Book review: Man Plus, by Frederick Pohl

I think my headache/concussion was actually mostly my neck (trapezius). Anyway, I read another book...

A common element in science fiction from around this time was a futuristic continuation of the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union. This book at least does something interesting with that concept and extends it elsewhere, with a Chinese-led pan-Asian group that is one of the biggest superpowers in the world. Brazil is also apparently a superpower. Several nations have nuclear arsenals. They have myriad territorial disputes and alliances and factions like something from before World War I in Europe. Only it's with the whole world. And they hate each other even more. And there are big problems with overpopulation. And everyone has nuclear weapons. So yeah, it's one of those stories where the fate of the human race is at stake. And it's one of those stories where global thermonuclear war is the threat that everyone is (rightfully) worried about. But at least it seems like a more authentic version of that theme. It doesn't feel all that contrived (even though it is).

I was only somewhat drawn in by Man Plus at first. The style of writing was to my liking. The alternate future/past/present (not that there's time travel in the story or anything, it's just that I can't remember a year ever being specified, but there are some references that indicate the story can't be taking place all that far from now or what would be now, in the universe of this book anyway) was interesting and somewhat compelling. But the characters were just not likable. That's not necessarily a crippling flaw in a book, but for some reason it defied my expectations. The main character seemed like a boring everyman and almost everyone else was stupid or degenerate or both. It was as though the narrator had a low opinion of these people.

And speaking of that, I found that far too intriguing to be put off much by the unlikability of the characters. I mean, the narrator. We are never properly introduced. The book drops hints and it becomes increasingly obvious. By the time I was sure of the narrator's identity, I was well past hooked on the story and had even grown to like the characters a little.

The premise is that in this world where the total destruction of the human race (by its own weapons) is imminent, the United States government has turned to computing to find ways to avoid that predicament. They come to the conclusion that the only hope for humanity is to colonize Mars. They also come to the conclusion that the only way to have a successful colony on Mars is to have at least one cyborg that can survive the extremes of the Martian environment outside of any protective domes (which will also be built). And that's where the title of the book comes in. The astronaut who volunteers for this project will be man plus whatever machinery is incorporated into him.

The lengths they go to are quite extreme. And the greatest strength of Man Plus is its exploration of cybernetic augmentation.

I never found this to be a really dull book, but I started out considering it only a bit above average. It kept getting better and better, though. If this sounds like the sort of book that would appeal to you, well, it would. I recommend it. Not sure where it goes on my top 50. It makes the list, but it's not in the top 20. I will definitely be reading more Frederik Pohl in the future.