Ilium - Dan Simmons Book Review

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Review Summaries

" Eos, Jul 2003, 25.95, 592 pp. ISBN: 0380978938 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 "
Harriet Klausner, Resident Dan Simmons Scholar

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Overall Review

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 30%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Time Travel: - largely backwards/past
Robots, Computers, VR Yes
Robot, PC, VR Plotlets: - good robot(s)
War or Invasion Yes
Is this an adult or child's book? - Kid's book (ages 7-14)
Time Travel story? Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - religious figure
Age: - 40's-50's
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - an entire race
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters

Setting
Earth setting: - general past
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a moderate amount of scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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