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The Micronauts #1
The Micronauts
Vintage paperback
284 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
2 people are currently reading
154 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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January 2, 2015
When I was a boy, my second-favorite toys were my collection of Micronauts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micronauts). My favorite toys were my collection of Legos. And these weren’t the hyperspecialized box sets that abound today. These were the original, largely unspecialized blocks, and I had to get pretty creative to build my spaceships with them.
Back to the Micronauts, however. For the uninitiated, the Micronauts were a collection of action figures and myriad accessories. I’m not sure if there was a background story for these guys when originally created but eventually there was, along with several comic-book series. When I saw that there was a Micronauts book, I immediately assumed (hoped) that it would deal with Time Traveller and Baron Karza, Acroyear and Biotron, and eagerly sought it out.
Alas, it didn’t but I still found an interesting read.
Having recovered a copy of it after these many years, I find that it holds up pretty well. It’s not great literature. Many would argue it’s not good SF but its elements came (and come) together for me in just the right manner so that I can enjoy reading it over and over again.
Written in 1977, it’s set in a dystopian future where manmade climate change (though not named as such) and overpopulation have devastated much of the world, causing famine, disease, economic and social collapse, and an accelerating political disintegration. Attempting to hold it all together is World Food Control (part of the UN), led by Commissioner Towne, an increasingly megalomaniacal and paranoid man. When he learns that one of his subordinates – George Richards – is conducting secret research, he sends a team to investigate:
Robert Bruce: An biologist who formerly worked for the WFC, but who would rather be left alone with his bugs and watch the world go to Hell. Towne blackmails him into joining the team as a consultant.
Andrei Khomich: “The Butcher.” A WFC Security Commander.
Hugh Robinson: A young captain in the British army seconded to Khomich’s staff.
Fitzroy Carr: A British army corporal also attached to Khomich’s team.
Richards is as much a megalomaniac as Towne and is, and just as convinced he knows how to save humanity. He’s coordinated a group of scientists who have discovered a way to clone humans and download their memories into the new bodies. The catch is that the clones are only 1/8 the size of a normal body (hence the name “micronauts”). He and his co-conspirators have commandeered an abandoned research garden to carry out their experiments and figure out how humans can live in a world where they’re less than 9” tall. Richards plans to go before the UN Security Council with the research and usurp WFC’s role. During a mission in the garden, there is an accident and Richards is lost, the rest of his team killed or severely injured. The group is getting ready to send a rescue mission when Khomich shows up.
Eventually, a rescue party is assembled that includes the four mentioned above, as well as three from Richards’ group:
Anne Richards: Richards’ estranged wife and a medical doctor.
Lena Davidson: Graduate student and – for want of a better word – one of Richards’ groupies.
Stanley Magruder: Another graduate student.
The rest of the novel recounts the rescue party’s journey across the garden, their rescue of Richards, and Towne’s reaction. The ending is left open for a sequel – or sequels as it turns out: Revolt of the Micronauts and The Microcolony. I haven’t read either and probably never shall. This book was sufficient for me without having to know what happens to the “micronauts” . And I don’t want to be disappointed as I was with the two sequels to Logan's Run
As I wrote above, this is not good literature. It is, however, competently written, well-paced, and the characters and setting come together for me to make this a personal favorite. I’m not going to recommend it directly but if you do come across a copy in a bookstore or a library you could do worse, much worse.
Postscript: I've been looking at the cover for this book. It's wrong. For one thing, it's missing a man. There are only six figures. For another, I'm trying to figure out who the guy in the middle could be. Anne and Lena are easy enough to figure out - Anne's the blond; Lena's the brunette. I'm 98% sure the bald guy is Bruce, the guy with the gun is Khomich, and the kneeler is Magruder. So who's the guy in the middle? He can't be either Robinson or Carr for two reasons - one, he doesn't look like the military type, and, two, both Robinson and Carr are black. It occurs to me that he could be Richards after his rescue.
But that still leaves the question of "Where are the nonwhite characters?"
Back to the Micronauts, however. For the uninitiated, the Micronauts were a collection of action figures and myriad accessories. I’m not sure if there was a background story for these guys when originally created but eventually there was, along with several comic-book series. When I saw that there was a Micronauts book, I immediately assumed (hoped) that it would deal with Time Traveller and Baron Karza, Acroyear and Biotron, and eagerly sought it out.
Alas, it didn’t but I still found an interesting read.
Having recovered a copy of it after these many years, I find that it holds up pretty well. It’s not great literature. Many would argue it’s not good SF but its elements came (and come) together for me in just the right manner so that I can enjoy reading it over and over again.
Written in 1977, it’s set in a dystopian future where manmade climate change (though not named as such) and overpopulation have devastated much of the world, causing famine, disease, economic and social collapse, and an accelerating political disintegration. Attempting to hold it all together is World Food Control (part of the UN), led by Commissioner Towne, an increasingly megalomaniacal and paranoid man. When he learns that one of his subordinates – George Richards – is conducting secret research, he sends a team to investigate:
Robert Bruce: An biologist who formerly worked for the WFC, but who would rather be left alone with his bugs and watch the world go to Hell. Towne blackmails him into joining the team as a consultant.
Andrei Khomich: “The Butcher.” A WFC Security Commander.
Hugh Robinson: A young captain in the British army seconded to Khomich’s staff.
Fitzroy Carr: A British army corporal also attached to Khomich’s team.
Richards is as much a megalomaniac as Towne and is, and just as convinced he knows how to save humanity. He’s coordinated a group of scientists who have discovered a way to clone humans and download their memories into the new bodies. The catch is that the clones are only 1/8 the size of a normal body (hence the name “micronauts”). He and his co-conspirators have commandeered an abandoned research garden to carry out their experiments and figure out how humans can live in a world where they’re less than 9” tall. Richards plans to go before the UN Security Council with the research and usurp WFC’s role. During a mission in the garden, there is an accident and Richards is lost, the rest of his team killed or severely injured. The group is getting ready to send a rescue mission when Khomich shows up.
Eventually, a rescue party is assembled that includes the four mentioned above, as well as three from Richards’ group:
Anne Richards: Richards’ estranged wife and a medical doctor.
Lena Davidson: Graduate student and – for want of a better word – one of Richards’ groupies.
Stanley Magruder: Another graduate student.
The rest of the novel recounts the rescue party’s journey across the garden, their rescue of Richards, and Towne’s reaction. The ending is left open for a sequel – or sequels as it turns out: Revolt of the Micronauts and The Microcolony. I haven’t read either and probably never shall. This book was sufficient for me without having to know what happens to the “micronauts” . And I don’t want to be disappointed as I was with the two sequels to Logan's Run
As I wrote above, this is not good literature. It is, however, competently written, well-paced, and the characters and setting come together for me to make this a personal favorite. I’m not going to recommend it directly but if you do come across a copy in a bookstore or a library you could do worse, much worse.
Postscript: I've been looking at the cover for this book. It's wrong. For one thing, it's missing a man. There are only six figures. For another, I'm trying to figure out who the guy in the middle could be. Anne and Lena are easy enough to figure out - Anne's the blond; Lena's the brunette. I'm 98% sure the bald guy is Bruce, the guy with the gun is Khomich, and the kneeler is Magruder. So who's the guy in the middle? He can't be either Robinson or Carr for two reasons - one, he doesn't look like the military type, and, two, both Robinson and Carr are black. It occurs to me that he could be Richards after his rescue.
But that still leaves the question of "Where are the nonwhite characters?"
December 15, 2019
Gordon M. Williams does not rely on made up words or futuristic weapons to further the science fiction plot line of The Micronauts. Enough backstory is written so the reader is not left scratching his or her head as to what is actually going on even if you have not read the first book in the series.
With real and clear scientific facts or theories presented, I fell into the story and never once questioned the reality of rogue scientists shrinking people to conserve limited food supplies. To me, The Micronauts read a little like Jurassic Park. Taking the impossible and turning it into a credible story.
With real and clear scientific facts or theories presented, I fell into the story and never once questioned the reality of rogue scientists shrinking people to conserve limited food supplies. To me, The Micronauts read a little like Jurassic Park. Taking the impossible and turning it into a credible story.
August 1, 2024
The Micronauts
“Man who arrogantly described the dinosaurs as a passing phase and yet had been on the planet for only that brief sixty seconds before noon. Man the insecure, murdering clown who would be the swiftest passing phase of them all.”
I was expecting this to be a whimsical adventure; expectations: subverted.
This book was actually pretty grim. The characters align on a scale from megalomaniac to morally bankrupt to morally grey.
In this future world, earth is overpopulated and due to ecological and economic disaster is on the brink of mass starvation of apocalyptic proportions. The government is totalitarian and often resorts to draconian methods of controlling the increasingly desperate population.
When the government gets wind of a secret project, they send an unwilling scientist who’s given up on the world and an emotionally crippled military commander to investigate.
They find project Arcadia, where they are experimenting with shrinking people down to make the planets resources more than adequate for those deemed worthy.
Once they shrink down it becomes an adventure quest across somebody’s back yard reminiscent of Jurassic Park with giant bugs.
Despite the grim tone it’s a fun, action packed adventure that seems well researched and has two sequels which I’m now interested in reading.
“Man who arrogantly described the dinosaurs as a passing phase and yet had been on the planet for only that brief sixty seconds before noon. Man the insecure, murdering clown who would be the swiftest passing phase of them all.”
I was expecting this to be a whimsical adventure; expectations: subverted.
This book was actually pretty grim. The characters align on a scale from megalomaniac to morally bankrupt to morally grey.
In this future world, earth is overpopulated and due to ecological and economic disaster is on the brink of mass starvation of apocalyptic proportions. The government is totalitarian and often resorts to draconian methods of controlling the increasingly desperate population.
When the government gets wind of a secret project, they send an unwilling scientist who’s given up on the world and an emotionally crippled military commander to investigate.
They find project Arcadia, where they are experimenting with shrinking people down to make the planets resources more than adequate for those deemed worthy.
Once they shrink down it becomes an adventure quest across somebody’s back yard reminiscent of Jurassic Park with giant bugs.
Despite the grim tone it’s a fun, action packed adventure that seems well researched and has two sequels which I’m now interested in reading.
Read
October 10, 2016I originally read this book back in the early 1980s when I was at school. I remember at the time that I didn't enjoy the introduction but once the story moved into Arcadia (the garden the Micronauts used to "train") I enjoyed it a great deal.
This time around, I felt the same way but to a much lesser degree. When I was younger I wanted the "action" and "adventure", but Gordon Williams spent the first third of the book setting the scene. Now I appreciate how well the narrative is weaved and the world he created.
This book is more than a simple adventure yarn, the author created a world suffering an ecological disaster and political intrigues, in which the protagonists are mere pawns. Once they enter Arcadia as Micronauts, then the story is an enjoyable romp.
I'm certainly looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.
This time around, I felt the same way but to a much lesser degree. When I was younger I wanted the "action" and "adventure", but Gordon Williams spent the first third of the book setting the scene. Now I appreciate how well the narrative is weaved and the world he created.
This book is more than a simple adventure yarn, the author created a world suffering an ecological disaster and political intrigues, in which the protagonists are mere pawns. Once they enter Arcadia as Micronauts, then the story is an enjoyable romp.
I'm certainly looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.
July 19, 2016
Basically the world is running out of food, martial law is impossed. Some bright spark thinks of a way to shrink people so food goes further.
Not everyone is happy with this idea so the commissioner of the police state sends a team in to have a chat with the chief scientist involved.
This book wasn't as cheesy as I expected. I was thinking it would be like Fantastic Voyage but there is a bit more grit to this.
The story is quite back loaded so expect to read a good few chapters before you even get a glimpse of your first giant ant.
This isn't the best writing ever, there are errors and a few confusing passages I had to re-read. The plot gets a bit repetitive - but all in this was good fun.
Not everyone is happy with this idea so the commissioner of the police state sends a team in to have a chat with the chief scientist involved.
This book wasn't as cheesy as I expected. I was thinking it would be like Fantastic Voyage but there is a bit more grit to this.
The story is quite back loaded so expect to read a good few chapters before you even get a glimpse of your first giant ant.
This isn't the best writing ever, there are errors and a few confusing passages I had to re-read. The plot gets a bit repetitive - but all in this was good fun.
July 22, 2024
Dopo un avvio un po' lento, diventa un godibilissimo racconto d'avventura. Si lasciano da parte alcune perplessità tecniche e ci si lascia prendere dall'azione. Ricorda tantissimo Jurassic Park, ma scritto quindici anni prima...
February 7, 2013
This goofy, ludicrous novel came a hairsbreadth of becoming a major motion picture produced and directed by George Lucas. Its one of the great "what might have beens" of Hollywood. Boy... did we dodge a major bullet!!
Let's see...environmental catastrophe afflicting the planet..how do we solve it? Let's shrink everyone down to the size of centipedes. Yeah like people would be willing to choose that.
Just mind-boggling that this would even be written..Jesus wept!
Let's see...environmental catastrophe afflicting the planet..how do we solve it? Let's shrink everyone down to the size of centipedes. Yeah like people would be willing to choose that.
Just mind-boggling that this would even be written..Jesus wept!
July 28, 2008
Great concept. And I thought the delivery went over well. It certainly held my interest. This is the first of a three book series, and I thought the whole series worth reading.
Read
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.
February 10, 2022
In un mondo futuro minacciato dalla carestia e dalla sovrappopolazione, uno scienziato sviluppa, in gran segreto, il "Progetto Arcadia" che si basa sulla miniaturizzazione delle persone.
Lo stesso scienziato (fattosi rimpicciolire per testare la sua scoperta) peró, per rendere reale questo "sogno" ruba un ingente carico di materiale di proprietà del "World Food Control", l'ente supremo che in quel momento governa il pianeta.
Per il suo recupero verrà approntata una squadra capeggiata da Bob Bruce, un biologo, che avrà al suo fianco altri sei compagni per portare a termine la sua missione.
Inizierà così un viaggio fra stupori e pericoli, un viaggio dove uno stelo d'erba sarà alto come un palo, una ragnatela potrà significare la morte e una formica una delle nemiche più pericolose con cui scontrarsi.
"Micronauti in giardino", pubblicato nel 1977 da Gordon Williams, è un romanzo sulla falsariga del celebre "Viaggio allucinante" di Asimov ma se nel caso di quest'ultimo gli uomini rimpiccioliti viaggiavano nel corpo umano, in quest'opera ci troveremo nel bel mezzo di un giardino con tutti i suoi pericoli, misteri e spettacoli stupefacenti.
Il romanzo segue i classici cliché della fantascienza anni settanta sia dal punto di vista dei personaggi (il protagonista involontariamente eroe, il forzuto e rude soldato coprotagonista, la donna segretamente innamorata, il cattivo insospettabile...) quanto per la costruzione della storia.
Un romanzo che si fa leggere ma che non riesce a spiccare il balzo finale, la storia è si interessante ma piuttosto piatta a livello descrittivo e nonostante l'azione sia presente in grande quantità non è mai davvero incisiva.
Interessante è poi il finale aperto che lascia il lettore libero di avere la propria idea sul destino dei protagonisti.
Lo stesso scienziato (fattosi rimpicciolire per testare la sua scoperta) peró, per rendere reale questo "sogno" ruba un ingente carico di materiale di proprietà del "World Food Control", l'ente supremo che in quel momento governa il pianeta.
Per il suo recupero verrà approntata una squadra capeggiata da Bob Bruce, un biologo, che avrà al suo fianco altri sei compagni per portare a termine la sua missione.
Inizierà così un viaggio fra stupori e pericoli, un viaggio dove uno stelo d'erba sarà alto come un palo, una ragnatela potrà significare la morte e una formica una delle nemiche più pericolose con cui scontrarsi.
"Micronauti in giardino", pubblicato nel 1977 da Gordon Williams, è un romanzo sulla falsariga del celebre "Viaggio allucinante" di Asimov ma se nel caso di quest'ultimo gli uomini rimpiccioliti viaggiavano nel corpo umano, in quest'opera ci troveremo nel bel mezzo di un giardino con tutti i suoi pericoli, misteri e spettacoli stupefacenti.
Il romanzo segue i classici cliché della fantascienza anni settanta sia dal punto di vista dei personaggi (il protagonista involontariamente eroe, il forzuto e rude soldato coprotagonista, la donna segretamente innamorata, il cattivo insospettabile...) quanto per la costruzione della storia.
Un romanzo che si fa leggere ma che non riesce a spiccare il balzo finale, la storia è si interessante ma piuttosto piatta a livello descrittivo e nonostante l'azione sia presente in grande quantità non è mai davvero incisiva.
Interessante è poi il finale aperto che lascia il lettore libero di avere la propria idea sul destino dei protagonisti.
December 27, 2023
This is the first book in a three book series. As several other reviewers stated it starts off a little slow to set the stage but then the action picks up due to a rescue mission needed. Unlike in the book/movie Fantastic Voyage the characters are not placed under a shrinking ray to become micronauts. I will let the reader discover how this author chooses to get the humans down to insect size. Some people will probably not like the way it is done but since it is science fiction rather than science, I don't quibble over the small details. I enjoyed the plot involving pitting small humans against the insect world. The author brought along with his small humans their normal human issues of duplicity, violence, cowardice, bravery, and other human foibles.
January 12, 2019
I thought on picking this up it would be a bit of froth and I'd pass it to a charity shop when done. WRONG! It was at turns tense, at turns educational and also very easy and riveting to read. The cover is by Gerald Grace who did a lot S-F covers at that time but is also known for his western art!
The story is about world food shortages leading to a very novel solution - shrink man! The story tells of a the journey taken by the so-called Micronauts of this new terrain. The journey educates us as we encounter insects from down where they are! Some are terrifying; some benevolent, but all are interesting. A great read
The story is about world food shortages leading to a very novel solution - shrink man! The story tells of a the journey taken by the so-called Micronauts of this new terrain. The journey educates us as we encounter insects from down where they are! Some are terrifying; some benevolent, but all are interesting. A great read
April 4, 2020
Read this ages ago, and the next one in the series. I am fascinated by the miniature world ever since I read the series by Lindsay Gutteridge- Cold war in a country garden.
This is a very good example of this genre, exciting and brutal.
it was these two series I wrote a tribute to in the Kindle book - Man in the Kitchen.
Another lovely slice of the nostalgia cake.
This is a very good example of this genre, exciting and brutal.
it was these two series I wrote a tribute to in the Kindle book - Man in the Kitchen.
Another lovely slice of the nostalgia cake.
June 8, 2022
Lot of nostalgia for me with this books. One of the first science fiction books I read in Jr. High. A very long time ago. Story mixes science with a future that doesn’t look good for the human race. Lots of people like to point out scientific inconsistencies but I enjoyed it as a good story and easy read. Maybe it influenced me to get my Bachelors degree in Biology.
November 9, 2018
Grazie Gordon Williams per tutto quello che mi hai insegnato sulla riproduzione degli insetti :)
January 2, 2024
Relatively short book that I thought would have more "honey, I shrunk the kids" action, but ended up being a bit of a slog. The last 30 pages were basically what I wanted the whole book to be.
December 28, 2014
I'm kind of a sucker for shrinking-people-stories, and while the premise was silly, there's really no way to make a non-ridiculous premise for shrinking people down.
The thing I liked about this one was that it considered actual scaling issues. Most shrinking books completely ignore Klieber's law (smaller animals have a higher metabolic rate) and Allen's rule (heat loss vs surface area), and the fact Williams sat down and considered actual biophysics overshadowed the flimsy premise.
Other than that... OK characters, OK story, cool thought experiment.
The thing I liked about this one was that it considered actual scaling issues. Most shrinking books completely ignore Klieber's law (smaller animals have a higher metabolic rate) and Allen's rule (heat loss vs surface area), and the fact Williams sat down and considered actual biophysics overshadowed the flimsy premise.
Other than that... OK characters, OK story, cool thought experiment.
February 18, 2008
The Micronauts is part 1 of a 3 part series. This is a great storyline and concept, however, Mr. Williams fails to deliver with a solid plot line and unfortunately the writing fails to provide the adequate hooks to hold a reader in place. With that said, the concept alone is a five star. I would hope that another writer would come along and pick up this story and continue it.
June 1, 2007
In a worldwide famine, people are shrunk to the size of bugs so they'll have enough to eat...bugs.
January 25, 2022
I think it would make a good movie
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews