Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your email address or mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader
Facebook Twitter Pinterest <Embed>
Qty:1
  • List Price: $15.95
  • Save: $9.51 (60%)
FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books.
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
The Hacker and the Ants: ... has been added to your Cart
Want it Tuesday, April 12? Order within and choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Ship to:
Select a shipping address:
To see addresses, please
or
Please enter a valid US zip code.
or
+ $3.99 shipping
Used: Like New | Details
Sold by Motor_City_Books
Condition: Used: Like New
Comment: Straight spine with no creases. Cover has no damage and pages show little wear. With pride from Motor City. All books guaranteed. Best Service, Best Prices.

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See all 2 images

The Hacker and the Ants: Version 2.0 Paperback – 2003

by
Rudy Rucker (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Rudy Rucker Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
Rudy Rucker (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars 28 customer reviews
See all 6 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Hardcover
"Please retry"
—
$21.93 $0.01
Paperback
"Please retry"
$6.44
$2.44 $0.01
Mass Market Paperback
"Please retry"
—
$1.58 $0.01
Pacific Burn: A Thriller (A Jim Brodie Thriller) by Barry Lancet
"Pacific Burn" by Barry Lancet
Explore this featured title in International Mystery & Crime. Learn more | See series page
$6.44 FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books. In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
Back
  1. WYRM (Bantam Spectra Book)
    Mark Fabi
    3.9 out of 5 stars 60
    Paperback
Next
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
Image
Looking for the Audiobook Edition?
Tell us that you'd like this title to be produced as an audiobook, and we'll alert our colleagues at Audible.com. If you are the author or rights holder, let Audible help you produce the audiobook: Learn more at ACX.com.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 308 pages
  • Publisher: Four Walls Eight Windows; 2 edition (2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1568582471
  • ISBN-13: 978-1568582474
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,502,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsPhilip K. Dick meets Arthur C. Clarke
By A Customer on December 8, 1998
Format: Hardcover
This book seems largely an attempt to explain Rucker's ideas about using artificial evolution to create artificial intelligence--the same scientific ideas that underlie his Software trilogy, but here presented in a much more "realistic" setting. I prefer the surrealism of Software (which also packs more of a philosophic punch) but I did enjoy reading this book--as much for the slacker main character as for the AI inspired plot--and would recommend it over Software for those who are mainly concerned about the science in their science fiction.
Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsCross Robert Heinlein with Monty Python and you start to get the idea.
By JP Fish on April 16, 2015
Format: Mass Market Paperback Verified Purchase
I miss the late Rudy Rucker. His plots were brain twisting, weird, funny but not camp. He was a true one of a kind and truly nuts in the best way. Cross Robert Heinlein with Monty Python and you start to get the idea. Not silly nor childish, never talking down to his audience, Rucker had a mind for characters and situations that could turn a formulaic plot into one of the most entertaining reads you ever had. Don't believe me. I'm not the one selling this book. I dare you to read just one RR and then tell me your not hunting for more.
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsA very realistic cyberpunk novel.
By A Customer on October 12, 1998
Format: Mass Market Paperback
This novel is much more realistic than William Gibson or Neal Stephenson, at least in the cyberspacial aspect of the book. The timeline of the book seems to be just one or two decades in the future, and although the robots maybe doesn't seem so realistic, the plot and the hacking, which I consider utterly realistic, more than compensates for it. The protagonist, Jerzy Rugby, is, compared to other cyberpunk novels, very vivid and detailed, probably because Rucker chose to write in 1st person perspective. The conspiracy reminds me of some similar American movies, and it is clear that Rucker knows quite a lot about computers. This is the most realistic cyberpunk novel that I've read, and I think that you should do the same.
Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsvoid writeRealisticCodingNovel(void);
By Amazon Customer on July 27, 2010
Format: Paperback
There aren't a whole lot of SF books that represent realistic views of what it means to be a programmer. This is one of them. For that reason it's recommended if you're a coder. It's also a fun story with some very interesting ideas.

Cracker: "I've seen your code."

Hacker: "Yeah, but you didn't understand it."
Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsa trip into alternative trip-space
By JJ on August 10, 2011
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Ok. I like this stuff. Fantastic super-reality. Is there really a SuperC language. IDK. I plan to read more of Rucker. It is fun, modern, silicon valley based. As a Cali, I can relate. If you like computers, games, make-believe and toys, try it.
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsGreat Cyberspace Speculation
By T. Tucker on March 17, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
The Hacker and the Ants is a conjecture on the world of cyber-space and robots, it is science-fiction rooted in science. The story moves quickly, is easy to read, and provides a fun atmosphere for the reader to immerse in. The reason to get into this book is Rucker theory on cyber-space, how programming will be done, - with a factual basis in how programming and computing is already done - and the positive and negative outcomes. Rucker's theories on the future of cyber-crime leading to physical reactions, and snoops who have no moral compass, is inspired. The genius of the story is: genetic programming, where code continually improves upon itself. Leading to the idea of code and robotics out-doing their human counterparts, only for an inspired twist to bring the message full circle.

However, outside of the speculation, and the protagonist, most characters are two dimensional skeletons who move the ideas along. The description of a immigrant California workers is on the line between bitingly honest, and racist. Sex scenes are done in the passive voice, and while I appreciated the punch these usually deliver, they are shallow. Drug-use of the non-speculative type is here aplenty -- it ranges from interesting plot point to banal. One point in particular felt careless as the Hero goes from having fifteen until he must meet his girlfriend to an hour; with a constant series of adventures in between. If there is one saving grace to these robotic side characters it's that they help strengthen Rucker's themes of privacy, cyber-space, and robotics.

Overall Rucker's book is a fast, entertaining, and imaginative science-fiction story. The shallow characters are forgiven through the overall strength of the plot, the protagonist, and brilliant content.
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsVery nice and interesting.
By Amazon Customer on July 13, 2015
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
I read this on my trip, and I was pulled into it from the very start. This book is very intriguing and brings up many great points about the future of robots with intelligent AI. Very good read, would recommend.
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsEclectic Cool...
By -gs- [pooka@brown.edu] on May 7, 1999
Format: Mass Market Paperback
I'm a big fan of Rucker's books and this was no exception. Hacker tells the tale of a programmer stumbling headlong into a new (artificial) lifeforms' evolutionary struggle. The concept may sound familiar to many cyber-punk fans, but Rucker adds his own eclectic style to make a real page turner. It may not be up to the level of some of his later works, but its definitely worth the time.
Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Awesome

Published 9 months ago by Martin Thomas
5.0 out of 5 starsI would recommend it to a

I have read most of his books, Software, Wetware, etc and this was a solid Sci fi read. I would recommend it to a friend

Published 15 months ago by Amazon Customer
2.0 out of 5 starsVersion 1 not available so I'm reviewing 2.0 - no plot spoilers

I'd rate the original (1994) version of this book 1 star.

I'm giving this 2 stars because:

1. Maybe version 2. Read more

Published on July 7, 2013 by Bugsy123
5.0 out of 5 starsMust-read prologue if you've read Software, Wetware, Freeware, and...

Great book as expected from Rudy Rucker, it's a lot of fun, reads fast, has at least one new twist and one new idea every 3 pages. Read more

Published on March 10, 2010 by cyberBeach
4.0 out of 5 starsMostly harmless

If Douglas Adams were a dirty old man he might have written like this. It's fairly light and frequently amusing. Read more

Published on February 9, 2010 by sazerac
4.0 out of 5 starslived it

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... Read more

Published on July 25, 2008 by Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsNot just a nano-other Silly Valley Romance

But the hero seems "ethically challenged"...?
This cyber da Vinci is a software developing genius
but takes a fall at his bosses wishes. Read more

Published on August 12, 2007 by Roger Bagula
4.0 out of 5 starsExcellent Ruckerian Fare

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. Read more

Published on October 27, 2006 by Joseph Pellerin

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

The Hacker and the Ants: Version 2.0
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more
This item: The Hacker and the Ants: Version 2.0
Set up a giveaway

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.



Pages with Related Products. See and discover other items: live ants, police scanner, old motherboards