Ilium by Dan Simmons

*Previously, we read Hyperion by Dan Simmons which is a sci-fi retelling of Canterbury Tales. Ilium is a sci-fi retelling of the Iliad and we would have skipped right to Dan Simmons retelling of the Odyssey but we heard it's best to read them in order.*

*\~ Wikipedia \~* *Ilium* is a [science fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction "Science fiction") novel by American writer [Dan Simmons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Simmons "Dan Simmons"), the first part of the *[Ilium/Olympos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilium/Olympos "Ilium/Olympos")* cycle, concerning the re-creation of the events in the *[Iliad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad "Iliad")* on Earth and [Mars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars "Mars"). These events are set in motion by beings who have taken on the roles of the [Greek gods](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Greek_mythological_characters "List of Greek mythological characters"). Like Simmons's earlier series, the [Hyperion Cantos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_Cantos "Hyperion Cantos"), the novel is a form of "literary science fiction" that relies heavily on [intertextuality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intertextuality "Intertextuality"), in this case with [Homer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer "Homer") and [Shakespeare](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare "Shakespeare"), as well as periodic references to [Marcel Proust](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Proust "Marcel Proust")'s *[À la recherche du temps perdu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%80_la_recherche_du_temps_perdu "À la recherche du temps perdu")* (or *In Search of Lost Time*) and [Vladimir Nabokov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Nabokov "Vladimir Nabokov")'s novel *[Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_or_Ardor:_A_Family_Chronicle "Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle")*. In July 2004, *Ilium* received a [Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locus_Award_for_Best_Science_Fiction_Novel "Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel") of 2004.

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