The Chronicles Of Henry Roach-dairier (Paperback)

~ Deborah K. Frontiera (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A sort of family saga. Just as Galsworthy wrote about the Forsytes, Frontiera writes about her insect families. -- Andrew Grugrich, The Minning Journal, Sunday, August 5, 2001

Animal Farm and Watershipdown rolled into one. Excellent. -- Harry Hoge, Publisher/Editor of Frontiers: a literary fiction journal

The Essence that is gives life on Earth a second chance. A marvel of imaginagion and unique genius in Parallelism. -- Merlin House Editing Co. Spring 2001 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

Enter the world of Henry Roach-Dairier: a future world where humans no longer exist. Insects, greatly enlarged and intelligent, dominate. Ants live communal lives, dedicated to each other, while roaches are materialistic and self-centered. But both are chemically dependent on plastic, mined from the ruins of the extinct Duo Pods, and the most valuable resource of the insect world. Henry, son of a roach adopted by ants, tries to bridge the canyon of differences between these vying ideologies and cultures.

New South Dairy Colony 50, the second book of the trilogy, opens with Henry as a nymph, in a coma after accidentally ingesting a bad combination of medicines in his physician father's lab. His ant grandfather, Antony Dairier, decides it's time to straighten out his grandson. He reveals to Henry the details of his own life: the war and the emotional pain which resulted in his dedication to the ideal of the experimental ant/roach colony, New South Dairy 50.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Jade Enterprises (July 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975341022
• ISBN-13: 978-0975341025
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,861,882 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars The Ants and Roaches in our lives, December 15, 2005

By	Linda Lee (Cypress, TX USA) - See all my reviews

Life after human beings become extinct continues with the Ants and the Roaches, who have engagingly (Ants)- or maddeningly (some Roaches)-human characteristics and behaviors. The lessons shared in the telling of Henry's tale provide a blueprint for compassionate living in the 21st century. As I got into the story, I became so involved that I forgot I was reading about Ants and Roaches, much as I forgot I was reading about Rabbits in _Wathership_Downs_. The book is a delightful, and yet thought-provoking, read.

4.0 out of 5 stars The Hellstrom Chronicles meets Watership Down, February 6, 2002

By	[e-mail] (ABQ, New Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chronicles of Henry Roach-Dairier (Paperback)

There will come a day when Mankind (the Duo Pods) is extinct and the insects have inherited the Earth. The Earth Mother has allowed the Duo Pods' chemical wastes to change the ants and roaches into self-aware beings with unique and viable cultures. Plastics mined from ancient waste disposal sites are essential food supplements for the proper growth and development of these sentient insects. Vying for access and ownership of the plastic mines has created decades of intense animosity, exacerbated by occasional military actions between the ant and roach nations.

This book chronicles four generations of dairier ants and two generations of adopted roaches, who reach out to the roach community to end the hostilities. The ants strive to create common ground in mining, construction, trade and law. Among the roaches, there are those who savor their privileges and will go to any lengths - even murder - to maintain the status quo. If the ants fail, both species will pass away, just as the Duo Pods did.

I had trouble starting this book, because I'm a cat person, not a roach person. However, by the time I got to Chapter 11, I was cruising. Looking back, I think I'll miss Anthony. It takes a very special ant to adopt a roach, because his mate can't have any children of her own. I thought of this book as "The Hellstrom Chronicles" meets _Watership Down_ and I hope you enjoy it too.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantasy for all, June 14, 2001

By	Elyssa Gayle (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chronicles of Henry Roach-Dairier (Paperback)

Deborah Frontiera has written a book that will appeal to both adults and children. While it is a story of two waring insect factions, it could as well be a tale of human frailties and emotions. A delight to read; it is easy to lose yourself in this make believe world.