Ilium

Rating:
Summary: Shakespeare and Homer and Proust, Oh My!
Review: Dan Simmons is the most consciously literary of science fiction writers. He not only borrows ideas for stories; he uses the forms of the great stories of western civilization and even quotes from them in the story. If there really are memes, anyone reading "The Hyperion Cantos" risked infection with John Keats' poetry and John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress."

With "Ilium," the infectious risk is Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey;" Shakespeare's sonnets and "The Tempest;" and - gulp - Marcel Proust's "Remembrance of Things Lost." Yowza.

"Ilium" is three seemingly unrelated stories from the 40th Century, stories from three different possibilities of what man might become. There are the Moravecs, inhabiting Jupiter's and Saturn's moons, man-machine hybrids, with a lingering taste for the works of Shakespeare and Proust. There are the Eloi - an appreciative nod to H. G Wells here - who turn out to be all too horrifyingly Eloi, a "post-literate" and possibly degenerate normal human race. And there are the gods of Olympus - Mons Olympus - who may be post-humans, engaged in a bloody re-enactment of the Trojan War.

We see the story through the eyes of Moravecs, a few of the humans and one of Scholi, the observers of the gods, re-constructed college classics professors, sent to report to the gods on the re-enacted Trojan War. And we watch as the Scholi - one in particular - are dragged from their roles as observers to participants, and as the three stories merge into one. It's a superb piece of plotting and narration.

There are resonances from "The Hyperion Cantos," but they do not distract. There are no emotional bombshells equivalent to F. Paul Dure's experience - for my money, nothing in science fiction touches the story of F. Paul Dure - but there are stunning surprises. You *will* cheer Achilles' final line.

The final message, or one of the final messages, may be a little grating: that even as late as the 40th century it is and will be a case of kill or be killed, eat or be eaten. But you can't fault the story-telling. Simmons is in line for another Hugo nomination.

This is the first book of a projected two book series (note to those new to Simmons: the four-book Hyperion cantos was also projected to be two books). A lot of the mysteries are left unanswered at the end of this book. We'll have to hope the second book resolves them. I can't wait.

Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Dan Simmons fans - read this book
Review: like many fans of Dan Simmons, my great anticipation for this novel largely derived from the fact that it marks his return to science-fiction. and after a handful of long, delicious reading sessions, i'm not disappointed.

Simmons has yet again created a future full of wicked technology, new worlds, and a host of mysteries that compel you to keep reading until the final page. i was a bit anxious about the concept of mixing the events of the Iliad in a space-opera, however Simmons pulls it off well - similar to Guy Gavriel Kay's caveat with Arthurian legend in his first series.

of course, any present and/or future forays that Simmons makes into science fiction risk comparison with his all-too-worthy Hyperion cantos. under this lense, Ilium matches Hyperion pound for pound with one exception: the characters in the former just don't stand out as much as they did in the latter. it has been years since i read Hyperion, and yet i still think often of Kassad, Silenus, Lamia, Weintraub, the Shrike, and others.

then again, the more i mull over Ilium, the more i think such comparisons aren't entirely fair. the framework for this novel is quite different, and Simmons is obviously a different writer now than he was then. the book feels less intimate than Hyperion, while at the same time it achieves an epic mood that the latter only flirted with. indeed, this book succeeds as a science fiction mish-mash of Iliad, Odyssey, and Simmons own dose of heady story telling, attaining an almost mythical quality that picks you up and carries you away.

all these words, and really what i want to say is this: read this book!

Rating:
Summary: The road both taken and not...
Review: I thought about doing a recap of events from the book but realized several other people had done an adequate job and another re-telling wasn't necessary: I couldn't put this book down, it's just that simple. Simmons builds on several ideas he developed from his Hyperion saga and I was excited to see those ideas present here (including farcaster technology and this time robots that you actually like). Time travel, teleportation, resurrection from the dead, robots, aliens, alternate worlds, and so much more await you should you pick up this jewel. I loved the characters but even more I loved the worlds in which they pass though. I don't know how I'm going to wait until the next novel in the series comes out, there are so many questions and hints from the first book that I'll be half-insane by the time the next one gets here.

In one word: Beautiful.

A Hugo contender if there ever was one.

Rating:
Summary: Too much fun to put down.
Review: If you loved the Hyperion Cantos, you won't be disappointed. Dazzling! Simmons contintues in his maddening habit of leaving us hanging at the end, desperate for the sequel. As I finished, I felt like I had my foot on the accelerator as my car drove off a cliff.

I would love to see what Simmons could do with his speculative fiction if he could set aside a few years to really concentrate on it. As good as Simmons is, I believe that he is selling himself short, churning out (it seems) two or so books per year, sharing time with the horror and detective genres. I don't know if there is a more talented writer in speculative fiction, but we may never see Simmons' true potential realized. I'd like to think that Simmons has a *masterpiece* of speculative fiction in him. Ilium is wonderful, but you can tell Simmons wrote it in a hurry.

Rating:
Summary: 4 1/2 stars for exceptional Simmons novel
Review: Simmons' latest novel is a complex, fascinating novel that focuses on a trio of interrelated stories. The first and most important concerns the Trojan war. The catch here is that there are civilian observers all from the 20th and 21st century. They're to report what happens word for word during the most important conflicts and compare it to what Homer wrote. If they're not careful, these resurrected scholics will be torn apart by their masters. Who are their masters you ask? Why the Greek Gods with a capital G. They're alive and quite real and not just part of Greek culture's imagination.

In other interesting developments the entire population of normal humans with the exception of a few selected individuals, have vanished. They can't read or write but live a lazy life with no ambitions. They're served by the Voynix and various mechanical servers. Life is perfect unless you venture too far out from the estates where you can be picked off by a T-Rex or other recreated life form. Where did all of humanity go? Are they occupying the orbiting rings with the posthumans? Why did they leave?

In the third part of the story cyborgs bred for various tasks by long vanished humanity have discovered wormholes opening all over Mars. Mars isn't the red planet anymore. It's been terraformed and has life on it. It's not human life. An expedition is sent out to discover who is responsible and to put a stop to them wormholes before they corrupt the space time continumm.

All three distinct separate stories that share a central theme. All of them tied into the fate of Illum (or Troy)during the Trojan war.

Simmons manages to create a rich tapestry that actually cites Proust, Shakesphere, Homer and Virgil. He also manages to do so without becoming pretentious or preachy and weaves these literary references into a science fiction tale that promises to be as epic as his classic Hyperion novels. I say promises because this is the first book in a series of novels. Unlike most novelist, Simmons rarely milks a series for all it is worth. He creates a story and once it is resolved, he moves on to create something else. This approach leaves Simmons novels all the richer. While It certainly would behoove Simmons to create more novels linked directly to his Hyperion books (or the Night triology), he recognizes that once the story is told well and complete, it's time to move on. In this case, Simmons has moved on to create a number of stunning (and occasionally average) novels in a variety of genres. Illum promises to be comparable to the Hyperion novels in terms of scope, characters and themes.

Where have all the normal humans gone? How did the Greek gods become "real"? What are the voynix and why are they trying to keep the remainder of humanity docile? All of these questions will most probably be answered in Simmons' next book (set to be published sometime next year according to Locus). I'm hoping the conclusion will be as strong as the set up. Knowing Simmons and his track history (with the Hyperion books among many others), I don't doubt that he'll create a rip-roaring conclusion worthy of his concepts.

Why not five stars if this novel is so darn great? It's because it's a story only partially told. Illum ties up a number of loose threads but there's a second and third novel just waiting to be written (or perhaps like Hyperion he's already written them)to complete the story. Just because the complete story isn't told doesn't mean you shouldn't purchase and read this rich novel. It deserves to be read now. The second and third acts are in the wings. Consider the time between this and the second novel to be a brief intermission. It'll give you time to catch up or re-read some of Simmons other dazzling novels. There's a reason that Simmons has won the Hugo, Bram Stoker and Mystery Writers of America awards. He's that good. I can only think of a handful of writers that compare to him in any genre. Pick up Illum and enjoy the trip to these three foreign worlds. You won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: Welcome Back to SF, M. Simmons!
Review: After being sidetracked for several years, Dan Simmons returns to sf with a bang!

If you are one of those people who think Simmons' Hyperion novels are some of the best works in sf, then you do not want to miss this new novel. if you are a "newbie" to his works, then this book will certainly do an admirable job of convincing you to go read his past sf masterpieces.

The story begins thus: on an earth long since depopulated after the departure of the "post-humans", eloi-like "old-style" humans waste their lives away in a literal paradise on earth, pampered and protected by servitor machines. But, guided by an adventurous old man who is due soon for his "final fax", four companions search for clues to the whereabouts of an ancient spacecraft, which they hope will take them to the PostHumans and away from their abjectly banal lives.

Meanwhile, on Mars, god-like beings from the Greek pantheon have resurrected scholars to study and record the events surrounding the siege of ancient Troy by Achilles and the Greeks. the scholars, who are terrorized by their masters and easily killed on a whim, are given the ability to morph and blend in with the trojans and greeks, and their goal is to record discrepancies between recorded history and the actual events unfolding before them. but the gods are a warlike and scheming group, and political intrigues swirl as gods/goddeses favor either the trojans or the greeks. one of the scholars, a 21th century professor and expert of Homer's Iliad, is chosen by Aphrodite to assasinate her rival, Pallas Athena.

And bearing down upon the lot of them, four sentient machines from Jovian space rush in to investigate large and unexplained quantum flux events emanating from Mars. Far from being cold and unpleasant beings, these descendants of the early machine explorers from earth are a lively and erudite lot, quoting Shakespeare and arguing about the works of Proust.

Dan Simmons strength is his ability to mesmerize readers with his visions of far future science, while retaining (and celebrating) the essential humanity of his characters. Note, however, that he is NOT on par technically with writers such as Vernor Vinge, who are researchers in real life, and you will not find many explanations on HOW all these far-future gadgets may work.

In addition, Dan Simmons sometimes gets too "westernized" in his viewpoints (the last Hyperion novel being a notable exception), and readers may be wondering where all the non-anglicized people (and their ideas and languages) have gone. This might also present a problem for people not familiar with Shakespeare, Proust, or the Iliad, simply because they will not be able to fully appreciate the dexterity with which Simmons meshes lierature with hard sf.

However, these ultimately do not detract at all from his exceptional story-telling, and the depth and beauty of this work shines through on every page. I literally had to SLOW down and stop reading because I hated how fast I was coming near the end of the book. My only consolation was that this is a two-parter, with the upcoming novel Olympus concluding the epic.

Almost everyone will find something to enjoy. Devotees of ancient literature will be overjoyed by how Simmons has created an intricate melding of his sf storylines with the far older tales of Achilles, Hector, Odysseus, and Helen of Troy (along with all the Gods and Goddesses like Zeus, Athena, Hera, Ares, et al). People with an interest in the Social Sciences can compare his vision of a future human society devoid of purpose to that developed by HG Wells in the Time Machine. Finally, anyone with an interest in computers, robots, and artificial life will be absolutely fascinated by the sentient machines he calls "Moravecs" (which I found was the name of a robot researcher from Carnegie Mellon University).

Rating:
Summary: Simmons returns to his roots at last ... and its all good.
Review: I should preface this by saying that I am an unabashed Dan Simmons fan. I have enjoyed every one of his Science Fiction novels. His works assume a knowledge of many of our cultures great works of fiction and poetry. They are not "dumbed down" and the use of science is plausible, entertaining and speculative. A rare combination, in my opinion.

It has been far too long since Simmons published a novel-length work of Science Fiction (Rise of Endymion, several years ago). Ilium is as good, even better, than anything he has written to-date. Interesting exploration of humanity in what Simmons calls a "Post human" world. All the familiar Simmons calling cards are here:

- Great works (The Iliad, Shakespeare)

- Interesting science (Nanotechnology, quantum mechanics)

- Compelling characters

- Compelling themes

- More than one brutal action scene. For anyone that ever had to read the Iliad in school, this brings the war to life with startling clarity.

Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Dan Simmons goes (Ancient) Greek!
Review: Readers familiar with Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos will no doubt have been waiting with baited breath for his return to epic SF and his sizable new novel Ilium is certainly epic in both size and scope. The novel contains three very different narrative threads, which slowly intersect in provocative, if not necessarily revealing, ways. The first tale, as the title suggests, is based on The Iliad; we meet what appear to be the Ancient Greek Gods who are (subtlety) directing the action of the Trojan War, complete with a full cast including Helen, Paris, Achilles, Agamemnon and ill-fated Odysseus. For some reason the Gods have also 'resurrected' scholars from Earth who are experts on Homer's epic poem; these 'scholics' are charged with watching the Trojan War and ensuring that events are unfolding as narrated in The Iliad. The protagonist in this thread is Thomas Hockenberry, Ph.D. At first glance, Hockenberry seems to be living the classical scholar's ultimate fantasy of actually seeing the real Trojan War unfold. However, we quickly discover that his masters, the Ancient Gods, are every bit as childish, selfish and manipulative as suggested in ancient mythology. Hockenberry is the bound and bitter servant of a Muse, and after a parody of the opening of The Iliad, Hockenberry laments: 'On second thought, O Muse, sing of nothing to me. I know you. I have been bound and servant to you, O Muse, you incomparable bitch. And I do not trust you, O Muse. Not one little bit' (1).

In complete contrast, the second narrative thread introduces Moravecs, organic-machine hybrids who were 'seeded' across the solar system by human beings hundreds of years earlier. The central Moravec is Mahnmut, who spends his time piloting the submersible The Dark Lady through the waters of the Jovian moon Europa, and obsessively analysing Shakespeare's sonnets. When other Moravecs discover massive and very dangerous amounts of quantum shift energy emanating from Mars they decide they must investigate. Mahnmut joins Orphu of Io (who prefers Proust and argues literature with Mahnmut at the drop of a hat) and two others in order to investigate and possibly eliminate the cause of the extremely hazardous quantum energies.

With the Moravec characters, Simmons is again exploring ideas of artificial life. In the Hyperion Cantos, artificial life and artificial intelligences play a huge role; in the first two books they appear almost omniscient, while by the conclusion of Rise of Endymion, artificial lifeforms play a far more complex role as both part of humanity's survival and their ultimate threat. The Moravecs are far less empowered in Ilium and spend the majority of the novel trying to figure out exactly what is happening on Mars. The name Moravec is a nod toward Hans Moravec, the head of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, who argues in his book Mind Children (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1988) that the next stage of evolution is robotic and digital life which will supersede ordinary organic human beings. Simmons' Moravecs are less interested in replacing humanity than in making sure the solar system is not destroyed by experimentation which reeks of human arrogance.

The final narrative thread is set on Earth itself, at least a few millennia in the future. The narrative perspective is Daeman's, an ignorant twenty-six year old who prides himself on being a 'lady's man' and little else. Daeman is a typical of the few hundred thousand humans remaining on Earth: he cannot read, is generally content and uninquisitive, spends most of his time at social gatherings, travels instantaneously across the world via 'faxnode', and leads a pampered life with slavish servitor robots and slightly more mysterious Voynix creatures maintaining his indulgent lifestyle. However, when Daeman is at a party trying to seduce the alluring Ada, he finds himself mixed up with Ada's friend Hannah and the ninety-nine year old Harman who has rediscovered the ability to read; probably the only human being able to do so. Harman is living his final year, as all humans leave the Earth an one hundred years of age, possibly to join the 'posthumans' or 'posts' who left the Earth for the orbital habitats (and elsewhere) centuries earlier. Harman's quest to find a spacecraft, visit the posts, and discover what's really going on with the Earth lead the reluctant adventurers on a journey which uncovers many of the mysterious happenings on the planet Earth, and raises far more questions than it answers.

Just as Simmons used the style of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in Hyperion to draw together six separate stories and then end the novel just as they intertwine, the three narrative strands of Ilium slowly approach one another and the novel ends as they finally intersect. However, unlike Hyperion, where the novel stood well by itself and the stories all held readers with their own energy, the three stories in Ilium are only just finding their own momentum as the novel ends. The very disparate cast of characters are harder to empathise with than characters in many of Simmons' other novels and the shear weight of so many different story elements, settings and intrigues threaten to overwhelm the coherence of the novel; so much is going on, it's hard to enjoy any one story. So, too, are there many shared elements with the Hyperion Cantos which felt fresh and engaging a decade ago, but somewhat less so as they are rehashed in Ilium. However, I must confess not having read Hyperion until I owned its sequel, which made some of the story much clearer. Despite its shortcomings, Ilium has many powerful passages and reworks historical and literary material in quite creative and sometimes amazing ways. The next novel Olympos is already being written and I have high hopes that reading the two in tandem will clarify some of the loose ends from Ilium and produce a far more rounded and satisfying read.

Rating:
Summary: One word: WOW
Review: I think Dan Simmons is amazing. I've loved his work, from Carrion Comfort and Summer of Night through the Endymion series. His talent is irritatingly broad.

I loved this book, and I think the online description simply doesn't do it justice. The three stories woven here are all equally engaging and almost every chapter is a mini-cliffhanger.

In the spirit of full-disclosure, I have to admit that I'm a sucker for the classics. Simmons really shows the Homeric characters in all their god-like glory. I just love that.

What I find most interesting about this novel is the schism between the levels of technological advancement. Three levels of technology, three groupings characters, three fully interdependent "worlds".

He places the "humans", an eloi-like band of ever diminishing numbers, on Earth in a near pre-technical dark-age, fully reliant on their machines but completely unable to create, manufacture or even investigate the world around them -- and they even lack the will to want to.

The hard sci-fi comes from the cybernetic inhabitants of the outer system, "alive" and organic but primarily machine. These "moravecs" are the thinking, feeling, emoting, poetic inhabitants of our distant future -- and it is for these non-human characters Simmons reserves most of his character development. Reading about two "robots" discussing the sensitivities of Proust over Shakespeare is surreally enjoyable.

The "post-humans" are the last level, and it is they who have taken science to such lengths it's no longer science, it's magic, and the practitioners themselves have become gods. To wit, Greek Gods and Goddesses. Zeus rules (literally)! Too cool!

I have never seen this done before, not all in one novel, not branching across time, space and ... genres. This is a real science fantasy epic, a rare bird indeed.

Get this book. You won't be able to put it down.

Rating:
Summary: I am glad there will be a sequel!
Review: Too many people have written a play by play of the events in the book.
I just finished it, and I am glad I didn't read any of the reviews first.
It took me about 40 pages to get into this novel, but once hooked, I couldn't put it down.
Even after I finished it, I needed to go back to recheck items I thought I understood at first to make sure I really did understand them.
I have not read the Iliad, but I have been fascinated by the Greek Gods, mythology, and Greek plays.

I love Sci Fi, and could not figure how Simmons was going to "re-write" the Iliad yet make it Sci Fi.
He does, but it can be confusing. There are parts where you might skip over all the names of many of the lesser greek characters in the Illium, but then from the text it seems that Homer actually named all these characters. I was really more interested in the Gods, Goddesses, and the main Heroes. I just enjoyed the characters and their journey so far.

It can get confusing when you are in future Earth, with the Old Style Humans, vis a vis the Post Humans etc, etc.
Add a big dash of quantum theory, plus robots that are almost more Human than the "OSH", and you get a big mix Sci-Fi, and Myth.

I was not aware that there was to be a sequel when I bought this book, nor when I finished it, so the ending was really a cliff hanger. Now that I know there will be another book, I hope it will address all the questions that this book has posed.

Once caught up in the movement of all the three stories that are connected in some way, it is a hard book to put down.
I enjoy Dan Simmons, and this was another really fine book by him.