Dan Simmons' "Ilium" and "Olympos"

[bropous]

I just finished these two books and thoroughly enjoyed them.

But what happened to Caliban? Setebos? The post-humans? What the heck were the voynix anyways? Why keep the humans in luxury?

Seems to me the story is unfinished, with another book to continue the story being written by fellow Coloradoan Dan Simmons. I've only recently begun reading his books, but I do enjoy his writing style, evne though a tad technical at times. His physics knowledge is impressive.

It also (almost) spurs me again to pick up the Iliad, but going through all the Greek names gets a bit cumbersome.

Have any of you folks read these books?

I'm headed off to the bookstore to get a copy of Hyperion. Looks interesting. Wish I could find a list that puts all of his books in order and shows which ones are related to the others. Is Endymion a further extension of Hyperion and its sequel?

[The Telcontarion]

This was kind of discussed already:

http://entmoot.com/showthread.php?t=13318

[bropous]

Well, Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion were discussed in that thread. I was trying to get a discussion more esoteric to Ilium and Olympos.

The question, again, has anyone heard whether there is to be a sequel to Olympos? The book just seemed to peter out.

[brownjenkins]

Basically, it's two sets of two books:

Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, the first two and the best. They really read as one book and are up there with my favorite scifi.

Endymion and The Rise of Endymion is the two-book sequel written quite a few years later. Also very good, though not quite as "great" as the first two.

I haven't read anything else by Simmons as of yet, but probably will pick some up one of these days. :D

[bropous]

Right, but I'm really trying to stick to Ilium and Olympos here. There is already an established thread on Hyperion et al.

I haven't really dug into Internet resources on the subject, but was curious whether you Simmons readers have heard of possible continuations of Hawkenberry's tale. And, if anyone can help me answer these issues, I would appreciate it:

What were the voynix?

Why were humans kept in spoiled luxury but in limited numbers?

What happened to Caliban?

[brownjenkins]

Dan Simmons does have a forum at his website that might help. I'm pretty sure he only intended to write those two books though. He's one of those writers that likes to leave a good few loose ends for people to mull over. :D

[bropous]

Thanks, Jenkins, I'll give his site a peruse.

[afro-elf]

I read both of them. I enjoyed the Morvecs (sp) and Achilles and Hector slaying gods. However, I was disappointed as a whole. It was like a movie with REALLY poor editing. FAR too many unanswered questions and simply TOO much stuff. An art film premise but a B movie outcome.

There was a quote about the Voynix being connected to the Voynix text but it does not say how.

AE

[trolls' bane]

I'm currently about halfway through Olympos, and, therefore, I think this thread deserves a bump.

I somehow find it difficult to see how all the loose ends will be tied up in so few pages left, but with the Cantos considered, which tied up all of the remaining loose ends in a matter of twenty pages, I don't doubt Simmons' ability to do so.

I just got to the part where Zeus, in a fit of rage after being awakened from Hera's "spell" vaporized her, tossed Poseidon into Tartarus, and claimed to be the original master of Setebos.

I seem to remember reading about Simmons potentially writing a sequel called The Odyssiad. I would like nothing better than to see a sequel to these, although I'll probably have to read 'em all over again by the time it comes out.

[The Telcontarion]

I'm currently about halfway through Olympos, and, therefore, I think this thread deserves a bump.

I somehow find it difficult to see how all the loose ends will be tied up in so few pages left, but with the Cantos considered, which tied up all of the remaining loose ends in a matter of twenty pages, I don't doubt Simmons' ability to do so.

I just got to the part where Zeus, in a fit of rage after being awakened from Hera's "spell" vaporized her, tossed Poseidon into Tartarus, and claimed to be the original master of Setebos.

I seem to remember reading about Simmons potentially writing a sequel called The Odyssiad. I would like nothing better than to see a sequel to these, although I'll probably have to read 'em all over again by the time it comes out.

Someone is falling in love with Simmons I see, well, he is an amazing author. That whole Illium concept of men killing gods and machines vs magic is beyond creative, this man's imagination is in a league of it's own.

[trolls' bane]

Agreed. There are parts where you have trouble believing that a person could have imagined it at all.
Such as the revelation that the gods are indeed post-humans with the exception of Zeus.

I think Simmons' work is best in regards to the characters being people one can relate to. I think he did particularly well in Hyperion with the Consul, John Keats no. 2, Father Captain de Soya, and Raul Endymion; and in Illium/Olympos with Mahnmut and Orphu.
Others he leaves appropriately vague, such as Helen.

In other news...
Accross Ilium/Olympos and The Fall of Hyperion, I imagine Leigh Hunt and Daeman as being rather similar.

[sumansameer]

It's a line from a Celtic poem, Cad Goddeu ("Battle of the Trees"), originally translated by Robert Graves, and literally transcribed into Sanskrit. The line goes, "Under the tongue root a fight most dread, and another raging, behind, in the head."

[The Telcontarion]

I am very disappointed that he has not published anything new in sometime.



I seem to remember reading about Simmons potentially writing a sequel called The Odyssiad. I would like nothing better than to see a sequel to these..

I would appreciate this much.