The Amphibian [Paperback]

Alexander Belayev (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2001

The Amphibian will throw you back to a time when skin and deep-sea diving had not yet made the Silent World begin yielding up its secrets on a really big scale, as aqualung and snorkel are doing today, and present to you Alexander Belayev's 1928 prevision of the ocean mastered by mankind.

Sea-devil has appeared in the Rio de la Plata. Weird cries out at sea, slashed fishermen's nets, glimpses of a most queer creature astride a dolphin leave no room for doubt. The Spaniard Zurita, greed overcoming his superstition, tries to catch Sea-devil and force it to pearl-dive for him but fails.

On a lonely stretch of shore, not far from Buenos Aires, Dr. Salvator lives in seclusion behind a high wall, whose steel-plated gates only open to let in his Indian patients. The Indians revere him as a God but Zurita has a hunch that the God on land and the devil in the sea have something in common. Enlisting the help of two wily Araucanian brothers he sets out to probe the mystery.

As action shifts from the bottom of the sea to the Spaniard's schooner The Jellyfish and back again, with interludes in sun-drenched Buenos Aires and countryside, the mystery of Ichthyander the sea-devil is unfolded before the reader in a narrative as gripping as it informative.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alexander Belayev, the first-and very nearly the best-Soviet science fiction writer, was born in 1884 in Smolenak. When a little boy Alexander was full of ideas. One of them was to fly. And he did fly - from the rooftop - until one day he fractured his spine. This was put right, but at the age of 32 he developed bone tuberculosis and was bed-ridden for nearly six years and later for shorter stretches.

His first novel, Professor Dowell's Head, serialized in a popular magazine in 1926, was an immediate success. Since then Belayev wrote fifty-odd novels - many of them as topical as if written today - reaching the one-million copy mark by January 1942 when he died near Leningrad. His best known books are the Amphibian, A Jump into Nothingness and the Island of Dead Ships.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: International Law & Taxation (July 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589633377
• ISBN-13: 978-1589633377
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,479,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ichthyander, 'The Human Merman', 'Prince of the Sea', December 27, 2002

By 

Yvonne P. Joseph (Brooklyn, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Amphibian (Paperback)

"The Amphibian" is such a beautiful book. It is enchanting and absorbing concerning the fascinating, yet sad, life story of Ichthyander the Amphibian. Ichthyander is such a winsome character. He's loveably sweet and cute (and, of course, very handsome!). Plus, he's kind, and very sensitive. You'd want to give him a big hug and say 'Everything will be just fine. We love you just as you are -- gills and all!" It's a pity in the story that he is disliked and misunderstood by the main creep, the villain Don Pedro Zurita, and practically everybody else. One cannot help feel sorry for Ichthyander.

In the section "A Day of Ichthyander's", the reader gets to see how happy he is being in the water, and among the sea creatures. One can easily imagine hearing his laughter of delight when the dolphins arrive to play with him under the warm sun. Ichthyander is really a human merman: the 'Prince of the Sea' --- if there ever was one. The only thing he's missing is a fishtail where his legs are. Not to sound sexist, "The Amphibian" can be considered the male version to "The Little Mermaid". By the way, the book actually gives us the real meaning for Ichthyander's unusual name. They are Greek stem words for "fish" (ichthy-) and "man" (ander or andr). Thus combined, Ichthyander's name is actually 'Fish Man'. He is a 'manfish'; or merman. A human merman, that is.

"The Amphibian" was written about 1928, before the age of snorkeling and scuba diving. Belayev, in describing Ichthyander's undersea ventures, gives some interesting descriptions of undersea life. Had Belayev lived a bit longer, he would have seen his prevision of mankind mastering the ocean be realized. No, people wouldn't be literal amphibians. But people would be using aqualungs to explore underwater. The early aqualungs came about in the mid-1940's during World War II. By then, Belayev was already dead, having passed away in 1942. Also had Belayev lived, he would have seen this famous book of his get turned into a magnificent Russian science fiction film classic, "The Amphibian Man" (1961). There are some changes to the story. But, nevertheless, it's an amazing film. Belayev, himself, would have been pleased.

And if Ichthyander really existed, he would have enough friends, as there are so many scuba diving enthusiasts the world over. Including, perhaps, the late great Jacques Yves Cousteau. At least Ichthyander's new friends wouldn't be scared of him as most divers pretty much have similar underwater gear. -- Oh! And I would have been his friend, too! I've never scuba dived; but I love swimming!

I purchased both an original out-of-print copy of "The Amphibian" (from Amazon[.com] Z-shops in October), with a drawing of Ichthyander riding his beloved dolphin, Leading, on the jacket cover; and, this month, the reissued edition of the book, with Ichthyander on the cover brandishing a dagger. It was the reissued one I took back-and-forth in my travels. I didn't want to lose my out-of-print copy. That edition stays in my library at home.

I recommend as an excellent companion piece to this book the movie "The Amphibian Man", which "The Amphibian" is based. Both the movie and book are excellent. But get the DVD version of "The Amphibian Man", for the picture quality is visually stunning and better.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still in love, May 2, 2009

By 

EK (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Amphibian (Kindle Edition)

I found this review right here on Amazon and liked it so much that I want to include it. "When I was 10 year old, my brother gave it to me as a gift on my birthday. I fell in love with Ichthyandar, and his world.

Years later, and halfway around the world, I am still smitten. I scoured local and online bookstores trying to find an English version of the book a few years ago. I finally found it in a little 2nd hand online bookstore in MN. I highly recommend this tale to anyone with an open mind."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still in love with Ichthyandar, January 22, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Amphibian (Paperback)

When I was 10 year old, my brother gave it to me as a gift  on my birthday. I fell in love with Ichthyandar, and his world.
Years later, and halfway around the world, I am still smitten. I scoured local and online bookstores trying to find an English version of the book a few years ago. The one I read as a young girl was translated in Bengali. I finally found it in a little 2nd hand online bookstore in MN.
I highly recommend this SciFi/ fairy tale to anyone with an open mind.