I'll admit I wasn't sure what to expect going into Chuck Palahniuk's first foray into science fiction — his brand of transgressive, subversive storytelling felt like it belonged squarely in the gritty, grounded worlds of Fight Club and Choke, not in speculative territory. But Gallerie still feels unmistakably like Palahniuk. The same sharp, unflinching prose, the same fascination with identity and societal rot, the same willingness to make readers deeply uncomfortable — it's all there, just refracted through a new genre lens.

If I'm being honest, I still prefer his earlier work; there's a rawness to those novels that feels singular. But there's something exciting about watching a writer this established take a genuine risk. Gallerie has a refreshingly new tone that keeps his voice recognizable while pushing him somewhere unexpected. Longtime fans will find plenty to hold onto, even as the setting stretches into new territory.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

It's always nice returning to my ol' pal Chuck, one of my biggest inspirations as a writer myself. This feels like a return to form that is closer to his earlier works that had such a massive impact on me. At first, it took a few chapters for me to get my bearings with the unusual presentation of this narrative, but once I had a grasp on it, I was merrily cruising along. With the meta stories within the story, I was reminded a bit of his other novel that contained little meta tales within, Haunted. That, of course, was more horror than science-fiction, but I sense some kindred DNA between them.

The mixture of his usual brand of dark comedy with pulpy sci-fi trappings was a delight to experience. One moment, I'm learning about this far-off spacefaring civilization of former Earthlings and the next I'm trying to piece together a familial mystery as a son tries to track down his deadbeat writer father. I couldn't have even begun to predict how these two separate storylines would converge! What a beautifully strange and wonderful yarn Palahniuk has spun here!

A big thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Chuck Palahniuk for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

So different from other Palahniuk books but I’m so happy I was able to ARC read this. Amazingly well done

First off, to be given the opportunity to arc read for one of my favorite authors is amazing. Seriously, I was completely over the moon.

That said, my brain is complete mush😂 I can't say I'm surprised because I've read the majority of Palahniuk's work and he's never written a story that's very straightforward. There are twists and turns and all sorts of directions, you gotta think outside the box and that's what I appreciate about his work.

Galleria is no different. The story seems like a simple plot of a boy searching for his father. Again, it's Palahniuk so it's more than that. The writing uses different POVs and formats to get its point across, I'll admit I got a little mixed up between the magazine pieces and the IRL moments but it's something you just have to stick with.

I do want to mention that there are parts in here that may be uncomfortable for some. Chuck doesn't shy away from the occasional body horror and other potential triggers, so consider this your warning.

To say this is sci-fi was a bit of a stretch but that's because I know the entirety of the story. It's very unique, it's twisted and gross, and at times effing hilarious. Seriously, there were some parts that had me rolling😂

The way the writing paints the picture of how art is created, trying to perfect it, discarding it when it doesn't seem quite right, and then dropping it into the world, was interesting. I also felt like there was a bigger picture at work regarding the Pinwheel Galaxy…

I can't really say anything else for fear of ruining the book, just that if you do decide to pick this one up you have to do it with the intent of sticking with it. Otherwise, you're probably going to hate the book.

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for the arc, I truly enjoyed it!

**TL;DR**: A wacky, weird SF satire that’ll leave you saying “What did I just read?”.
**Source**: NetGalley, so many thanks to the publisher!

**Plot**: Grunt is looking for his father in the pages of a scattered story, while we see the development of Homestead1.
**Characters:** A whole bunch of unlikable but hilarious characters. I simultaneously loved and hated them.
**Setting:** Part of this was in our ‘normal’ world, but the other this spacey location. I enjoyed both.
**Science-Fiction/Satire**: Hilarious but also left me going “What on earth?”.

**Thoughts:**

This is told in two different ways. We have Grunt, telling us the story of hunting down his father. To do that he is following the trail of stories his father had published in a serialized science-fiction magazine, with a sprinkling of some of his father’s more original works. And I say ‘more original’ because we quickly find out that the stories in these magazines are the story of a settlement, Homestead1, that his father and his friends created in the PinWheel Galaxy.

Now, the story unspools from there and we watch it move the crash landing we all know it’s going to reach. And it’s such a ride. The prose is classic Palahniuk, at least as far as I remember it (it’s been a while), and it makes the story move quickly and it’s punchy. So your gobbling up page after page and boy does it get wacky.

If you want something that’s a mix of science-fiction, some satire, and even elements of body horror, come here. This is what you need. It’s such a weird and wild ride and I had a great time.