Rating: 
Summary: Imaginative, wonderful....but ends terribly
Review: The blurb on the cover of the paperback edition of this book isn't far wrong - "What Richard Adams did for rabbits in 'Watership Down', Bernard Werber does for ants." But it isn't totally accurate.For most of its almost 300 pages, this is a fascinating novel contrasting a vividly imagined world - the insect kingdom - with the equally fascinating and well thought out mystery of a deep and dark subterranean passage beneath the new home of Jonathan Wells. Werber's description of life in the ant world is fully detailed, extremely captivating, and totally believable - which is not surprising, since - according to the small biography at the end of the book - Werber is "a scientific journalist who has studied ants...as an avocation." Little by little, we learn that there are some mysterious goings-on in this little corner of the insect kingdom, and it is up to Werber's ant heroes to solve them. His description of the equally mysterious goings-on in the Wells' cellar is just as fascinating. And you eventually realize that these two stories must be connected in some way, although you have no idea how. But the climax and the connection, when it's finally revealed, is completely idiotic, and straight out of a 1950's s/f pulp magazine. I was expecting a much better resolution than this, and I turned the pages expecting to discover that this was nothing more than an ant dream, and the true climax was about to be revealed. But no - this was it. The book reads almost as if Werber had gotten tired of writing it, and wanted to finish it quickly. Well, he certainly did that - but at the expense of what could have been a truly incredible piece of fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: AN ADULT ADVENTURE IN A TINY KINGDOM
Review: 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!
Rating: 
Summary: A genial concept and entertaining story
Review: This book is my all-time favorite. Genre: science-fiction mixed with mystery and anthropology! I was blown away by the genius of the format: the alternance of human story, ant story and ant encyclopedia is unique! The human and ant stories are constructed to be such a good parallel to each other than with each new paragraph, you first can not tell whether it's about ants or people! Very entertaining and mind-bending too, with enigmas and an original plot not to be taken seriously!
This book totally changed my point of view on ants, which I can never splat anymore. I'd rather follow them around in the yard to observe their exciting adventures and struggles...
For those who loved this book, keep checking for future translations of other Bernard Werber books, almost as genial (I read them all in French). He's written two more ants books, two books about the after-death, and one book about the origins of mankind (about the "missing link"). Man! This guy has an imagination!!
Rating:
Summary: engrossing, near perfect fiction
Review: 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.
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