Bug Park [Hardcover]

James P. Hogan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1997

Kevin Heber had it good. He had his own lab, a colleague he could trust, and an idea that could make him millions. Using his father's breakthrough technology in direct neural interfacing, he and his friend Taki have created a new entertainment media - live action adventure in micro mechanical scale. Bug Park: The ultimate out of body experience. And Taki's uncle wants to take it public. Two problems: 1) Kevin and Taki are teenagers. 2) Somebody wants to squash Bug Park dead, and Kevin's father along with it.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Having developed Direct Neural Coupling, the Neurodyne company is doing well?but someone may be selling its secrets to Microbotics and creating killer mechanical bugs. Hogan's (Paths to Otherwhere, LJ 12/95) tension-filled thriller is recommended for sf collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Eric Heber and his wife, Vanessa, are on the cutting edge of technology, using direct connection between the human brain and mecs--tiny insect-scale robots--to explore a whole new world of experience and knowledge. But someone is out to steal this bold new science and pervert it to their own uses. Eric's teenage son Kevin and his friend Taki are caught up in these machinations and must convert their skills at playing with the mecs to the deadly serious business of outwitting the criminals and saving the life of Eric's engaging lawyer, Michelle Lang. Hogan's talent carries the reader from peak to peak in the story, while his knowledge of science and the meticulously drawn Seattle and Puget Sound locales constitute a splendid backdrop for the nonstop action. Dennis Winters

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Baen; First Edition edition (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671877739
• ISBN-13: 978-0671877736
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,881,834 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hogan comes through with Bug Park, January 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bug Park (Hardcover)

I rarely find the time for pleasure reading these days, so the books I pick have to be good. All too often, I'll pick up something that sounds good on the cover, only to be disappointed somewhere, and leave it half-read. But not so with novels by James P. Hogan. Since discovering his work in "The Genesis Machine" in '78, I have MADE the time to read each new novel. "Bug Park" was no disappointment. The story line is interesting, the characters are charming and believable, and the technological underpinnings are largely believable. Definitely a fun, feel-good novel. Though I am still skeptical that Direct Neural Connection is "near future" technology (~25 years away), the novel has captivated my interest in micro-robotics and nano technology! Having recently finished it, it makes me want to re-read Genesis Machine (Hogan uses DNC technology in that novel, but in a different way). Thanks, Mr. Hogan, for another great novel! [Bug Park fans: Who do you think controlled the evil mech near the end of the novel? Recommendations on Hoganesque writers?]

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Telepresence in an Insect Microcosm, October 29, 2003

By 

Felix Polz "DRACHENFEUER" (Albequerque, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bug Park (Mass Market Paperback)

In Charles Scheffield's excellent novel, THE NIMROD HUNT, micro-miniaturized man-shaped mechanoids battle live spiders and warrior ants. The human controllers become immersed in attacks on nests or anthills via telepresence. The electronic sensorium provided by the mechanoids' sophisticated sensors temporarilly replaces normal human senses.

In BUG PARK, James P. Hogan updates the same idea to create a futuristic amusement park game. People battle insects by putting their controlling 'consciousness' inside tiny bug-sized, man-shaped "mecs". When a mec is seriously damaged or rendered inoperable by an ant, the human operating that mec is unceremoniously thrown out of the game for "dying."

Hogan uses DNC, direct neural coupling, a technology yet to be invented, to pull this off. DNC shuts down our normal senses and replaces them with sensory input from the mecs. DNC allows Eric Heber, one of the teenage protagonists, to control the movements of the "Taki" mec as if its limbs were his own.

I have been an avid reader of James P. Hogan's works since his classic first novel, INHERIT THE STARS. Even though BUG PARK is a juvenile novel, the science and technology are as fully explained as anyone would ever want and most adults will also enjoy this book,

Readers will love the rapid, breath-taking pace of BUG PARK. Indeed, I can easily see how this novel could become a major blockbuster motion picture with its exciting mix of cutting-ege technology, kids in peril and corporate corruption.

(Are you listening DISNEY Corp.?)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BUG PARK, September 10, 2007

By 

Kevin "spiralcity" (Chicago, U.S.A) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bug Park (Mass Market Paperback)

BUG PARK

James Hogan delves into the world of micro robotics, corporate greed, and the realm of virtual gaming to create this extremely entertaining novel.

Let me sum the book up like this; teenage friendship, a cheating step mother, an easy going scientific father, the fathers military minded best friend and business partner, micro sized robots ran by DNC: Direct Neural Coupling, Ex-business partner wishing to steal the patent for DNC.

This book was much more entertaining than I had expected.The story starts with a bang and ends with an atomic blast.Bug Park is a light read and comes across a bit different than other works by Hogan.I was truly upset that I ran out of pages to read. James Hogan has been added to my must read authors list.

I highly recommend this book.