''Amphibian Man'' (rus. Человек-амфибия) 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 uni ...

adventure novel Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction. History In the Introduction to the ''Encycloped ...

by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

Russian writer Alexander Beliaev. It was published in 1928.

Plot

Argentinean doctor Salvator, a scientist and a maverick surgeon, gives his son, Ichthyander (russian: Ихтиандр, Ikhtiandr) (Greek etymology: "Fish"+ "Man") a life-saving transplant - a set of

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...

gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

s. The experiment is a success but it limits the young man's ability to interact with the world outside his ocean environment. He has to spend much of his time in water. Pedro Zurita, a local

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

gatherer, learns about Ichthyander and tries to exploit the boy's superhuman diving abilities. Similar to other works by Beliaev, the book investigates the possibilities of physical survival under extreme conditions, as well as the moral integrity of scientific experiments. It also touches on

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

ideas of improving living conditions for the world's poor.

Other media

The 1962 film adaptation the '' Amphibian Man'' (russian: Человеκ-aмфибия, translit. ''Chelovek-Amfibiya''), was directed by Vladimir Chebotaryov. The movie recorded 65 million ticket sales (the actual ticket revenue is unknown) quickly becoming one of the most admired movies in the USSR. Filmed on the South Coast of the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

and in Baku and featuring a cast of beautiful young actors, the film features some popular song and dance numbers and has certain characteristics of a musical. The first song and the musical theme of the movie - "The Sea Devil" became such a hit that it was sung well into the 1990s. A 2004 Russian TV series ''Sea Devil'' ( Морской Дьявол) was aired, loosely based on the novel.

Translations

* Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow *''L'Uomo Anfibio'', Agenzia Alcatraz, Italia

Cultural influence

Ichthyander Project The Ichthyander Project was the first project involving underwater habitats in the Soviet Union in 1960s."Ichthyander-66, an Underwater House in Tarkhankut", Tatiana Shevcnenko, ''Sobytiya Weekly'' «Ихтиандр-66» — подводный д ...

, underwater habitat *

Daphnella ichthyandri ''Daphnella ichthyandri'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Raphitomidae. Description Distribution This marine species was found on the Nazca Ridge The Nazca Ridge is a submarine ridge, located on the Nazca ...

, mollusc *

Chlorophthalmus ichthyandri ''Chlorophthalmus'' is a genus of greeneyes Species There are currently 17 recognized species in this genus: * '' Chlorophthalmus acutifrons'' Hiyama, 1940 (Greeneye) * Shortnose greeneye (''Chlorophthalmus agassizi'') Bonaparte, 1840 (Shor ...

, fish

References

1928 Russian novels Novels by Alexander Beliaev 1928 science fiction novels Russian novels adapted into films Science fiction novels adapted into films Soviet science fiction novels {{1920s-sf-novel-stub

Plot

Other media

Translations

Cultural influence

See also

References