Olympos

I have to admit, I almost didn't buy these books (Illium and Olympos) because of the negative reviews on this page. The concept, however, was so intriguing to me I just had to give it a try. You should do the same. What a beautiful tale of human rediscovery, a reminder of what is important in our lives... told within a tale that is historical science fiction! Completely original, intensely emotional, extremely intelligent read. I would recommend this to anyone with an inkling of interest in science fiction. The "loose ends" some other reviewers have complained about stimulate the imagination, rather than offer an unsatisfying conclusion. The multiple storylines and points of view add a depth to the story that most novels lack. Don't skip this one because of the negative feedback, give it a chance and you might be pleasantly surprised... I was.

Even now, decades after you'd think that such ideas have passed, some people still have a prejudice against science fiction as some sort of unsophisticated kiddie fare. If there was ever an author to show just how wrong that belief is, it would be Dan Simmons, who is able to write novels that are not only great science fiction, but great literature as well. The two are not mutually exclusive, as his novel Olympos demonstrates. Olympos is the second part of Simmons's grand 1600+ page epic that began with Ilium (so if you haven't read that book first, you need to before either reading this one or even continuing with this review (which will have spoilers about the first book)). Ilium had three separate but related storylines dealing with (1) a futuristic Earth where the remnants of humanity lead an Edenic existence with robots attending to their every need; (2) a group of intelligent robots called moravecs on a mission from Jupiter to Mars to investigate strange phenomena; and (3) the replaying of the Iliad with all the gods and heroes on an area of the terraformed Mars, with resurrected 20th century professor Thomas Hockenberry reporting on events. As Ilium concluded, Hockenberry had derailed the Iliad's plot, creating an alliance between Trojans and Achaeans in a war against the gods. This is not a one-sided battle, thanks to the high-tech weaponry that the moravecs are providing plus the fighting skills of the unkillable super-hero, Achilles, who not even the gods can bring down. On Earth, the once benevolent mechanical beings known as the voynix have turned against the humans in a war that IS one-sided; the voynix are too tough and plentiful to not eventually win. As Olympos begins - eight months after the events of Ilium - the war against the gods is continuing, but the Trojan-Achaean alliance is shaky, and various conspiracies among both gods and mortals threaten to start the Trojan War all over again. While characters from Greek mythology play a big part on Mars (or is it really an alternate Earth?), it is Shakespeare's The Tempest that is influential on Earth, with versions of Prospero, Caliban and Ariel affecting things. While Hockenberry and Odysseus are recruited on a moravec mission to Earth, the last humans, including an older version of Odysseus continue their losing war against the voynix, while another, more sinister and alien creature called Sebetos waits to take over the world as well. If this all sounds complicated, it is, but Simmons keeps everything straight, and my brief summary can hardly do justice to all that's going on in the novel. While there are most of the trappings of science fiction - robots, space travel, super-weapons, etc. - Simmons puts it in a framework filled with literary references (it certainly helps to have at least a familiarity with Shakespeare and Homer) that elevate it above a mere genre work. But don't be intimidated: this is a real page-turner filled with plenty of suspense, romance an

In this sequel to "Ilium", Dan Simmons picks up right where he left off, continuing to develop a universe (several universes?) populated by "Post-humans", "Old-style" humans, Moravecs, LGM (Little Green Men), Greek Gods, Voynix, and Calibani. It almost sounds like fantasy, you think, but "Olympos" is nothing like fantasy: it is hard science-fiction with one of the most interesting plot devices I have ever read. Many reviewers didn't like this book-and their opinions are just as valid as mine-but like ultra right-wing conservatives, I simply don't understand where they're coming from. I enjoyed "Olympos" very much; indeed, I enjoyed it so much that I actually slowed down my reading pace so that the book would last longer. I found it refreshing to read a sequel that I considered to be as good as the first book, a sequel that wasn't just a rip-off of a popular first story; a sequel that left open enough elements for a third installment without obviously trying to do so. Imagine a future in which Homo sap has learned to manipulate everything from the basic building-blocks of life to time and space itself. Great engineering feats and art and technical advances become commonplace and pedestrian. What does a species bored with its success do now? It reaches back into misty pre-history and tries to re-connect with its roots, and it finds there a drama that can be replayed, an interactive drama with plenty of roles for a semi-omnipotent species to act out; to re-discover the worst of the human character as well as the best, and to experience these traits working side by side, weaving in and out and around each other with one common lesson: free will. In the meantime, the detritus of previous eras continue on their own courses of discovery and growth: cyborg moravecs who become more endearingly human, perhaps, than their human creators; a small population of humans living in a safe, manufactured world who long to know if there isn't more and who rise admirably to a challenge beyond their experience; engineered little green men, built for a task of vanity, who evolve altruism as their defining trait; revived ancients, Greeks and Trojans, who divert from their pre-ordained course when, through aristeia, they learn that their "gods" cannot live up to human expectations. Simmons leaves no character undeveloped, and story arcs grow and intersect in satisfying ways. Those with a thorough knowledge of Greek mythology will probably pick up on interesting plot points that I missed in my reading, but even though I know very little of Greek mythology, I still found "Olympos" to be very enjoyable, a great allegory of what it means to be human.

What if everything from a genius imagination was real? It all boils down to that in Olympos. That simple yet complicated question is explored in depth. Brilliantly After reading Ilium I had no idea what to expect from Olympos... Ilium is the only other book I've seen fit to write a real review for. And Olympos follows suit. Ilium was, no matter how thrilling, predictable in it's Iliad storyline, we all knew what was going on, and how everything would happen. Then the curve at the end of the book leaves you hanging, with all those questions unanswered. Olympos explained everything I had questions about from Ilium, but it also raised a few more, and left some things open. The conclusion to the two book saga is every bit as rewarding as I was hoping it would be, but there is room for more. Perhaps Mr. Simmons is planning another Cantos like his also brilliant Hyperion saga. I certainly hope so. The best I can do to sum all of this saga up is that it seems like it WILL be real. All of us have that feeling when reading Lord of the Rings that this is something that DID happen, it seems historical, and no matter how fantastical it gets, it's still grounded and thrilling. Olympos has that feeling, only in a future sense. It is something that WILL happen. Brilliant books altogether. I truly believe that these works, Ilium and Olympos, are every bit the masterpiece of such books as Lord of the Rings, Ender's Game, Dune... and more. It's rare to discover true literature in Sci-fi, but oh so rewarding when you do. I know it seems as though I've not said much about the book, but there is far too much information to shrink into anything less than the novel. You just can't sum it up without it losing somthing. I have no doubt that anyone who LOVES to THINK while they are reading will love this book. I'm just hoping I can get a leatherbound edition so that I can pass these two books to my grandchildren. But don't even try this one unless you've read Ilium first.

OLYMPOS is a 700 page tome that doesn't just live up to the expectations of a sequel, it obliterates them! This is a work of astounding imagination and inventiveness. Picking up months after ILIUM left off, we are brought into this novel through the eyes of the most beautiful woman who ever lived, Helen of Troy, as she mourns for her husband, Paris, recently killed in one-on-one combat with the god Apollo-- Or was he... It seems as if all is not well within Ilium's fabled walls! In fact, not nearly everyone involved in this recent united front against the Gods is kosher with the idea. There are rumors of Greeks and Trojans alike once again praying to their deities and even plotting with them to get the real war started back up again! Thus begins this wildly entertaining page turner that has everything you could ask for in a concluding volume. My only complaint would be that it wasn't long enough! Yes, I say this knowing that it already pushes 700 pages. I can't help it, I wanted even more. Brilliant, dynamic writing by Dan Simmons that is both plot and character driven. One of Simmons' finest achievements, nearly reaching the staggering heights he set for himself and every other writer of epic science fiction with the HYPERION quartet of books.