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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Frankenstein meets 2001 (including HAL),
By A Customer
This review is from: Man Plus (S.F. MASTERWORKS) (Paperback)
There has been one really nice thing about both Frederik Pohl entries in the SF Masterworks series - they are good old-fashioned stories that I understand, with no bizarre concepts or abstractions for me to get my head round. However, that in no way diminishes their brilliance or their impact - this was a gripping read from start to finish, that had me laughing on some occasions and almost crying on others. What person could read this book and not feel the pain and suffering inflicted on Roger in the name of science ? When Roger realises that he is the next candidate for the Man Plus project, his terror is both palpable and understandable - who among us would not react the same way ? There is only one thing about the book that makes it less than perfect - the problem of the computers. Pohl refers to complex, room sized IBM's (of which only two exist in his entire United States), and the problem of providing even moderately powerful mobile computers for the mission to Mars. That may have been reality in the 60's and 70's, but it's a bit laughable to those of us who live amongst laptops and Palm Pilots, and detracts from the feel of the future the author is trying to convey. Still, it's a minor quibble, and the gobsmacking surprise of an ending more than makes up for it. All in all, a brilliant addition to the 'man on Mars' idea.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Haunting.,
By
This review is from: Man Plus (S.F. MASTERWORKS) (Paperback)
Having read my first Frederik Pohl; "Jem" earlier this year, I was keen to read more, and Man Plus doesn't disappoint. It's a precursor to many more recent Martian novels and unlike the Barsoomian nonsense of Edgar Rice Burroughs which I read as a boy, or the politically intense Kim Stanley Robinson, Man Plus explores the individual cost and emotional journey of a single Martian colonist. It really is a unique and clever approach, with Mars itself being relegated to a supporting role in the story. Pohl handles the alien [as a concept] very well and there's an overarching strangeness and a sense of isolation to this novel that could only be conjured by a writer with a soul, for which, I can only admire him.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Top Notch Sci-Fi.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Man Plus (S.F. MASTERWORKS) (Paperback)
This really is a well written and entertaining book.Set in the near future in a world living under the shadow of a world war, the race is well and truly on to colonise Mars with the political orientation of the Americans very subtle and true. The politicians and Scientists are using technology to adapt a human for the rigours of living on Mars. Often refered to in the narrative as a 'monster' the human experiment is gradually altered in to a half human/machine - a cyborg - fully changed and prepared for life on another planet. We are taken under the skin of the main character and how he deals with the transformation and leaves his human side and family behind. I felt that there were similarities to 'Frankenstein' in that human interferance and the gradual change into the 'monster' were fully addressed and also a vague memory of 'Robocop' with the human alterations still having a very human side to the whole story. There does also appear to be a dark humorous side to the novel as well - very tongue in cheek. The Sci-fi masterworks has at the moment two classic releases by Pohl in its stable - certainly Man Plus and Gateway are superb examples of the Sci-fi genre. Another Must!
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