The Hacker and the Ants: Version 2.0

Author - Rudy Rucker ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Paperback Book was reviewed on 5-Nov-2008.

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1) Paperback Book The Hacker and the Ants: Version 2.0 by . I enjoyed Hacker and the Ants more than any other Rucker book I´ve read. When working in silicon valley in the 90´s I lived near White Road, in the dry east hills of San Jose, and also had my share of lusting after Vietnamese girls. Reading this book in 2008 takes me back to those days and resonates with the feel of the whole place. Rucker is right on with this one.
¤

2) Paperback Book The Hacker and the Ants: Version 2.0 by . But the hero seems "ethically challenged"...?
This cyber da Vinci is a software developing genius
but takes a fall at his bosses wishes.
At lot of times Rudy Rucker is on the money in his
futures and he seems in 1994 to see Silly Valley today
better than Steve Jobs does? AI hasn´t quite kept up, but
virus technology hasn´t made him a liar either.
Rudy Rucker earns his sci fi bucks the hard way.¤

3) Paperback Book The Hacker and the Ants: Version 2.0 by . While most definitely not your garden-variety science fiction, The Hacker and the Ants looks positively pedestrian when compared to some of Rucker´s earlier work (e.g. White Light). This is the story of Jerzy Rugby, (a nod to Stephenson´s "Hiro Protagonist"?), a computer programmer who has been ruthlessly downtrodden by life. When one of Jerzy´s software creations goes horribly (and absurdly) awry, we are swept away in a bizarre plot that offers up intense romance, hideous conspiracy, and a pet robot named Studly. What else could a reader ask for?

Rucker skillfully mixes the real and the surreal, to create an interesting hybrid. The overt and persistent normal-guyness of Jerzy´s personality cast against the array of strange happenings adds a nightmarish tint to the story; this is an average man trapped in an increasingly absurd and hallucinatory narrative from which he cannot wake. At points, however, the story goes a little too far over the top (for instance, with names like Jerzy Rugby, Bety Byte, and Krystal Kattle) exposing the seams of the novel.

That is, of course, the ultimate shortcoming (or genius, depending on your point of view) of all of Rudy Rucker´s work. Just as obviously, this reminds us that Rucker is not for everyone - for those who are more straightforward thinkers, this sort of style is an acquired taste, at best. But, if you are one of those who enjoy the absurd and at-least-slightly-surreal, I´d recommend the book (and the author) strongly.¤

4) Paperback Book The Hacker and the Ants: Version 2.0 by . In this book, perhaps more than his others, Rudy Rucker takes the common themes of Cyberpunk literature (the frightening/enlightening possibilities of technology) to unique and fascinating ends. For those looking for a taste of just-over-the-horizon technology in an all too familiar environment, you will find much to like here. There is the dependence on visual stimulation and passive entertainment, whose destruction brings about blood-thirsty mobs. There is the shift away from real-world social interaction and towards anonymous techno-societies that makes communication increasing awkward when not accompanied by digital interfaces. Finally there are the ethical and logistical problems involved in giving increasing control and autonomy over the machines that do not necessarily share our moral qualms.

In the end, however, the writing fails to live up to the ideas. The first hundred pages are awkward at times, excruciating at others. Once the meat of the plot begins, the overall writing seems to improve, but the dialog still seems stilted and the pacing is jumpy. Although I had hoped to attribute these factors to the stylistic choices made by many modern sci-fi writers, it became obviously that the writing simply wasn´t up to par.

If you want high quality Rucker, you will be better off with his later *ware tetrology.¤

5) Paperback Book The Hacker and the Ants: Version 2.0 by . I´ll start by saying what´s wrong with this book. Rucker must have had a really bad marriage as he uses his wife in his books rather negatively. But even with this he writes a fantastic book. I can look at the technology that he describes and almost see it in use today. No magic but solid tech. And the story fits so well with the genre of both cyberpunk and today´s news. I really wish this book was in print for others to read.¤

6) Paperback Book The Hacker and the Ants: Version 2.0 by . A computer hacker working on a race of intelligent robots, Jerzy Rugby finds he has been made a scapegoat for an attack of electronic viral ants, and must pursue the plague until he encounters Death itself. Reprint. PW. ¤

7) Paperback Book The Hacker and the Ants: Version 2.0 by . This super-smart and wildly goofy work by Cyberpunk author Rudy Rucker is a hilarious and totally engrossing tale of electronic pestilence and conspiracy. Protagonist Jerzy Rugby is trying to create truly intelligent robots. While his actual life crumbles, Rugby toils in his virtual office, testing the robots online. Then, something goes wrong and zillions of computer virus ants invade the net. Rugby is the man wanted for the crime. He´s been set up to take a fall for a giant cyberconspiracy and he needs to figure out who--or what--is sabotaging the system in order to clear his name. Plunging deep into the virtual worlds of Antland of Fnoor to find some answers, Rugby confronts both electronic and all-too-real perils, facing death itself in a battle for his freedom. The Hacker and the Ants is funny, chilling, and surprisingly rich.¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 3-Dec-2008, , 280-710-970-321-POB-SYB-8

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