Reviews

დენ, არ გრცხვენია? არა, მართლა მაინტერესებს ამ წიგნს რომ წერდა, არ უტყდებოდა? ამდენი იაფფასიანი კლიშე, სიუჟეტური შავი ხვრელები, კომერციული ნაგავი, უადგილო სექსი, უადგილო პოლიტიკა, გულუბრყვილო განსჯა... რატომ დენ? უფრო სწორად რატომ ზუსტადაც რომ გასაგებია - პოპულარობა, კომერცია, ხო. მაგრამ, როგორ? როგორ მოგიბრუნდა ხელი ასეთი სირობა დაგეწერა? თან 2 ტომი! თან ორივე ამხელა!? გრცხვენოდეს, გული გამიტეხე!

jane_farstrider's review against another edition

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2.0

I was excited to read this and had high hopes for it, but I was a lot less engaged than in book one for a few reasons.

Even with it being a fairly long read, there were a lot of loose ends that didn't really go anywhere, and character motivations that seemed unbelievable (or at least poorly communicated). If I had read this when I was less informed, I might not have been so put off by the parts that read like Zionist propaganda — and didn't really help the character development or overarching plot.

I've liked the three other books I've read by Dan Simmons, but this one felt disappointing.

vortimer's review against another edition

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4.0

Sprawling conclusion to the metatextual epic that began in Illium. It plays with the works of Homer and Shakespeare, among others; the importance of literature and culture to humans been humanity, rather than spoilt Eloi like cattle is a central theme.

lacommunarde's review against another edition

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5.0

Holy cow! Just holy cow! Dan Simmons clearly knows how to use the many themes and narrative voices he has at his beck and call in the series of wonders and horrors he draws on.

missingcomma's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

embereye's review against another edition

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4.0

Simmons literary-influenced sci-fi strikes again. These did not affect me the way that Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion did, but I also had never experienced the massive broad sweeping storylines that somehow shatteringly reflected some classic piece of writing (Keats in that case). I suppose Simmons can probably be known for this particular interest, and this is a decent example.

Taking the classical Greek and Roman tales and later Romantic rewritings of the Trojan war, introducing post-human and post-literate elements, robots, and lots of elements of The Tempest (Shakespeare), and it becomes a circus of entertainment. Long and requiring a bit of patience, it definitely satisfied me.

rageofachilles's review against another edition

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3.0

I enjoyed this book, but towards the end I was wondering if the payoff was worth the labor it took to get there after close to 2,000 pages. I couldn't help but be a little bored of it all. Ilium ended on a great cliffhanger: the Greeks and Trojans united against the Gods! That cool twist wasn't maintained long in this book--with the moravecs leaving Ilium-Earth/Mars for the real Earth, after spending almost the entire first book arriving at the battle of Troy. I didn't care much for the introduction of the post-human, Moria, who didn't do a lot in the book after all the buildup and mystery surrounding them. The elements that this series shared with the Hyperion Cantos (like instant teleportation) was also a little annoying since it felt like I was reading the same book at times.

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