The Black Corridor

[Zzzptm]

I found this novel by Michael Moorcock by way of Hawkwind quoting the poem that starts it off.

Space is infinite, it is dark
Space is neutral, it is cold
Stars occupy minute areas of space
They are clustered a few billion here
And a few billion there
As if seeking consolation in numbers
Space does not care, space does not threaten
Space does not comfort
It does not speak, it does not wake
It does not dream
It does not know, it does not fear
It does not love, it does not hate
It does not encourage any of these qualities
Space cannot be measured, it cannot be
Angered, it cannot be placated
It cannot be summed up, space is there
Space is not large and it is not small
It does not live and it does not die
It does not offer truth and neither does it lie
Space is a remorseless, senseless, impersonal fact
Space is the absence of time and of matter

The novel itself is a dystopia not of totalitarianism, but of balkanized, radicalized anarchy. As the reader sees flashbacks through the memory of the main character, the reader gets the distinct feeling that Mr. Moorcock has chosen to use the literary device of "the unreliable narrator" and has to start reading between the lines.

Overall, it is a stark assessment of humanity and asks the question, how do we think we'll benefit from colonizing other planets if we don't learn how to live properly on this one?

[Scott]

Hawkwind got me into Moorcock, and I agree with your thoughts on this one.

Not to go on a tangent, but I'm lucky enough to own one of the original UK Space Ritual LPs (fold-out and inner sleeves still intact). Wonderful album.

[Zzzptm]

Tangent accepted. Space Ritual is a real mind-blower of an album, very good for me when I'm trying to do some coding on network equipment.

Another tangent... because a documentary on Hawkwind (I think for the BBC) interviewed Nik Turner, Dave Brock refused to have anything to do with anyone involved with the documentary, if he could manage it. Michael Moorcock agreed to participate in the documentary, so he went on Brock's list of people not to do things with ever again.

Which, because space is curved, gets back to The Black Corridor and how that strikes me as the kind of thing a character from that novel would do...