Sing O Muse, of the book I just read...

[bluegargantua]

Hey,

Just finished up, Ilium by Dan Simmons.

Hands down, this is easily the best Sci-Fi I'm going to read all year and it will be in very hot contention for the best book I've read this year.

On Mars, transhuman techno-gods are re-enacting the Trojan War and using reconstituted classics majors from the past to make sure the story is on track.

On Jupiter, a group of AI's are going to investigate the quantum disturbances on Mars.

On Earth, a bunch of humans live in a paradise watched over by the benevolent posthumans above, but their comfortable lives are about to run into some hard, hard, Truth.

The story has Homer, Shakespeare, Proust, and a few other literary giants striding through it.

No zeppelins, but there is a balloon ride.

The only detraction is that the book is clearly part 1 of a two parter (the second book Olympus is out in hardcover now).

Anyway, the book is highly recommended.

Also, anselm23, you need to drop whatever you're reading and get a copy of this to dig into. You will thrilled beyond belief.

later
Tom

Comments

[shiffer.livejournal.com]

Sounds awesome. I'll wait for the second part to come out in paperback and grab them both [/plan]

[jhim.livejournal.com]

Have you read the Hyperion Cantos?

[twwombat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, some of the themes are strikingly similar. 'Cept Hyperion has Keats. And massive doses of resurrection.

I'm into the 4th book (The Rise of Endymion) now, and I managed to score a copy of Ilium which is fairly high on the "What do I read next" list...

[bluepapercup]

This is because Dan Simmons is GOD.

[anselm23.livejournal.com]

I would like to say for the record that I have been a Dan Simmons FAN OF THE FIRST ORDER for something like twelve years and nobody ever listens to me when I say something like, "You ought to read Hyperion -- it's the best sci-fi I've ever read, ever."

I read something like 6,000 pages a year. You'd think people would take my recommendations from time to time. :-)

For the record, I've read ILIUM and OLYMPOS is on my bedside table even as I type.