Bernard Werber

Bernard Werber
Werber by Michel Reqstany in February 2013.
Born (1961-09-18) 18 September 1961 (age 63)
Toulouse, France
Occupation(s)Journalist (1983–1990), writer

Bernard Werber (born 18 September 1961 in Toulouse) is a French science fiction writer, active since the 1990s. He is chiefly recognized for having written the trilogy Les Fourmis, the only one of his novels to have been published in English. This series weaves together philosophy, spirituality, science fiction, thriller, science, mythology and consciousness.

Writing style

Bernard Werber at the Salon du livre de Paris in March 2012.

Werber's writing style mixes literary genres, including saga, science fiction and philosophical ideas.[citation needed] Most of his novels have the same format, alternating between prose and encyclopedic passages that expand upon the ideas in the former. Many of Werber's novels are also connected by common characters, story threads and themes. For example, the character Edmond Wells appears both in the trilogy Les Fourmis (The Ants), the novel L'Empire des anges (The Empire of the Angels), and the novel Nous Les Dieux (We the Gods).

Literary themes

Werber's books anthropomorphize animals including dolphins, rats and ants. He also uses characters symbolically to reflect "the stage of the evolution of the soul". In addition, he defends the vision of a collectivist global government that acts as the "world police" and that imposes strict birth control.[1][2][3]

Werber is a member of the Institute for Research on Extraordinary Experiences (IREE), an association that promotes the acknowledgement of extraordinary or unusual experiences. This is reflected in his novels that incorporate science, the paranormal and spirituality as prominent themes including Thanatonautes (The Thanatonauts), which proposes a spiritualist version of near death experiences and afterlife; L'Empire des Anges (The Empire of the Angels) and Le Mystère des Dieux (The Mystery of the Gods), which describe a connection between souls, angels and gods; and Nos amis les Terriens (Our Earthmen Friends), which describes alien abductions.

Works

The Ants trilogy (Les Fourmis trilogy)

  • Les Fourmis, Prix des lecteurs de Sciences et Avenir, 1991, ISBN 2-226-05257-7. (lit. The Ants, translated into English as Empire of the Ants).
  • Le Jour des fourmis, 1992, ISBN 2-226-06118-5 (lit. The Day of the Ants)
  • La Révolution des fourmis, 1996, ISBN 2-226-08636-6 (lit. The Revolution of the Ants)

The "Angels" cycle

The "Gods" cycle (follow-up of the cycle of "Angels")

The "Explorers of science" cycle

Third Humanity cycle

Other novels

Experimental books

Short-story Collections

Comics

Exit

Amandine is a journalist, working for a video game magazine. One day, she gets fired, finds her boyfriend with another woman, and contemplates suicide. She finds a mysterious website, advocating an underground group named Exit, which advocates a kind of murder game: By killing someone who wishes to die, another member will try to kill you.

Individual issues

  1. Bernard Werber (text) et Alain Mounier (art), Exit [Tome 1], éditions Albin Michel, Paris, 1999, 45 p., ISBN 2-226-10451-8, BnF 36977736t. — renamed Contact in collections published since 2003.
  2. Bernard Werber (text) and Alain Mounier (art), Le Deuxième Cercle (lit. the second circle) [Tome 2], éditions Albin Michel, Paris, 2000, 43 p., ISBN 2-226-11474-2, BnF 371148466.
  3. Bernard Werber (text) and Éric Puech (art), Jusqu'au dernier souffle (lit. until the last breath) [Tome 3], éditions Albin Michel, Paris, 2000, 44 p., ISBN 2-226-12542-6, BnF 388913761.

Collections

  • Bernard Werber (text), Alain Mounier et Éric Puech (art), Exit [no mention of colourists] colourized by Walter Pezzali and Sophie Dumas, pour les couleurs), éditions Albin Michel, [no series name], Paris, 2003, 45-43-47 p., ISBN 2-226-14413-7, BnF 391173297.
  • Bernard Werber (text), Alain Mounier et Éric Puech (art), Exit (with Walter Pezzali an Sophie Dumas, colourists), éditions Albin Michel, coll. « Les Intégrales », Paris, 2008, 141 p., ISBN 978-2-35626-108-3, BnF 41425210s.

Other works

Films

Theatre

Lectures

References

  1. ^ "The Wisdom of the Ants - Haaretz - Israel News Haaretz.com". Haaretz. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  2. ^ "Bernard Werber Interview 2008". Daily Motion. Archived from the original on 27 November 2012.
  3. ^ "Bernard Werber - Interview dans la presse". Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  4. ^ "'개미' 작가 베르베르 방한…경희대 강연". Maeil Economics. 17 November 2013.
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