While this story was originally written in the late sixties, Michael Moorcock captures a society that has become increasingly alienated from one another, and prone to all manner of neuroses such that their lives have become filled with such a gripping paranoia that any difference, however minute, grounds for suspicion if not outright violence, and as meaningful a statement now as it was then.
Predominately written as a series of log entries and flashbacks our protagonist – a toy company owner turned spaceship captain – leads a small assortment of friends and family into space for a distant star where they will establish their own commune. However with the decision for Ryan to command the ship while the others enter hibernation until their arrival, the Black Corridor becomes an examination of how far a man might go to accomplish all this revealed to the reader as they undergo the stress of severe isolation.
The subject matter is pretty grim and at a couple of points even a little graphic, and would be better classified as science fiction horror than straight sci-fi. Certainly stands out from Moorcock’s other writings, and worth the read if just for that.
