Of Ants and Dinosaurs

hardcover, 256 pages

Published April 2, 2020 by Head of Zeus.

ISBN:: 978-1-78954-611-8

(1 review)

A satirical fable, a political allegory and an ecological warning from the author of The Three-Body Problem. In a sunlit clearing in central Gondwana, on an otherwise ordinary day in the late Cretaceous, the seeds of Earth's first and greatest civilization were sown in the grisly aftermath of a Tyrannosaurus' lunch. Throughout the universe, intelligence is a rare and fragile commodity – a fleeting glimmer in the long night of cosmic history. That Earth should harbour not just one but two intelligent species at the same time, defies the odds. That these species, so unalike – and yet so complementary – should forge an alliance that kindled a civilization defies logic. But time is endless and everything comes to pass eventually... The alliance between ants and dinosaurs, was of course, based on dentistry. Yet from such humble beginnings came writing, mathematics, computers, fusion, antimatter and even space travel – a …

A satirical fable, a political allegory and an ecological warning from the author of The Three-Body Problem. In a sunlit clearing in central Gondwana, on an otherwise ordinary day in the late Cretaceous, the seeds of Earth's first and greatest civilization were sown in the grisly aftermath of a Tyrannosaurus' lunch. Throughout the universe, intelligence is a rare and fragile commodity – a fleeting glimmer in the long night of cosmic history. That Earth should harbour not just one but two intelligent species at the same time, defies the odds. That these species, so unalike – and yet so complementary – should forge an alliance that kindled a civilization defies logic. But time is endless and everything comes to pass eventually... The alliance between ants and dinosaurs, was of course, based on dentistry. Yet from such humble beginnings came writing, mathematics, computers, fusion, antimatter and even space travel – a veritable Age of Wonder! But such magnificent industry comes at a price – a price paid first by Earth's biosphere, and then by all those dependent on it. And yet the Dinosaurs refused to heed the Ants' warning of impending ecological collapse, leaving the Ant Federation facing a single dilemma: destroy the dinosaurs, destroy a civilization... or perish alongside them?

3 editions

Soh Kam Yung reviewed Of Ants and Dinosaurs by Cixin Liu

What if before us, there was a civilization of ants and dinosaurs.

3 stars

An interesting 'fable' based on the idea that in the past, two great civilizations arose among the ants and dinosaurs that rose to incredible heights before hubris and desperation to save the environment (and stop a 'doomsday device') bought it all crashing down.

The premise of the story is that at the beginning, the dinosaurs were fairly intelligent, but their size and inability to handle tiny work crippled their abilities. At the other end, ants are collectively intelligent, but their small size hampers their ability to shape the world. The two would come together through an accidental meeting between a dinosaur with dental problems and ants looking for a quick meal. From there, both civilizations would rise up in greatness together, with the dinosaurs doing the heavy lifting and the ants doing the fine handy work holding technology together.

But all is not well, as a religious rift cause them …

An interesting 'fable' based on the idea that in the past, two great civilizations arose among the ants and dinosaurs that rose to incredible heights before hubris and desperation to save the environment (and stop a 'doomsday device') bought it all crashing down.

The premise of the story is that at the beginning, the dinosaurs were fairly intelligent, but their size and inability to handle tiny work crippled their abilities. At the other end, ants are collectively intelligent, but their small size hampers their ability to shape the world. The two would come together through an accidental meeting between a dinosaur with dental problems and ants looking for a quick meal. From there, both civilizations would rise up in greatness together, with the dinosaurs doing the heavy lifting and the ants doing the fine handy work holding technology together.

But all is not well, as a religious rift cause them to go to a war of attrition with one another. When it ends and peace is restored, their restored civilizations would go on to use more of the Earth resources, until the ants plead with the dinosaurs to rein in their consumption or risk ecological collapse. This causes another brief war but in the subsequent détente, the ants put forward a plan to stop the dinosaurs once and for all: not knowing that the dinosaurs already have another plan of their own.

On the face of it, the situation sounds a bit ridiculous and over the top, especially with the descriptions of huge transport vessels and buildings required to house dinosaurs which are much bigger than us. The ability of the ants also seen incredible, especially in the field of micro engineering and surgery.

But what drives the story forward is the story of two contrasting civilizations that somehow work together to achieve even greater heights before it all comes tumbling down. The humour of the situations also comes through in the translation, making it accessible to an English audience.