Attack from Atlantis

Lore & Background

Don is taken prisoner but befriends Muggins, an American rescued from a sunken ship fifty years earlier, and learns that the Atlanteans are descendants of Cro-Magnon ancestors who discovered forcefilm bubbles from undersea crystals during the last Ice Age. Don uses his electronics skills to manipulate the dome's forcefilm, creating a salt rain and hum that terrify the superstitious Atlanteans. He negotiates the release of the Triton crew, and the submarine leaves Mlayanu with two Atlanteans aboard, K'mith and S'neifa, after Don assures them that surface scientists can synthesize the needed crystals.

Reader's Guide

Attack from Atlantis is one of thirty-five juvenile novels in the Winston Science Fiction set, published in the 1950s for a readership of teen-aged boys. The typical protagonist in these books was a boy in his late teens proficient in electronics, a hobby accessible to readers. The novel reflects the era's fascination with nuclear power and underwater exploration, explicitly referencing the real USS Nautilus. Its plot combines adventure with speculative technology—forcefilm bubbles derived from volcanic crystals—and touches on Cold War tensions, as a misinterpreted distress signal nearly triggers nuclear war. The book's significance lies in its representation of mid-century juvenile science fiction, blending educational elements (electronics, submarine mechanics) with fantastical premises. It remains a period piece illustrating how popular fiction engaged with contemporary scientific and geopolitical anxieties.

Did You Know?

• The novel's foreword, 'Land Under the Sea', mentions the real USS Nautilus atomic submarine being built.
• The Atlanteans' forcefilm technology is powered by crystals from undersea volcanoes.
• Don Miller's dog Shep, a schipperke, is mistaken for a dog-god by superstitious Atlanteans.
• The story includes a character named Muggins, an American rescued from a ship sunk fifty years before the novel's events.