Atta

by Francis Rufus Bellamy

When Brokell awoke, he was less than half an inch tall...

Suddenly his apple orchard had become an exotic landscape, and the insects in it terrifying monsters. Helpless, without food or weapons, Brokell faced certain death—but for the friendship of the ant called ATTA.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction

172 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1953

Reviews

[Jim Mcclanahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this book in the mid-1950s when it was first published. I was a pre-teen at that time. Today, I can only remember the very beginning and the very end of the story. All the rest was "new" to me in the year 2014; sixty years removed. Coincidentally, I have been recently reading some of Burroughs' John Carter novels. So I found the writing style of Bellamy quite similar, including not only the ultra-heroic protagonist, but also the archaic turn of phrase and display of laudible deeds and accomplishments. Probably not a coincidence.

Our hero finds himself mysteriously reduced in size to that of an ant. Convenient, considering his first acquaintance is an ant named Atta. They manage to find a way to establish verbal communication and proceed to go about joint adventures which profoundly stretch the tenets of "willing suspension of disbelief". The human in the duo is, of course, much more imaginative and innovative than poor, loyal Atta. Eventually becoming part of a particular ant hive, the crux of the story explores the perils and virtues of independent thought and friendship as distinct from the hive mentality of the ant colony.

I was struck by the amazing lack of insight our hero shows when confronted with familiar objects which happen to be much larger than he can easily comprehend. As a reader, the nature of his surroundings is totally obvious. But our dim hero, although mightily imbued with knowledge of military tactics, can often not see the forest for the trees. Literally. Still and all, an interesting read and one I was compelled to complete after so many years.

[Peacha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engrossing sci-fi adventure about a man who one day crushes a siege of ants swarming his gift box of chocolates only to find himself shrunk down to their size in the next instant. Though he isn’t aware of it and assumes he’s been transported either through time or prehaps to some distant unearthly planet where the jungle foliage resembles bamboo trees among which grotesque creatures stalk. The reader however , is given clues to his whereabouts especially when he begins salvaging items his sweetheart dropped during a picnic weeks ago. Thread and a broken needle become heavy duty rope and a lance.
But his ability to survive in this strange world only comes about when he rescues one of the strange creatures trapped under a boulder - Atta a curious solemn Formican of the tribe of Fusa whose outcast state binds the two together in a tentative relationship. As the tribal world of combative ants swirl around them - Atta and Brokel attempt to discover who they are and what their place is within it. Atta begins to marvel at the thoughts of individuality which is treason while Brokel must fight the lure of becoming a powerful figure leading an army of ant raiders. Separated because friendship is not allowed they must decide whether or not to break the rules and escape back to the home they made or accept their fate... but as Atta says 'what is the good of life if one can not enjoy it with one’s friend?' Fun little page turner ,and a surprisingly heartfelt read!

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

So odd! Could be called “gay for an ant”

[Dustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it quite hard at times to suspend disbelief at the story, especially with how long it takes the protagonist to realize what has actually happened to him. (Not to mention, the fact that he begins communicating with an ant, and they have complex philosophical conversations after only a couple weeks!) I also wasn't a huge fan of the abrupt ending to the book. That being said, I did find it to be quite the page turner, especially towards the end, and I enjoyed the read overall.

[Jesse Golden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although it starts off a bit silly and the protagonist's IQ is somewhere in the room temperature range at times, it slowly evolves into an engrossing tale of friendship and humanity. Never have I felt more for an ant than I felt for Atta.

[Aaron C. Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anthropomorphic page turner, ala " Watership Down." Well done.

[Alex]

John Carter-esque, the author describes ants as brutal slavers, living in a totalitarian and colonial society. In his eyes they are helpless, to be saved by the human intellect. He brings every worst ideal from the 19th century in this story. In his words, “high-grade savagery”. Don’t read.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for shrinking people down to ant size books. I thought this one was pretty good, although a bit slowly paced for modern audiences.

[Adrik Kemp · Rating 2 out of 5]

The dumbest protagonist you will ever be subjected to in a now standard sci fi trope that may have been slightly less standard at the time of publishing.