Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating
Review: Ants communicate by exchanging pheromones, and Werber claims to have mastered this language and to have translated it into French.
When I first heard of this novel, I thought the author sounded slightly eccentric. No surprise - the story is definitely strange. However, the novel is fascinating. The story intertwines two plots: one involves the exploits of some ants, and the other is about some human characters. The ants are differentiated, and have personalities. I'll tell you right now that the ant story is far more interesting! I almost wish the author hadn't bothered with the humans. The two stories do connect. Since much of what kept me avidly reading was trying to figure out how the two stories meshed, I won't give you any hints here.
The novel gave me a new view of ants. Before, if they intruded into my consciousness at all, it was just as annoying pests. Now, I view them with interest. For a few months after reading the novel, I even tried to avoid stepping on or disturbing ants when I came across them. (News flash - the reviewer is also slightly eccentric.)
Anyway, this novel is exceptionally interesting, and may even give you a new view of the universe.
By the way, the original of this novel is in French, and Werber has written two sequels. For French students, I think the French is slightly more difficult than that of, for example, Pierre Boulle in "The Planet of the Apes": especially at the beginning, there were a lot of terms relating to ants that I was not familiar with. However, I could still follow the story, and with repeated exposure gradually learned the terms.
Rating: 
Summary: unputtable-downable
Review: Bernard Werber is a genius. The way he jumps back between the fascinating heirarchial ant world and that of the individualistic off-kilter humans is wonderful to read. The first time I opened the book, I couldn't put it down for long time; it was so engaging and easy to read. The author mixes the factual and the fictional when dealing with the ants, which makes one wonder where the line between truth and fiction truly lies. His imaginative perspective on the society of the typical russet ant will forever change how I think of them, and in a larger context any social insect.It is a shame that none of his other books have been translated into english, because as I understand it Empire of the Ants is the first part of a trilogy. I'd truly love to see what Mr. Werber has come up with since then. True speculative grandeur!
Rating:
Summary: Something different and interesting
Review: Empire of the Ants is a great read. I got bogged down a few times by an over abundance of details, but not enough to make me lower my rating of this book. It is translated from French, so sometimes the writing is a bit bumpy. The story is really original and completely captivating. I even found myself dreaming about the story at night... This book was recommended to me by a friend and I went into it a bit skeptical, but it is amazing how much I got into ant life and the "characters" in the story. It is hard to find in bookstores...I ordered mine from Amazon. I have heard that there is another book that continues with the "ants" saga, but unfortunately, to my knowledge it is in French and is yet to be translated. One thing interesting...I enjoyed the character development of the ants more than I did the people. Overall, a decent read and definitely something different.
Rating:
Summary: Something different and interesting
Review: Empire of the Ants is a great read. I got bogged down a few times by an over abundance of details, but not enough to make me lower my rating of this book. It is translated from French, so sometimes the writing is a bit bumpy. The story is really original and completely captivating. I even found myself dreaming about the story at night... This book was recommended to me by a friend and I went into it a bit skeptical, but it is amazing how much I got into ant life and the "characters" in the story. It is hard to find in bookstores...I ordered mine from Amazon. I have heard that there is another book that continues with the "ants" saga, but unfortunately, to my knowledge it is in French and is yet to be translated. One thing interesting...I enjoyed the character development of the ants more than I did the people. Overall, a decent read and definitely something different.
Rating:
Summary: Who Knew?
Review: Empire of the Ants is absolutely fascinating. I have never read such a good story with such detail from a non-human animal's point of view. I definitely recommend this book. The ending was weak I thought, as the story turns from the adventure genre to sci fi. That said, the rest of the story more than justifies checking this book out.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've ever read
Review: I like to think I've read many great books. But the BEST of them all, in my mind, is whithout any doubt Bernard Werber's masterpiece. This is a work of genius - science-fiction, philosophy, real science, History, a great story; it has everything! I couldn't possibly reccomend it enough.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, if you're about fourteen
Review: I think I would've enjoyed this book when I was a kid. However, the truth is, from a mature adult perspective, this book is interesting at times, but at others, its just plain stupid.
The characters are terrible. Especially the people. There seems to be no attempt at any character development (among the humans) at all, and they act in ways that are completely unbelievable. Who would leave their only son to the tender mercies of an orphanage for no good reason? Who would make a refuge from the outside world that you could never return from? How many 100 year old women do you know who could go traipsing through miles of rat infested tunnels with a rifle?
The ants are a little bit better fleshed out, but even there, I was a little disappointed. I was expecting a look inside a society (and/or mind) radically different from our own (maybe something like the Borg). Although the author tells us that the ants are radically different from us, there seems to be little evidence. The ants recognize each other as individuals and seem to solve problems in much the same way (basically, they brainstorm)as ourselves. In fact, if ants are this smart, I'm surprised they don't rule the world already (To be fair, the author would probably maintain that they do...)
I'm not even sure the author has his science right. I'm no expert, but I was surprised that a temperate country like France would have such an aggressive native species of ant. I mean, right in the beginning of the book, a woodpecker is torn apart from the inside out. You'd think that stupid bird would know enough to stay away from such a formidable species... Ah, well, evolution of the species, I guess
In conclusion, all I can say is, put your brain in neutral and don't expect too much. The comparisons to Watership Down are a joke. I can only assume that all the positive ratings are from kids. PS: Any reasonably intelligent individual should be able to solve the matchstick problem in under a minute.
Rating:
Summary: great
Review: It was my favorite book. It just puts images in your head. ne of the most thought provoking books ive read. I would reccomend it to anyone whos interested in nature or a good book that is different.
Rating: 
Summary: Imaginative, but Wanting
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful Science Fiction
Review: Simply wonderful. All too often the ever elusive "Sense-of-Wonder" is completely absent from modern SF. Not so with this one. This is a keeper!
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