Just finished the Hyperion "Cantos" by Dan Simmons

[Ezlivin]

What a series! A bit wordy and convoluted in parts, but overall a great read.

I predict that it will never be made into a movie. And that's a good thing.

[Swede]

1. I enjoyed it also.

Dan seemed to lose focus in parts,but the sum total was a good read.

[Nevernose]

2. What if Poe had channeled Keats and written "The Canterbury Tales?"

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.

[mike_c]

3. I finished Ilium and Olympos a couple of weeks ago...

...and was impressed. They're not as good as the Hyperion books though, IMO. I've re-read that series several times, and it just gets better.