Man Plus

By: Frederik Pohl

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris, Robert J. Sawyer

Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Roger Torraway watched in horror as the monster lurched, toppled over and died. Project Man Plus had gone suddenly and drastically wrong. The race to colonize Mars was too important, too costly, and America was already too committed, for plans to be scrapped. They would have to make a new Martian. And Roger Torraway was it, candidate for the endless surgery, operation after painful operation, that would enable him to survive on that faraway planet.

Man Plus is a thrilling race against time - to land on Mars on schedule, to insure that Roger's system will withstand the stress that killed the previous candidate. And meanwhile, somewhere, somehow, there has been a breakdown in the computer network....

With the edge-of-the-chair excitement and suspense, four-time Hugo Award winner Frederik Pohl tells the story of the remaking of man into Man Plus, creating in Roger an unforgettable character, grotesque in appearance but totally human in feeling - capable of yearning, depression, love, jealousy, terror.

BONUS AUDIO: In an exclusive introduction, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Robert J. Sawyer explains why Man Plus is one of science fiction's all-time greatest novels.

©1976 Frederik Pohl (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Nebula Award, Best Novel, 1977

More timely now than ever

There is nothing "dated" about this classic sci-fi despite it being written decades ago. Pohl had so much vision that what must have originally sounded impossible now seems perhaps just "a little" in the future. A very, very entertaining book and very good science fiction from a master.

Ehhhh...it’s Ok I guess...

The story was just kind of ‘OK’. Character development ‘Ok’, performance, Ok. I really couldn’t bring myself to care about any of the characters. The story seemed somewhat out of order. An interesting premise, but the execution was lacking.

Good story, with a suprise at the end.

Where does Man Plus rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Near the top 85%, for quality, writing, original story, and masterful execution!

What other book might you compare Man Plus to and why?

Oh! of course Gateway, which the images of the mushroom shaped,space ships that will take you to places of great wonder, and possible death, still haunt my memories.

Which character – as performed by Dennis Boutsikaris and Robert J. Sawyer – was your favorite?

The main character

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes especially towards the end where it got tense!

Any additional comments?

Good book by a Great Author.

What does a cyborg feel?

Man Plus broke ground that was subsequently covered back up by Hollywood cyborg action movies (like Robocop). The focus is on how a human male feels about being cyborged, how it affects his relationships. Unfortunately the sexism of the time when this was written came through strongly enough to be somewhat irritating to this female reader. Nevertheless, well worth the time listening; clearly a pioneering work of sf. With a surprise ending!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Roger Torraway's body is severely transformed in order to find a refuge for mankind on Mars, but the changes make him appear monstrous to humanity.
Good in the transformation sequence but, otherwise, suffers from poor plotting & characterization.

Too much thought not enough action

What disappointed you about Man Plus?

more of a psychological drama than an plot driven vehicle. not saying that is necessarily bad but not for me.

Would you ever listen to anything by Frederik Pohl again?

Yes- considered a master of Sci-fi and was well written.

Have you listened to any of Dennis Boutsikaris and Robert J. Sawyer ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Dated and poorly narrated

After listening to Frederik Pohl's Gateway I was really looking forward to Man Plus. It was sadly disappointing and found myself skipping chapters to finish this book. The narration is very monotone, added with extremely technical jargon making it felt like a lecture about technology-unlike the brilliant character development of Gateway. This may have been groundbreaking for its time but nowhere near the character development of Gateway.

If you're a fan of Frederik Pohl, pass this one.