Language English Publication date 1992 Pages 501 pp Number of books 3 Country United States of America | ISBN 0-671-72123-2 Cover artist David Burroughs Mattingly | |
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Books Undersea Quest, Undersea Fleet, Undersea City | ||
The Undersea Trilogy is a series of three Science Fiction novels by authors Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson. The novels were first published by Gnome Press beginning in 1954. The novels were collected in a single omnibus volume published by Baen Books in 1992. The story takes place in and around the underwater dome city called Marinia. The hero of the stories is cadet Jim Eden of the Sub-Sea Academy.
Contents
Undersea Quest
Undersea Quest is the first volume of the trilogy. It was first published by Gnome Press in 1954 in an edition of 5,000 copies.
Plot Summary
Intrigue surrounds the mining of uranium beneath the underwater dome city of Marinia. Jim Eden, expelled from the Sub-Sea Academy on trumped-up charges, seeks out his uncle who disappeared while mining at the bottom of Eden Deep. While for looking clues to his uncle's disappearance, Jim runs into some men who try to stop him.
Reception
Galaxy reviewer Groff Conklin praised the novel's craft, but faulted its espousal of "the petrifying process that military academies put children through" and the "us-against-the-world" attitude it engendered. Anthony Boucher received it favorably, commending its "vigorous storytelling [and] excellent detailing of the background of a submarine civilization." P. Schuyler Miller found it "the kind of book that should predispose Captain Video fans to our kind of science fiction."
Undersea Fleet
Undersea Fleet is the second volume of the trilogy. It was first published by Gnome Press in 1956 in an edition of 5,000 copies.
Plot Summary
David Craken, a firm believer in the existence of sea serpents, disappears in search of them only to reappear drifting offshore months later. His friend Jim Eden and members of the Sub-Sea Academy retrace David's journey and soon run into the strange creatures that had been only mythical before.
Reception
Galaxy reviewer Floyd C. Gale praised the novel for its "fast and furious" action.
Undersea City
Undersea City is the third volume of the trilogy. If was first published by Gnome Press in 1958 in an edition of 5,000 copies, of which only 3,000 were bound.
Plot Summary
Krakatoan Dome was specifically designed to cope with the tremors of its earthquake prone area. Problems began when there were more quakes than any of the experts had counted on, which many suspected were being artificially created. The Sub-Sea Academy assigned Jim Eden to find out what was going on because of his experience working underwater and because his uncle was suspected of being the one behind the quakes.
Reception
Floyd C. Gale wrote that the book was "Frankly and honestly, a gee-whiz yarn, it reaches its target—youngsters—with plenty of mystery, action and suspense".