Asimov's Science Fiction
Hogan is great at describing life from a bug's POV, making our familiar world of carpets and grass seem utterly alien. He moves some very credible characters through their paces, generating honest affection and concern for their fates in the reader ... Bug Park is a superior Hardy Boys adventure for the Nineties.

From Library Journal
Having developed Direct Neural Coupling, the Neurodyne company is doing well?but someone may be selling its secrets to Microbotics and creating killer mechanical bugs. Hogan's (Paths to Otherwhere, LJ 12/95) tension-filled thriller is recommended for sf collections.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Eric Heber and his wife, Vanessa, are on the cutting edge of technology, using direct connection between the human brain and mecs--tiny insect-scale robots--to explore a whole new world of experience and knowledge. But someone is out to steal this bold new science and pervert it to their own uses. Eric's teenage son Kevin and his friend Taki are caught up in these machinations and must convert their skills at playing with the mecs to the deadly serious business of outwitting the criminals and saving the life of Eric's engaging lawyer, Michelle Lang. Hogan's talent carries the reader from peak to peak in the story, while his knowledge of science and the meticulously drawn Seattle and Puget Sound locales constitute a splendid backdrop for the nonstop action. Dennis Winters

From Kirkus Reviews
Hogan's latest near-future speculation (Realtime Interrupt, 1995, etc.) involves insect-sized miniature machines: Originally developed to assemble true nanomachines, these prove to have other more startling applications. Thanks to its revolutionary interface, Eric Heber's Neurodyne is the industry leader in building tiny machines that can be operated, you-are-there fashion, by linked humans who thus obtain amazing new perspectives: Filing cabinets loom like skyscrapers, and insects--terrifying monsters on this scale--can be observed, hunted, or battled. So 15-year-old Kevin Heber and his buddy, Taki Ohira, have created Bug Park, where they can explore and interact with this peculiar and fascinating world. But then Kevin accidentally learns that his stepmother, the beautiful, ice-cold Vanessa, is planning to sabotage Neurodyne and sell out to rival Microbotics, owned by her secret lover, Martin Payne. With the help of lawyer Michelle Lang and chief engineer Doug Corfe, Kevin directs his machines to invade Payne's lawyer's office in search of evidence to convince the oblivious Eric. But everything goes wrong, Payne and his cohorts are alerted to the threat, and Vanessa as an insect-sized assassin creeps forth to eliminate the unsuspecting Eric. So, with Michelle a captive, and Doug unable to convince the police, can Kevin and Taki's tiny army save the day? Charming and remarkable microengineering and astounding microperspectives, coupled with an old-hat evil-stepmother plot and its predictable complications: Root for the little guys, tolerate the remainder. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Midwest Book Review
Kevin has his own lab and an idea which could make millions - and a major problem. He's a teenager, and somebody wants to squash his Bug Park idea before it's off the ground. The incredible shrinking world becomes smaller - and more dangerous - in this fine blend of science fiction and intrigue.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Two precocious youngsters take advantage of a device that allows them to vicariously explore the world of insects by displacing their point of view into tiny robot bodies. But there's an unscrupulous business interest that wants their invention for much less pleasant pursuits. Despite the boys versus the authorities theme, this is an excellent adventure story.
—Don D'Ammassa

ANNOTATION

Using his father's breakthrough technology in direct neural interfacing, teenager Kevin Heber and his friend Taki have created a new entertainment medium--live action adventure in micro mechanical scale. "Bug Park" is the ultimate out of body experience. The trouble starts when someone decides to "squash" the idea--with the boys caught in the middle! 416 pp. Targeted print ads. 75,000 print.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Kevin Heber had it good. He had his own lab, a colleague he could trust, and an idea that could make him millions. Using his father's breakthrough technology in direct neural interfacing, he and his friend Taki have created a new entertainment media - live action adventure in micro mechanical scale. Bug Park: The ultimate out of body experience. And Taki's uncle wants to take it public. Two problems: 1) Kevin and Taki are teenagers. 2) Somebody wants to squash Bug Park dead, and Kevin's father along with it.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly - Cahners\\Publishers_Weekly

A man lies sleeping in a hotel. Something the size of a cockroach moves silently toward him across the sheets. Leaping forward, it stings him behind the ear, and he dies in seconds. Set in near-future Washington State, the latest hard SF novel from Hogan (The Immortality Option) features industrial espionage, miniaturized robots, virtual reality and remote-control murder. The plot centers on the Heber family: Eric, a somewhat na￯﾿ﾽve scientific genius; his bright 15-year-old son, Kevin; and Eric's distant second wife, Vanessa. Not satisfied with the clumsy body suits required by conventional VR technology, Eric has left his former employer and founded his own firm. There he has pioneered a radical new VR technique called Direct Neural Coupling. Now, however, Eric's sociopathic former boss and the gold-digging Vanessa are seeking to gain control of Eric's invention at any cost. Together they plot to murder Eric and steal his patents. Opposing them are Kevin, his friend, Taki, and Taki's many Japanese-American relatives, a beautiful young lawyer and a small army of miniature robots. For the most part, this is a routine suspense novel. Character development is thin, and there are problems with the Japanese-Americans, who, although positively drawn, are too often stereotyped. The miniaturized robots are nicely done, however, as are the descriptions of Kevin and others controlling them with VR technology. Although Hogan breaks no new ground here, he once again demonstrates his veteran mastery of the hard SF subgenre.

Publishers Weekly

A man lies sleeping in a hotel. Something the size of a cockroach moves silently toward him across the sheets. Leaping forward, it stings him behind the ear, and he dies in seconds. Set in near-future Washington State, the latest hard SF novel from Hogan (The Immortality Option) features industrial espionage, miniaturized robots, virtual reality and remote-control murder. The plot centers on the Heber family: Eric, a somewhat nave scientific genius; his bright 15-year-old son, Kevin; and Eric's distant second wife, Vanessa. Not satisfied with the clumsy body suits required by conventional VR technology, Eric has left his former employer and founded his own firm. There he has pioneered a radical new VR technique called Direct Neural Coupling. Now, however, Eric's sociopathic former boss and the gold-digging Vanessa are seeking to gain control of Eric's invention at any cost. Together they plot to murder Eric and steal his patents. Opposing them are Kevin, his friend, Taki, and Taki's many Japanese-American relatives, a beautiful young lawyer and a small army of miniature robots. For the most part, this is a routine suspense novel. Character development is thin, and there are problems with the Japanese-Americans, who, although positively drawn, are too often stereotyped. The miniaturized robots are nicely done, however, as are the descriptions of Kevin and others controlling them with VR technology. Although Hogan breaks no new ground here, he once again demonstrates his veteran mastery of the hard SF subgenre. (Apr.)

Library Journal