Mars Plus

Man Plus #2

by Frederik Pohl, Thomas T. Thomas

Fifty years after the colonization of Mars forced its new residents to undergo genetic and cyborg alteration, the Martian computer net, upon which all Martian life depends, develops a dangerous mind of its own. Reprint.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Space

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1994

About the author

Frederik George Pohl, Jr. was an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years. From about 1959 until 1969, Pohl edited Galaxy magazine and its sister magazine IF winning the Hugo for IF three years in a row. His writing also won him three Hugos and multiple Nebula Awards. He became a Nebula Grand Master in 1993.

Reviews

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good follow-up to Frederik Pohl's earlier novel, Man Plus.

The story takes place 50 years after the first book. Now, there is more than just the one cyborg on Mars. There are cyborgs, and partial cyborgs, and humans with cybernetic implants. It seems like no one can get on with this technology. It's no wonder that something goes wrong...

I'm glad I went to all the trouble to get this book via interlibrary loan.

[Carl Barlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is co-written with Thomas T. Thomas, and I'll put my neck on the line to suggest that it was he that wrote the bulk of it. There isn't quite the depth of character I expect with a Pohl novel (there's certainly less than the exclusively Pohl forerunner, Man Plus), with the focus being very much on ideas.

But it's a good novel: full of well thought-out notions on the practicalities of living on Mars, AI evolution, and differing social attitudes. It's also fairly stand-alone, as the hero of its predecessor is barely mentioned except toward the end (and, consequently, ditto for the first book's focus, coming to terms with life as a cyborg - Mars Plus... well, the clue's in the title, is very much about Humanity on Mars). The pages turn swiftly and smoothly and no offence is given. There are much worse ways to spend your reading time.

[Tentatively, Convenience · Rating 3 out of 5]

review of
Frederik Pohl & Thomas T. Thomas's Mars Plus
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - Sept 21, 2012

I haven't read the novel that preceded this, Pohl's Man Plus, & that makes me feel slightly uncomfortable since I'm a 'completist' sort at times & prefer reading series in order. Then again, no biggie. This struck me as the most Heinleinian bk I've read by Pohl yet - partially just b/c on p 38 the word "Waldo" is used to mean a "remote manipulator" as it was coined to mean by Heinlein. Of course, this type of perpetuated terminology runs throughout most SF - & I like that.

Having read this back-to-back w/ a Dick novel (In Milton Lumky Territory) I can't honestly say that the writing itself is particularly great: it communicates but it doesn't FLOW in that special pulp way that Dick, Hammett, & Chandler do. Still, it's visionary, probably somewhat scientifically sound, & entertaining. AND it's better than any SF I'm ever likely to write. Then again, I'm not that interested in writing SF - even tho I love reading it. The ending reminds me of the end of Arthur C. Clarke's 2001. Pohl wd've been about 75 when this was published & I can only hope that I'll be this sharp if & when I ever reach that age.

In the long run, I think I'm a sucker for the teat of Mars colonization/exploration stories. It seems w/in the reach of humanity as we-now-know-it & fits right in w/ my enthusiasm for NASA & such-like things. I'm all for the moon landings & wd like to see us go further. Don't think it'll happen in my lifetime but I'm glad I can at least see it as a probable occurrence of the not-too-distant future. & this is probably the best Mars novel I've read yet. It's certainly ONE of the best. Pohl continues to intrigue me.

[Punk · Rating 2 out of 5]

SF. Oh give me a home, where the cyborgs do roam, and the grid is not silent all day! It's 2043 and Mars has been colonized by earthlings. They live underground in domed cities run by a computer system known as the grid, and the circuitry is getting a little tired of the humans thinking they know best. The pov jumps between several one-dimensional characters and the plot hinges on an abstract threat we're told about but never actually encounter. The "threat" is all hat and no cattle and is easily dispatched with a simple promise. Normally I enjoy Pohl's science fiction, but this lacked his usual attention to world building and the other. I blame his cowriter. There was also some tacky sex. However, the alert readers at Amazon inform me that this was the sequel to Pohl's Man Plus, which has to be better than this.

Two stars because even though it was sort of bad, it still had cyborgs in it.

[Chaz Wyman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a Fred Pohl book. The writing is just too full of verbiage and unnecessary scenes. It runs to about 330 pages and I would judge that to be 100 pages too many. It gives far too little time to Torraway the protagonist of ManPlus, and too much to Demeter and what she is wearing and who she is screwing.
Aside from the the story is a pretty good one (presumably conceived by Pohl, and written by Thomas), But 300 pages is too many to wade through to get to the last 30 pages, where everything is finally explained.
A 230 page version would get a 4+stars, but this barely deserves a three.

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing sequel to the masterful "Man Plus" story; pretty much completely missing all of the admirable qualities of its predecessor. Honestly, I'd be happier if Pohl hadn't put his name on this and let his writing partner take full credit - it feels like he had almost no influence on this at all. The ending is just flat out disappointing and not a terribly logical conclusion to this story, much less finishing out the preceding tale. Not quite as horrendous as the capper for the recent Battlestar Galactica remake, but it's in the same ballpark, for sure.

[Henri Moreaux · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like this was a solid sequel to Man Plus, however it definitely lacked the same level of zing as the prior novel.

Set 50 years in the future we return to Mars & Roger where something is afoot and the computers seem to be having more "errors" and "bugs" as we saw earlier in Man Plus.

Characters seemed a bit flatter, but was still entertaining and enjoyable.

[Brent Winslow · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a sequel to 1976's Nebula Award winner Man Plus - 1994's Mars Plus describes the colonization of Mars and the impact of ubiquitous technology on humans. Themes of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, virtual reality, and even medical device security remain important in 2020.

[Timothy Dymond · Rating 1 out of 5]

A disappointing and very boring sequel that it’s far from clear Frederik Pohl had much to do with. Pohl’s excellent previous writing made me pick this one up, but the story is very convoluted with characters that just aren’t interesting. A novel about technologically enhanced trans humanism and the terraforming of Mars certainly has potential. Humans changing themselves to survive on a different planet, and changing that planet to allow them to survive, raises issues about human purpose, and what we would actually want to achieve by settling on a new world. However that topic needs a better treatment than this book provides.

[Djordje · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating: ★★★

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

With great author Thomas T. Thomas.

[Sparrow Knight · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seriously, don’t bother. There are too many good books out there waiting for your attention.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
Not as emotionally deep as the first book, but a little more action oriented and fast paced.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The sequel to Man Plus, it was disappointing, as in fact was the original. Pohl is one of the truly great SF voices, but this book felt like quickly written pulp. The main character was supposed to have a thick drawl, but it essentiallly vanished except when the authors remembered. She is shallow, stupid, and not particularly sympathetic. The other characters weren't much better; there was not much development, and I didn't care about what happened to any of them.

I forced myself to finish the book, hoping it would have some redeeming value, but here are so many other, better choices to spend your time with that I wouldn't recommend bothering with this one. Read Pohl's Gateway books instead. The first one has the absolute best first line of any book I have read, "My name is Robinette Broadhead, in spite of which I am male." I love it.

[Ivan Bogdanov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Странна книжка. Авторите предвиждат самоосъзнаване на мрежата много преди да може да се говори сериозно за мрежа. Книгата е интересна, но реално 2/3 от действието е някакъв увод, а след това всичко свършва набързо за 2 глави.
Но все пак е Фредерик Пол.
Прочетете я.

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sequel to Man Plus. As happens in Pohl's sequels, it has a somewhat disjointed plot and characters. Otherwise a fun read with the cynical voice Pohl lends all his characters.

[Tymothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as good as the first book, but still worth reading for the extension of the story and an interesting look at a near-future solar system.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a sort of follows on from Pohl's Man Plus. It isn't as famous as Man Plus and having read it I understand why. Its not that its bad, its just not good, just sort of okay.

[I. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cool book. Almost retro in feel. The overall plot was interesting but I felt like there would be some really cool stories about the androids roaming Mars.

[Howard]

1

[Петър Стойков · Rating 1 out of 5]

В първата 1/3 от книгата не се случи нищо, затова я зарязах.