Book Length: 256 pages

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction, Novella

Goodreads’ Synopsis: The alliance between ants and dinosaurs created 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. A satirical fable and ecological warning.

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?

Read Start Date: March 31, 2024

Read Finish Date: April 5, 2024

My Review: Millions of years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, there were two intelligent species — ants and dinosaurs. One day, as a dinosaur tried unsuccessfully to clean food from his teeth, the ants realized something. They could perform the task and acquire food for the colony simultaneously. Thus, the symbiotic relationship between ants and dinosaurs began, igniting the evolution of the species that would otherwise not have been possible. Ants became not only dentists but also doctors, scribes, etc. The ants would perform any task the dinosaurs could not perform with clumsy, large fingers. The ants acquired knowledge and food in exchange, and both species flourished.

This close cooperation was not without its issues, though, especially when dinosaurs flourished so much that their numbers threatened the Earth’s very existence. I don’t want to give too much away from the plot, so I will just say that I liked the unique idea of an intelligent civilization of ants co-existing and developing technology with dinosaurs. I had no negative feelings about this book and did not mind that the characters were merely ancillary to the story itself. From the synopsis, this book is supposed to be a political allegory, but honestly, I didn’t even notice/pay any attention.

This novella is a quick and easy read. It covers a vast amount of time without getting bogged down in excessive detail — it is different from the Three Body Problem series in that way. So, if you enjoy Cixin Liu’s writing and imagination, I would highly recommend this book.

Other Books by the author I have read:

See my review of The Three-Body Problem here.

See my review of The Dark Forest here.

See my review of Death’s End here.