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Of Ants and Dinosaurs

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Of Ants and Dinosaurs

By: Cixin Liu
Narrated by: Bruno Roubicek
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About this listen

In a sunlit clearing in Central Gondwana, on an otherwise ordinary day in the late Cretaceous, the seeds of Earth's first and greatest civilisation 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 civilisation 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 civilisation...or perish alongside them?

©2020 Cixin Liu (P)2020 W F Howes Hard Science Fiction Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Fiction

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All stars
Most relevant  
A super story with some clever digs at the humans of this planet. Very clever concept and well read, thoroughly enjoyed and will look for more by this author and narrator.

What fun

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This is another great book to get people into Liu's work. Thought provoking and detailed yet lightweight and fun. He hints at the story in other works, but delivers a riveting story you can finish in one afternoon.

Poetic license on history with a lesson for now

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loved it well read well written a masterpiece of its kind by a master writer

Great read

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the language was easy and the assumptions and leaps intertwined in this quaint story made it feel like a tale you can and should safely read to children. Reminding me of something akin to sesame street. that is until the ugly bits surfaced. Not something I expected from the master of the hard science introduced in the 3 body problem. but it was nice to see him getting some creativity. Overall not sure I recommend this one. it's quaint and cute and somehow tries to merge a parallel world into our known history, but somehow just left too many large gaps for me to take seriously at all.

hmmm .... felt like a book to read to children.

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It's a fun concept - what if there was a civilisation in the Cretaceous, founded on a partnership between ants and dinosaurs? Of course, we know how it all ended - the dinosaurs wiped out by a huge rock from space slamming into the Yucatan Peninsula; the ants surviving, but only as mindless insects. The trouble is, Liu doesn't quite pull it off, for two main reasons.

One is that anyone with sufficient interest to want to listen to this story probably has some baseline knowledge about dinosaurs - that they came in a large variety of shapes and sizes, were probably warm-blooded, and died out as described above. But the story doesn't fit with these known facts. Maybe I'm nit picking, but it offended my inner four-year-old - Stegosaurus and T. rex didn't exist at the same time, and without wanting to give the end away, it doesn't fit with the space rock thing.

An even bigger problem though is the lack of nuance. There are only five characters: Arrogant Leader (dinosaur); Slightly Less Arrogant Leader (ant); Gung Ho Military Leader (dinosaur); Gung Ho Military Leader (ant); Honest Scientist (ant). No corresponding dinosaur scientist, honest or otherwise. The ants are a lot more sympathetic than the dinosaurs, though neither come out looking that good by the end.

Yes, I know it's an allegory, an instructive fable. But it would work a lot better if it reflected the reality that disasters happen even when there are people of good will and intelligence working on both sides.

Doesn't quite work

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its simply brilliant. Cixin writes in a simple no-nonsens manner, yet several layers deep. the preformance in all the books of him i have hear are very good and relaxing.

brilliant

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3/5

I'm sure that this tale was supposed to contain a profound meaning and possibly delivered some. The fable itself is bizarre to the point of almost losing that meaning though. Taken as just a speculative story about ants and dinosaurs it was enjoyable if slightly odd.

The good:
- Very detailed and clearly explained the rise of civilisation and the political relationships between different factions.
- The narration was great and the narrator did a fantastic job conveying the story.

What could have been improved?:
-The message could have been better conveyed. The ways it had to bend to fit the odd narrative diluted its message.
- Lots and lots of names that when listening via audiobook are difficult to distinguish.

Overall, an interesting read, probably more suited to those who enjoy speculative fiction, satirical but message-laden stories and political metaphors.

.

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A very interesting play on what might have been. Reminded me of Empire of the Ants by Bernard Werber.
Lovely pacing, practically nothing inappropriate for younger readers, clever ideas and a nice translation.
Having seen the Wandering Earth this makes me want to read more of his work.
Put aside politics and enjoy!

Thoroughly Enjoyable Idea

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This was an interesting and different book.
Easy and quick read. Good narration. Would recommend.

Nice ideas

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Good story and narrated well. Thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. Very philosophical and relatable story.

Very enjoyable

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