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story identification - Book about a man who's cut in half & placed in suspended animation


I remember reading a book fifteen to twenty years ago that had the following charactersitics:



  • The main character was a man who at some point lost the lower part of his body (legs & pelvis)


  • He was placed in suspended animation / cryogenic sleep at one point in the story

  • The story may have included a whale/leviathan-esque "character" (but I may be conflating two stories in my memory)

  • At one point in the story he drags himself through some air-vent-esque piping


I'm fairly sure it was written by one of the "big" authors and that, at least in the printing I read, the cover had a whale/leviathan on it.


Could anyone identify this book?



Answer



The Godwhale by T. J. Bass (1974). Not a big name author, but otherwise a good fit for your description:



  • The protagonist has indeed lost the lower part of his body.


  • He is placed into suspended animation until the damaged tissue can be restored.

  • A major part of the story revolves around the Godwhale, a cyborg built from genetically modified blue whale.

  • The first edition cover features said Godwhale.


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