Rating: 
Summary: Simmons at the top of his game
Review: Ilium was great. I've read everthing else that Dan Simmons has written and Ilium is as good as it gets. The writing is snappy, the plot is intriguing and, well, Simmons leaves you wanting more - literally- because Ilium isn't so much the first part of a novel and sequel set as it is part one of a much longer single book. The forthcoming Olympos is not a sequel - it will be the last half of a single book that starts with Ilium. There is a lot to think about here. The quantum teleportation idea that is at the core of the story in more than one way is scientifically plausible and the rest of the triple-interlaced plot keeps you guessing about a lot of things - what has happened on earth, where and when exactly are Harman and company when their adventure begins, who and what are the Olympians etc. All in all, this was a lot of fun and I can't wait for the sequel - err... end of the story.
Rating: 
Summary: What an Imagination!
Review: Ilium is really a wonderful, imaginative science fiction novel that incorporates science fiction elements with Homer's Iliad and some Shakespeare and other classics tossed in for good measure. The great thing is that it all works. We are in the distant future where the human race as we know it has essentially vanished from the Earth, replaced by humanish peoples who all live to be 100 and travel around the earth by fax. Death, as we know it now is unknown to them. On Mars, some form of supergods have somehow managed to reenact the events of the Iliad with the help of reincarnated human scholars. There are plenty of other story lines and details included in this big novel, I cannot do justice to them in this limited space. I will say that Ilium is a big, enjoyable read which should please science fiction fanss and neophytes to the genre as well.
Rating:
Summary: A joy to read, but haven't we been here before?
Review: Dan Simmons has, well, done it again. Science fiction has never been the most literary of genres, but the quality gap between it and "serious" fiction has been closing since 1967 and Ellison's "Dangerous Visions", and authors like Dan Simmons is the result. Perhaps his science isn't as "hard" as Niven's, perhaps his ability to conceive of a truly alien landscape and society isn't as honed as Clement's, but the man can just flat out *write*. Even when he's on autopilot and just repeating himself, as he is in Ilium. While I enjoyed the book and recommend it without hesitation to anyone who cares for space opera, good writing, science fiction, or Dan Simmons, there really is not anything major that is different from this book and the Hyperion Cantos (deal with it, you. :p ;) ). You have the reworking of a poetry epic. You have farcasting. You have really smart computers, some that have Gotten Away From The Control Of Man. You have resurrection, a wealthy but controlled society that is unaware of how it is at the mercy of their machines/computers. You have nothing new. And that's my biggest complaint about this book... actually, my only complaint. At this point in the game, with still the sequel to go, it's just a retelling of the last series. So that's why it gets 4 stars. 4 for quality plus 1 for reader bias, less 1 for repeating himself.
Rating:
Summary: A Tremendous Tale of Astonishing Breadth and Complexity
Review: Long before I had any formal idea of what literary "classics" were and how they came to be so revered, an imaginative public school teacher told (not read, but told --- from memory) the story of Odysseus, a kingly hero of Greek mythology who took years to get home after the Trojan War. But once back in Ithaca, what riveting tales he had to tell! Episode by episode, our Grade Five class spent weeks traveling alongside Homer's epic character, and despite the length of the voyage (parcelled out just a few minutes at a time between regular subjects), we were almost sorry to see it end. Oddly enough, all these years later, I've experienced Dan Simmons's ILIUM (drawn from the same subject matter) in a very similar way. It's a tremendous tale of astonishing breadth and complexity that held its shape and rhythm, despite my months-long journey through nearly 600 pages, stolen a few at a time from the wee small hours when I could read only for myself. And yes, my old friend Odysseus made an appearance, along with scores of others from the vast family of gods, goddesses and superhumans of classical mythology. But the bold difference is in how Simmons took me and these once-familiar beings on a strange, surreal dance through time, space and interplanetary dimensions that even Homer could scarcely have imagined. With the daring that only a skilled classicist could pull off, Simmons managed to transplant his larger-than-life protagonists of the ancient Trojan War into a timeframe so fluid that it becomes simultaneously the distant past and far future, for those of us brought up on linear thinking. Along the way, ILIUM weaves in two additional and distinct storylines --- one about a slowly extinguishing race of "post-humans," another about an unlikely but charming pair of alien artificial life-forms literally shipwrecked in space. But why would Simmons spend chapter after chapter visiting each of these story-strands in turn and enticing us to identify separately with their characters? Like all stories worth reading and all journeys worth the travel, the connections braiding the strands of ILIUM together are built slowly and often subtly, even when the rest of the universe seems to be dissolving around them in temporal chaos. Adventures are lived, lives lost (both human and divine), great battles fought and profound relationships are forged, all setting the stage for an ending of promised epic proportions in Simmons's forthcoming sequel, OLYMPOS. Like the fabled travels of Odysseus, getting back home again can be a long and arduous journey, but this is one in which Dan Simmons, sci-fi artist extraordinaire, is sailing under the full power of creative momentum. As long as it took me to navigate ILIUM, I can't wait to embark on OLYMPOS for another memorable voyage beyond time itself. --- Reviewed by Pauline Finch
Rating:
Summary: A masterwork of science fiction
Review: Ilium is one of the most original and well written science fiction books I've read in ages. I've been an avid science fiction fan since I was a small boy and found Ilium to be one of the very few that I could not put down. I read most of the book while on a flight from L.A. to Korea, which is rare, since I usually fall asleep on a flight after a half hour of reading. I was so engrossed in this highly creative and original book I could not stop reading it. If you like good science fiction, you will love this book!
Rating:
Summary: Stephen Hawking and William Shakespeare at play...
Review: Damn Dan Simmons! He's got me wishing away my favorite season, spring, before it's even here-all for of a lousy book. This year, summer promises to deliver, along with its usual high energy bills and Olympic-sized pools of sweat, OLYMPOS, the concluding installment of Simmons' two part sci-fi epic that began last summer with ILIUM. And, of course, I wouldn't be willing to wish away all those beautiful spring evenings lying in wait unless the first book in question had been a good one. A damn good one. Well, ILIUM is a damn good book. It's also by far the best sci-fi novel I've read since Simmons so eloquently and entertainingly finished his HYPERION series seven years ago with THE RISE OF ENDYMION. And just so you know that this review aspires to some level of credible objectivity, I have to admit I haven't loved everything Simmons has ever written. In his twenty-plus years of publishing, he's made a few missteps. But when he does manage to hit the bull's-eye, as he does with Ilium, he hits it dead-on, sending a loud, reverberant thwonk through the shadowy hills of genre fandom, all across the far-reaching plains of mainstream readership. Ilium shows off the best of what sci-fi is capable of achieving. Simmons again creates, as he did with his HYPERION novels, a smart, scientifically- and poetically-informed vision of the future that manages to illuminate the here and now with a breathtaking crystal lense. ILIUM dizzies the mind while it stirs the heart, inviting Stephen Hawking and William Shakespeare to share a playground. It's not surprising that Dan Simmons, a former school teacher, who has often written about other writers, from Hemingway to Mark Twain, should take as the inspiration for his latest sci-fi epic from the work of one of the world's most influential literary figures: namely, Homer. ILIUM is the first of a two part sci-fi re-working of Homer's ILIAD. But it's more than just a futuristic dressing-up of one of the world's oldest war stories. Simmons has more in mind than just handing Achilles a light-saber and letting Hector slow down time in order to dodge spears รก la THE MATRIX (a movie which took more than a few cues from Simmons' own HYPERION novels, incidentally). ILIUM brings together some of the most modern scientific musings on the nature of reality and stirs them up with a good dose of immortal wisdom from the western literary canon. Simmons' protagonist, Thomas Hockenberry, is a modern-day Homeric scholar who finds himself somehow transplanted a thousand years into the future for the purpose of observing what is ostensibly a restaging of the Trojan War by mysterious post-human entities. The clouds of dust that Hockenberry chokes on are real, as are the spears whistling next to his head, and most incredibly, so are the Gods flying overhead in their whirring chariots. Hockenberry's job is supposed to be a simple one: keep his eyes open, stay out of harm's way, and make sure things go down like the old blind Greek intended. But of course Simmons is too good of a storyteller to let that happen. Before long, Hockenberry finds himself perilously embedded in one of the goddess's jealous murder plots, and in order to save his own skin, he's soon forced to attempt something drastic that would be more at home in the pages of Nietzsche rather than Homer. Simmons drops just enough clues as to what's actually going on in this bizarre future world where Greek gods fly the not-so-friendly skies and post-literate humans fax themselves halfway around the world to attend the latest cocktail party in order to promise that the conclusion will make for one interesting, mind-expanding piece of science fiction. If you've read Stephen King's latest DARK TOWER novel, WOLVES OF THE CALLA, you'll see that Simmons and King, not for the first time in their careers, seem to be going in the same direction, on parallel tracks. Of course, only the future will tell. Luckily, 2004 promises King's last two DARK TOWER novels, along with Simmons' OLYMPOS. So the future, at least, is not that far away.
Rating:
Summary: Homer Goes to Mars
Review: Although this is unquestionably a science fiction novel--with its Martian battles, little green men, robots from the moons of Jupiter, and Earth humans faxing themselves across a planet encircled by "e" and "p" rings--it aspires to be more than that, with its literary references and descriptions of ancient warfare. It's a risky mix, but the sheer exuberance of the writing style eventually overcomes its many oddball components. It's actually quite fun, and is comprised of three separate narratives which eventually merge. The first is narrated by a "scholic," who was a present-day Homeric scholar but is now resurrected from the dead in order to observe and report on the Trojan war--taking place on a futuristic Mars--in order to report his knowledge of it to the Greek gods residing there. The second has to do with an eloi-like, earth-bound human race, several members of which break out of their lethargy to explore the bizarre planet they now live on. The third is the story of four little robots, who on their mission to Mars to investigate the strange energy forces emanating from there, spend their time discussing Shakespearean sonnets and Proustian philosophy. It is quite bizarre, but it rolls along effortlessly not only because it is well-written, but also because of the author's splendid ability to create dramatic tension. The end of every chapter leaves you gasping for more, as when our scholic friend is called in for a visit with Aphrodite, given a Hades helmet, and told he is to assist her in murdering Athena! If you have any knowledge of Greek mythology whatsoever, you'll have an idea as to what a momentous--and dangerous--undertaking this might be. But despite the presence of ancient Greek gods, the description of the Trojan war as originated by Homer, and the discussions of Shakespeare and Proust by the zany robots, a knowledge of Greek mythology, Shakespeare or Homer is really not necessary to enjoy this. Above all, it's plot-driven, weird science-fiction, one that takes place in the future and involves strange and terrifying places, fantastic creatures, and astonishing revelations. No, it's not great literature; it's not meant to be. But it does entertain and perhaps the purpose of inserting the many literary references is to pique ones interest in the classics. Indeed, Greek mythology is as bizarre and entertaining as anything science-fiction has to offer. I myself was intrigued by two of the characters inhabiting the "p" ring surrounding earth, Caliban and Prospero. Turns out that they are characters in the Shakespeare play, "The Tempest," which I had never read. I certainly will now. That the book gives one a brief introduction to great literature gives it some value beyond mere entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Truly Amazing
Review: Dan Simmons has done it again. Here is a novel that is as good as Hyperion. The books starts of at a sedentary pace, much like Hyperion but quickly becomes a mind-blowing trip of epic proportions. This is Simmons at his best!
Rating:
Summary: A fast hot read for a cold winter's night
Review: Other reviewer's either describe this book as disappointing or wonderful.
The concepts introduced are quite spellbinding in their implication. Of
course, as any book of space opera, It ain't Plato. So expect a rollicking
good tale but don't look for the meaning of the universe. Like Hyperion,
Simmons melds concepts from classic literature with classic Sci-Fic
concepts -- to very good effect. Most of the 60 odd reviews that I've
scanned through find this either great or purile. Granted that this book
and sequel -- (I hope) -- don't have the foundation shaking qualities of
Hyperion (I,II), it does make one look again to our college reading of
Homer and Aneneas, and appreciate the stature of a literary work that
can stand for 3,000 years and still affect use so well to this day. Illium represents a work of great synthesia for Simmons. The combining
of elements for classic greek, dare I say - classic english literature to
gernerate a moral play set in some undreamt future -- is either the
play toy of a genius - or experimental chemist. Given Mr. Simmon's
coherent use of language -- I am inclined to the former. Ilium, like unto it's name sake, the Iliad, - is a story told of the fate of
the fabled city of Troy. But most likely not how your mother would have
told this story. I've not read any of M. Simmons work outside of the Hyperion works ( Hyperion,
Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, Rise of Endymion ) but I'm
quite pleased with his latest work. Either that or the scotch is working
on me really well. Thank you Mr. Simmons. Please continue, I'm waiting to buy the
sequel. P.S. A collaboration between you and Greg Bear may have the chemistry
to rival that of Niven and Pournelle in The Mote in God's Eye.
Rating: 
Summary: Purile garbage.
Review: Dan Simmons, whose literary pretentions spice his earlier Hyperion series with inappropriate and lengthy digressions into classical literature, returns with more of the same. Perhaps Hyperion and Endymion can be forgiven their logical inconsistencies and glaring plotholes because of the sheer number of really great concepts (fatline, farcaster, Void Which Binds, the Shrike, etc), but Ilium has no such roots to anchor itself to. Hell, I even forgave the inclusion of the horrible Martin Silenus and a reincarnated Renaissance poet because, at least, everyone was having fun. But come on; Illium is self-flattery at its most purile. Robots discussing the virtues of Proust? A thousand-year old refugee of an extra-terrestrial plot to exterminate the Jews? A virile Odysseus screwing a docile and disempowered future-human female? A gene-tailored Caliban and his AI "Max Hedroom"-like captor, Prospero? Can we at least choose one stream of mythology and stick with it? Illium takes a lumpy mass of allusions to different and wildly incompatible mythologies, throws in some rather tired concepts from Hyperion (faxing vs. farcaster), adds several gallons of pretention, and mixes. What we get is a certifiable disaster of lame plot devices, pseudo-science, and characters acting as vehicles for the authors' prejudices. At one point, the main character (a Colorado professor obviously modeled on Simmons himself) goes into paroxisms of shock when it is revealed that Achilles and his best friend might be GAY LOVERS! Hello? We're supposed to buy that a professor of history qualified enough to be RESURRECTED FROM THE DEAD by vengeful and angry nanotechnological muses living on Mars 10,000 years in the future has trouble believing that Achilles (ACHILLES!) might be gay? Save your money for a Jennifer Lopez movie. You'll get more intellectual stimulation.
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