Ildar Daminov's Reviews > Antuna's Story

A Fascinating World of Insects Facing Very Human Problems

“Antuna’s Story” is a sophisticated, but also an easy-to-read adventure exploring the complicated intricacies of the Earthly insects' life on a different planet. As a person, who is as far from showing any interest in insects as you could possibly imagine, I was still absolutely delighted to read the book. If you are like me, it might take you a chapter or two to get used to the complicated world that is being built around you, but it is totally worth the reading effort. The whole story is also full of small but fun biology lessons, a pleasant bonus for those studying at school.

Touching upon the topics of acceptance, diversity, cooperation, war, and peace, “Antuna’s Story” is an elegant combination of story narratives stemming from the areas of biology, psychology, and politics. Even more commendable are Birdgenaw’s outstanding skills of world-building. Ranging from the developments of his own measurement scales to spreading amusing insect puns all across his book, he excels at creating an atmosphere of an insect-inhabited universe. Additional materials such as maps, podcast excerpts, and a dictionary make the world even more detailed and believable. To me, the most astounding thing is not just his creativity but also all the factual knowledge about insects that one needed to create that world. This book can be enjoyed by both teenagers and adults.

While trying not to spoil the plot, I can say the following: What starts as a relatively innocent tale eventually becomes a heart-breaking story of life and death struggles of Antuna and her friends. As some parts of the insect society reject the values of diversity and acceptance, the plot of the books explores the darkest avenues of insects’ early history on their new planet. Yes, Birdgenaw depicts a society of insects, but the message of “Antuna’s Story” could and should be a useful lesson for all of us.

The only minor criticism that I could draw is, perhaps, that I would personally like characters and especially their motivations to be explored in slightly greater detail and, in some cases, with greater complexity. That said, since this is only the first part of the book trilogy, I did not find it to be a major issue.

5 stars, definitely!