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Master of the Universes: An Exclusive Interview with Dan Simmons
Changing genres as easily as others change clothes, bestselling author Dan Simmons has written horror, mystery, historical fiction, thrillers, fantasy, and science fiction. In this Amazon.com exclusive interview, he talks about his latest SF triumph, Olympos, a tale of Mars, the Greek gods, and survival in a post-human world.

Rated by buyers
- don't read
I advise anyone just to read the very first part of this series Ilium, but don't read Olympos. I don't know how anyone could give a positive review of this book. The writing, the story, the mystery, the reason, the characters, it all falls appart in the sequel. Read the very first book, imagine your own ending to the story. I assure you it's better then the second book.
Rated by buyers
- Falls apart
The wonderful story and backdrop setup in Ilium cannot be sustained. The writing falls apart, the story splinters, the explanations are not satisfying, the characterization fumbles. Not a bad book, but if I had to do it over again I would have probably walked away after Ilium.
Rated by buyers
- I doubt he reads these things, but ...
Dan Simmons, I'm exceptionally disappointed in this pile of dog poop that you call "Olympos."
My list of complaints has already been addressed by other reviewers, so I won't bother re-hashing them. I give the book a 2-star review because I enjoyed the window into some of the high points of your imagination. I can't imagine why anyone would rate the book higher, though. Did those 5-star reviewers read the same book as I?
Unlike some of the pretentious reviewers who complained about incorrect usage of string theory or greek/latin (mis-)translations, I'm just steamed because you left so many threads dangling in the breeze. I don't expect Sci-Fi to get everything right to satisfy all the pedants. I do, however, expect a novel to finish things up properly and not leave me frustrated and irritated at the end. Odysseus got his rocks off -- what about the rest of us?
Sigh. Oh, one more thing... Enough with the crazy jingoism and blatant homophobia. Seriously. For someone who dabbles in visions of the distant future and advanced civilizations, you sure seem awfully small-minded in some ways.
Rated by buyers
- Stop Reading w/ 75 pgs Left For a 5 Star Book
I'll try to keep it short for the passing reader:
Really, really, really good book the very first 90% of it. But then you are presented with a limp finale and than a follow-up that could have done with some better chapter organization (Switching the last 2 chapters may have provided a better effect, asinine I know but I'm just trying to find some potential).
It really felt like all the storylines just fall apart at the end into weak explanations (or more then likely no explanation at all). I enjoyed reading about the science in Ilium and moreso in Olympos but Simmons just doesn't string it together well enough. All of a sudden one of the characters just "figures it all out".
If you insist on buying this book (which you should if you have already read Ilium), I would suggest halting after part 3 ends, maybe you won't have too bitter a taste in your mouth like I was left with after proceeding though Part 4.
Rated by buyers
- Disappointing
As others have said, the loose ends are tied up too abruptly and sloppily. I'm not a Straussian, but I am willing to hear an argument well presented on the behalf of those ideas. Ilium did so. Olympos does not. At the end of the day, the picture of the old-style humans regaining their humanity through agon and aristeia simply was not convincing.
And Simmons (like the Straussians in the academy) really needs to get over the fact that men in classical Greece had sex with each other. His shrillness on this was really jarring and distracting.
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