp stories, but he's also a bit of a button-pusher. How he might feel actually feel about his universally unsympathetic narrators' homoerotic and/or misogynistic undercurrents is a little unclear, besides that he seems to take psychosexual confusion as a prime symptom of the problems his characters are having. Which almost always come back to various dehumanizing aspects of modern life under scrutiny here, as elsewhere in his corpus. At least here, one of the female objects of the narrator's confusion, adoration, and disdain is finally given voice to scathingly diagnose and dismiss her repugnant lover, with Malzberg seeming to be essentially in agreement.

Anyway, regardless, this is also uniformly some of Malzberg's sharper prose. Here, a failing television producer, our repugnant lover of above, fantasizes about the sociology professor he could have been:

You see, what will have to happen in any post-technological society is that it will be dominated by machinery and institutions; the institutions will be barbarian at the core as anything in the pagan role and eventually these institutions, through machinery, will gobble up everything, there will be nothing left on the landscape except gleaming edifices and a few staggering forms seeking an entryway, dominated by the whir of machinery that somehow, ominously, does not quite work but as the culture becomes more hugely impersonal, as the barbaric and terrible machinery acts more and more and more concisely to squeeze all idiosyncrasy, all humanity, all individual voice out of the culture, as all of this is going on the institutions will out of necessity have to pay some some lip service to the tradition from which they emerged; culture lag is the factor here and the institutions will have to simulate flexibility, will simulate humanity, they will act through their devices in such a way as to assure the individuals trapped within them that they remain constant, remain human, and the name of this will be public relations but all of this will be calculated as well, post-technologically speaking, to lower resistance to the takeover.

This is another one, by the way, where I really needed to scan in the crazy first edition cover art from my edition and add it to the site:

[Donald Armfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Sci-fi paranoia that picks its victims and bashes their persona for a television rating system. A “space program” with unanswered questions and an astronaut that has secrets. Malzberg is a science fiction refresher.

[David Agranoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting Malzberg novel and it is the middle book in an unofficial trilogy that he wrote that was intensely critical of the modern (at the time) space program. This series of books started with his attempt to write a mainstream Science Fiction novel with Falling Astronauts and went gonzo in the end with Beyond Apollo.

On the surface, it seems that the focus of this novel is not the space program but a TV show that gives the book the title. Revelations is a Jerry Springer like show years before that circus was a thing. The host in this show Marvin Martin interviews people one on one and the show is about exposing their twisted and perverse secrets for ratings. This is an interesting set-up for a near-future sci-fi novel the problem is the author's passion at the time for questioning the space program. Malzberg told during our Dickheads podcast interview that he didn't like the unrealistic boy scout imagine that NASA and government portrayed of the astronauts. One could argue that played a role in the downfall of the space program that was one the world couldn't relate to as it changed in the late '60s.

The Rediscovery edition with BM's afterword was published in a curious window that afforded the author to take a victory lap when the novel appeared to predict the demise of the NASA space program during that window between Apollo and the space shuttle. Of course, NASA would rebound with the shuttle and the far more important work of the Voyager probes. The story-line of Walter Monaghan a former moon traveler was a distraction from the most interesting aspects of the story. To me, I wanted to know more about Hurwitz the producer of the show and the host Martin.

The way mass media turned misery into profit was something Malzberg nailed more than a decade before the gotcha TV shows were a big deal. It is all done with the aspects you expect from the gonzo new wave sci-fi authors. Paranoid unreliable narrators, sadistic psychosexual manipulation, horrible political realities and much much more. This is a quick read, and while I know the author considers it one of his best I don't personally think it holds up as well as Beyond Apollo. That one had psychic snakes on Venus but I still think that one holds up better. Still, it is worth a read for fans of genre fiction of the era.

Check out my interview with the author on the Dickheads podcast:

https://soundcloud.com/dickheadspodca...

[Joachim Boaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...

"Revelations (1972) is the second in a thematically linked group of Malzberg’s novels — published in-between its siblings, The Falling Astronauts (1971) and Beyond Apollo (1972) (from now on BA). Each deals with insane astronauts, and in Malzberg’s own words, “sexual dysfunction as representing the necessary loss of energy of the machine age,” and each contains a character desperately attempting to speak out. But, as with most of Malzberg’s novels, it is unclear whether there is truth in these cries.

Revelations is less rigorously [...]"

[David Agranoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never reviewed a book twice in twelve months before but Last July when I picked up the second edition of this book to read it I had no idea that Homey of our podcast D.Harlan Wilson was planning a new re-issue of it through his amazing imprint Anti-Oedipus press. I had wanted to read the book because Malzberg talked about this book often in the interview we did with him for the Dickheads podcast (link below)

I am glad this book got re-issued giving me cause to give it another look inside. I know the first question for you huge Malzberg fans, and there are a small but loyal bunch of you weirdos out there. If You have the second or first edition is there a reason to pick up this edition? Besides that amazing cover.

Yes, yes, yes. There are several reasons to pick up the AOP edition. First and foremost is the idea that having Malzberg back in print is important. While Philip K. Dick finally got the respect he deserved after his death, AOP is making sure we don't miss the chance to honor Malzberg while he is still very much with us. While nowhere near the recognition Malzberg deserves AOP re-issues of Beyond Apollo, Galaxies, and The Falling Astronauts and now Revelations make up a thematically linked series that is as fun as they are important.

Second, the new introduction and afterwords are excellent and insightful. The introduction is a middle finger piece written by D.Harlan Wilson. The message of the introduction is that Science Fiction is dead and a product native to the 20th Century. I am sure Malzberg enjoyed the message as he has made clear he has no love for modern science fiction. I am not sure I agree with the message but along the way, Wilson gives a great history of the 60s new wave of science fiction and Cyberpunk that includes where Malzbeg fits in.

The book includes the second edition afterword and a brand new one. While it is short it is very insightful, I don't want to give it away but it is heartfelt. It is funny that the 1976 edition was a "Rediscovery" edition five years after it was first put out. So now this is re-rediscovery, and it is great that we get to hear from the author. He is reacting to the comparisons this novel rightfully gets to the Oscar-winning film Network.

This is an interesting Malzberg novel and it is the middle book in an unofficial series that he wrote that was intensely critical of the modern (at the time) space program. This series of books started with his attempt to write a mainstream Science Fiction novel with Falling Astronauts and went gonzo in the end with Beyond Apollo. On the surface, it seems that the focus of this novel is not the space program but a TV show that gives the book the title. Revelations is a Jerry Springer-ish show years before that circus was a thing.

The host in this show Marvin Martin interviews people one on one and the show is about exposing their twisted and perverse secrets for ratings. This is an interesting set-up for a near-future sci-fi novel the drive is the author's passion at the time for questioning the space program. Malzberg told us during our Dickheads podcast interview that he didn't like the unrealistic boy scout imagine that NASA and government portrayed of the astronauts.

Malzberg argues that played a role in the downfall of the space program. That the image was one the world couldn't relate to as society changed in the late '60s. The Rediscovery edition with BM's afterword was published in a curious window that afforded the author to take a victory lap when the novel appeared to predict the demise of the NASA space program during that window between Apollo and the space shuttle. Of course, NASA would rebound with the shuttle and the far more important work of the Voyager probes. The story-line of Walter Monaghan a former moon traveler was a distraction from the most interesting aspects of the story. To me, I wanted to know more about Hurwitz the producer of the show, and the host Martin. The way mass media turned misery into profit was something Malzberg nailed more than a decade before the gotcha TV shows were a big deal. That said Monaghan's story was the theme Malzberg was strongly dealing with.

It is all done with the aspects you expect from the gonzo new wave sci-fi authors. Paranoid unreliable narrators, sadistic psycho-sexual manipulation, horrible political realities, and much much more. This is a quick read, and while I know the author considers it one of his best I didn't enjoy it as much as Beyond Apollo, but this edition is important. I think I will make a point to put all the AOP editions on my shelf.

Check the interview I did with Barry last year for Dickheads. He talks about this novel several times.

https://soundcloud.com/dickheadspodca...

[Williwaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first experience of Malzberg. He's quite a talented writer.

My edition of this book is No. 26 in the Equinox/Avon SF Rediscovery Series. But there's nothing overtly "science fictional" about this book. It's about a TV show: a brutal interview show where the host sadistically abuses his subjects and exposes their secrets and weaknesses. In a sense, then, the book is about technology gone wrong, which is a major SF theme. So don't pick up this book expecting space opera. Instead, be prepared to examine some dark, psychological themes.

The basic plot concerns the efforts of an out-of-work astronaut (29th man on the moon) to make it onto the TV show, which is called "Revelations." Most of the book is from the journals of one of the show's producers, named Hurwitz. Hurwitz is a grotesque character, but he's shown both at his best and at his worst. Malzberg succeeds in giving us a multi-dimensional portrait of Hurwitz.

Tension builds as the astronaut's interview approaches. Hurwits loses his job; gets it back; and loses it again. He questions his involvement with Revelations, gets sexually involved with a woman who appeared on the show, but turned out to be a saboteur from another TV network.

The language is intense and dynamic; Malzberg is not shy about depicting sex, and some of it is sadistic. This book is well worth reading. It is well executed, not terribly long, and very absorbing. The climax of the action does not disappoint. Yes, the rug gets pulled out from under one's feet in the end, but it's fun, in a dark and cynical sort of way.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Roughly 20 years before Jerry Springer and his imitators, Barry Malzberg wrote this novel about Marvin Martin, the obnoxious, tenacious talk show host who confronts his guests with their most private indiscretions, crimes and perversions. Martin insists it's done in the name of truth and honesty, but he really just seems to like to humiliate and abuse people on the air. Throw in a deranged astronaut who claims the Apollo program was a government conspiracy, and one would think you'd get a cracker of a commentary on the media, celebrity culture and modern American society.

But unfortunately, Malzberg chose to focus largely on another character, Hurwitz, the staff member who screens the show's guests. Hurwitz is creepy, rapey and generally a disagreeable character. All the characters are unsympathetic to some degree, but Hurwitz is the worst of the bunch. An unreliable narrator is a suitable choice, but Hurwitz is so unreliable and we spend so much time in his head, that the overarching themes of the novel are badly diluted by his rambling, delusional monologues. I think Malzberg had something important he was trying to say here, but he did a poor job of saying it.

[Gulliver's Bad Trip · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as I know, Malzberg knew Bug Jack Barron so it seems kind of obvious that Revelations is his own approach of 'hyperreality', as Norman Spinrad used said, that was already well established over all of the screens in the end of the 60s. Paddy Chayefsky and David Cronenberg would be the next to talk about such lunacy on TV itself. They soon died for the showbiz, disappeared and everything still remains the same to this day.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was torn between 4 or 5 stars. A great read but not quite as good as his Beyond Apollo or The Falling Astronauts. Still, Malzberg shines through: reality TV, sex, and internal monologues rife with divergent thoughts. Again, a book written in 1972 that easily tracks 2020s America ... sadly. A great, fast, surreal read.

[Guy Salvidge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read this twenty years ago but could never lay hands on a copy. Now I have. It is certainly one of Malzberg's better novels, stronger in my view than Beyond Apollo. Genuinely postmodern in approach. Good stuff.