The Insect Warriors

by Rex Dean Levie

Tall was a hunter-explorer, venturing off the tiny island fortress of his tribe and making his way through wilderness inhabited only by giant insects ten sizes the size of a man. Loosely protected by chitin-armor, and striking with a spear doubly-barbed with spider venom, Tall fought to find a new home for his people.
But as he roamed he became more and more aware that mankind was a stranger in this insect world, that there were no other creatures remotely like men. Then where had his people come from?
As he followed the trail of the almost-mythical Ten who founded his tribe, Tall found more and more mysteries - and death in more forms than he had ever imagined.

Genres: Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

143 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[Ira (SF Words of Wonder) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check out my full, spoiler free, video review HERE.

This is a pulpy, adventure science fiction novel with a mysterious plot. Levie does a great job with the descriptive battle scenes between the humans and giant insects. I was entertained throughout the 143 pages. Good, easy, fun read.

[Rageofanath · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept of tiny people in a giant world might not be new, but underlying concept for The Insect Warriors is fresh and interesting. It is a real shame that we have to trudge through the entire book to only scratch the surface of what is really going on in the world during the last 15 pages. It’s also a real shame that the author decided to name their characters based on their attributes. Tall is named Tall because he is literally tall, Clever because he is literally clever, and these names seem to be passed on from father to son. I understand that the author seems to be trying to evoke the sense that this is some sort of tribal society but honestly, the society really isn’t that tribal. They have permanent cities, crossbows, relatively advanced chemistry, farming, and written language (I think?) and yet they’re naming their children based on mostly physical attributes that confine them to a pretty narrow cliched character? This can be jarring to read and breaks up the sense of immersion that I would have otherwise had with such an interesting take on a micro-society setting. I am really unhappy to give it 3 stars because I enjoyed the plot and setting very much, as well as the character of Clever, but for a book of its length and subject matter it took me a long time to read and I just couldn’t stand the names or attempt at a tacked on love interest - especially when you find out how badass Bright actually is by the end. Bright should have played a much more central role to the story and actually could have held her own on expeditions with the men to prove to Tall that she wouldn’t just be the sad, lonely wife waiting for him to return from the forest — which is the sole reason he refuses her advances for the first ¾ of the book.

As usual, I bought this book for the cover, but it actually downplays the contents. Typically they are fighting spiders or wasps, which would be much more engaging and terrifying for the cover than a giant grasshopper.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for micro warriors. This is really a pretty fun book about tiny people in a world of insects.

[Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoy micro world stories (Ant-Man, Fantastic Voyage, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, etc.) or are just interested in bugs, then this will give you a lot of what you're looking for. The battles against spiders and praying mantises and wasps and centipedes are pretty stellar and depicted very realistically (the humans develop and refine increasingly deadly venom from the insects and arachnids they kill and then use that venom in their weapons as they take on increasingly deadly bugs). The humans harvest insects for food and venom, keeping pens of black widow spiders in order to extract the venom. They also fashion armor from the slain insects. The whole affair has a very realistic military aesthetic (the author served), with the lead characters, Tall (the brawn) and Clever (the brains), leading scouting parties into the jungle and erecting base camps to help establish a new colony for their civilization and clearing the brush of dangerous insects.

All that being said, the descriptions are sometimes clunky and hard to follow, the relationships are a bit outdated (though probably just a product of its time, and it's probably a bit on the progressive side for that era), and the big reveal could've been moved further up in the book and explored more thoroughly. As it is, the tale ends with a sort of Twilight Zone/M. Night Shyamalan twist that is kind of cool (though you can pretty much figure it out ahead of time) but ultimately just leaves more questions. So we basically get a lot of cool man-vs-insect action, but then short shrift on the why.

Still, this seems like a property that could be developed into a film that would be very fun. Or if the issues with the end were resolved, this could be an actual sci-fi masterpiece.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been looking for this book for at least 30 years and thanks to a friend who went to the scifi convention, it has been found!

[K De · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rex Dean Levie's novel "Insect Warriors" is a fast paced novel about the next generation of humans who were genetically altered to meet a human induced catastrophe. However after another disaster which wiped away their history the explorer of the last colony named Tall is set to find a second habitable place for humans as the first site now has an overpopulation problem.

Tall is a man driven by his desire to find out what has happened to his missing father in the lineage of Seeker as well.

The novel has well written battle scenes between Tall and insects, spiders and other denizens of the insect size world humans now inhabit.

If you want to experience writing from the 1950s then this is an excellent introduction. Well worth a weekend or a couple of nights to read.

[David Rank · Rating 5 out of 5]

A minor adventure masterpiece that stokes the imagination. A bit dated, but a worthy read.

[Karl Smithe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when I was a kid. I know I really liked it then.

I am not sure what I would think of it now.

[Lew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I concur with Goodreads Member, Rageofanath's review of the book.