The Experiment

by Richard Setlowe

Harry Styles accepts a bizarre alternative to death, his cancerous lungs are replaced by gills, and he enters an underwater life jeopardized by his wife's alienation, his children's horror, and government exploitation

Genres: Horror, Science Fiction, Fiction

299 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1980

About the author

Richard Setlowe is an American author and journalist best known for his suspense novels, which have enjoyed critical and academic recognition. His early career as a Navy officer in the Far East and a fascination with technology inform his thrillers.

Reviews

[Feliks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this interesting SF novel a while ago (10 years ago I guess) and it concerned a man (perhaps an MD, a surgeon, or a scientist) who is diagnosed with incurable lung cancer. He refuses to accept it and opts to take part in experimental surgery. His lungs will be replaced with fish gills. He will survive and live out his natural lifespan; but he must live the rest of his life immersed in water. The operation is a success but after a while of being studied and kept in tanks--he grows restless--he isn't having much fun--so he escapes into the ocean and becomes a man-fish; forcing himself to conquer all fears and become fully adapted to life in the sea. This part of the novel is rich with fun, undersea details and also transcendent; showing just how adaptable humans are. The man learns how to find tasty food; he finds his social needs met in the comfort in other fish, he learns how to protect himself. He finds beauty. Its very elegiac in its way, this story. The end of the tale has the man dreamily gliding along the ocean floor...

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book dives deep into the ethics of human experimentation and the moral dilemma we face when pushed too far.

Harry Styles (no, not the singer) has lung cancer with only weeks to live and is given the change to help test man-made gills to see whether the human body can adept to water breathing. Harry is not expected to live past the operation and test period, but here's the kicker.... he lives, in fact he thrives.

So now what does this mean for him? Is it morally ethical to keep this man, who can no longer breath air, alive? Where is he going to live? Who is going to foot the bill? How is he going to live a fulfilling life? So many more questions asked then really answered.

As a reader in the 21st century, if really makes you think about body autonomy and what rights you have as a human and how easy they can be taken away. (It also kind of makes you cringe reading some of the blatant 1980's male views on women).

Overall just a very interesting book.

[John Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nostalgia fiction at its best!!!
I found this little gem in the Nostalgia section of my local bookstore and it did not disappoint.
All you need to know is: A family man with terminal cancer accepts an offer to take part in an experiment, that if successful, will save his life. What follows is a dramatic chain of events that drive all the characters to the edge and back, with tragic results.
I read it in one day and was completely absorbed. It has everything: science fiction, light romance, comedy, suspense, drama. The ending was so moving.

[Beverley Gibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book probably 20 years ago and I think was the first science-fiction I read (ignoring an unhappy War of the Worlds experience at school). I loved it, have kept it on my shelf and the story has stayed with me for a really long time. I remember that feeling when Harry wakes up with his gills, and the feelings are vividly communicated -I won't say more than that!

[Bruce T Forbes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book way back when it first came out and thought it simply a good science fiction book, and I thought of how marvelous it would be to swim through the ocean unhindered by machinery. I read it today and see much more of the human interest story it is and what could be happening to the mind and emotions of the patient as well as to his family and those around him. A very good read; I'm glad I've held on to it all these years.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this many years ago, and liked it so much I kept it on my bookshelf thinking I'd read it again. I just did, and while I didn't love it as much as I remembered, it was still quite good. In fairness, I may be inflating my rating based its nostalgia factor, as the supporting casts' whining and moralizing got tiresome, but I still found the story to be enthralling. If I was about to die from lung cancer, I'd also be willing to undergo radical, experimental surgery to give me gills. I think I'd ask them to do their experiments with me in warmer, perhaps tropical waters. Escaping into the cold California Pacific, while interesting in a novel, wouldn't be nearly as fun in real life as, say, the Florida Keys. :)

[Gale Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An older book that I've read several times, this is a real page-turner.

There have been many stories about men who live under the ocean, including comic book hero, Aquaman, who made his first appearance in 1941 and later became part of the "Justice League of America." But the one that sticks in my mind is about Harry Styles, a most credible and incredible hero.

For those who haven't read THE EXPERIMENT by Richard Setlowe, Harry is the protagonist, the aquatic astronaut in this medical science fiction thriller.

See my entire review at: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Experim...

[Bryan457 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man dying of lung cancer volunteers for an experiment to get gills
Focused more on the potential social and psychological downside to the science than the positive possibilities.

[Geronimo Buquing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful story and sad ending.