Ilium

Dan Simmons

Oct 2009 · Sold by Harper Collins

About this eBook

The Trojan War rages at the foot of Olympos Mons on Mars -- observed and influenced from on high by Zeus and his immortal family -- and twenty-first-century professor Thomas Hockenberry is there to play a role in the insidious private wars of vengeful gods and goddesses. On Earth, a small band of the few remaining humans pursues a lost past and devastating truth -- as four sentient machines depart from Jovian space to investigate, perhaps terminate, the potentially catastrophic emissions emanating from a mountaintop miles above the terraformed surface of the Red Planet.

Ratings and reviews

Cannot say enough good. This series as a whole is phenomenal, but Ilium in particular is one of my favorite books. Unrelenting action juxtaposed with literary discussion of Homer, Shakespeare, and others. The three-part narrative mechanism is particularly excellent.

I'm a fan of Simmons horror so I picked up Illium out of curiosity. I read a lot of science fiction, so I was excited but don't think Illium was great.

I'd describe this book as a merging of the Trojan War on Mars- Shakespeare obsessed, lovable robots- and humans who fight a fish monster. Looking forward to the sequel.

About the author

Dan Simmons is the Hugo Award-winning author of Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, and their sequels, Endymion and The Rise of Endymion. He has written the critically acclaimed suspense novels Darwin's Blade and The Crook Factory, as well as other highly respected works, including Summer of Night and its sequel A Winter Haunting, Song of Kali, Carrion Comfort, and Worlds Enough & Time. Simmons makes his home in Colorado.