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seanml's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Ilium, the first book in this series, was unexpectedly amazing. Simmons built a massive world with several mysterious plots. Some things were answered, not all, but enough that even though the story was not concluded yet, I left the first book very satisfied. So the challenge of Olympos is this: the story has been set up, there's no more fun reveals. Everything now hinges on the characters, the plot, and the explanations. And does it nail it? Well, kinda-not-really. By the end, many plot threads sort of just linger away; some of them left intentionally unfinished. This works in some cases, others not. Though we finally see every connection laid out in the last act of the book, that means we get less room for any one climax. There's also some fairly Stephen King-ish depictions of women this time around (If you know what that means, then you know what that means), though there are a handful of exceptions. And there's a subtle bit of islamophobia as well, not explicitly said ever, but you can almost feel it seeping through the author. So, I've gone over all the poorer decisions. Because it is still a fun ride in the end. Post-apocalyptic robot survival? Sure. Achilles being the scene stealer in any book that utilizes him? Of course. And the two robots that were interestingly the best characters of Ilium? Still the best. 7/10.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Sexism, Vomit, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Homophobia, Rape, Slavery, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Alcohol
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