Man Plus
{{Short description|1976 science fiction novel by Frederik Pohl}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book |
| name = Man Plus
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = ManPlus(1stEd).jpg
| caption = Cover of first edition (hardcover)
| author = Frederik Pohl
| illustrator =
| cover_artist = Paul Gamarello{{Cite web|url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?21322|title = Publication: Man Plus}}
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| genre = Science fiction
| publisher = Random House
| release_date = 1976
| english_release_date =
| media_type = Print (hardback & paperback)
| pages = 215
| isbn = 0-394-48676-5
| dewey= 813/.5/4
| congress= PZ4.P748 Man PS3566.O36
| oclc= 2020835
| preceded_by =
| followed_by = Mars Plus, 1994Source: WorldCat entry on "Man plus"
}}
Man Plus is a 1976 science fiction novel by American writer Frederik Pohl.{{cite book |last=Pohl |first=Frederik |author-link=Frederik Pohl |title=Man Plus |date=1976 |publisher=Random House |isbn=0-394-48676-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/manpluspohl00pohl }} (Note: unless otherwise noted, all statements in this article regarding the contents of Man Plus are based on the book itself). It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1976,{{cite web|url=http://www.sfwa.org/awards/archive/pastwin.htm#1976 |title=Nebula Awards Past Winners |accessdate=2007-01-11 |author=Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. |author-link=Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America |date=2006-12-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19991013194732/http://sfwa.org/awards/archive/pastwin.htm |archivedate=1999-10-13 }} was nominated for the Hugo and Campbell Awards, and placed third in the annual Locus Poll in 1977.[http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit104.html#4167 Locus Index to SF Awards] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225111414/http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit104.html |date=2015-02-25 }} The story is about a cyborg, Roger Torraway, who is designed to operate in the harsh Martian environment so that humans can colonize Mars.
Plot
In the not-too-distant future, the Cold War threatens to turn into a fighting war. Colonization of Mars seems to be mankind's only hope of surviving certain Armageddon. To facilitate this, the US government begins a cyborg program to create a being capable of surviving the harsh Martian environment: Man Plus. After the death of the first candidate, due to the project supervisors forgetting to enhance his brain's ability to process sensory input to cope with the new stimuli he is receiving, Roger Torraway becomes the heart of the program.
To survive in the thin Martian atmosphere, Roger Torraway's body must be replaced with an artificial one. At every step he becomes more and more disconnected from humanity, unable to feel things in his new body. It is only after arriving on Mars that his new body begins to make sense to him. It is perfectly adapted to this new world and he becomes perfectly separated from his old world and from humanity.
The success of the Martian mission spurs similar cyborg programs in other spacefaring nations. It is revealed that the computer networks of Earth have become sentient and that ensuring humanity's survival will guarantee theirs as well. In the end, the network is puzzled; something has distorted their extrapolations, the same way they influenced humanity.
Reception
New York Times reviewer Gerald Jonas received the novel unfavorably, saying "Pohl seems to have lost his touch entirely. . . . the social extrapolation in Man Plus is simple-minded and the irony heavy-handed.""Of Things to Come", The New York Times Book Review, October 17, 1976 Spider Robinson found Man Plus to be "tight, suspenseful, at times gruesomely fascinating," but faulted it for "one dumptruck-sized hole" in its plotting."Galaxy Bookshelf", Galaxy Science Fiction, May 1977, p.142
C. Ben Ostrander reviewed Man Plus in The Space Gamer No. 8.{{cite journal|last=Ostrander|first=C. Ben |date=October–November 1976|title=Books|journal=The Space Gamer|publisher=Metagaming|issue=8|pages=16}} Ostrander commented that he "recommends this book for all those who enjoy fast paced, action stories".
Sequel
Pohl teamed up with Thomas T. Thomas to write a sequel, Mars Plus, published in 1994.{{cite book |last=Pohl |first=Frederik |author-link=Frederik Pohl |author2=Thomas T. Thomas |author2-link=Thomas T. Thomas |title=Mars Plus |date=1994 |publisher=Baen Books |isbn=0-671-87605-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/marsplus0000pohl }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.worldswithoutend.com/novel.asp?ID=248 Man Plus] at Worlds Without End
{{Nebula Award Best Novel 1965-1980}}
{{Frederik Pohl}}
Category:1976 science fiction novels
Category:American science fiction novels
Category:Novels set during the Cold War
Category:Cyborgs in literature
Category:Nebula Award for Best Novel–winning works