Empire of the Ants

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: Never go down into the cellar
Review:

The way the book is set out is very complex. But that is only so that we the readers will find it easier to read in a short amount of time. In your hands the book is rather small and lifeless but once you start reading you'll find yourself falling into a huge long passage of different thoughts. Unlike most books that you could just flick through and skim through this book keeps your eyes glued and reading carefully each word and sentence. I do not recommend it to those who are afraid of insects because Werber is extremely delicate when it comes to describtions. And those under the age of 13 may find it rather confusing. It is similar to "Watership Down"

The book has two different worlds experienced on the pages. The world of the ants and the world that we see right before our eyes. And each of the events that happen in both worlds are entwined together to show that we infact live in exactly the same place without knowing much at all about each other.

In the world of ants there is a crisis. One tribe of ants seem to have found a lethal weapon that could kill all the ants in one area without even being seen. Later the ants describe them as 'large black slates'. A young russet ant, after losing his fellow explorers in a sudden attack realises that he must find out the lethal weapon and dispose of it in some way. On the way he meets other ants who believe him and half of the story evolves around how these ants work hard to solve the mystery of the sudden attack and also carry on with their roles in the ant society.

Meanwhile in the world of humans we meet Jonathan Wells. He is given a house from the will of his uncle Edmond Wells and is shocked when he recieves a note telling him to stay well away from the basement. Unfortunately Jonathan's son's pet dog gets through a hole that is in the tightly locked basement door.
After going in to find that the dog is ripped to pieces, Jonathan starts going down everyday for hours on end with pieces of metal and tools along with books on ants. One day he does not come back and one by one the family is sucked into the mystery of what lays inside the basement. Each time a new person comes to explore they never come back up.

Of course the whole story is explained near the end for everything fits neatly like a part from a puzzle. And whilst you're reading it you do not think-you just fall into the story as if it's happening around you.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, but mildly Flawed
Review: Have you ever watched an ant colony outdoors or on TV, fascinated by its dizzying activity? Then this is the novel for you, and you're likely to read it in one sitting.

Werber's fantasy, set in the next century in Paris, imagines communication between humans and ants. But that's not the best part of this book. The author takes you behind the scenes, as it were, into an enormous confederation of ant colonies with its own history, laws, and legends. You'll never be able to watch ants again after reading this book without wishing you could somehow eavesdrop on their communication.

Empire of the Ants is filled with exciting scenes of ants scouting, hunting, doing battle, nursing, mating, defending themselves against birds, and just living their everyday lives. It's all amazingly complex and as Werber sees it, there are fascinating parallels with human behavior--and crucial differences. Perhaps most intriguing is his view that the Queen has limited power, and that new leaps forward in the ant world, the Earth's "second great civilization," arise from "working groups" in intensely close chemical communication responding to a crisis. While it's deeply absorbing to read about ant behaviors of all kinds, it's odd that now and then Werber's ants refer to other ants as "people." A bigger problem is that the ants and their world are consistently more interesting than the book's human characters. Unless that's Werber's point!

Lev Raphael, author of LITTLE MISS EVIL, the 4th Nick Hoffman mystery.

Rating:
Summary: Marvelously bizarre
Review: This is, without a doubt, one of the strangest and most bizarre tales I have ever read. I picked it up, expecting to see a novelization of a crude 1977 science fiction movie of the same title that few would remember. Instead, I was treated to a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a "science journalist" (the author, Bernard Werber), whose 15-year study of ants finds expression in this marvelously weird tale. For most of its 253 pages I pondered the connection between two parallel plot structures-- the mystery of a human family, and others, who disappeared down a cellar (which must have been 20 stories deep!), and the quest by a certain number of ants to solve another mystery involving a "secret weapon" that appeared to threaten their colony's existence. By the time I got to the answer to the riddle I realized I was reading science fiction, of a strange Rod Serling type quality, almost fable in its resolution. But it was a wild ride getting to that point.

Rightly compared to Watership Down, but darker and grimmer, the author confers intelligence on his miniscule characters, but keeps their actions consistent with empirical observations of ant behavior. Well, more or less. You have to suspend your disbelief, clearly, and that's why the book may not go down well with some. I had no problem with the translation from French to English. The ending's open nature evokes a pathos that resonates well, in my view.

With all of the elaborate animations that are now appearing in films, from "Babe" to "Titan, A.E.," it seems to me that this story would be ripe for interpretation in a very mature and serious avant-garde screenplay and movie. I hope someone takes the task on and does it right.

Rating:
Summary: You'll Never Step On An Ant Again...
Review: This French novel is borderline science-fiction marketed as straight fiction. It's a very captivating story as the narrative alternates between a family who, one-by-one, mysteriously vanish into the basement of home they've just inherited, and the struggle of a few ants to discover what lies behind some mysterious forces threatening their city. Of course the two are related, but its not clear how until the end. The genius of the book is its incredibly evocative portrait of ant life, including the politics of a federation of ant cities, the threats of other species, and just their whole life cycle. It's a quite remarkable achievement to be able to make this stuff so fascinating. You will never think about ants the same way, and of course, this is meant to make us think about ourselves as well.

Rating:
Summary: The translation lacks, but the open continue to enjoy
Review: Partially because of the harsher criticism, I feel it necessary to address the question of translation. In the original French it is a rich and complex work that may simply not correspond to the structure of the endlish language. The subtlety of character explored within the nuances of his vocabulary did not (I felt) translate into the english version, but rather became akward and stilted as the translator tried to state what Werber had implied. Translation aside, the work remains fascinating in its exploration of alternatives to the stereotype of the hive mind. Rather than glorifying or desparaging the idea of a hive mind, Werber examines it as a fascinating contrast to human society, even using it to develop a light critique of certain aspects intrinsic in an individualistic society. The society of ants is thoughtfully constructed giving a balanced view of the positive aspects of a group mentality and some of the elements that are lacking due to the lessened degree of individuality - art, poetry etc. The Wells family, representing the smallest unit of human society, is shown in the process of confronting problems. Simultaneously the hive is shown solving problems. The two methods and ideologies emerge and teach much on the nature of our problem-solving, and reveal interesting ideas concerning human nature. By shifting frequently between the humans and the ants facing similar situations, Werber heightens the suspense, driving the plot, and causing the reader to continue his exploration of the diverse philosophies contained in the book. The shifting is somewhat clumsier in english, but worthwhile still(in french there are many subtle phoenetic ties and repeated phrases). Overall an interesting read and thoughtful look at human response to difficulty. END

Rating:
Summary: captivating premise but ridiculous writing skills
Review: I am confounded by those reviewers that give this 4 or 5 stars. The plot is a good idea, and does provide glimpses of the fascinating complexity of ant life. However, the author attributes to the ants some complex behaviours and dynamics that go beyond science into SF and pure fantasy.

That is just the tip of the disappointment. The human characters are so wooden that if I had not known better, I would have believed taht the story was written by a 12-year old with a big vocabulary. Maybe something was lost in the translation (had to be the case, the writing is so bad in some parts) but unless the translator made up things, the story in the original French would also be flagrantly bad.

Perhaps those that gave this book high marks are children, in which case I can understand. I think that it may be a good book for children, but certainly not for anyone above the age of 16.

Rating:
Summary: be careful : this is not a book for ants lovers ...
Review: This Book is one of my favourite, and it's most due to Werber sens of Humour and irony, presenting another model of society... better. All the people I adviced this book read it and ALL enjoyed it. It's not about "real life" ants and it wasn't Werber purpose. This is more a philosophy book, containing small bits of an imaginary enclicloepedia of relative and absolute knowledge that is very funny and useful, pleasant. Other books from the same author are available in french, and may be in english, "Les Thanatonautes" is loved even by people that hate Empire of the Ants : try it !

Rating:
Summary: This book stinks!
Review: I bought this book on the recommendation of the myrmecology (study of ants) mailing list. They loved it, I hate it. The ants are not at all believable. I really wanted to see what a hive mind might be like, but that's not here. The only thing that makes the ants look good is how poorly he portrays the people! And the surprise ending is the stupidest thing I have read in a long, long time.

Rating:
Summary: A perfect society...
Review: This novel is incontestably one of the most exciting science-fiction stories I have ever read. Bernard Werber is not an entymologist as many people think: he is only a writer who has studied laws before becoming a scientific journalist at *Le Nouvel Observateur* but with the Empire of the Ants he tried to describe with philosophy and humour an almost perfect society. He didn't aim to show us how to live in perfect harmony, his own ambition is to show us simply that it does, in fact, exist...