Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Bantam (1988), Edition: First Edition, Mass Market Paperback, 208 pages
Description
Classic Literature. Fiction. Science Fiction. Thriller. HTML:A fabulous adventure into the last frontier of man! Attention! This is the last message you will receive until your mission is completed. You have sixty minutes once miniaturization is complete. You must be out of Benes' body before then. If not, you will return to normal size and kill Benes regardless of the success of the surgery. Four men and one woman reduced to a microscopic fraction of their original size, boarding a miniaturized atomic sub and being injected into a dying man's carotid artery. Passing through the heart, entering the inner ear where even the slightest sound would destroy them, battling relentlessly into the cranium. Their objective . . . to reach a blood clot and destroy it with the piercing rays of a laser. At stake . . . the fate of the entire world.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member andersocheva
This novel isn't an original Asimov story, but his only novelization of a screenplay. While I prefer the movie for the sheer sense of wonder of the visuals, this is far from the worst novel Asimov wrote; he sticks close to the movie script, but manages to work in a bit of characterisation and
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background, and fixes some of the worst plot holes of the film. The end result is still recognisably Asimov and makes for non-essential but decent reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member helver
So this was a novel written based on the screenplay for the movie Fantastic Voyage. With that in mind, it's obvious that Asimov had some severe limitations on what he could do for the story. All in all, I thought he did an admirable job of adaptation. The story itself is dated - the Cold War; the
The basic idea is that a fantastically brilliant scientist from the Other Side has developed new technology that could help win the Cold War once and for all. He has decided to defect. On the way to the lab where is to spill his proverbial guts, an attempt is made on his life. He survives, but injures his head and a blood clot forms deep in his brain. Normal surgical methods would risk our scientist's life or risk his ability to transmit his knowledge to others. So the only option is to miniaturize a submarine and a crew of five people down to the size of a bacterium and inject that submarine into the scientist's body where, with a laser, the crew will clear the blood clot from the brain. All very plausible.
Of course, it can't be just that simple. There's a traitor in the group someone who wants the mission to fail and for our scientist to die without being able to transfer his knowledge. So in addition to this being a regular bus tour through the major components of the human body, it's also a who-dun-it.
Of course, you could skip the book and just watch the movie. Although, in truth, the book is very quick read - probably not much longer than the movie itself...
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Other Side; gender roles; willingness to acquiesce to authority. The characters are perhaps even more dated especially Miss Peterson - even down to her title. No one goes by Miss anymore... The basic idea is that a fantastically brilliant scientist from the Other Side has developed new technology that could help win the Cold War once and for all. He has decided to defect. On the way to the lab where is to spill his proverbial guts, an attempt is made on his life. He survives, but injures his head and a blood clot forms deep in his brain. Normal surgical methods would risk our scientist's life or risk his ability to transmit his knowledge to others. So the only option is to miniaturize a submarine and a crew of five people down to the size of a bacterium and inject that submarine into the scientist's body where, with a laser, the crew will clear the blood clot from the brain. All very plausible.
Of course, it can't be just that simple. There's a traitor in the group someone who wants the mission to fail and for our scientist to die without being able to transfer his knowledge. So in addition to this being a regular bus tour through the major components of the human body, it's also a who-dun-it.
Of course, you could skip the book and just watch the movie. Although, in truth, the book is very quick read - probably not much longer than the movie itself...
Show Less
LibraryThing member pgiunta
After a scientist named Benes is successfully transported into the country from enemy territory, an assassination attempt leaves him with a dangerous and inoperable clot at the base of his brain.
The situation falls under the jurisdiction of the CMDF (Combined Miniature Defense Force) run by
The team consists of civilian CMO Michaels, neurosurgeon Peter Duvall and his assistant Cora Peterson, special agent Charles Grant—who smuggled Benes into the country—and Captain William Owens, designer and pilot of the experimental submarine Proteus, which will carry the crew through Benes’s circulatory system. They are given one hour to complete the mission and exit Benes’s body before the miniaturization effect begins to reverse.
As if this were not dangerous enough, there is suspicion that one among the crew might be an agent for the Other Side, sent to kill Benes. Every setback and mishap causes yet another member of the team to come under scrutiny as precious time ticks away…
Contrary to popular belief, the classic film Fantastic Voyage was not based on the novel by Isaac Asimov. It’s the other way around. Otto Klement and Jay Lewis Bixby wrote the original story, which was adapted for the screen by Harry Kleiner and David Duncan. Asimov was hired on to write the novelization of the movie and he did a decent job with the material. While character development is non-existent (with the most interesting being Grant, Duvall, Michaels, and Peterson) the pacing is perfect and the challenges that plague our heroes at almost every turn maintain solid tension through to the end.
The situation falls under the jurisdiction of the CMDF (Combined Miniature Defense Force) run by
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General Alan Carter and Colonel Donald Reid. Once Benes is stabilized far underground in CMDF headquarters, a team is formed that will be miniaturized and injected into Benes’s bloodstream to destroy the clot from inside his body using a laser. The team consists of civilian CMO Michaels, neurosurgeon Peter Duvall and his assistant Cora Peterson, special agent Charles Grant—who smuggled Benes into the country—and Captain William Owens, designer and pilot of the experimental submarine Proteus, which will carry the crew through Benes’s circulatory system. They are given one hour to complete the mission and exit Benes’s body before the miniaturization effect begins to reverse.
As if this were not dangerous enough, there is suspicion that one among the crew might be an agent for the Other Side, sent to kill Benes. Every setback and mishap causes yet another member of the team to come under scrutiny as precious time ticks away…
Contrary to popular belief, the classic film Fantastic Voyage was not based on the novel by Isaac Asimov. It’s the other way around. Otto Klement and Jay Lewis Bixby wrote the original story, which was adapted for the screen by Harry Kleiner and David Duncan. Asimov was hired on to write the novelization of the movie and he did a decent job with the material. While character development is non-existent (with the most interesting being Grant, Duvall, Michaels, and Peterson) the pacing is perfect and the challenges that plague our heroes at almost every turn maintain solid tension through to the end.
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LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
OK for its type. Glad I read it, as a semi-classic, but I don't need to read it again.
LibraryThing member marcLeroux84
I recently re-read this, after many years. I obviously liked it the first time; it's still in my library. Unfortunately it hasn't stood up well, unlike most of Asimov's works. Granted, this isn't really his story; he is trying to make a mediocre screenplay into an interesting book.
LibraryThing member Gwendydd
Rather disappointing. A somewhat trite adventure story, predictable despite all the plot twists. It seems like it was written to be a fun and exciting way to teach people about human anatomy, except the anatomy parts just make the rest of the book boring. It wasn't a great book to read out loud,
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because so much of the book is dialog. Show Less
LibraryThing member readafew
Fantastic Voyage is a little novel by Asimov with all his hallmark style. He starts off by cranking up the tension with everyone anxiously waiting for a defector with a great secret to land safely and be transported to the safe house. Things get ratcheted up from there.
Some time in the future, an
Like much of Asimov's work it is a great story that captures your attention and makes you think about things. The story is what is important, and he has a way of casually explaining away things that would make the story impossible, in order for the reader to ignore those problems and focus on whats important. I've enjoyed every Asimov book I've ever read and this one is no exception.
Some time in the future, an
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important man is injured, and causes a blood clot in his brain. The safest way they can figure out to save him is to shrink a submarine with a crew of 5 to a size smaller than a bacteria inject them into the circulatory system to use a laser to clear out the clot. It should be fairly simple and only mildly dangerous if they all successfully survive the shrinking procedure. Of course things never go as smoothly as planned.Like much of Asimov's work it is a great story that captures your attention and makes you think about things. The story is what is important, and he has a way of casually explaining away things that would make the story impossible, in order for the reader to ignore those problems and focus on whats important. I've enjoyed every Asimov book I've ever read and this one is no exception.
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LibraryThing member IAmAndyPieters
Magnificent! A team of specialists and a ship is miniaturised to a size that is smaller than a red blood cell and injected into a human artery in an effort to clear a blood clot in the brain of a scientist that holds a secret that can enormously benefit mankind.
They have but 60 minutes before they
This story regals us with the fantastic voyage through the human body. It is filled with wonder, some love, and danger.
Despite having been first published in 1966, this story still feels fresh, the technology and science it describes, very believable. Sit down, tuck in, enjoy!
They have but 60 minutes before they
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automatically grow back to their normal size, whether they are inside the patient or not!This story regals us with the fantastic voyage through the human body. It is filled with wonder, some love, and danger.
Despite having been first published in 1966, this story still feels fresh, the technology and science it describes, very believable. Sit down, tuck in, enjoy!
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LibraryThing member travelster
Boring and overly simple. Almost zero character development. A huge disappointment for an Asimov novel.
LibraryThing member dbsovereign
For a long time I was convinced Asimov had stolen the idea for this book directly from my mind...We see the characters miniaturized and then injected into a body in an effort to save the life of a famous scientist. Passively, we also learn a lot about the workings of the human body along the way.
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The film is just screaming to be re-made now that we so much better facility for special effects. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 1966)
Original publication date
1966
Physical description
208 p.; 4.21 inches
ISBN
0553275720 / 9780553275728