Read Time: 1 Minute
First published in 1968, The Man in the Maze by Robert Silverberg is certainly a product of its time. Manly men cavort across the universe with women there for decoration and to have sex with. If you can get past all that, you’re left with a fairly decent sci-fi story that I wish had more… well, more story.
It’s a fairly straightforward story – a mysterious maze as old as time kills anyone who tries to navigate it except for one guy who managed to get all the way in. Of course, it’s this guy and only this guy who can possibly save the universe.
The whole maze-of-death thing was interesting, and I felt for most of the novel, I wanted more of it. Even though most of the story is inside it, it just felt to me as if we were only really skimming the surface. Perhaps if this was redone by someone like John Scalzi, I’d get the story I really wanted.
That’s not to say the whole thing wasn’t enjoyable. It was certainly interesting, but I doubt I’ll be rushing back for another listen. If it wasn’t for all the rampant misogyny, I’d probably give it more stars.
The narration by Stefan Rudnicki was a good choice. His deep voice provided the “man’s man” type of voice this story requires to match the characters.