Ilium

ByDan Simmons

Release Date: 2009-10-13
Genre: Fiction & Literature

Score: 4.5

4.5

From 235 Ratings

Description

The Trojan War rages at the foot of Olympos Mons on Mars -- observed and influenced from on high by Zeus and his immortal family -- and twenty-first-century professor Thomas Hockenberry is there to play a role in the insidious private wars of vengeful gods and goddesses. On Earth, a small band of the few remaining humans pursues a lost past and devastating truth -- as four sentient machines depart from Jovian space to investigate, perhaps terminate, the potentially catastrophic emissions emanating from a mountaintop miles above the terraformed surface of the Red Planet.

Reviews

Brilliant
5
By VA ICU DOC
Who else could could have conceived this stupendous and glorious amalgamation of Homer, Shakespeare, Proust and hard sci-fi other than Dan Simmons? It is utterly mind boggling and captivating, superbly written and amazing. We have Achilles and Aphrodite, Helen of Troy, rubbing shoulders with 20th Century Homeric scholars, AI robots named after leaders in robotic
science, many worlds interpretations of quantum physics, solipsism, Greek Gods, battles with swords and spears juxtaposed with quantum teleportation, mages and monsters from the Tempest, human evolution, terraforming and this just touches the surface.
His humor is subtle eg Spoiler Alert — Mahnmuts introduction to Odysseus presaging the latter’s crafty use of the no man appellation in the cyclops episode from the Odyssey. I am sure I have missed more such nuggets.
Mr Simmons, you are a genius. As great as the Hyperion Cantos, and so much fun to read. I have read this twice now and will do so again. Even if one has only vague recollections of the referenced classics, you can enjoy this.
Epic in it's Scope
5
By Dwardeng
Obviously based on The Iliad this huge story blends Science Fiction with literal influences from Homer and Shakespeare. The true genius here is how he makes it all work. An amazing work.
Simply stunning
5
By Laziejim
One of the most ambitious books I've ever read! Simmons delivers in every possible way!
Homer would dig it.
5
By Jhary
Great stuff, especially for us Homer aficionados. While Simmon's sf epic is anything but short, his mixture of Homer's heroic poem with Shakespeare, Proust, quantum mechanics, robots, and posthumans makes for an eclectic and smart novel.