"City Under the Sea" by Kenneth Bulmer

Jeremy Dodge knew the Earth would face starvation if it were not for the new science of "aquaculture". With
the world's population numbering many billions, only the extra food being cultivated on the bottom of the sea could feed everyone. But, like the rest of the surface-dwellers, Jeremy did not know what a vicious monopoly underwater cultivation had become. That is, until the dreadful moment when he himself was kidnapped and dragged beneath the depths. And there he was to learn that just making his own escape would not be enough - he would have to save mankind from the tyranny of a new race of water-breathing human monsters!
The background to the story is that humanity has set up farms on the continental shelves which are owned by many different corporations; these corporations press-gang people into working for them, since the job is so unpopular. At the same time, various submarines of the Underwater Sea Force have been disappearing in the Mariana trench, and there are increasing suspicions that perhaps this is caused by an alien intelligences.


The story begins with Major Dodge, of the space force, coming to inspect his inheritance, which is one of these sea farms, which he received when his uncle died. However, when he is taking a tour from a sea hotel, he is press-ganged into one of these illegal corporations. When Dodge wakes up, he finds that he has been operated on, and he now has gills, and has to work on the sea farms as a slave. The rest of the novel deals with Dodge as he tries to escape, and his attempt to create a rebellion among the slaves (the Men-fish), while at the same time the Space Force is looking for Dodge, since they suspect he was kidnapped.


The stories of the attempted rebellion, the search for Dodge, and the disappearing submarines are tied together at the very end, in a mostly satisfying conclusion.




Since this novel takes place under the ocean, with people who do not need special equipment to survive, it definitely has a different flavor than any other science fiction novel that I have read, which is good; however, the basic plot of a man rebelling against an unjust system has been done so many times that the unique and pedestrian sort of cancel each other out, and I only rate it about 3 stars. (Amazon)