The Battle Of The Monsters

A microscopic war rages beneath the skin—and one tiny creature is caught in the crossfire.

In this darkly whimsical and surprisingly profound tale from visionary author Morgan Robertson (Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan), a cholera bacillus—elegant, peaceful, and just trying to mind his own business—finds himself swept into a surreal and deadly war inside a human bloodstream. What begins as a strange new environment quickly turns into a battlefield teeming with monstrous dog-headed rabies microbes, shapeshifting white blood cells, and strange brown invaders from an unknown realm.

Told from the point of view of a single bewildered microbe, The Battle of the Monsters is both a vivid science fantasy and a sharp allegory about fear, identity, and the violence of prejudice. Combining early 20th-century science with a fantastical narrative voice, Robertson paints a microscopic epic that feels as timely today as it was imaginative then.

Perfect for fans of Fantastic Voyage, Gulliver’s Travels, or satirical speculative fiction, this unique novella is brought to life with wit and nuance by narrator Richard Stibbard.