The mixed Mars population of humans, cyborgs, and half-cyborgs is suddenly beset by strange changes in, and behavior of, the computer net on which all Martian life depends. By the author of the Nebula Award-winning Man Plus.
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I initially read this book many years ago and have used some of it's plot in classes that I have taught over the last 10 years. I buy and give away copies as often as seems prudent. This was one of those times. PS- I like the sequel too "Mars Plus".
This is the sequel to Man Plus, but written some 18 years later. It is presented as a sci-fi/spy-thriller cross genre. The protagonist is a young woman spy, who is rather inept, blowing her cover on the first opportunity, regularly missing clues, and taking a day off to go shopping. But somehow she manages to muddle through. I read this because I enjoyed Man Plus. But Mars Plus is nowhere near as interesting. There are lots of technical details about inventions for life on Mars, presented in a dry and boring manner. The characters are all rather two dimensional. There are some eyebrow raising elements; e.g., "like all Chinese she had a willful streak” (p.163). Overall, it is a surprisingly amateurish work, and it just isn’t very engaging.
The sequel to Man Plus. This novel was far less intriguing, which is ironic since it played out as a mystery. I we remember the end of Man Plus, there is the implication that machine intelligence has tricked mankind into colonizing Mars in order to protect its own interests (since man might wipe out Earth and thus the machine intelligence too). Mars Plus is a mystery where all the players are manipulated by the machines, but it just isn't very mysterious or clever. I think Pohl phoned this one in without exploring the many facets of what the existence of a manipulative machine intelligence would mean.
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2001
This book is an oldie but it's amazing how man continues to plod on toward a Martian landing as did the characters in this story. I kept wondering for 17 chapters who the narrator,"We," was who told the story? In a cutesie, laconic way this question was sort of answered in Chapt 18, the four page ending. I won't, but I don't think it would spoil anything by revealing the ending, in fact, not knowing the "We" identity sort of spoiled the book for me. I like to know who is telling me a story. Still, much was attempted for the 1970's so I will only spank the author with the brevity of this review.