Every Wednesday night, my kids and I put on an episode of Six Million Dollar Man and enjoy the show. During the credits, we noticed it's based on this book. I couldn't find a copy that wasn't insanely priced, but I DID find a digital version of it. Five dollars later (so much less than six million), I was ready for some Steve Austin excitement!
And then I read the book. Wow, was I surprised.
Steve Austin is a former astronaut that crashes while testing a plane. Many struggles and surgeries later, he feels he's more machine than man. This story focuses a lot of time on Steve's journey into becoming a bionic man, and he goes on a couple missions in the second half. The whole thing reminded me of James Bond with a bionic twist. The descriptions were long and detailed, and while it would bore my kids, I found most of them interesting.
The end was super abrupt, but it also made sense. I was able to appreciate the book for what it was, and a little sad it wasn't made into the James Bond-ish kind of show it could've been. But having said that, I wouldn't change the show. Unless you're talking about adding more Oscar. We LOVE Oscar!
Back to the book, I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. If you ignore the fact it's hard to get, there is language, some talk of sex, a suicide attempt, and other things that haven't aged well. The book and show are different enough I was able to appreciate both for what they were, and I'm glad I read it.
