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The Hacker and the Ants (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "MONDAY MORNING WHEN I ANSWERED THE door there were twenty-one new real estate agents there, all in horrible polyester gold jackets..." (more)
Key Phrases: West West, Susan Poker, Perky Pat (more...)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

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Amazon Price New from Used from
  Kindle Edition, April 30, 1994 $9.99 -- --
  Hardcover, April 30, 1994 $15.60 $13.94 $0.05
  Paperback, December 31, 2002 $14.35 $0.19 $0.20
  Mass Market Paperback, November 30, 1999 -- $0.50 $0.01

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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.


From Publishers Weekly

A Silicon Valley computer programmer must rid the nation's computer network of a literal computer bug-a massive ant infestation-in cyberpunk author Rucker's latest novel.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback
  • Publisher: Avon Books (December 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0380718448
  • ISBN-13: 978-0380718443
  • Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,349,836 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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More About the Author

Rudy Rucker
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› Visit Amazon's Rudy Rucker Page
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
MONDAY MORNING WHEN I ANSWERED THE door there were twenty-one new real estate agents there, all in horrible polyester gold jackets. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
West West, Susan Poker, Perky Pat, Roger Coolidge, Sun Tam, San Jose, Baby Scooter, Jerzy Rugby, Los Perros, Kwirkey Debug, Antland of Fnoor, Our American Homes, Riscky Pharbeque, Bety Byte, Dirk Blanda, Jeff Pear, Miss Prentice, Ben Brie, Otto Gyorgyi, Bay Area Netport, Hello Squidboy, San Francisco, Rubber Room, Santa Cruz, Silicon Valley
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This book cites 14 books:
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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews
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 (9)
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Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Philip K. Dick meets Arthur C. Clarke, December 8, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: The Hacker and the Ants (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.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A very realistic cyberpunk novel., October 12, 1998
By A Customer
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.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Eclectic Cool..., May 7, 1999
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars lived 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 15 months ago by Tobias Delbruck

4.0 out of 5 stars Not 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 R. Bagula

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent 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

2.0 out of 5 stars Strong Ideas, but Ultimately Unfulfilling
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... Read more
Published on August 29, 2005 by T. Tavenner

5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable
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. Read more
Published on November 11, 2001 by Michael Dinowitz

3.0 out of 5 stars Predeliction for prediction
Only four years ago an artificial intelligence engineer and an evolutionary biologist collaborated on a speculation of how computers and humanity will combine, becoming thinking... Read more
Published on June 24, 2000 by Stephen A. Haines

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the perfect book for learning about the Internet.
This book taught me more about the Internet and Web when I first read it in 1994 than any other book, magazine or article. Read more
Published on February 6, 1999

2.0 out of 5 stars Loved the -ware books; hated this one.
Well, I didn't really hate it. After reading others by this author, I snapped up the Hacker & the Ants when I saw it. Read more
Published on June 2, 1998 by bookbug

5.0 out of 5 stars Wacky & fun book
It's a fun book to read, with believable technology (i.e. Virtual Reality "construction"). It's light hearted yet gives you something to think about, a pretty cool combo!
Published on March 11, 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars For one who hates Cyberpunk, I love this book
Stated simply: 99% of the time, I dislike cyberpunk. It tends to overexagerate and overestimate the future of humankind, ignoring current facts and trends... Read more
Published on October 12, 1997 by mmagallo@efis.ucr.ac.cr

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