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The Rise and Fall of Antocracy (The Antunite Chronicles #2)

Terry Birdgenaw

Start date: January 1, 2025

Finish date: March 31, 2025

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What Members Thought

Nov 19, 2022 Kat rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kindle-unlimited

The Antunite Chronicles continue with Antuna’s ancestors facing new challenges on planet Poo-Ponic. I continue to love how this young adult book explores more mature themes. Climate change. Political corruption. Betrayal. A conflict during the early school days between Antilla, who comes from a well off family, and Antithery, who is a hard worker, over Antianna, another student at their school, results in a cruel prank where another student is horribly burned. Antilla gets off scot free despite ...more

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Jul 23, 2022 Ann Birdgenaw rated it it was amazing

This second book continues Antuna's Story in the speculative fiction series -- The Antunite Chronicles. Inhabitants of Planet Poo-ponic evolve into intelligent, human-sized cyborg insectoids and make wondrous advances. Yet, a corrupt ANT or Allied Noble Tripod, rises to power, becomes President and turns their antocracy, an insect version of democracy, into a dictatorial autocracy. It's up to Antianna and Anthiery, a descendant of the legendary Antuna, to lead the fight against oppression, and y ...more

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Jul 26, 2022 Terry Birdgenaw rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

5-Star reviews from BookView Review and Entrada Book Review

5 STARS- EXCELLENT *****

Birdgenaw's complex and nuanced second installment in The Antunite Chronicles is an exhilarating adventure that spans scientific evolution, geopolitics, and climate change.

It took centuries for the planet of Poo-Ponic to become livable and rich in natural resources. But when a malevolent villain Antilla takes over, the democracy fails, and the once lush planet begins to turn into a barren wasteland. It's up to Ant 5-Star reviews from BookView Review and Entrada Book Review

5 STARS- EXCELLENT *****

Birdgenaw's complex and nuanced second installment in The Antunite Chronicles is an exhilarating adventure that spans scientific evolution, geopolitics, and climate change.

It took centuries for the planet of Poo-Ponic to become livable and rich in natural resources. But when a malevolent villain Antilla takes over, the democracy fails, and the once lush planet begins to turn into a barren wasteland. It's up to Anthiery and his mate Antianna to stand against the corrupt ruler and save the planet.

In The Rise and Fall of Antocracy, Birdgenaw skillfully draws the reader into the story that has echoes in our own world. His richly imagined landscape is filled with ants and other insects, who are intelligent enough to build universities and cyborgs but are naïve enough to let tyranny take over. He portrays the insects as protagonists and uses them as caricatures to help highlight our own troubled socio-political situation.

The narrative is smooth, with small and large surprises leading to a satisfying final reveal which answers enough questions while leaving plenty to make readers eager for the next installment. Themes of autonomy, freedom, tyranny, and personal choice are woven nicely into the affecting narrative as Birdgenaw raises questions about democracy, free will, and climate control. The book is as much an entertaining dystopian tale as it is an elegant social commentary.

BookView Review

The second installment in The Antunite Chronicles takes readers back to the fascinating world of giant cyborg insectoids. The Rise and Fall of Antocracy takes speculative fiction to a new level, bringing something fresh and new to the genre. The trilogy also serves as an allegory for modern times, showing what can happen when democracy fails.

The insects have created a centralized government to rule their lush planet where plants and insects are thriving. Led by the ants, the government is failing, and the planet is on the brink of a catastrophic war. What was once a world rich in natural resources is rapidly becoming a barren wasteland. Fighting to preserve the planet's diverse population is Anthiery and his mate Antianna. The two ants are up against the planet's corrupt and ruthless ruler, who is determined to cement his autocratic rule.

Thankfully, the two ants are not alone in their effort to save their planet. The Rise and Fall of Antocracy introduces readers to some unexpected new heroes. Gretant and Thunbug experience the effects of the planet's devastation, but they also have hope for their future. The Rise and Fall of Antocracy shows how a ruthless ruler can put a planet in danger. Damage to the environment at the hands of the government has disastrous consequences that affect everyone.

While the trilogy focuses on a planet inhabited by giant insects, the story has several parallels to our current world. Author Terry Birdgenaw has created a compelling story that not only keeps readers engaged but also forces them to think about how we are treating our planet. The Rise and Fall of Antocracy will also leave readers anxiously awaiting the final installment in the series.

Entrada Book Review. ...more

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Aug 20, 2022 James Joseph rated it it was amazing

A cautionary tale we all need to read, whether it bugs us or not!

The Rise and Fall of Antocracy is the second book in The Antunite Chronicles trilogy and if you liked the first book, you’ll love this one. It picks up after book 1, but happens millions of years later, and follows our favorite intergalactic insects as they transform into giant insect cyborgs or insectoids. Despite its fantastical premise, the story remains based on scientific facts, and follows an engaging group of ant, bee, fly, ...more

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Dec 14, 2022 Lynn Helton rated it really liked it

Shelves: challenge-readers-unbound-2022, speculative-fiction

This cautionary tale about selfishness, misuses of political power, and a disregard for the interconnectivity and interdependence between creatures and their environment is creatively told using a civilization of insects and insectoids. This book touches on many of the same themes that were in the previous book, "Antuna's Story", (obsession, discrimination, and deceptive “news”, to name a few) and expands its concerns to the political and scientific arenas.

There's a lot in this story, both happe ...more

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Jul 18, 2023 E.K. Frances rated it it was amazing

Entertaining sequel to Antuna’s Story.

Having enjoyed Antuna’s Story, I was looking forward to reading the next instalment of the Antunite Chronicles.

The Rise and Fall of Antocracy is split into three parts and covers a huge period of time. The clever rhyming, naming conventions, and use of pheromones to express emotions that were in Antuna’s Story continue, and there are also some very funny acronyms. There’s an extensive Appendix at the back of the book. Although it can be read as a standalone, ...more

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Jul 23, 2022 Peter Boyde rated it it was amazing

This was an interesting continuation of the first book, Antuna's Story. Which begins the journey of Earth insects (along with a swath of flora) through a wormhole to another planet. The 'insectopia' evolves into cyborg insects with a power-hungry leader named Antilla who pushes the planet to a climate crisis and risks everyone and everything in his path. Two young climate conscious students, Gretant and Thunbug, begin the rebellion, but is it too late! I enjoyed this allegory about what could ha ...more

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Jul 23, 2022 Soph rated it it was amazing

Antuna's Story continues with her descendants taking up her insectism ideals in a future Poo-ponic inhabited by giant cyborg insects. Antilla uses deception and draconian laws to oppress non-Ants and keep himself in power. When his greed leads to an environmental disaster that threatens their very existence on the once Utopian planet, they must find a way off the dying planet or perish also. Great read with lessons for climate-watchers on planet Earth. Highly recommended.
...more

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Aug 04, 2025 Sage Reedfields rated it it was amazing

The Rise and Fall of Antocracy by Terry Birdgenaw is a highly original political satire set in an anthropomorphic insect and cyborg world, offering a clever commentary on human societal issues like environmentalism, tyranny, and wealth's corrupting influence through a compelling blend of tragedy and humor. The novel excels in building a detailed and engaging setting with well-developed characters like Anthiery and Antianna, whose personal struggles add a relatable human element to the fantastica ...more

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Jan 05, 2023 J.R. Gibson rated it really liked it

The second book in the Antunite chronicles series. It focuses on the insects development of new “cyborg” insect shells many times the size of ordinary insects at the insect version of a technical university to make them bigger and more powerful. But the insect’s established democracy on Pooponic is under threat by the rise of a powerful cyborg ant called Antilla. He takes over the planet and rules as a dictator, but he’s able to clone himself so that generations of himself are able to rule the p ...more

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Jul 18, 2023 Jenny Graves rated it it was amazing

This is such a clever way to show young people how power can corrupt, leading to the collapse of a world. There is some wonderfully witty writing in this book and the other two Antunite Chronicles novels. I particularly liked some names. Gretant and Thunbug, the environmental activist insects, were my favourites.

The story also had its sad parts. I almost cried when some of the hero and heroine’s friends got killed, particularly because of the brutal ways the murders happened.

I found the poems at ...more

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Apr 09, 2024 Amber Daulton rated it it was amazing

In the second installment of The Antunite Chronicles, we follow the descendants of the first book’s heroine, Antuna, as they embark on a rebellious journey to fight political corruption and somehow save their planet from the greed, corrupt president. The best part about these books is how they relate to our modern world. Since this is a YA book, the struggles are portrayed to younger readers in an easy way for them to understand what’s really going on—in both the book and real life—but it’s seri ...more

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Oct 06, 2023 Amanda Stuntz rated it liked it

Having read the first book in the series, I was excited to read this one. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first.

The story takes place several generations after Antuna. For me the story moved at a really slow pace and jumped forward in time rather quickly. We also see some of the characters pulled through another wormhole but don’t hear anything about them until almost the end of the book.

There were several adult themes in this book, from corrupt politics to climate change ...more

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May 06, 2025 Linda Sanchez rated it really liked it

The Rise and Fall of Antocracy is an inventive and insightful allegory that uses an ant society to mirror the complexities of human politics. Terry Birdgenaw delivers a bold narrative where insects become vehicles for commentary on power, corruption, justice, and resistance.

Through rich world-building and cleverly crafted characters, the novel explores what happens when idealism collides with ambition, and how fragile freedom can be under the weight of control. It's entertaining and unsettling i ...more

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Sep 13, 2024 Florian Armas rated it liked it

This sequel continues Antuna’s Story some hundred years in the future. The writing is original and surprising, filled with cybernetic bugs, but it becomes more anhomomorphic and somehow this makes it less convincing than the first novel in the series. This is an allegory for children, written with a good sense of humor, filled with a heavy political plot and vocabulary that feel too mature, with distressing character development. The good people are good, the bad people are bad – there is no mid ...more

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Sep 12, 2022 Rik Ty rated it liked it

Mild spoilers.
Antocracy is a novel with three major phases. It’s almost like three small novels. I’m mentioning that here, because I wish I knew it going in. I would have enjoyed the book more.
(Actually, I just looked at the table of contents. The three parts are listed as Epochs – so the trouble is on me.)

The first phase of the book is hard to embrace, and that isn’t surprising, since it’s about abuses of power. The book uses a fantasy insect-society to explore several wrong ways to use authori Mild spoilers.
Antocracy is a novel with three major phases. It’s almost like three small novels. I’m mentioning that here, because I wish I knew it going in. I would have enjoyed the book more.
(Actually, I just looked at the table of contents. The three parts are listed as Epochs – so the trouble is on me.)

The first phase of the book is hard to embrace, and that isn’t surprising, since it’s about abuses of power. The book uses a fantasy insect-society to explore several wrong ways to use authority and presents an ant character who offers the reader a checklist of horrible behaviors. He is a misogynist. He steals other people’s patents. He squirms his way into power and once achieving a leadership role, subjects his world to a tyranny that slowly brings his civilization and his planet to ruin. Not surprisingly, this section of the book is hard to like, and I didn’t have any fun reading it. Without knowing the book had other sections, I thought I was in for a whole book of similar material, but that isn’t the case.

The second wave of the story concerns two young characters (Gretant and Thunbug) who try and make a difference in their world (I thought the scenes of them venturing into the planet’s wastelands were the best part of the book).

The third wave features a visit by three Earth children to the forested moon-world where the insect civilization has re-located (like the first book, wormhole travel, though rare, can move characters between planets). Together, the children and the insect civilization combine their knowledge, and improve the prospects for the moon-world’s environmental future.

All the scenes in the book move very quickly. Usually, a few sentences are all that is needed to move along to the next idea, including large, generational, jumps in time. The author also has a nice technique where sometimes, when a character says or does something, an immediate, italicized, follow-up sentence gives us the character’s inner thoughts on the situation. It’s another tool of brevity in a book that doesn’t linger too long on any one thing. As the book moved along. I found that I liked the technique.

My overall take is that, like the first book in the series, this would be best read by young people with an adult involved, ready to prompt discussion and offer expansion on the presented ideas.

While this book was not for me personally, I do feel that fans of the first book will likely enjoy this one as well.
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