''Mars Plus'' is a 1994

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel by American writer

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satelli ...

and Thomas T. Thomas. It is the sequel to Pohl's 1976 novel ''

Man Plus ''Man Plus'' is a 1976 science fiction novel by American writer Frederik Pohl. (Note: unless otherwise noted, all statements in this article regarding the contents of ''Man Plus'' are based on the book itself). It won the Nebula Award for Best N ...

'', which is about a cyborg, Roger Torraway, who is designed to operate in the harsh Martian environment, so that humans can start to colonize Mars. ''Mars Plus'' is set fifty years after the first novel. Young Demeter Coghlan travels to Mars, now settled by humans and cyborgs, and finds herself amidst a rebellion by the colonists.

Plot

In ''

'', set in the not-too-distant future, with threat of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

becoming a fighting war, people plan for the

colonization of Mars Colonization or settlement of Mars is the theoretical human migration and long-term human establishment of Mars. The prospect has garnered interest from public space agencies and private corporations and has been extensively explored in scien ...

to escape the seemingly-inevitable

Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...

. The American government begins a cyborg program to create a being capable of surviving the harsh Martian environment: a "Man Plus" called Roger Torraway who is converted from man to cyborg. While his cyborg body is adapted to Mars, he feels strange at first. As more nations develop cyborgs, the computer networks of Earth become sentient. ''Mars Plus'' is set fifty years after the first novel, when Mars is settled by humans and cyborgs. The cyborg Torroway is in the novel, but he is not the main character. The protagonist is Demeter Coghlan, a young woman from Earth who travels to Mars. Demeter is seeking information about a canyon that she believes may be significant if the colonists begin to convert Mars to an Earth-like planet. Amidst a backdrop of spies and newly dispatched Earth diplomats, the inexperienced Demeter senses that tensions are rising on the planet. She is further disoriented due to recovering from an accident. Despite the risks in the region, Demeter has intense sexual encounters with some of the local colonists. When the locals rebel against the surveillance set up by the computer network, Demeter is kidnapped by the computer network.

Reception

The reviewer from ''SFBook Reviews'' criticizes the book, saying "nothing really happens" and stating that there is no linkage to ''Man Plus'' apart from the presence of the cyborg Torraway; moreover, the reviewer states that the questions posed in the first novel are not answered. ''SF Reviews'' calls ''Mars Plus'' "...not as good as ''Man Plus'' but...not bad", and it is praised for "...some nice touches: Demeter continuously forgetting to think about geology; her careless dictation to the computer and her irresistible urges for wild sex." ''SF Reviews'' criticizes the writing in ''Mars Plus'' for being "...a little careless in places" and in need of more "...more crafting and pruning."

References

External links

MIT profile of Pohl
1994 American novels 1994 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Novels set during the Cold War Cyborgs in literature Novels set on Mars Artificial intelligence in fiction Novels by Frederik Pohl Baen Books books {{ColdWar-novel-stub