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The Micronauts #2
The Microcolony
survival or suicide?
They were mankind's last hope. A handful of Micronauts, human volunteers cloned to a fraction of their size, who survived the end of civilization, creating their own microsociety, the Colony. But amvition and the struggle for power turns the idyllic community into a dictatorship, forcing a small group to flee and to take their chances in the Beyond. Stalked by deadly beasts, unable to make it in a world they no longer belong to, they fight all odds to regain their freedom. One daring man and a frail young woman who holds the key to the future of mankind, lead the group beyond the Colony, into a world where every step could be their last!
They were mankind's last hope. A handful of Micronauts, human volunteers cloned to a fraction of their size, who survived the end of civilization, creating their own microsociety, the Colony. But amvition and the struggle for power turns the idyllic community into a dictatorship, forcing a small group to flee and to take their chances in the Beyond. Stalked by deadly beasts, unable to make it in a world they no longer belong to, they fight all odds to regain their freedom. One daring man and a frail young woman who holds the key to the future of mankind, lead the group beyond the Colony, into a world where every step could be their last!
- GenresScience FictionFiction
248 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published January 1, 1979
78 people want to read
About the author
Gordon M. Williams
22 books17 followersAka P.B. Yuill, joint pseudonym with Terry Venables.
Gordon Maclean Williams was a Scottish author. Born in Paisley, he moved to London to work as a journalist. He has written for television and is the author of over twenty novels including From Scenes Like These (1968), shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1969, Walk Don't Walk (1972) and Big Morning Blues (1974). Other novels include The Camp (1966), The Man Who Had Power Over Women (1967) and The Upper Pleasure Garden (1970).
He ghosted the autobiographies of association footballers Bobby Moore, Terry Venables and manager Tommy Docherty.
In 1971, his novel The Siege of Trencher's Farm was controversially filmed as Straw Dogs. Sam Peckinpah's cinematic treatment marked a watershed in the depiction of sexual violence in the cinema though the most controversial scenes are absent from the book. Other film work includes The Man Who Had Power Over Women, from his own novel, and Tree of Hands, as scriptwriter from a Ruth Rendell novel. Williams also wrote the book of Ridley Scott's film The Duellists.
While working as commercial manager of association football club Chelsea, he renewed his collaboration with Venables, resulting in four co-written novels. From the novels grew the 1978 TV series Hazell, which the pair co-wrote under the shared pseudonym P. B. Yuill. Under the name "Jack Lang", Williams also wrote paperbacks "for £300 a time."
Gordon Maclean Williams was a Scottish author. Born in Paisley, he moved to London to work as a journalist. He has written for television and is the author of over twenty novels including From Scenes Like These (1968), shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1969, Walk Don't Walk (1972) and Big Morning Blues (1974). Other novels include The Camp (1966), The Man Who Had Power Over Women (1967) and The Upper Pleasure Garden (1970).
He ghosted the autobiographies of association footballers Bobby Moore, Terry Venables and manager Tommy Docherty.
In 1971, his novel The Siege of Trencher's Farm was controversially filmed as Straw Dogs. Sam Peckinpah's cinematic treatment marked a watershed in the depiction of sexual violence in the cinema though the most controversial scenes are absent from the book. Other film work includes The Man Who Had Power Over Women, from his own novel, and Tree of Hands, as scriptwriter from a Ruth Rendell novel. Williams also wrote the book of Ridley Scott's film The Duellists.
While working as commercial manager of association football club Chelsea, he renewed his collaboration with Venables, resulting in four co-written novels. From the novels grew the 1978 TV series Hazell, which the pair co-wrote under the shared pseudonym P. B. Yuill. Under the name "Jack Lang", Williams also wrote paperbacks "for £300 a time."
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 28, 2008
This one wasn't as strong as the first because it kind of got into political issues, which were not as much fun for me.
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January 11, 2023I haven't been writing many full reviews because I often feel there is little I need to add to what others have already said. But, in the case of the Micronauts trilogy, there are not many reviews. Especially for the second and third books! This is not surprising for an old and inconsequential novel. But since I grabbed them off the shelf of a local used book store and enjoyed them enough to finish them, perhaps my thoughts might be useful to others. I'm covering all three books in this review and crossposting it under each.
I enjoy novels about the exploration of frontiers and also tiny people dealing with massively oversized everyday objects. I picked these books up assuming they would cover those interests, based on their titles and cover art. There is some of that but not nearly asuch as I expected. Instead, in the way that sci-fi uses it's imagined future as a tool to discuss the issues of the present, Micronauts is actually about the intersection of governent and science as well as the struggle between control and freedom.
The novel's micro-sized characters spend most of their time in settings that are engineered to be proportionate to themselves. They are isolated from the fact that they are tiny (until something unforseen happens and they must deal with the chaos of nature).
The first book, Micronauts took a very long time to get going. It may be easier to think of it as a prolonged introduction for the second and third books. It also is very tropey, with a main character who is the cliche Science Hero. But don't worry about it too much, he gets better.
The sequel, The Microcolony, is where the real story starts. It feels more complex and compelling. I knows what it wants to be. It is probably the best book of the three.
The final book, Revolt of the Micronauts, is kind of just The Microcolony Pt 2. It works hard to tie narrative threads up into a satisfying climax. Also, some micro-folks are apparently developing psychic abilities now for some reason? The writing feels a bit rushed but if you enjoyed The Microcolony, it's worth reading this one too.
Is this trilogy a hidden gem or must-read for every sci-fi fan? Absolutely not. But they're fast easy reads and enjoyable enough. I don't regret the time I spent in the microworld of Arcadia.
I enjoy novels about the exploration of frontiers and also tiny people dealing with massively oversized everyday objects. I picked these books up assuming they would cover those interests, based on their titles and cover art. There is some of that but not nearly asuch as I expected. Instead, in the way that sci-fi uses it's imagined future as a tool to discuss the issues of the present, Micronauts is actually about the intersection of governent and science as well as the struggle between control and freedom.
The novel's micro-sized characters spend most of their time in settings that are engineered to be proportionate to themselves. They are isolated from the fact that they are tiny (until something unforseen happens and they must deal with the chaos of nature).
The first book, Micronauts took a very long time to get going. It may be easier to think of it as a prolonged introduction for the second and third books. It also is very tropey, with a main character who is the cliche Science Hero. But don't worry about it too much, he gets better.
The sequel, The Microcolony, is where the real story starts. It feels more complex and compelling. I knows what it wants to be. It is probably the best book of the three.
The final book, Revolt of the Micronauts, is kind of just The Microcolony Pt 2. It works hard to tie narrative threads up into a satisfying climax. Also, some micro-folks are apparently developing psychic abilities now for some reason? The writing feels a bit rushed but if you enjoyed The Microcolony, it's worth reading this one too.
Is this trilogy a hidden gem or must-read for every sci-fi fan? Absolutely not. But they're fast easy reads and enjoyable enough. I don't regret the time I spent in the microworld of Arcadia.
January 11, 2024
I have now read both the first volume The MicroNauts and the second volume The Microcolony. I have read other sci fi books involving small humans that I enjoyed but these I did not enjoy. I did not care what happened to the characters. They were scared all the time and it was one big soap opera.
October 23, 2022
Non so bene perché, non è male, ma non mi è piaciuto molto. Così, a pelle. Poi magari ci ripenso e trovo qualcosa di più intelligente da scrivere! :D
March 10, 2024
Cool, prelude for Marvel comics The Micronauts
July 25, 2024
Attivismo politico, ecologismo, utopismo sociale.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews