Chronicles of Kanjisheik

Book 1: Ilium
Book 2: Olympos

Ilium is a work of such immense scale that it's almost impossible to figure out how to contain a discussion of all its different facets in a book review. Its that kind of book we see all too rarely in SF, an adventure-plus-ideas book that evokes that coveted sense of amazement while establishing itself as a true original in all respects.

Dan Simmons exercises literally no restraints on his imagination; there are enough crazy ideas here for several series of novels. What is impressive here is that all these ideas work. In Ilium, Simmons tackles quantum physics with the courage of one of his heroic warriors from the Classical Age. And he explores the possibilities of a posthuman future in a completely refreshing and different way, taking his story in directions not yet explored by SF writers.

The setting is about a couple of thousand years in the future. Humanity as we know it is gone. Some members of the human race have evolved into posthumans, taking up residence in artificial rings around the Earth. Some "old-style" humans remain on the surface, but in drastically reduced numbers, with lifespans strictly regulated to 100 years, after which they expect to ascend to the rings and become posthumans themselves. Meanwhile, Jupiter and its moons are home to several types of cyborgs, while Mars seems to be the focus of attention in the solar system. This is where the Olympian gods live, at the summit of Olympus Mons.

Thomas Hockenberry is a "scholic" from the early 21st century, one of several such men resurrected by the gods to observe the Trojan War, which they are watching live and interacting with, based on the scholics' observations as to how closely the actual war in Troy is playing out according to the Iliad by Homer. The problem we face here- Is this the real Trojan War, that we are watching via some amazing quantum wormhole through time itself? Or is it a totally different version of the Trojan War, occurring in a parallel universe? We can't tell, and whereas with a lesser author that would be frustrating, coming from Simmons it's an incredible storytelling hook.

The above would be enough of an astounding premise for a story, but the author weaves two additional threads into the plot. Out among Jupiter's moons live a number of highly advanced "robots" called moravecs. Concerned that the increasing quantum activity on Mars is so harmful that it could place the entire solar system in grave danger, four moravecs are sent to the formerly-red planet to see what's happening and stop it if possible. The third thread is on Earth, in which Harman, almost 100 years old, tries to discover all he can about the posthumans before joining them in the orbital rings. He and three friends unexpectedly find themselves on a roller coaster of an adventure that reveals more than any of them ever realised about the planet they've been living in.

In Ilium, Simmons milks the "unresolved questions" for all he's worth: Are the Olympian gods on Mars actually 'evolved' posthumans? But then what of the claim made by an aged woman that she's met the posthumans, that they're still on the rings, and that they're all female? And what are the voynix, the strange bipeds who dutifully serve the "old style" humans on Earth? The author throws all this stuff at such a mind numbing pace, until it seems the most perfectly normal thing in the world to be reading a novel with Achilles and Odysseus in one chapter, followed immediately by one in which robots are crash-landing in a Martian ocean and being rescued by little green men who can’t communicate unless you plunge your hand into their chests and squeeze their hearts. If it goes a little over the top at times, it’s hard to find fault with Dan Simmons. In a story like this, you can easily imagine how hard it would be to not have it go over the top and whip all the way back around to the other side. But for the most part, the nonstop barrage of ideas, alongwith brilliant action packed storytelling, will more than make up for any of the book’s shortcomings.

The real pleasure of Ilium is in its theme that art and literature is at the soul- in fact, the very identity- of every great civilization, and that, lacking those things, all the technology in the world amounts to nothing. All through this novel, we see examples of the most advanced beings obsessing over the creative works of yore. The gods on Mars center their very existences on a poem of Homer. Among the moravecs, Mahnmut of Europa is absorbed in Shakespeare’s sonnets, while his companion, Orphu of Io, prefers Proust. Their genial discussions are delightful to read (and actually made me think seriously about tackling In Search of Lost Time someday!!!). These characters are contrasted sharply with the humans on Earth. They have no awareness of their history, no perspective, no culture, no art, not even an idea of the size and geography of the Earth itself.

If Ilium left you wondering whether it were possible for Dan Simmons to make this humungous SF saga huger, stranger, and even better — then, with Olympos you have the answer. However, the sheer hugeness of the plot can be a disadvantage. But usually it's a problem for the wrong reasons; i.e., the classic case of an author's talent not being quite up to the task of pulling off what he or she is attempting. Olympos is just the opposite: a book that delivers so much so fast, you might find yourself out of breath.

Now that the two moravecs have met Hockenberry on Mars and understood the incidents on Olympos, an invasion of Earth is underway, where the moravecs feel the actual problem is. In Olympos, Simmons, having maxed out the revisionist mythic possibilities afforded him by The Iliad, reaches into his bag of tricks and pulls out Shakespeare's work The Tempest. And a pastiche of The Tempest is what Olympos' earthbound storyline morphs into. At the end of Ilium, some of the "old style" humans encountered the mage Prospero on his orbital "island," and battled the savage creature Caliban. In Olympos, Simmons has oodles of fun recreating The Tempest to his own ends. If the appearance of these characters in Ilium came as a bizarre surprise, in Olympos we finally realise that underneath everything lies an ongoing war between Prospero and the monstrous being Setebos. How will it all unfold?

How indeed? That's the beauty of what must definitely rank among one of SF's most un-putdownable adventures of all time. A book in which Achilles wanders the surface of Mars bent on killing gods[!!!] while Jovian robots invade Earth to put an end to quantum fluctuations that threaten everything, unaware that a mage and a god from Shakespeare are preparing for their final battle, is not a book that can be considered a formulaic bore. Yes, at nearly 700 densely packed pages in hardcover, it's long. But it flies. Simmons succeeds in preventing the whole thing from spiraling out of control, mainly due to his judiciously timed use of humor and his immense respect for the classical works that he's utilising.

On the surface, this series is a rousing bit of escapist adventure taken to the ultimate level, but i feel that the author offers this saga as his tribute to the uniquely human art of storytelling, and the way that our heroic myths and romances and tragedies have shaped and continue to shape civilization. Simmons drives home the moral that art, literature and awareness of our history is as important to who we are as anything else. Prospero himself tells one of Olympos' human heroes that his species simply will not survive if they continue in ignorance of their past, for in their ignorance they lack an identity to fight for.

One of the ways our past informs our present is through the mythic narratives that are passed down from generation to generation. Just as humanity evolves, so do our myths- just consider Ashok K. Banker's stunning retelling of the Ramayana in a 6 book series. In revising and retelling the epics of Homer and Shakespeare, the author seems keenly aware that in future generations, we may see such revisions of the epics of our own time. It is as a tribute to that storytelling process that this Homerian duology qualifies as a masterpiece.

Definitely worth a 10 on 10 on my scale!!!