Most excellent.

I have a deep affection for SF, and I also have a great liking for a significant portion of what is grouped under the rather stodgy title of 'classic literature'. It is evident that Dan Simmons shares this sentiment. Set in a far-distant future, long after the merger of both AI and posthumans, this novel presents three main storylines that ultimately intersect.

First, there is a group of indolent, pleasure-seeking old-style humans inhabiting the old earth. All their needs are attended to by mechanical servitors that were presumably left for them by the posthumans. Upon reaching the age of a century, they are expected to ascend to the orbital rings where the posthumans dwell and join them. A small group of these old-style humans decides to uncover the truth about what is truly happening in those orbital rings. As it transpires, this involves Prospero and Caliban from Shakespeare's 'Tempest'.

Simultaneously, a group of AI robots left to pursue their own objectives in the Jupiter moon system notice anomalous levels of quantum activity on Mars and launch a mission to determine what is occurring. Among them are Mahnmut, who is fixated on Shakespeare's sonnets, and his friend Orphu, who has a preference for Proust.

Oh, and there are also the Olympian gods, who possess all the powers attributed to them in Greek mythology. However, it appears that they cannot foresee the future, so they have brought back a group of scholars from the future to confirm if the events unfolding as they observe and intervene in the Trojan War align with Homer's account.

Simmons has achieved a remarkable feat here. His novel is teeming with the latest hard SF concerns regarding posthumanism, quantum science, AI, and so forth. At the same time, he has discovered a means to incorporate heroes from antiquity and great works of literature from our past and utilize them to shed light on what our future might resemble.

ILIUM is the first part of a duology. The second part is OLYMPOS, which I am currently reading. There is so much that remains unresolved in the first book that I believe the two would be best regarded as one long story divided into two books.

After falling in love with the Hyperion Quartet and noting that Iliad won a Nebula prize, I delved into this duology with great anticipation. And I was not disappointed. As the Dude might say, “It really tied the room together.” This is because it provides some fascinating explanations about the destruction of Earth 1400 years before the events in Hyperion. The combination of science fiction and mythology/fantasy is highly entertaining. Dan Simmons, as always, offers geeks a wealth of mind-candy to chew on and ponder. I had a great affinity for the primary characters. I found the story to be fairly well-balanced, with a narrative that is both readable and compelling. It is definitely worth reading, especially if you are curious to see how that black hole in Hyperion ultimately ended up consuming Earth.

This was an extremely fun read!

Imagine combining the Greeks and Trojans from the Iliad with aliens, space travel, dinosaurs, war, and AI. That's precisely what you get with Ilium!

It presents such a fresh and remarkable twist to the story that we all know and cherish. The author has masterfully blended these diverse elements to create a unique and captivating narrative. The addition of aliens and space travel takes the traditional tale to a whole new dimension, while the inclusion of dinosaurs adds an element of prehistoric wonder. The theme of war is explored in a new context, and the role of AI introduces a modern technological aspect. Ilium truly offers a one-of-a-kind reading experience that will keep you engaged from start to finish.

Dan Simmons is truly a remarkable writer, and I simply can't find enough words to praise him. He is a genius, and among the best in any genre today.

His science fiction masterpiece, "Ilium", is a grand epic in the vein of Tolkein's "Lord of the Rings" and Frank Herbert's "Dune". What makes it even more fascinating is that it's a sci-fi epic inspired by Homer's "The Iliad". It's not just about the original epic but a strange and wonderful re-imagining of one of the greatest works in Western Civilization.

The story is set in the distant future, where Mars has been taken over by the Greek gods. They live on a new Mount Olympus on the peaks of Olympus Mons. Strangely, the ancient city of Troy and all its citizens, as well as the Greek warriors, have been resurrected to replay the 10-year Trojan War.

Adding to the complexity, 20th-century college professor Thomas Hockenberry has also been resurrected to report to the gods on the accuracy of this Martian re-creation. Frustrated by his situation, he decides to interfere in the classic story.

Meanwhile, the few remaining humans on Earth are oblivious to what's happening on Mars until some become curious. A 600+ year-old woman named Savi shows up, along with an older man named Odysseus. There are also robots from Jupiter's moons who come to Mars, only to be shot down by Zeus's lightning and rescued by cute mute LGMs.

It all sounds strange, but "Ilium" is a book that hooks you and never lets go. It's a unique blend of space opera, fantasy, hard science fiction, humor, and literary criticism. Nominated for a Hugo, it's the first in a series continued in "Olympos". It's definitely one of the best and most original science fiction novels I've read in a long time.

These are the things. How could something like this have escaped me? I don't understand how it's possible that I'm reading this only now. This mix of space opera and Trojan War is absolutely unique. It's great fun. And that's by no means the only storyline in this thick 700-page tome. Besides Achilles, Agamemnon, Odysseus, and beautiful Helen, we also have, for example, robots/cyborgs trying to save the world, a dying humanity and its descendants, mysterious alien warriors, and even little green men and Shakespeare with Proust.

It looks like a proper mishmash, but don't worry, it's a seriously well-blended cocktail that won't make your head hurt.

Re-read 2025: still good :)

Bio-robots from the moons of Jupiter (called moraveki), who have an interest in human literature and discuss their favorite works of William Shakespeare and Marcel Proust, have been sent on a dangerous mission to Mars to check what is happening there.

On Earth, up to 1 million centenarians lead an extremely comfortable, carefree, but also joyless life, and the posthumans have mysteriously disappeared, with only legends being told about them... The centenarians live exactly 100 years, and every 20 they are "repaired" with the help of new technologies to be always young and healthy. At the expense of this, they cannot read...

The third plot line (from which the title of the novel also comes) presents a futuristic version of the Trojan War (according to the "Iliad"), in which high-tech Greek gods are involved... They participate in the war, and can also resurrect as "scholastics" people from past times to follow whether the action develops according to the work of Homer. However, the events also take an unexpected turn...

Subsequently, the three parallel stories are intertwined by Dan Simmons in a very interesting way! "Ilium" does not reach the height of the magnificent Hyperion series, but it is still a readable book with a grand vision of the future and meaningful messages, so it is not to be missed!

**A Stunning Blend of Mythology, Sci-Fi, and Classic Literature Woven into an Amazing Epic Adventure**

In 2015, I added Ilium to my Goodreads shelves. I had decided to collect and read Simmons' bibliography, starting with Hyperion. Eight years later, during a holiday in Rhodes, I finally picked up Ilium from my bookshelf.

It had been a while since I'd read one of Dan's books. The last was Hard Freeze in 2018. I'd almost forgotten how he immerses you in his created worlds and the level of detail in his writing. Ilium is a classic Simmons slow burn. It picks up pace dramatically in the final third and doesn't slow until the last chapter. What's clever about it is how Dan ambitiously combines Greek Mythology, Shakespeare, and Science Fiction, creating an entertaining story that makes you feel you've journeyed through the solar system.
Dan doesn't simplify much in Ilium. Scientific terminology bombards you from the start, and characters from Homer's Iliad have brief introductions, then names are freely tossed around. The reader isn't spoon-fed, which I love. You have to think and piece the story together.
Why isn't Ilium a 5-star for me? I've enjoyed other books by Dan more. In Hyperion and Summer of Night, I had a strong connection to the main characters. I was rooting for them or hating the villains. I didn't have that as much in Ilium. Hockenberry, Mahnmut, and Orphu were great protagonists, but Harman and Daeman didn't connect with me as deeply, so I sometimes wished their chapters would end quickly.
However, the way the three story arcs converge is brilliant and classic Simmons. After reading Olympus, I doubt I'll read anything like it again. Not much is resolved by the end of Ilium, as expected in a duology. I look forward to continuing the story when I read Olympus in 2024.

Ilium offers a unique and engaging reading experience that combines multiple genres in a masterful way.

Bláznivé, epické, vtipné, majstrovské.

"O hněvu Achillea, syna Péleova, zabijáka soucit neznajícího, osudem k smrti předurčeného, nám zpívej, ó Múzo."

In the two-part epic "Ílion and Olymp," directly referring to the Iliad and the Odyssey, an incredible story unfolds. It weaves together the tales of ancient Greek heroes in the Trojan War and the extravagant gods ("It's easy to be a god. When you have the right equipment."), as well as intelligent robotic exploration probes that were exploring the moons of Jupiter (when Simmons wrote this, he couldn't have known about the wealth of new discoveries). Now, they are on a mission to discover the causes of increased quantum activity on Mars and, in their spare time, analyze Shakespeare's "The Tempest" and Proust. A dystopian image of Earth after a cataclysm, a Global Caliphate, humanity in turmoil controlled by voynix (yes, a reference to the manuscript). In short, a very wild stew that allows the author's love for story and storytelling to shine through, with countless references to science, history, philosophy, and popular culture. A deep bow to the translator (Petr Kotrle), this must have been a beast.

After reading, I finally delved into the Iliad and the Odyssey, but also into "The Tempest." Reading the e-book wasn't enough; I want to have it on my shelf.

Stunning!

This is an utterly brilliant novel and one of my very favourite novels to date. After being completely blown away by the Hyperion/Endymion books by Dan Simmons, I approached reading Ilium with an attitude of, 'well, Ilium and its sequel Olympos have a lot to live up to'. Well, guess what? In my opinion, Ilium is a masterpiece and it definitely lived up to those high expectations.

I absolutely loved this book. The pages seemed to fly by as I was completely immersed in the novel. The storytelling and prose are excellent. The characters are well-rendered and have their unique individual styles. The plot is gripping and keeps you hooked from start to finish.

I urge anyone who might be interested in reading this novel to avoid spoilers or discussions about the narrative. I'm hugely impressed with the depth of imagination that Simmons had to create a science fiction novel that weaves the Iliad into a really compelling story for the modern era.

It's no surprise that the book was nominated for the Hugo Award and won the Locus Award. It is truly a masterwork of speculative science fiction. I give this book my highest recommendation.

Ilium is an ambitious work, almost on par with the Hyperion Cantos. However, despite containing many interesting elements, it fails to reach the heights of Simmon's magnum opus. It should be noted that this review is being written before reading the sequel.

Simmons' writing style remains largely unchanged from the Hyperion Cantos. It is functional and descriptive, but lacks depth. The extensive descriptions of certain structures, such as the various apparatuses on the rings, do not provide a clear mental image, making those passages feel like a waste of time. Additionally, Simmons' use of pseudo-scientific jargon to describe constructs, only to have the characters claim ignorance at the end, is irritating, especially since this is not hard sci-fi. Another complaint is the excessive and unnecessary descriptions of female anatomy, which serve no real purpose.

On the positive side, Simmons' emulation of his literary inspirations is a strength. The novel begins with a twist on the opening lines of the Iliad, and there are frequent references to Proust, Shakespeare, and Nabokov. The description of battle arrays towards the end of the book feels lifted from the Homeric epics. Given Simmons' literary project, these flourishes are necessary.

The book also contains a wealth of themes and content, including transhumanism, self-aware AI, biospheres, noospheres, anti-Semitism, free will, intellectual and cultural degradation, control of humanity by outside forces, terraforming, space colonization, and rebellion. The reader is also treated to literary analysis of Shakespeare and Proust by various cyborgs. However, it remains to be seen how these metafictional conclusions tie into the plot, as they seem disconnected in the first book.

Simmons' characterization is decent, but not as strong as in the Hyperion Cantos. Daeman undergoes a nice character arc, and the other characters have distinct personalities, although they are sometimes defined by single traits. The motivations of the characters are clear, and while the protagonist Hockenberry is a bit of a reader stand-in, he still takes independent actions.

However, the book has two main weaknesses in plot. Firstly, it is needlessly long. The moravec journey is drawn out with little payoff, and Hockenberry's antics can be extraneous or redundant. Secondly, all of the literary allusions feel arbitrary. The premise of a future (or past?) Trojan War is great, but the specific allusions that form the core of the plot lack explanation. The combination of The Tempest and The Iliad also feels forced, and I found myself questioning the in-universe reason for this combination.

Overall, Ilium is a fine book, and I look forward to reading Olympos. However, for those looking for a definitive Simmons work, the Hyperion Cantos is a better choice.

A pure science fiction novel. I started it several years ago, but being too young, I stopped reading each time. Today, I just finished it and it is a masterpiece. There is a new idea in each chapter, a coherent whole, and successful characters. I loved it. It is a classic that is not limited to science fiction but is a worthy representative of it.

The story takes the reader on a thrilling journey through a world filled with unique concepts and fascinating scenarios. Each chapter builds upon the previous one, creating a seamless and engaging narrative. The characters are well-developed, with their own distinct personalities and motives. They bring the story to life and make the reader care about their fates.

What makes this novel truly special is its ability to transcend the boundaries of the science fiction genre. It explores themes that are relevant to our world today, such as the impact of technology on society and the importance of human connection. It also challenges the reader's imagination and makes them think about the possibilities of the future. Overall, it is a must-read for anyone who loves great literature.

The plot of this book is so complex that it is nearly impossible to attempt to go into details.

However, it features a dead historian who is recording the events of the Trojan war for the gods. There are also strange humans on a seemingly distant future earth, a machine race of explorers living on the outskirts of the solar system, and even Shakespeare.

Believe it or not, they all come together in a way that is not as surreal as one might initially think. The characters are well-rounded and they evolve along with the story.

While I'm not sure if it has important moral implications in the world, it was extremely entertaining to read. It kept me engaged from start to finish, and I found myself constantly eager to see what would happen next.

The unique combination of elements makes this book a truly fascinating read, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for an engaging and thought-provoking story.