Dan Simmons presents a masterly far-future sci-fi epic.

Thousands of years into Earth's future, the human population has reached a state of contented indulgent immortality. No one dies, and no one goes hungry. However, people do nothing more interesting than participate in the occasional sex party or get eaten by a cloned Allosaur.

Meanwhile, a present-day historian has been resurrected on Mars, seemingly at the whim of the ancient Greek gods, to act as an observer of the siege of Troy, which has become a gruesome historical reality.

Into this exciting mix come two highly evolved 'Morivek', sentient descendants of robotic probes to the outer planets of the solar system, who have grown curious about the fate of their human progenitors.

Simmons combines Greek myth and Shakespeare into a complex and often challenging story that rewards the reader's commitment. You may even need to read it twice to fully appreciate its depth.

Readers, assemble!

Seriously, go and get this book and start reading it right away. This is truly a paradise for book lovers. It is a unique science fiction/fantasy blend that combines elements of the Iliad and Odyssey, while also introducing two other completely amazing and original story lines. At first, these story lines may seem completely unrelated, but as you progress through the book, all the tiny pieces start to click into place, and you begin to realize just how vast Simmons' imagination is and how skillfully he plots the story.

A book of this length usually takes me about four or five days to read, as I am a severe insomniac and reading is pretty much my sole source of entertainment. However, this book took me close to two weeks to finish. I wanted to savor every moment of it. Rushing through this book would mean potentially missing out on some detail or slice of awesomeness, and that is simply unacceptable.

Simmons is already one of my favorite authors, and The Terror is one of my all-time favorite books. But I have to tell you, he couldn't have written anything more in line with my tastes if he had reached into my subconscious and based his writing on something he found there. This book was an absolute joy to read.

Oh, and by the way, in between the huge action and dramatic scenes, there are these two sentient, robot-like creatures who discuss and dissect sonnets by Marcel Proust and Shakespeare. As a substance abuse counselor, I often use some of Proust's writings when teaching about triggers and involuntary memory, especially the Episode of the Madeleine. And let's face it, who doesn't love Shakespeare as a reader? I read almost all of his plays before I had to for school, and his work truly proves that writing is timeless. This book just plugged right into my brain, and no matter what was going on in the outside world, when I was reading it, I was happy.

I went through a full spectrum of emotions while reading this book.

It was like a wild rollercoaster ride, swinging between laughter, horror, sadness, boredom, and confusion.

The first half of the book was a complete mystery to me. I had no idea really what was going on, who was who, and what the main plot of the story was.

I mean, there are aliens, Greek gods on Mars, and a dinosaur! Who in their right mind would put that lot into one story?

I still don't think I can really explain the plot and characters to someone who hasn't read this book without sounding crazy and just rambling on and on.

About 50% into the book, I was ready to give up. The characters were just too confusing, the plot was way too obscure for me, and it was far too heavily sci-fi for my normal tastes.

But I'm so glad I persevered. The story line was still a bit confusing, but it made more sense the further into the book that I got.

And surprisingly, I actually started to care about the characters in the end. The Moravecs had to be my favorite. They provided the much-needed comic relief for me.

In the end, I would actually recommend this book to people. However, only if they have a genuine interest in heavy sci-fi.

Some of the technological explanations were so complex that they flew right over my head. But overall, it was a unique and engaging read.

Was there ever a more tedious read?

I have been meaning to read Hyperion and Ilium for a while now. Since I am a huge fan of Ancient Greece, I decided to start with Ilium. Perhaps that was a mistake. I was so disappointed that I don't think I want to read Hyperion or anything else by Simmons ever again.

The story sounded interesting when I read the description. But the book just killed it for me. There are three storylines which will eventually overlap. One is with some humans on a post-apocalyptic earth. One is with the Trojan war raging on Mars. And one is with a few robots on a mission to Mars.

The world building seemed very interesting. I was looking forward to learning more about it. But the characters all feel very undeveloped. They are annoying and I just kept wishing them dead and gone. The humans are bland and dull. The most sympathetic characters are actually the robots. But all they ever do is talk about Shakespeare and Proust. Like, a lot. In detail. Too much detail. All the fucking time.

I bravely read on, hoping it will be good, hoping I was wrong. But then the Trojan war storyline just blew me away. In a negative sense. There is this scholar guy who is brought back from the dead to observe the war and report to the gods what's happening. Fine. So that he could observe at peace, he is given the ability to transform into random characters. Fine. Now, for some reason, which I still didn't find to be very plausible, the scholar decides that Aphrodite is going to kill him the very next day. He's got only 24 hours to live. So what does he do? He morphs into Paris and goes to have sex with Helen of Troy. Yes, you've read that right. Now, technically, this is rape. And it feels that it is even supposed to be humourous.

If I wasn't put off by that enough, wait there's more. Helen figures out he's not really Paris and confronts him. He explains who he is and asks her how did she know. Turns out, he's a much better shag. Yes, much better. And he also has a bigger dick. WHAT?? He morphed into Paris ffs!! How can he possibly have a bigger dick? That makes no sense. And no explanation ever will be good enough for me to accept that this is fine. What a shameless and pitiful self-insert!

And it all went downhill from there. I couldn't wait to finish this book and never look back. There were more random bits later on that didn't make much sense. The relationships between the characters felt so fake and shallow. The ending was abrupt. I know there's part two, but I am so not going to read it. I so don't care about what happens to any of those people/robots/creatures.

Fantasy and science fiction combined with mythology. The result is fascinating!

After "Hyperion", another masterpiece by Simmons. Perhaps it lacks something like fluidity and the ending is a bit abrupt, with many things still left to be clarified and the reader being forced to go to the second volume of the series ("Olympos"). However, it is truly engaging, with a diverse and well-assorted mix of characters. There are three storylines that intertwine turbulently and keep you glued to the book. At a certain point, I lost the temporal thread and honestly, I no longer understood if they were all concurrent or if, more likely, they were taking place on different temporal planes destined to reconcile in "Olympos". Five very well-deserved stars!

This work by Simmons manages to create a unique and captivating world that draws the reader in and doesn't let go. The combination of different genres and the complex web of storylines make it a truly remarkable read. Despite its flaws, it has the power to transport you to a realm of imagination and wonder.

What a book!

Simmons seems to be one of the few authors who do their own thing in an intelligent and successful way.

Simmons demands a lot from the readers! Homer, Shakespeare, and Proust play a strong role in this Sci-Fi work. This might scare some people off, but don't worry. Even I, as an uneducated and ignorant person regarding these three greats of classical literature, managed well with "Ilium".

At first, it was a bit difficult to get into - I hardly understood anything in the first 150 pages - but with each chapter, my curiosity increased, or rather, my interest awakened. Simmons uses three narrative strands in this Sci-Fi work, through which he tells "the Iliad of Shakespeare" in a completely different way. And that's not entirely correct either, because although the Iliad *no idea if that's correct* is retold here, Simmons tells a very own, spacey variant of it. The fight of Troy against the Greeks - like you've never heard/read it before.

Simmons explains nothing, and this makes it rather a book that is suitable for readers who are willing and able to think and draw their own conclusions. It's like a puzzle, and after the first volume, I could only put together small parts. But it's just cool!!!

Moreover, it's definitely not a book for Sci-Fi beginners. I'm glad that I've slowly read into the genre and now read this work, because it's simply...

Highly intelligent entertainment literature

OK, mad props to Dan Simmons!! Bravo!!

This man is truly brilliant and cheeky. He is bold and irreverent, and manages to inject humor in the oddest of places. I swear if I didn't know better, I'd say this book was written on a dare. I mean, honestly, "What the heck did I just read" (er…listen to)!!

This book is like everything in the kitchen sink of scifi!! The world building is simply amazing, and the genre blending is just what I wanted!! Did you want to read a book about Greek mythology? How about a story about the retelling of The Iliad? Complete with Greek Gods and a 21st century scholar roaming around as a slave trying to change history? A scholar who has died of cancer in 2143.

Oh, but then there are also the AI's that are fully sentient and have a civilization that has colonized the moons of Jupiter. There are rogue robots called servitors meant to service humans but something has gone wrong! A dying human race with bored teenagers looking for excitement, eternal life, and a chance to catch a glimpse of the post humans. An orbital ring that supposedly houses the "post humans" but is really a house of horrors run by characters from Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Oh and there is an intrepid old lady that knows secrets ala "Murder She Wrote" and is taking the teenagers on an adventure. And yes, there are aliens, LGM - little green men!! I'm telling you he was at a bar and someone dared him to create a novel with several random elements elicited from a crowd of drunks. Sort of like improvisation at a hookah lounge. And guess what?!? It was good!! It was really good!!

I have no idea what I just read, but I am up for reading the sequel. I do think knowledge of the Iliad will help with understanding, but not as much as one would think. One person's review labeled Simmons as a mad genius. I couldn't have said it better. Not as good as Hyperion but this dude has writing chops and chutzpah!!

Listened to the audiobook. It's over 29 hours long and I was looking forward to it every time I got in the car or took my puppy for a walk. Kevin Pariseau was excellent as the narrator!!

4+ Stars

Ilium is truly a work that defies easy description.

It is an epic science fiction tale filled with enormous twists and turns that keep the reader on the edge of their seat. The characters are constantly tempting fate, some of them being fickle and furious Greek gods. We also have Achilles and Hector from Homer's Iliad, adding a touch of classic mythology. And then there are the Shakespeare-spouting robots from Jupiter, which is an unexpected and fascinating element. Oh, and let's not forget the trippy worm holes that add an extra layer of mystery and adventure.

Overall, it's really good stuff that will appeal to fans of both science fiction and mythology. For more in-depth video thoughts, check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIeLP...

This started painfully, but it soon burst into nice reading.

Dan is building the story in a long and elaborate way, approaching it from a plethora of directions. Typically, all these threads culminate in the last 100 pages, where everything happens at once.

Hyperion was like that, and here you will discover a great many similarities.

Only the referral is to the Iliad, and it is done in a quite masterful manner.

I really want to read more, and that, in my mind, is the best evaluation one can give.

The story has managed to draw me in and keep me engaged, despite the initial painstaking start.

Dan's skill in weaving together multiple storylines and bringing them to a thrilling conclusion is truly impressive.

The connection to the Iliad adds an extra layer of depth and interest, making this a must-read for any fan of epic literature.

I can't wait to see what else Dan has in store for us in the remaining pages.

My review of Ilium in a nutshell:

“I liked it?”

AMBISHUN: DAN SIMMONS HAZ IT.

I'm not entirely certain if it's feasible to be overly ambitious when formulating a plot for a novel, yet Dan Simmons appears to be on a quest to discover. There are concepts, there are lofty concepts, and then there are Dan Simmons concepts.

When it comes time for Simmons to commence a new novel, I envision something along these lines:

Dan Simmons is smoking a pipe (crafted from the bones of an aurochs), deep within the recesses of Stately Simmons Manor. Inspiration strikes. He resolves to pen a novel about the Trojan War! But anyone could undertake such a task. How does Dan Simmons make his rendition stand out? TO THE TOPICS BARREL!

He grandly flings open the oversized mahogany double-doors to his study, and PickWick, the Simmons family butler, is already cranking one of those supersized bingo barrels. Thousands of ping pong balls – nay, sliced baby eyelids, each emblazoned with a single topic tattoo – are skittering about. When the barrel ceases its barreling, out slide three moist subjects.

Robots.

Mars.

Shakespeare.

Dan Simmons downs the last of his chilled cognac, freshly squeezed from the teats of a three-breasted whore. He twirls an imaginary mustache. “Yes,” he mutters. “Only Simmons could situate the Trojan War on past and future Mars and narrate it from the perspective of two cyborgs (one who will be shaped like…a CRAB!!!!) who incessantly bicker about Proust! ONLY SIMMONS!”

He jauntily skips across campus to his vintage moveable-type machine (the ink contains the semen of Ben Franklin!) and writes 1,200 words in 4 days.

-END SCENE-

Seriously. Does he engage in this process with every novel? Just off the top of my head:

Arctic Exploration + Yeti = The Terror.

Charles Dickens + Serial Killer = Drood.

Vampires + A Dangerous Game. Nazis = Carrion Comfort.

I truly liked Ilium, even though I have no clue how the concurrent randomness actually coheres. I'm aware there's a sequel that should clarify everything, but man, my brain is far too fatigued to risk another multi-pronged mind-asplode scenario. For the time being, anyway.

Лал...не знам откъде да започна.

Тази книга е огромна...във всяко едно отношение.

For the umpteenth time, I am incredibly impressed by Dan Simmons' mastery in constructing thrilling plots and telling memorable stories.

"Ilium" is his love letter to Homer's "Iliad", transferred through the prism of science fiction. What happens in this novel is almost impossible to explain. So many layers of history, references, and comparisons one on top of the other like an enormous cake that, just when it starts to tempt you with its sweetness, reveals its heart to you.

"Ilium" is not an easy book to read. There is a huge chance that you will throw it away on page one hundred... or on page two hundred... or a little further on. But give it a chance. Because in the end, you will understand that you are holding a science fiction novel worthy of competing with the greatest, immortal classics in the genre. I am eagerly turning to the second volume of this two-volume saga to find out what will happen to the post-humans, the old-style humans, the Olympian gods of Mars, and the ancient Greek heroes transferred hundreds of years into the future of humanity.

Meh. This piece really reads like that of an English lit major who has constantly been informed that they are "gifted."

They seem to have taken a few classics seminars and now, for some reason, are extremely butt sore over Islam.

It's quite a strange combination. Instead of delving into such a divisive and perhaps unfounded stance, it might be better to stick with something like Hyperion.

Hyperion offers a different kind of literary exploration and engagement that could potentially be more fruitful and less likely to cause unnecessary controversy.

By focusing on works like Hyperion, one can expand their literary horizons and gain a deeper understanding of different themes and styles without getting bogged down in personal biases and animosities towards a particular religion.

It's important to approach literature with an open mind and a willingness to explore new ideas, rather than allowing preconceived notions to cloud one's judgment.