Fantastic Voyage: A Novel Kindle Edition

Isaac Asimov's Fantastic Voyage is well crafted sci-fi tale where a crew of five humans is shrunk down to a microscopic level and injected into a body to save the life of a scientist who possesses the secret to maintaining shrinkage indefinitely. Without this feature, they need to complete their mission to remove a blood clot inside his brain in under one hour. The whole mission has been put together at the last minute and things go wrong from the beginning when from the carotid, a fistula sends them to the heart, then the lungs where they 'refuel' their oxygen tanks, into the lymphatics, and finally to the brain and the clot. There is a saboteur abroad whose identity is not revealed until the end. All this is taking place against a backdrop of cold war stalemate with a potential breakthrough making all the difference.Asimov skillfully weaves biology into the story without getting bogged down in scientific minutiae. While the final denouement of the saboteur is a bit campy as well as his motivation, it follows the classic least likely suspect. At the same time, there is subtle commentary on the state of science in the furtherance of geopolitical and military superiority. All in all, a delightful, engaging tale that is a page turner.

I got this as a gift for a friend, so I haven't actually read the second book. But the first one blew me away. It was at least three times as good as the movie, and the best Asimov book I've read yet. The characters were rich. The science was cool. The mystery behind the spy was very engaging and complicated. The soldier v. scientist dilemma about how to use technology was permitted with more layers and nuance than I can ever remember reading in a Cold War story. Read the first book! And while I can't recommend the second one, Isaac's worst exceeds the best work of some of his contemporaries in my eyes.

IF you like mature Asimov and a great story line - this book is then yours!Rather accurate biochemical and biological accuracy - even by today's standards.I've loved this book - however the corresponding film is lame by today's standards... = so, read the book!

I'm really glad I went back and re-read this sci-fi classic from my youth...it was even better 40 years later!

Some readers demand plausibility. You won't find that here; in addition to the concept of miniaturization, which seems to me even less plausible than faster-than-light travel, many readers of this book will notice deal-killers. SPOILER ALERT! For example, although the submarine was extracted from the body (unlike the movie, where it stayed behind and would have expanded and killed the patient), what was not extracted from the body was the saline solution that was injected along with the submarine. Non-miniaturized, it was a few cubic feet in volume. I hate to think what would have happened to the patient when it returned to normal size. Also, the submarine was the size of a bacteria, which means it could not have traveled the distances involved in the time specified (such as crossing the heart in one minute. Sort of like a normal sized ship crossing Lake Michigan in a minute).Other readers want great characters and dialogue. You won't find that here, either. (Let's face it -- Asimov wasn't a great writer; just a prolific one).What I want is a good story. First, it's fiction; second, it's science fiction, which is usually less plausible than other fiction. So I don't get hung up on the problems I mention above, as long as it's an entertaining read. This story is that.

I’ve seen the movie several times in my life ,now I’m excited to finally read the book!

In the perennial debate of which was better, the movie or the book, this book wins hands down. Isaac Asimov took the modest screenplay of an ambitious movie and turned it into a masterful and riveting novel, proving once again why he remains one of the grand masters of science fiction of all time. Although it reads a bit dated now (it was written at the height of the Cold War in the 1960s) nevertheless "Fantastic Voyage" is still a gripping story and a veritable roller coaster ride through the human body. "Fantastic Voyage" was the "Inner Space" of its day. And thanks to Mr. Asimov's medical background, it was a painless and entertaining way to learn some actual anatomy and human biology along the way. This book remains one of my favorites, even decades after I read it the first time. I finally had to buy it in Kindle format because my aging paperback copy has been loved and re-read so many times it is literally disintegrating and falling apart!

Enjoyed it

It's Asimov, read it and you won't be disappointed.

I first read this in 1966. And still a good read. No complicated tangents like todays authors, just straight in Sci Fi.

Years since I first read this and it is still a cracking good read.Buy it if you can and enjoy.

I had my doubts — this being not an original Asimov story and adapted from a mediocre sci-fi film, add to it Asimov's own scepticism, and I was fumbling whether to give it a go. But then the idea of thrombectomy from within the body — however absurd and impractical — was quite enticing.Turns out I should have trusted my instincts. The book for the major part read like an out dated biology textbook for dumbos — well this may be just because I am a medical student. That being said, the books was dull, boring and utterly predictable. It didn't invoke any sense of urgency despite the ticking clock. It could have been a fantastic voyage on screen — with all the special effects — but it didn't translate well on paper.

Instead of outer space Isaac Asimov ventures inward into the human body, weaving a mystery story into the plot. The book was first recommended to me by our pathology teacher and 20 years later I am recommending it to my Science students as a 'must read' for the description of the voyage of a few miniaturised humans in the circulatory system. The book is also useful for English students to understand the power of descriptive writing. The plot isn't brilliant but serves its purpose as a prop for the almost lyrical prose.