Science Fiction & Fantasy Award Winning Book Group discussion

Hi everyone. This is for discussion of June's group book:
Man Plus by Frederik Pohl

Unless it’s a very general comment make sure you use spoiler code.
< spoiler>Comment< /spoiler> Without the spaces.

This years Nebula ceremony was held in May and the winners announced so it seemed appropriate to have a Nebula theme.

Chapter One & Two

(view spoiler)[An interesting introduction to the idea of Man Plus. Creating a monster by changing a human out of all recognition to live on Mars is not something I’ve come across in any form before but it’s got promise. So far we know a little about the world and why the people involved are doing this program. What the benefits to the world or society is hasn’t been fully delved into yet other than mentioning the population so possibly over-population but that hasn’t been stated so we’ll find out, I hope anyway. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter Three & Four

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The Man Plus program has been explained quite heavily and my first reaction was to smile and think how much of a classic, older Sf book it is. The look into the mind of the first Man Plus patient was curious to see. He’s a prisoner everywhere except inside his own mind.
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Chapter Five & Six

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A predictable death followed by a suspicious wife and colleague whose husband is now the new Man Plus subject. There’s not much to say about these chapters as they’re just building things up for now.
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Chapter Seven & Eight

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Roger has now almost become fully Man Plus and he’s starting to be able to perceive the world again; albeit in a different way than before. He’s now suspicious of his wife but for now has to let it go until he physically recovers and adapts to everything he’s gone through. Interesting to see how he now perceives the world and interacts with it; his entire world view is both the same but not exactly. Curious idea.
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Chapter Nine & Ten

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Roger has now adjusted to his new self and can refuse and argue with others again. The nurse Sulie is now very suspicious. I assume it’s the case she’s dyed her hair and has contacts pretending to be like his wife to make it easier for Roger to accept her and ease his mind. It’s an understandable thing for the people in charge to do but still; not a very nice thing. Curious to see if he’ll figure it out before he launches.
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Chapters Eleven & Twelve

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I’m not surprised by Roger escaping and going to see his wife. It was pretty obvious something would happen soon and the fact he’s physically extremely fast and strong makes it a whole lot easier for him to do things. Also finding out the details on Sulie was interesting but again not surprising. It had been building for a little while so her identity and role would become known.
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Chapters Thirteen & Fourteen

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Spaceship launches I’ve come across many times over the years and this was broadly similar to normal. The main difference being how Roger’s sense of time was slowed down so he only seemed to be there for a very short time. Curious idea which I’ve heard of before but not seen written of and featured in this way before.
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Chapters Fifteen & Sixteen

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Seeing the way Roger is on Mars makes me smile. He’s been cooped up and unable to do what he knows he’s capable of and now he’s free to run around and be his new self fully.

I can’t predict yet who and what is messing with the computer systems and making them give false results so severely. There’s little left though so we’ll find out very soon.
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Chapters 1 - 4

(view spoiler)[Set up for the story in theses chapters. We are introduced to the space program, introduced to most of the main characters, given a very brief setup of world politics and a breakdown of the Man Plus program. Only real question I have after this is who is the narrator? The text keeps saying things like 'We expected a great deal from Roger Torraway'. (hide spoiler)]

Chapters Seventeen until end. All finished

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The twist of who was manipulating the data they’d been basing all their decisions on was unexpected. I didn’t think of the computers themselves. They’re saving themselves which also happens to need us so an interesting concept. The point of view was there's throughout which was interesting to learn as I had wondered about it but couldn't make a guess as to who or what owned it.


The colonisation of Mars has begun and it’s been left somewhat open as to what will happen. Pohl wrote a sequel called Mars Plus many years later so I’m curious what that would be like and debating whether to read it at some point or leave it here.

I liked the book as a whole but didn’t love it. It takes awhile to get started which isn’t the best thing when the book is already on the short side
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Jon, you'll find out about the point of view eventually. It was something I'd wondered about

Chapters 5 - 8

(view spoiler)[So the original Man Plus dies and our hero Roger Torraway is in line to step up and take his place. His wife is having an affair with a friend of his. I find it interesting that everyone in the project (including him) refers to the Man Plus as 'the Monster'. That seems a little harsh to refer to your friend and compatriot that way. The original subject died from stress and sensory overload and you can begin to see the stress building up in Roger. (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 9 - 12

(view spoiler)[ Roger is completely altered physically at this point and a lot of what is happening at this point concerns his mental state and preparedness. It is revealed in Ch 12 that not only is Sulie a medical doctor but she specialized in psychotherapy. The only other Frederik Pohl book that I've read is Gateway, where psychotherapy is one of the main components of the story, so that seems to be one of Pohl's interests. (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 13 - 15

(view spoiler)[Funny how they don't leave for Mars until you're 200 pages into a 267 page book. I thought this was going to be a book about an augmented human on Mars, but that's not really what this book is about. I'm with you Joe, I liked the way they slowed down time for Roger. I don't remember coming across that idea before. 'They' have become more prominent in the story. At the beginning of the story there was only the occasional 'we' or 'us' but by this point it's evident that some group is manipulating events. (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 16 - The End

(view spoiler)[I really liked the way the story ended. I didn't figure out the little twist either. I was thinking another political entity or maybe aliens. Hahaha.

Joe, I think you and I had a similar reading experience with this one. The big plus for me was that it was short. I thought it was very slow until at least the halfway point but then I really enjoyed the last few chapters. I'm happy with the way it ended so I have no interest in reading the next one. (hide spoiler)]

Jon, I've decided against reading Mars Plus; or at least actively looking to read it so a library read is possible.

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The pacing worked out in the end but I did wonder at the halfway point if things were going to pick up or stay slower, which considering the length wouldn't of been good.
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