Cyborg

The story which led to the television show. It could have been a classic, but this dated story is instead bogged down with 2D characters, casual sexism, and a hurried finish.

Martin Caidin is a technical author and writes a very plausible story. The first two thirds of this book are solid - test pilot (and former lunar astronaut) Steve Austin has a rather nasty accident, and is rebuilt by a team of experts. They make him stronger, faster, etc. - though the famous lines of intro to the TV show came from Hollywood, not Caidin.

After that, there is a rather quick transition to Steve Austin, nearly invincible special asset. He goes on two (or was it three?) missions for the US government, at least partly out of gratitude for the work done. Austin is a bit of a head case, and that comes through well.

Unfortunately, sexism also runs rampant. The three female characters (one of them repeatedly described as "stacked") are all very two dimensional. Published in 1970, I've read contemporary novels nowhere near this bad. Was it the author, described as "controversial", though most sources don't specify just how? No idea.

I had planned to read the sequels, probably won't bother now. I will still read Marooned - I'm definitely hoping for an improvement.