Children of the Atom
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- The name "Children of the Atom" is also often used in connection with the X-Men; see X-Men: Children of the Atom.
Children of the Atom is a 1953 science fiction novel by Wilmar H. Shiras (originally published by Gnome Press), which has been credited — though never officially confirmed — with providing the inspiration for the X-Men comic book series.
In the novel, much of which was originally published in serial form in Astounding Science Fiction magazine, hidden throughout a future America of 1972 are a group of incredibly gifted children — all approximately the same age, all preternaturally intelligent, and all hiding their incredible abilities from a world they know will not understand them.
These children were born to workers caught in an explosion at an atomic weapons facility, and orphaned just a few months after birth when their parents succumbed to delayed effects from the blast.
Like the characters in the better-known X-Men series, these children are mutants, brought together to explore their unique abilities and study in secret at an exclusive school for gifted children, lest they be hated and feared by a world that would not understand them.
External links:
- Children of The Atom (http://www.redjacketpress.com/books/children_of_the_atom.html) - Information on the novel and author Wilmar Shiras