Help finding sci-fi-ish submarine book I read as a kid?

May 10, 2015 9:57 AM

I would love to locate a book I read around age 10-12 that I'd checked out of the library, probably from the kids' section. It was kind of sci-fi-ish in that the plot centered on a man who, for some reason I can't recall, checks out of human society and goes on longer and longer expeditions in his one-man submarine.

This guy explores really deep parts of the ocean, including I think some trenches, and the more he explores the more he feels part of that world. Eventually, he begins to swim outside the sub and finds that he's able to survive on his own underwater ... finally turning into a sort of sea creature. In the last scene of the book (if I'm remembering accurately), he swims back to the harbor he'd originally sailed from, pops his head above the surface, and finds the human world completely alien to him now.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? I'd love to find this book again and revisit it . . . It's such a fascinating idea. Thanks for any suggestions or ideas!

posted by JaneEyre to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

Sounds interesting! I'm afraid this isn't an answer but a request for clarification: how long ago was it that you read it, and in which country, please?
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 10:44 AM on May 10, 2015

Response by poster: Sorry for not clarifying that! I read this in the U.S. in the early 1980s, although I don't know when & where it was written/published.
posted by JaneEyre at 11:12 AM on May 10, 2015

The Hydronauts by Carl Biemiller?
posted by davidjmcgee at 11:21 PM on June 2, 2015

Response by poster: Alas, no, davidjmcgee -- the novel I remember is about a loner. But thanks for the suggestion --- looks like that might be a fun read.
posted by JaneEyre at 12:23 PM on June 10, 2015