The Ants

Bernard WerberNew Century Publishing House2000

No rating yet

Series: The Ants Trilogy

Summary

The Ants is the first volume of the "Ants Trilogy" (also translated as the "Inhabitants of the Earth" series) by the French writer Bernard Werber. The original French edition was published in 1991, opening this continuous science fiction novel centered on the insect world. The work unfolds along two parallel lines: one leads readers deep underground, depicting from the ants' perspective their social division of labor, nest building, foraging, warfare, and pheromone communication, portraying the ant colony as another civilization parallel to human society; the other follows seekers and researchers in the human world as they approach step by step this world previously regarded as insignificant. The author, a former science journalist, weaves a wealth of entomological and ecological knowledge into the narrative and intersperses fictional excerpts from the Encyclopedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge, using encyclopedic short chapters to discuss life, intelligence, collectivity, and cosmic order. The novel ultimately brings human and ant civilizations into direct contact, and amid suspicion, conflict, and probing it asks: who is the true master of Earth, and does humanity have the right to regard itself as the only intelligent life? The book is both a wildly imaginative adventure and a gentle rebellion against anthropocentrism. This volume is the first of the Ants Trilogy.

Editor's review

这是一本很难被归类的书：它有科幻的骨架，却把大量真实的蚂蚁生态学知识织进情节；它写的是昆虫，讲的却是文明、战争与共生。作者韦尔贝尔曾长期担任科技记者，对蚂蚁的行为、化学通讯与社会结构做过细致观察，因此书中那些令人称奇的蚂蚁“城邦”并非凭空捏造，而是从真实生物学中长出的想象。读者最常提到的一点是“视角的翻转”——当你跟着叙述钻进地下，人类就变成了巨大、迟缓、不可理喻的存在。这种翻转带来的陌生感，正是本书最大的阅读快感。它出版后被法国及欧洲多所学校选入生物课辅助读物，也被国际书评界称为“史诗小说式”作品，全球销量惊人。对习惯了硬科技设定的科幻读者，它提供的是一种更柔软、更近乎博物学的想象方式；对喜欢自然写作的读者，它又是一次结构精巧的叙事冒险。

Who it's for

A good fit for

喜欢以独特视角展开世界设定的科幻读者
对昆虫、生态与自然写作有兴趣的普通读者
希望跳出人类中心视角、思考文明问题的人
想找一部有知识密度又不失故事性的长篇小说的读者

Not a good fit for

偏好硬核物理、太空题材科幻的读者
期待快节奏单一主线冒险故事的读者
对昆虫细节描写较为抵触或不适的读者

Reading tips

先不急着把它当“科普”，跟着叙事进入蚂蚁视角，知识的密度会自然显现。
留意书中穿插的《相对且绝对知识百科全书》片段，它们与正文互文，可单独摘读回味。
可结合三部曲顺序阅读，读完本册再进入《蚂蚁时代》，故事与世界观会逐步展开。
读后可查阅一些真实的蚂蚁行为资料，会更能体会作者把哪些事实推演成了想象。

About the publisher

New Century Publishing House China · Founded in 1985

New Century Publishing House focuses on children's publishing while also offering literary titles for a broader readership. Its catalog covers exam preparation, foreign literature, literary appreciation, classical poetry and quality fiction, with the "Guided Reading of Classics by Great Authors" series at its core. The series includes Chinese and foreign works such as Camel Xiangzi, Jane Eyre, Journey to the West, The Scholars and The Insects, alongside edition-based titles like a documentary photo collector's edition of Three Days to See. Its author resources include Lao She, Zhu Ziqing, Wu Cheng'en, Goethe, Charlotte Brontë, Henri Fabre and translator Yang Wuneng. As public information is limited, this profile summarizes its publishing directions and features based only on the titles in our catalog.

FAQ

《蚂蚁》是三部曲中的第一部吗？

是。它是韦尔贝尔“蚂蚁三部曲”（法文原系列常称“地球内部居民”系列）的第一部，法文原版1991年出版，之后依次是《蚂蚁时代》和《蚂蚁革命》。

这本书算科幻还是科普？

它主要是小说，属于融合昆虫学与生态学知识的科幻创作，并非科普读物。书中知识有真实依据，但情节和部分设定出于文学虚构。

中文版有哪些版本？

较早的简体中文版由新世纪出版社在1999年至2000年间陆续推出三部曲，其中《蚂蚁》为2000年1月版，译者为蔡孟贞；2021年北京联合出版公司推出了三部曲合集再版。

需要按顺序读三部曲吗？

建议按顺序阅读。三部曲是连续长篇，世界观和人物线索贯穿三册，从《蚂蚁》开始阅读衔接最自然。

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Bernard Werber Author

Bernard Werber is a French author known for science fiction and fantasy, with three of his works held in this Chinese-language collection. His "Ants" series includes Les Fourmis, Le Jour des fourmis, and La Révolution des fourmis, and it represents his most distinctive creative direction. Werber's writing often approaches the world from the perspective of insects, interweaving observations of animal behavior with suspense and fantasy, and exploring the relationship between humans and other forms of life within accessible, readable stories; his work is therefore classified as literary fiction and science fiction. Public information about his birth and death dates, nationality, and other personal details is limited, and this collection does not provide a complete biography, so readers may come to know the author mainly through the imaginative approach and narrative appeal of his ant-themed works.