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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Considering the two Hyperion books are my favourite sci-fi novels to date, it was only a matter of time to get my hands of something else by Dan Simmons. Looking at reviews, I wasn't in a hurry as they gave me an impression that Simmons is a one-hit-wonder and there isn't much else worth exploring... Well, how wrong I was!
Ilium is immediately recognizable as Simmons work, to someone who read Hyperion. First of all, it's long, but it managed to fit so much in it, it could have been three good novels on their own. Simmons doesn't save good ideas for separate books, he just goes full on. The novel switches between three narratives (which, obviously, are bound to connect at some point), and each of them constructs a distinct, rich in detail fictional world, with very different characters and even writing styles. Again, as with Hyperion books, here you'll find lots of literary references (half of which probably got over my head). I'm not sure how much I've lost by not reading anything by Proust or Shakespeare's "The Tempest", but all I know it certainly hasn't detracted from my enjoyment at all!
Will certainly proceed to Olympos now, as this novel (as expected), while ending on a satisfying resolution of the main character's journeys, did finish on a cliffhanger.
Did I like it more than Hyperion? No, that one would be extremely hard to top. But it's close, it is right up there with some of the best sci-fi novels I had luck to come across...
Ilium is immediately recognizable as Simmons work, to someone who read Hyperion. First of all, it's long, but it managed to fit so much in it, it could have been three good novels on their own. Simmons doesn't save good ideas for separate books, he just goes full on. The novel switches between three narratives (which, obviously, are bound to connect at some point), and each of them constructs a distinct, rich in detail fictional world, with very different characters and even writing styles. Again, as with Hyperion books, here you'll find lots of literary references (half of which probably got over my head). I'm not sure how much I've lost by not reading anything by Proust or Shakespeare's "The Tempest", but all I know it certainly hasn't detracted from my enjoyment at all!
Will certainly proceed to Olympos now, as this novel (as expected), while ending on a satisfying resolution of the main character's journeys, did finish on a cliffhanger.
Did I like it more than Hyperion? No, that one would be extremely hard to top. But it's close, it is right up there with some of the best sci-fi novels I had luck to come across...
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was one of the most enjoyable things I've read this year so far. I thought this was going to be the Iliad but sci fi. And it was, sorta, then it wasn't. Dan Simmons strings together the Trojan war, time travel, hard sci fi, post-apocalyptic dystopia, Shakespeare, robots, little green martians, and Jerusalem and make it work. Despite its length, it's just an incredibly fun ride the whole time (Once you understand the confusing sci fi lingo). My only critique would be the presence of the 'completely average guy gets with the most beautiful woman imaginable' trope. But it's not really that important compared to anything else. 9/10.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Incest, Kidnapping
Three converging plotlines, heavy reliance on intertextuality, and a demonstration of how damn clever Mr. Simmons thinks himself (he is very clever, I will admit) result in this overlong commentary on literacy in society. While the indulgent references to Homer, Shakespeare, and Nabokov are quite impressive, this work unfortunately falls into the "Author Too Successful to be Reined in by Editor" category.
Will probably not continue on to Olympos.
Will probably not continue on to Olympos.
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Wow. Just, wow. Simmons sets up quite the mystery. He seems to resolve many questions by the end leaving others for his second volume Olympos, which I hope lives up to this book.
Update: Was it really only a year ago that I first read this? Time gets so distorted the older I get.
Update: Was it really only a year ago that I first read this? Time gets so distorted the older I get.
6/10 Stars. In a lot of ways, this novel reminds me of "Hyperion Cantos". It drops the reader in with absolutely zero context and throughout the book is fairly physics heavy. I personally find the subject of physics unspeakably dull and nearly impossible to understand, so I was less than enthused at the abundance of it. I also really dislike not being given much (if any) context about the characters, the events, or the history. Why is the Trojan war being re-enacted? What are the post humans? What happened on Earth and to the humans? Did the Rubicon virus wipe them out? Render them sterile? Why was all information from real humans lost? What are the voynix? What are Prospero, Ariel, Setebos really? What are the Zeks? Why are they doing Easter Island 2.0? I could go on. And on. I enjoyed the premise of the book and some of it truly was very good, but really the lack of context makes the reader feel like they're floundering, trying to find something to hold onto. I hope "Olympos" answers these questions, but if Dan Simmons continues in the way he did with "Hyperion Cantos", then my guess is not.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Actual rating is 4.5 stars
I honestly don't know if I can adequately describe this book. It contains Shakespeare and Proust and the robots who like to discuss and analyze them; Greek and Trojan warriors reenacting Homer's Iliad while the gods of Olympus meddle to bring about their desired outcomes; the scholic Hockenberry observing all of the action who suddenly finds himself a part of it; and band of ragtag old-style humans seeking answers to questions about their life and existence. There's quantum teleportation, chariots, cities on asteroids, the Greek legend Achilles, dinosaurs, and a wandering Jew thrown in for good measure. And yet somehow, all of this comes together - the stories converge - in what is a beautifully written epic tale of the future. I absolutely loved this book. The only reason I don't flat-out give this book 5 stars is because I honestly wanted to give up several times while reading it. The story takes so long to set up. The buildup is so slow I was still saying "What the hell is happening!?!?!" two-thirds of the way through the novel. But when the pieces do start to come together, the action moves fast, and suddenly the reality and consequences of everyone's decisions becomes clear and you realize what is about to happen to everyone and you simply cannot put it down.
I honestly don't know if I can adequately describe this book. It contains Shakespeare and Proust and the robots who like to discuss and analyze them; Greek and Trojan warriors reenacting Homer's Iliad while the gods of Olympus meddle to bring about their desired outcomes; the scholic Hockenberry observing all of the action who suddenly finds himself a part of it; and band of ragtag old-style humans seeking answers to questions about their life and existence. There's quantum teleportation, chariots, cities on asteroids, the Greek legend Achilles, dinosaurs, and a wandering Jew thrown in for good measure. And yet somehow, all of this comes together - the stories converge - in what is a beautifully written epic tale of the future. I absolutely loved this book. The only reason I don't flat-out give this book 5 stars is because I honestly wanted to give up several times while reading it. The story takes so long to set up. The buildup is so slow I was still saying "What the hell is happening!?!?!" two-thirds of the way through the novel. But when the pieces do start to come together, the action moves fast, and suddenly the reality and consequences of everyone's decisions becomes clear and you realize what is about to happen to everyone and you simply cannot put it down.
It is definitely heavy on the SciFi elements, and I didn't like the execution of those. A lot of terms get used without explanation or without enough context to understand what they're supposed to indicated, which is confusing. The bits of worldbuilding that the reader gets are more like a very confusing scavenger hunt that don't paint a bigger picture after 50 pages. I don't expect an info dump, I don't want one honestly, but I want to get a feeling for the setting and I didn't.
I also didn't like two out of three POV characters (as far as I read, there might be more).
I also didn't like two out of three POV characters (as far as I read, there might be more).
Herein the mythic hero Odysseus kills several dinosaurs with a spear and drops the phrase 'particle accelerator' once or twice. 10/10, will read again. Very imaginative, delightfully weird sci-fi with a surprisingly touching story of friendship from two very unlikely characters. This is deep-end science fiction, so probably not the right choice if you've just finished Ender's Game and want a little more.