Cheap Empire of the Ants (Book) (BERNARD WERBER) Price

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Customer Reviews of Empire of the Ants

Imaginative, but Wanting
Light reading, certianly imaginative, but it could have been better. The author provides novel ideas in regards to ant-human communication, but the English translation is awful. There are numerous mistakes in the text, and the book could have used an editor excising needless passages. Human characters are not well developed, though the ants are interesting. When Werber heads towards dialouge, the story invariably goes downhill- he writes action and narrative much better. Conversations feel flat and unstimulating, and I tended to skim through them in order to get to the storyline itself. Again, ant-talk via chemicals was much more interesting than the human talk.

The scientific presumptions of the text are also an issue. Werber presents the work as if it had some scientific basis, as if it was scifi rather than fantasy. This is bolstered by his exacting and broad description of ant life and anatomy. It is unfortunate that the scientific slant is presented, as there is absolutely no scientific credulity within the concept of communication from creatures which don't even possess a brain. Much less communication between two different species.

Werber does takes the best of science fiction when he takes certain concepts and expands on them. His descriptions of ant anatomy are fairly accurate, and the description of ant life a nice fantastical extension of scientific principals- if they could think, how would they then live? It would have been far better though if some sort of deus ex machina had been present to explain their intelligence. The reader is forced to have to create presumptions that Werber never truly explains in order to make sence of the work.

With these caviats, it is still a recommended book, if you don't have to pay too much for it (which you don't on Amazon). It is fun to read through much of it, if with a critical eye, and can provide a relaxing afternoon by the fire.

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AN ADULT ADVENTURE IN A TINY KINGDOM
This book is a very welcome antidote to the crude, infantile, relentlessly "cute" approach of such recent films as "Antz" and "A Bug's Life." Those stories may be entertaining for children, but the author of "Empire of the Ants" has succeeded in the very improbable task of dramatizing the lives of a handful of ants in a subtle, thoughtful, and gently humorous way that "grownups" can understand, appreciate, and enjoy. (Much of the credit for this undoubtedly goes to the translator, who did a superb job from the French.) The ant characters, for whom the reader comes to care deeply, are much better developed than the human characters, but that is excusable: the story, after all, isn't primarily about the humans. If the author makes a misstep, it is only in waxing philosophical at times; unfortunately, his musings are not as gripping as his narrative. But this is the only reason I don't give the book five stars. I couldn't put it down; I hated to turn the final page; and I shall never look at ants the same way again!

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engrossing, near perfect fiction
This is a wonderful story written in a way that makes it near impossible to put down. It leaves you with many thoughts that will follow you around for days. And you'll never look at an ant the same way again.
This is fiction at its best: smart, fun, imaginative but not pretentious or stuffy.