Any superhuman, 'what if' novels?

[tm37]

I am looking for books which explore what happens when someone, preferably in a reasonably realistic setting, is given too much power. By this I mean they are altered in some way which changes them making them newly aware of their lives and the possibilities open to them. Some examples of what I am looking for are:

Replay by Ken Grimwood
Jumper by Steven Gould
How Like a God by Brenda W. Clough

Any help you could provide in this pursuit would be much appreciated.

 

[HoopyFrood]

I think Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes might fit in here. It's not a case of someone being endowed with some superhuman power; it's revolves around a person with a very low IQ that undergoes an operation to improve their intelligence substantially. The reason I think it fits into what you're looking for is because the person gets the chance to see their life from a completely different perspective. And above all else it's a very moving and brilliant book. It's also a short story. I know others disagree, but I prefer the novel.

 

[tm37]

I'll give it a read as soon as I finish my current book. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Urlik]

I think Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes might fit in here. It's not a case of someone being endowed with some superhuman power; it's revolves around a person with a very low IQ that undergoes an operation to improve their intelligence substantially. The reason I think it fits into what you're looking for is because the person gets the chance to see their life from a completely different perspective. And above all else it's a very moving and brilliant book. It's also a short story. I know others disagree, but I prefer the novel.

that is such a well crafted story.
I have the short story version in a Hugo Winners anthology edited by Azimov

a fantastic series of books is the Wild Cards series edited by George R.R. Martin.

 

[j d worthington]

There's also The Power, by Frank M. Robinson, or More Than Human, by Theodore Sturgeon, which both deal with this subject.

It's a fairly common theme in sf, especially from the 1940s through the 1960s. In fact, one of the best ironic handlings of the theme is the first Jerry Cornelius stories, The Final Programme.

There's also Brain Wave, by Poul Anderson, or The Chrysalids (a.k.a. Re-Birth) by John Wyndham.

The following isn't a book, but a story; however, it deals with the theme in a rather interesting way:

"Run for the Stars", by Harlan Ellison (it may seem an odd one, for those who know the story, but think about it a bit....)

 

[clovis-man]

There's also The Power, by Frank M. Robinson

I thought of this one as soon as I read the first post in the thread. Made into a movie in the 1960s, I can remember seeing it dramatized on television only a year or two after the book was published in 1956 (wish I could remember who did it). Certainly has to be considered a classic.

Jim

 

[Anthony G Williams]

Well, there's always Scales, although modesty forbids my mentioning the author .

You can read the first four chapters online.

 

[Bibliophile]

Hmm.. It might be out of the genre you're looking for; But perhaps P.N. Elrod's "Vampire Files" series would be good. Set in 1930's(40's) about a man who is killed by the mob, and comes back, then has to deal with his new life. Vampire meets hard-boiled detective.

 

[UltraCulture]

Would The Galacticl Milieu series fit this bill? it revolves around the emergance of metaphysical powers in some of earths population, admittedly i've only read Intervention.

 

[manephelien]

Arthur C. Clarke's short story A Meeting With Medusa might fit the bill.

Anne McCaffrey has written the Talent series dealing with psi powers as well.