Cyborg IV
Encyclopedia
Cyborg IV is a science fiction
/secret agent
novel by Martin Caidin
that was first published in 1975. It was the fourth and final book in a series of novels Caidin began in 1972 with Cyborg
, profiling the adventures of astronaut
Steve Austin
, who becomes a spy for the American government after an accident that requires the replacement of numerous body parts with high-powered machines.
Cyborg IV was published after Caidin's original novel was adapted into a television series entitled The Six Million Dollar Man
. Confusingly, therefore, its first paperback publication by Warner Books was issued as Volume 6 in Warners' Six Million Dollar Man book series (the only other Caidin work to be published in this series was High Crystal
), even though Caidin's Cyborg continuity is separate from that of the other Six Million Dollar Man-branded novels by authors such as Mike Jahn and Jay Barbree
which were novelization
s based upon teleplays.
to new extremes as Steve Austin's consciousness is hooked up to a next generation spacecraft, creating a new form of union between man and machine. Meanwhile, an enemy force plans to use similar technology for their own ends.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
/secret agent
Secret Agent
Secret Agent is a British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on two stories in Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll, and Robert Young...
novel by Martin Caidin
Martin Caidin
Martin Caidin was an American author and an authority on aeronautics and aviation.Caidin wrote more than 50 books, including Samurai!, Black Thursday, Thunderbolt!, Fork-Tailed Devil: The P-38, Zero!, The Ragged, Rugged Warriors, A Torch to the Enemy and many other works of military history...
that was first published in 1975. It was the fourth and final book in a series of novels Caidin began in 1972 with Cyborg
Cyborg (novel)
Cyborg is the title of a science fiction/secret agent novel by Martin Caidin which was first published in 1972. The novel also included elements of speculative fiction, and was adapted as the television series The Six Million Dollar Man and also inspired its spin-off, The Bionic Woman.-Plot...
, profiling the adventures of astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
Steve Austin
Steve Austin (fictional character)
Steve Austin is a fictional character created by Martin Caidin for his 1972 novel, Cyborg, who later became a 1970s television icon as portrayed by Lee Majors in the 1974-1978 series The Six Million Dollar Man.-Background:...
, who becomes a spy for the American government after an accident that requires the replacement of numerous body parts with high-powered machines.
Cyborg IV was published after Caidin's original novel was adapted into a television series entitled The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
. Confusingly, therefore, its first paperback publication by Warner Books was issued as Volume 6 in Warners' Six Million Dollar Man book series (the only other Caidin work to be published in this series was High Crystal
High Crystal
High Crystal is a science fiction/secret agent novel by Martin Caidin that was first published in 1974. It was the second sequel to Caidin's 1972 work Cyborg, which in turn was the basis for the television series The Six Million Dollar Man...
), even though Caidin's Cyborg continuity is separate from that of the other Six Million Dollar Man-branded novels by authors such as Mike Jahn and Jay Barbree
Jay Barbree
Jay Barbree is a correspondent for NBC News, focusing on space travel. Barbree is the only journalist to have covered every manned space mission in the United States, beginning with the first American in space, Alan Shepard aboard Freedom 7 in 1961, continuing through to the last mission of the...
which were novelization
Novelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
s based upon teleplays.
Plot summary
In Cyborg IV, Caidin takes the notion of cyborgCyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
to new extremes as Steve Austin's consciousness is hooked up to a next generation spacecraft, creating a new form of union between man and machine. Meanwhile, an enemy force plans to use similar technology for their own ends.