Because of my traumatic experience with Mission of Gravity, I have not read much hard science fiction for this list. Nor have I read any stories about Mars, which is another tragedy, since it was one of my very favorite topics as a kid. That will change, fortunately. The science here gets very creative and enjoyable: a man is made into a cyborg to make him more adaptable for life on Mars. Roger Torraway’s backup computer makes him a perfect musician, athlete, and truthsayer. This story would have been a perfect pre-quel for The Terminator. The pacing shoots along like a Crichton or Cook best-seller, and I can forgive this author his 70's preoccupation was the cyborg losing his “man-parts.”
The lesson here is clear. Science should be imaginative and entertaining.