Barry Malzberg, who wrote "some of the most ambitious, challenging and profound yet pessimistic and isolating novels," died December 19, the Guardian reported. He was 85. In 1965, Malzberg decided that "the career he sought as a literary writer was closed to him--the magazines were impenetrable, the control of editors at publishing houses absolute--and that science fiction, which he had read in his youth, was the path he would pursue into writing" the Guardian noted.
He attended Syracuse University, but left to join the Scott Meredith Literary Agency, where he read and reported on up to 50 manuscripts a week from fee-paying newcomers. After being fired in 1967, he briefly became managing editor of the men's magazine Escapade and the science fiction magazines Amazing Stories and Fantastic, but was fired again after arguing with the publisher.
Malzberg made his first sale in sci-fi in 1967 under the name K.M. O'Donnell. Over the next seven years, he published 23 novels and six short-story collections. His novel Beyond Apollo (1972), which he described as "dystopian, anti-NASA, anti-space, enormously cynical about technology," won the John W. Campbell Memorial award, opening doors to publishers.
While working at the Scott Meredith Literary Agency, he published the novel Love Doll under the name Mel Johnson in 1967. The Guardian noted that it "was followed by two dozen more softcore porn books until the market collapsed."
Malzberg returned to sci-fi novels, including The Falling Astronauts (1971), Revelations (1972), Herovit's World (1973), In the Enclosure (1973), Tactics of Conquest (1974), The Destruction of the Temple (1974), On a Planet Alien (1974), Guernica Night (1975), and Galaxies (1975). He also wrote adventure novels (the Lone Wolf series as Mike Barry), novelizations (Phase IV, Kung Fu), and adult novels (as Lee W. Mason).
Although he announced his retirement in 1976, he continued to write fiction, including thrillers and crime stories with Bill Pronzini, as well as one final sci-fi novel, The Remaking of Sigmund Freud (1985), and many short stories. He also compiled anthologies and collections.
In a tribute from the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, author Robert J. Sawyer said, "Barry N. Malzberg was a true mensch. He believed fervently in the power of science fiction and fought for it to transcend being a commercial category of mere escapism. The field has lost not only one of its greatest authors but also one of its fiercest champions. Barry's published writings were often caustic, but whenever I needed a friend, he was always there with kindness and unflagging support."