Universe Day

by K.M. O'Donnell (Pseudonym), Barry N. Malzberg, Paul Lehr (Illustrator)

When man's ambition expanded to fill the solar system, his technology expanded to take him as far as he wanted to go. Technology went on expanding. So did man's ambitions. But there was a danger only dimly suspected, and only poorly comprehended when it began to make itself felt. It was that man's ambition would outleap his imagination; that his technology would outstrip his emotional capacity. It might be that it was just too big, the universe. That there was just too much to of nothing for man to bear...

Fix-up novel made up of the following previously published stories:

- Making Titan, as Chapter I, "Making Titan, 2500"
- A Triptych, as Chapter II, "Some Headlines in the Void, 1968"
- Conquest, as Chapter VI, "The Conquest of Conquistadores, 2423"
- Terminus Est, as Chapter VII, "An Interval In the Adventure, 1999"
- Pacem Est, originally written with Kris Neville, but rewritten as Chapter X, "The Martian Campaign, 2124"
- Elephants as Chapter XIII, "After Titan, 2500+"
- How I Take Their Measure, as "Interview with an Astronaut, 2008", part of Chapter XIV

Genres: Science Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1971

About the author

pseudonym of Barry N. Malzberg

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

K.M.O'Donnell was a pseudonym for Barry N. Malzberg, under which he produced some excellent science fiction in the early 1970s. UNIVERSE DAY was one of the best, featuring non-heroic heroes trapped in situations beyond their capacity to deal with or even understand. The writing is dense and convoluted with little dialog, the themes are depressing, but it's a wonderful change a pace book that makes you question all of your assumptions.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another strange read from the great Barry Malzberg.

[Joachim Boaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

4.5/5

"“…I see no reason why we shouldn’t go to Mars in 1982…” Vice President of the U.S. July, 1969

Barry N. Malzberg’s fourth SF novel Universe Day (1971) is comprised of numerous previously published short stories as well as new material.* It might be best to think of the novel as a thematically linked sequence—in what might be termed a “future history” but unlike any you have ever read—of impressions and snippets of “what really happened” paired with what we want to happen or delude ourselves into thinking happened. All his major themes are on display, the space program as a manifestation [...]"

[Stephen Rowland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know the purpose of Malzberg's "K.M. O'Donnell" pseudonym because only someone entirely ignorant of Malzberg wouldn't immediately know he had written this novel. Somewhat disjointed but still very good.