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Ilium

By: Dan Simmons
Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
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Summary

From the towering heights of Olympos Mons on Mars, the mighty Zeus and his immortal family of gods, goddesses, and demigods look down upon a momentous battle, observing - and often influencing - the legendary exploits of Paris, Achilles, Hector, Odysseus, and the clashing armies of Greece and Troy.

Thomas Hockenberry, former twenty-first-century professor and Iliad scholar, watches as well. It is Hockenberry's duty to observe and report on the Trojan War's progress to the so-called deities who saw fit to return him from the dead. But the muse he serves has a new assignment for the wary scholic, one dictated by Aphrodite herself.

With the help of fortieth-century technology, Hockenberry is to infiltrate Olympos, spy on its divine inhabitants ... and ultimately destroy Aphrodite's sister and rival, the goddess Pallas Athena. On an Earth profoundly changed since the departure of the Post-Humans centuries earlier, the great events on the bloody plains of Ilium serve as mere entertainment.

Its scenes of unrivaled heroics and unequaled carnage add excitement to human lives devoid of courage, strife, labor, and purpose. But this eloi-like existence is not enough for Harman, a man in the last year of his last Twenty. That rarest of post-postmodern men - an "adventurer" - he intends to explore far beyond the boundaries of his world before his allotted time expires, in search of a lost past, a devastating truth, and an escape from his own inevitable "final fax." Meanwhile, from the radiation-swept reaches of Jovian space, four sentient machines race to investigate - and, perhaps, terminate - the potentially catastrophic emissions of unexplained quantum-flux emanating from a mountaintop miles above the terraformed surface of Mars.

©2003 Dan Simmons (P)2014 Audible Inc.
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What listeners say about Ilium

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  • Overall
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A fantastic listen

A well thought out blend of past, present, and future, combining to create a gripping story.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

good but often a little too 'spacey'

great twist on the illiad, gets bogged down in the details of the technology a little too often

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1 person found this helpful

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perfection

slower at start but I literraly did not went to sleep wanting to hear more of the story. It's the best sci-fi I've listened to for some time. not sure what I can write not to give any details of the story. but the book definitely deserves writing a review with 5 stars.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The Iliad with a great twist

Dan Simmons had penned a great story interwoven with The Iliad. For me, the book has everything from Classics to hard sci-fi
The follow on book Olympus is just as good

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not His Best

After reading "Hyperion" I have always looked out for Dan Simmons books. But Ilium somehow fails to hit the spot. There are long long passages in which we are treated to a roll-call of dozens of Greeks, Trojans and / or Gods - I say "treated" but I'm afraid long lists don't do much for me. The focus seems to ramble, to meander, and I didn't have the feeling of being in safe storytelling hands. Where was the story going? What was it about? Having reached the end of the 29 hours I'm still not sure. Certainly there's book two, Olympos, so I have to hope I will find out by the end of that further 36 hours. Narration was competent, possibly the book didn't give the narrator much scope to shine.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

no point buying it as the sequel isn't on audible

it may well change but at the moment you can't get the second book

even though you can listen too a bit of it at the end which implies copyright nonsense

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Great story

Wonderful story. It's a little long, but it's well worth it. The performance/narration was also excellent.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Flex about classical literature, by Dan Simmons

Wait a minute, this is not a sci-fi book, you are just trying to educate me about ancient Greek history!

...And I loved it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I loved it.

It takes a bit to speed up but then it doesn't relent. Great story, looking forward to Olympus.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing book and amazingly read!

Would you listen to Ilium again? Why?

Yes, it's a great story by Dan Simmons and there would always be more to understand with each listen.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hockenburry was my favourite character, I enjoyed the way he developed throughout the books.

Have you listened to any of Kevin Pariseau’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Yes. Always good!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

All of it.

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2 people found this helpful