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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Dan Simmons' expansive, imaginative novel Ilium is not the kind of book I'd usually go for. I picked it up on a recommendation from a friend and was really drawn into the incredibly creative world Simmons built in the book, including a reinactment of the Trojan War on Mars; future humans who have forgotten their ancestors' history and way of life, and "moravec" robots from Jupiter on a deadly mission, who keep each other company by debating Proust and Shakespeare.
At times the cast of characters and events gets so huge, especially during the Trojan War scenes, that you think you're going to lose track of what's happening, but Simmons has a way of wrapping everything up in one simple sentence before that happens.
In the end, Ilium has enough depth of thought and concept to keep a history and/or literature enthusiast intrigued, but also enough action to keep any reader from getting bored.
The only thing I found lacking was an overall political or philosophical message or important statement for the reader, beyond the idea that we should value our history and always strive for knowledge and new experiences. My favourite kind of sci-fi novels are those that challenge the reader to consider their own world differently, and I don't think Ilium really does. But it's definitely a good read anyway.
At times the cast of characters and events gets so huge, especially during the Trojan War scenes, that you think you're going to lose track of what's happening, but Simmons has a way of wrapping everything up in one simple sentence before that happens.
In the end, Ilium has enough depth of thought and concept to keep a history and/or literature enthusiast intrigued, but also enough action to keep any reader from getting bored.
The only thing I found lacking was an overall political or philosophical message or important statement for the reader, beyond the idea that we should value our history and always strive for knowledge and new experiences. My favourite kind of sci-fi novels are those that challenge the reader to consider their own world differently, and I don't think Ilium really does. But it's definitely a good read anyway.
Interesting premise, but good lord is it a slog to get through. And just in case you forget that you’re reading a book written by a man, there are periodic superfluous descriptions of breasts, as well as detailed snapshots of spears entering bodies (often involving the anus as a point of entry/exit for some damn reason) and more boners than you’d expect.
An unique science fiction story of Greek gods and the events of the Iliad. The story follows three different people as their storylines come together. It is confusing at first, but after about 100 pages I finally got my bearings and the realization and the journey was worth it. The writing is great with interesting characters, but the storyline is the most captivating. It is a mixture of historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and horror. The story doesn't end with this book though with the ending being a major cliffhanger.
Finally finished this sprawling beast of a novel. So much happened in it, it's hard to know how to categorise it - similar to, I guess, the kind of randomness that popped up in [b: John Dies At The End|1857440|John Dies at the End (John Dies at the End, #1)|David Wong|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1189289716s/1857440.jpg|1858059] or the work of [a: Joe Hill|88506|Joe Hill|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1499713528p2/88506.jpg]. Every time I thought I knew what was happening, things got much weirder. So, it's weird and kooky fun, but is it 'science fiction'?
Dan Simmons has some pretty cool metatextual stuff in most of his works but you never find one that doesn't have some creepy vibes at one point, and not in the horror but in the YIKES category.
Ilium is a great read, where he does his usual"separate plotlines intersecting at the end" shtick and it works quite well. You get it all - metatextuality, Achilles v Hector, Prospero as the got-entity of the vibeosphere, reincarnations of horny old college professors, little green men and debates on Proust vs. Shakespeare, guys trying to fuck their relatives, robots, gods, sexual assault being laughed off as being just a male fancy. All that and more. I'm really curious for the second book in the duology but i don't really see myself getting to it anytime soon.
Ilium is a great read, where he does his usual"separate plotlines intersecting at the end" shtick and it works quite well. You get it all - metatextuality, Achilles v Hector, Prospero as the got-entity of the vibeosphere, reincarnations of horny old college professors, little green men and debates on Proust vs. Shakespeare, guys trying to fuck their relatives, robots, gods, sexual assault being laughed off as being just a male fancy. All that and more. I'm really curious for the second book in the duology but i don't really see myself getting to it anytime soon.
Interesting characters and story but I'm just not being grabbed in by it as much as I'd like. A few too many pages on the gore of battle and one side story that is only meh at best. I love the ground he's covering (humanity) and that keeps me reading. This does seem to have some similar themes to Hyperion.
It's not the Hyperion Cantos but a fun ride all the same. Once again English Literature stands as the basis of another Dan Simmons epic, but don't be fooled this is true SciFi
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
I wish I put this book down in the first session I started reading. I felt so “yucked” out by the first POV wanting to sleep with his young cousin (which is apparently appropriate in this world). But I decided to keep going and see if it would get any better. The rest of the world building seemed interesting enough.
Oh how I wish I put this down. The plot was all over the place. I couldn’t focus on any of the details outside of the Illiad/Troy plot line which I found to be the most intriguing concept of the book. By the time I had slogged to the end, things had finally begun to pick up and the moment things got interesting—the book ends. I am never picking up the sequel. This book was not for me in the slightest and I need to listen to my gut more often and just put books down.
Oh how I wish I put this down. The plot was all over the place. I couldn’t focus on any of the details outside of the Illiad/Troy plot line which I found to be the most intriguing concept of the book. By the time I had slogged to the end, things had finally begun to pick up and the moment things got interesting—the book ends. I am never picking up the sequel. This book was not for me in the slightest and I need to listen to my gut more often and just put books down.
adventurous
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:
Yes