The Cretaceous Past

By: Cixin Liu

Narrated by: BJ Harrison

All the years of human civilization represent an infinitesimal fraction of the time since life first burgeoned on planet Earth. How likely is it, then, in those great depths of time, that humanity alone benefitted from the spark of intelligence that gave rise to culture?

This is the question posed by Hugo Award winner Cixin Liu, in his magisterial new short novel The Cretaceous Past. The answer he offers is unexpected, supposing an unlikely alliance between the largest creatures in the world of the deep past and some of the smallest. And it all begins with a toothache.

When a Tyrannosaurus rex suffers pain from meat trapped between its enormous teeth, a nearby colony of ants risks entering the great creature's maw to make their own repast from the remains of the dinosaur's most recent meal. From this humble beginning, over the course of millennia, a symbiotic civilization achieves amazing advances, facing dangers and exploiting opportunities at every turn.

In this absorbing tale, Cixin Liu manages to describe the history of successive epochs of a might-have-been world, doing for the past what Olaf Stapledon's classic Last and First Men did for the future.

©2020 FT Culture (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (P)2021 Tantor

FANTASTIC!!

An imaginative intelligent story that branches out from a seemingly simple storyline we get a a symbiotic cautionary tale about every civilizations basic story grappling with how to live amongst one another in harmony, told from the perspective of ant/dinosaur inter-relations in an alt cretaceous past. It was probably one of the most thrilling speculative sci-fi (if you could call it that?) I've come across in a long time. AT times humorous, at other times quite ironic, I couldn't help but compare it to human civilizations greatest historical challenges in cooperation. It's a fun quick listen but has serious enough overtones that invite deeper contemplation. I've recently also caught the new Netflix series based off Mr Lius other sci fi trilogy that was also uniquely imaginative and plan on getting the books now as well. He is an impressive story teller!
. Bravo!
Its worth the listen!

What a terrific, inventive fairy tale.

Lively, passionate writing, excellent narration.

I really enjoyed listening to this novel.

Cixin Liu is one of the best speculative fiction writers working today.

Unique concept and good narration. Possibly a parable mirroring humankind. Nothing particularly negative to say.

Extraordinary

Like many I came across this novel as a fan of Cixin Liu’s The Three Body Problem trilogy. Loved the story. Great narrator too.

Only thing that annoyed me is that supposedly all dinosaur species were intelligent and lived amongst each other. That’s as realistic as having an Earth civilization where there are kangaroos and horses working as engineers and administrators.

A wonderful alternate world

This was a very poignant story about humanity but explored through the Cretaceous period and the inhabitants of that world. What if we humans were not the first ones to be going through advances and technological progress?

really fantastic!

I couldn't turn it off! Thought provoking, engrossing, and entertaining. Here's a lesson as old as time told in the most imaginative way.

loved it.

The creativity and a story never imagined before, how ants and dinosaurs could have been a civilization.

Creative writing for Liu fans

This novel seemed like it must have been fun to write. Is it purely a fun exercise in imagination, or a solemn cautionary tale?

My first time listening to a story my this author and now, I am a fan

This story was an fun and thought provoking tale that echoes our own in obvious and profound ways. It reminded me of a modern Gulliver’s Travels in a way and I look forward to hearing more of his works in the near future.

Fascinating story

Great story that speaks to a mysterious period on Earth, maybe it happened this way…