|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Amazon
On Earth, a post-technological group of humans, pampered by servant machines and easy travel via "faxing," begins to question its beginnings. Meanwhile, a team of sentient and Shakespeare-quoting robots from Jupiter's lunar system embark on a mission to Mars to investigate an increase in dangerous quantum fluctuations. On the Red Planet, they'll find a race of metahumans living out existence as the pantheon of classic Greek gods. These "gods" have recreated the Trojan War with reconstituted Greeks and Trojans and staffed it with scholars from throughout Earth's history who observe the events and report on the accuracy of Homer's Iliad. One of these scholars, Thomas Hockenberry, finds himself tangled in the midst of interplay between the gods and their playthings and sends the war reeling in a direction the blind poet could have never imagined.
Simmons creates an exciting and thrilling tale set in the thick of the Trojan War as seen through Hockenberry's 20th-century eyes. At the same time, Simmons's robots study Shakespeare and Proust and the origin-seeking Earthlings find themselves caught in a murderous retelling of The Tempest. Reading this highly literate novel does take more than a passing familiarity with at least The Iliad but readers who can dive into these heady waters and swim with the current will be amply rewarded. --Jeremy Pugh --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Rage. Sing, O Muse, of the rage of Achilles, of Peleus' son, murderous, mankiller, fated to die, sing of the rage that cost the Achaeans so many good men and sent so many vital, hearty souls down to the dreary House of Death. Read the first page
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Recycled Hyperion, but still Simmons...,
By
This review is from: Ilium (Hardcover)
Let's see:i) Universe-changing war between humans and non-humans. Check. ii) Dehumanizing means of instant quantum transport. Check. iii) Lots of pretentious literary criticism. Check. iv) Mostly nebbish and clueless male protagonists. Check. For some reason, Simmons annoyed me quite a bit in this book. He has several characters in the book who know a lot about the mysteries of the universe the book is set in but don't reveal the secrets for no reasons except narrative convenience. There were also a lot of obvious plot holes: why is Hockenberry allowed to QT into Olympus by Zeus repeatedly, why did the Jupiter moravecs go to Mars non-stealthily when their apparent master plan depended on their secrecy? Still, it is Simmons, who can do entertaining and clever space opera like no other, and I'm looking forward to the second one. However, the Hyperion books should be your first stop if you are just starting to read him.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Combines The Tempest and The Iliad,
By
This review is from: Ilium (Hardcover)
The Greek Gods prefer human fodder to serve as scribes rather than wasting energy by doing it. Thus they send Dr. Thomas Hockenberry and several scholarly peers from the future into the past to study the war at Troy that "launched a thousand ships".Though the years of rebirth were painful, Thomas expects to have a grand old time of comparing reality to Homer. However being enslaved to the Greek Gods and a Muse is no fun, but worse is the reality on the Plains of Ilium. The romanticism of Homer and others seem out of place as Thomas sees the atrocities of the war and the idiocy of the legends. In fact he dreams of a B-52 dropping the A-bomb on these Plains to end the insanity. If that is not enough, adding to his dismay is that Aphrodite orders him to help her kill Athena. While Thomas finds reality monstrously disappointing, robots research the terra-like created atmosphere of Mars and selfish people reside on a genetically different future Earth. Time means nothing in this universe. Combine The Tempest and The Iliad into a strange well-written speculative fiction and what you have is ILIUM. The story line takes some adjustment with the anachronisms of Thomas and his transplanted peers discussing A-bombs while the pre BC Trojan War occurs. The cast is a delight and the three subplots blend together into a tremendous science fiction novel with fantasy elements that will elate the audience. However, don't tell your English teacher about Dan Simmons' chutzpah messing with the classics even if it is quite entertaining and successfully achieved. Harriet Klausner
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Science Fiction!,
By
This review is from: Ilium (Hardcover)
This is an original and well-written science fiction novel that jumps back and forth from Ancient Greece to the far future. Not only is it a richly imagined story of the future, but it also provides you with a refreshing insight into the main characters of Homer's Iliad. Simmons combines chariots and spaceships, robots and Greek Gods, Earth and Mars, the moons of Jupiter and prehistoric Indiana, into an epic tale of mankind, past and future. This novel (and hopefully its sequel) should stand the test of time as one of the classic science fiction novels of this generation.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
|
