''Atta: A Novel of a Most Extraordinary Adventure'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel by

Francis Rufus Bellamy Francis Rufus Bellamy (December 24, 1886 New Rochelle, New York – February 1972) was an American writer and editor. Life Bellamy was editor of '' The Outlook'' from 1927 to 1932, and was executive editor of ''The New Yorker ''The ...

published in 1953. In 1954 the novel was published back-to-back with

Murray Leinster Murray Leinster (June 16, 1896 – June 8, 1975) was a pen name of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an American writer of genre fiction, particularly of science fiction. He wrote and published more than 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie ...

's ''The Brain Stealers'' as

Ace Double American company Ace Books began publishing genre fiction starting in 1952. Initially these were mostly in tête-bêche format with the ends of the two parts meeting in the middle and with a divider between them which functioned as the rear cover ...

D-079. ''Atta'' is a

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

-like tale of a man who is hit by lightning and wakes up, to find himself half an inch tall. He befriends a talking warrior ant named Atta and has many adventures. At the end of the novel, Atta dies, and the man returns to normal size.

Critical reception

Damon Knight Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922 – April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of "To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for ''The Twilight Zone''.Stanyard, ''Dimensions Behind th ...

wrote of the novel

Aside from the author's archaic narrative style and his relentless disregard of natural history, the principal irritant in this story is the hero's absolutely impenetrable stupidity...This book could only have been written by a man who thought his idea was brand new. If he had read a little science fiction, he might have been disabused of this and several other misconceptions; but doubtless he took the word of some respected critic that no worthwhile fantasy has been published since 1719.

P. Schuyler Miller Peter Schuyler Miller (February 21, 1912 – October 13, 1974) was an American science fiction writer and critic. Life Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a lifelong interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as ...

found the novel unsuccessful, saying "as a satire on human society, it's rather fumbling. And if it's just a story, . . . it could be more skilfully told.""The Reference Library", ''

Astounding Science Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

'', February 1955, p.143

References

External links

''Atta''
at The Open Library 1953 American novels 1953 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Fiction about size change {{1950s-sf-novel-stub