Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Antes de comentar mis impresiones sobre este libro he de decir que me ha resultado muy difícil darle una valoración. He dudado entre 3 y 4 estrellas pero al final creo que se acerca más a las tres, veamos las razones.
Para empezar debo decir que este es uno de los libros que más tiempo lleva en mi lista de pendientes, y la razón es simple: no me atraía nada la sinopsis de esta novela y mucho menos que se tratará de una historia dividida en dos tomos de más de 2000 páginas. Por Dios, tan difícil es escribir un buen libro que no se valore al peso.
Mis peores augurios se hicieron realidad y las primeras 200 páginas me parecieron un auténtico coñazo y si no abandone fue por orgullo. Aquí debo hacer un inciso, no soporto ni la Ilíada ni la odisea, así que imaginados mi cara con tanto nombrecito griego sin interés para la trama principal con la que nuestro autor pretende hacer un homenaje al "gran" Homero.
Pasada esta travesía del desierto la historia mejora muchísimo, más o menos desde que se empieza a contar algo con cierto sentido, y el final del libro es verdaderamente trepidante, eso hay que reconocerlo.
También he de reconocer que Dan Simmons escribe muy bien y desde luego es capaz de llevarte a los parajes que describe y dotar de fuerza a sus personajes.
Vista mi reseña hasta aquí cualquiera podría pensar que realmente me ha gustado mucho este libro y que al menos se merecería las 4 estrellas que vilmente le he escamoteado y yo os digo: NOOOOOO!!!
Y la razón es tan simple como personal; no tiene sentido gastar casi 1000 páginas para contar una historia que bien podría condensarse en 500, no es de recibo. Por eso, y porqué voy a tener que leerme otras mil páginas para terminar esta historia es por lo que le he dado 3 estrellas.
Si señores, habéis oído bien, a pesar de todo voy a leerme la segunda parte, pero eso será dentro de algún tiempo, ahora mismo estoy saturado de troyanos, aqueos y dioses.
Mi recomendación, este libro esta indicado sólo para enfermos de la ciencia ficción, las personas de estómago delicado o mente demasiado realista abstenganse.
Para empezar debo decir que este es uno de los libros que más tiempo lleva en mi lista de pendientes, y la razón es simple: no me atraía nada la sinopsis de esta novela y mucho menos que se tratará de una historia dividida en dos tomos de más de 2000 páginas. Por Dios, tan difícil es escribir un buen libro que no se valore al peso.
Mis peores augurios se hicieron realidad y las primeras 200 páginas me parecieron un auténtico coñazo y si no abandone fue por orgullo. Aquí debo hacer un inciso, no soporto ni la Ilíada ni la odisea, así que imaginados mi cara con tanto nombrecito griego sin interés para la trama principal con la que nuestro autor pretende hacer un homenaje al "gran" Homero.
Pasada esta travesía del desierto la historia mejora muchísimo, más o menos desde que se empieza a contar algo con cierto sentido, y el final del libro es verdaderamente trepidante, eso hay que reconocerlo.
También he de reconocer que Dan Simmons escribe muy bien y desde luego es capaz de llevarte a los parajes que describe y dotar de fuerza a sus personajes.
Vista mi reseña hasta aquí cualquiera podría pensar que realmente me ha gustado mucho este libro y que al menos se merecería las 4 estrellas que vilmente le he escamoteado y yo os digo: NOOOOOO!!!
Y la razón es tan simple como personal; no tiene sentido gastar casi 1000 páginas para contar una historia que bien podría condensarse en 500, no es de recibo. Por eso, y porqué voy a tener que leerme otras mil páginas para terminar esta historia es por lo que le he dado 3 estrellas.
Si señores, habéis oído bien, a pesar de todo voy a leerme la segunda parte, pero eso será dentro de algún tiempo, ahora mismo estoy saturado de troyanos, aqueos y dioses.
Mi recomendación, este libro esta indicado sólo para enfermos de la ciencia ficción, las personas de estómago delicado o mente demasiado realista abstenganse.
Incredible blending of the classic epic with sci-fi. I have to admit when I read the flap, I expected to be disappointed. I couldn't have been more wrong. I devoured this book. Such a unique setting, and he pulled it off!
Sci-fi meets Greek mythology and Shakespeare. Great read.
This is a sci-fi novel. As such, it's somewhat typical: you have space-ships, aliens, fancy tech, and a good story. As such a volume it's decidedly on the "good but not amazing" side of things. But what sets this volume apart is that it's _also_ a retelling of Homer's Illiad and has that story and those characters woven throughout the narrative which, for a Classicist such as I, is fascinating.
The story begins--as one would expect--with a modified translation of Lattimore's Iliad and it just throws us in the mix. You find out that one of the main characters is a "scholiac" (an Iliad scholar from the "past") who's brought to watch the events of the Iliad unfold by the gods. Except that this Iliad is in the _future_ and the gods are made such by technology, rather than magic. As the story progresses, we're also introduced to other characters--aliens from the Astroid Belt and Moons of Saturn and Jupiter, a group of "old-style" humans in a more primitive Earth, etc--and all begin to converge on the plains of Ilium and the Battle of Troy.
If you're looking for pure sci-fi, I'd direct you elsewhere. If you want an oddly satisfying modernization and sci-fi-ization of the Trojan war with some meta-analysis of Proust, Shakespeare, and Homer, this just might be your cup of tea.
The story begins--as one would expect--with a modified translation of Lattimore's Iliad and it just throws us in the mix. You find out that one of the main characters is a "scholiac" (an Iliad scholar from the "past") who's brought to watch the events of the Iliad unfold by the gods. Except that this Iliad is in the _future_ and the gods are made such by technology, rather than magic. As the story progresses, we're also introduced to other characters--aliens from the Astroid Belt and Moons of Saturn and Jupiter, a group of "old-style" humans in a more primitive Earth, etc--and all begin to converge on the plains of Ilium and the Battle of Troy.
If you're looking for pure sci-fi, I'd direct you elsewhere. If you want an oddly satisfying modernization and sci-fi-ization of the Trojan war with some meta-analysis of Proust, Shakespeare, and Homer, this just might be your cup of tea.
Parts of it felt artificial, like Simmons was tired of getting ignored at parties when he talked about Shakespeare and Proust and decided to put it in a book. Also suffers from comparison to Lord of Light. But the concept carries it and I'll read the sequel.
AMAZING! I have developed such a huge literary crush on Dan Simmons. To read the inside cover, the summary would sound like 3 different books thrown together in a salad spinner. WRONG! Its amazing! Disregard the summary and read it!
ESPECIALLY If like me you may have studied literature or have an interest in the classics. If you have read or taken classes on Illiad, Odyssey, Shakespeare, Proust, and several others you will find yourself having a chuckle. Several times throughout the book I feel like the author and I had some inside joke because of the references! Book is still completely understandable and a great read if you do not understand the references, just gives a literature major like me a warm fuzzy feeling
ESPECIALLY If like me you may have studied literature or have an interest in the classics. If you have read or taken classes on Illiad, Odyssey, Shakespeare, Proust, and several others you will find yourself having a chuckle. Several times throughout the book I feel like the author and I had some inside joke because of the references! Book is still completely understandable and a great read if you do not understand the references, just gives a literature major like me a warm fuzzy feeling
Loved it. [author: Dan Simmons] has a way of writing page-turners that don't feel dumbed down (or smart books that stay exciting?). The concept is great fun for people with a background in classical history; it made me want to go back and re-read the Iliad. However, he's up to his old tricks again with regards to setting his hooks in deep and then leaving you hanging for the sequel, just like [book: Hyperion], even though I loved that book too. I bought [book: Olympos] anyway, and am planning to read it soon.
Goddamn, this is a weird book. Marvelously, hilariously weird. Perhaps the weirdest I've ever read, and I'm including "The Illuminatus! Trilogy" in that consideration.
It's "The Iliad." With Little Green Men on Mars. And quantum magic. And Greek Gods. And space ships. And robots. One of the robots is a Proust-obsessed crab. And giant stone idols. And weeks at sea, trapped in the anti-doldrums: a Martian dust storm. And bombs. And wormholes. And Shakespeare, uh... come to life. And dinosaurs.
What the fuck is this book?
Oh, right. It's only Part 1. Shee-it.
It's "The Iliad." With Little Green Men on Mars. And quantum magic. And Greek Gods. And space ships. And robots. One of the robots is a Proust-obsessed crab. And giant stone idols. And weeks at sea, trapped in the anti-doldrums: a Martian dust storm. And bombs. And wormholes. And Shakespeare, uh... come to life. And dinosaurs.
What the fuck is this book?
Oh, right. It's only Part 1. Shee-it.
And here I thought I'd be getting a futuristic retelling of the Trojan war. And I did...sort of, but what I got so completely transcended my initial expectations. I want to know how Simmons' mind works, how he creates such believable, hard sci-fi futures and populates them with engaging characters, some of whom are Greek gods. A huge fan of his, having read the entire Hyperion Cantos, his style is intelligent sci-fi adventure, a multi-layered story encompassing so many different ideas and theories. But he still finds time for the engaging, rousing adventure or action scene and on the fields of Troy, there is certainly ample opportunity for bloodshed. Definitely recommend it. I'm onto Olympos now, the sequel, to see how the story ends.
