Asimov’s 1966 Novel “Fantastic Voyage” tells the story of a mission to inner space: the intrepid crew of The Proteus are shrunk to molecular size and injected into the body of a comatose scientist in an effort to remove an inoperable blood clot from his brain. I found this copy as part of an Asimov section removed from the other science fiction on an endcap of a Green Hand bookshelf, it lacked a dust jacket and was an unassuming gray hardcover with small pink lettering. Also among it’s kin was “The Gods Themselves” which was a close second-place.

Interestingly enough, although Asimov was tasked with writing the novelization, the idea for “Fantastic Voyage” was actually cooked up in a short story by Otto Klement and Jay Lewis Bixby, who then sold the rights to Fox Studios who proceeded to make the 1966 movie of the same name. Fox Studios approached Asimov for a novelization, who apparently initially objected to the screenplay, suggesting that it was full of “plotholes.” However, Asimov ultimately followed through, and the novelization was published before the film had finished shooting, which lead many (myself included) to believe that the film was based on the book, not vice-versa as is reality.

While much of the science fiction of the late sixties doubtlessly focuses on outer space: the final frontier, telling stories of bold astronaughts and rocket heroes (vis. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and others) Fantastic voyage instead looks inward at the vastness and complexity of our own bodies. Thematically, the story leans heavily on the symmetries of the very large and very small. while on the cosmic scale humanity is utterly insignificant, from the point of view of a microbe each individual is a galaxy of interacting biology. The book wrestles with ideas surrounding the existence of a divine consciousness and intelligent designer of life as well as the idea that all life is sacred no matter how small. In my opinion the greatness of this story stems from this unique notion that even the smallest systems are immense and well, Fantastic.

I would highly recommend Fantastic Voyage, although i would not call it Asimov’s best work. overall i’d give it a rating of 3×10^27 neurotransmitters and one raygun. The film is also definitely worth a watch, especially if you enjoy creative and cheesy 60’s special effects and truly fantastic set design.

and here is a still from the movie:

Asimov, Isaac, Harry Kleiner, and Otto Klement. Fantastic Voyage. New York: Bantam Books, 1966.