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Edited on Sun Dec-25-05 11:40 PM by Nevernose
His latest is in the same literary vein, btw: two robots incessantly debating Proust vs. Shakespeare crashland on Mars and are kidnapped by genetically-engineered participants of "The Tempest." Elsewhere on Mars, real-life Greek gods are reenacting the entire Trojan War (and much of the god's dialogue is lifted directly from Homer -- Simmons really knows his stuff), in which a 20th century "Iliad" scholar has been resurrected to oversea continuity and really screws things up. Menawhile, back on a 40th century Earth, a malevolent mastercomputer is bent on destroying the remainders of an Eloi-like humanity, opposed only by a collection of antiheroes, including an escaped Odysseus.
Okay, it sounds like shit, but "Ilium" and the sequel, "Olympos," are actually quite wonderful, and if you have any knowledge at all of The Classics or even rudimentary skills in literary analysis, the books are well worth your time.
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