I have long loved Shakespeare, and yet Dartmouth Professor Saccio had a whole lot o' stuff I didn't even begin to know. I could listen to the entire 16 CDs again, and I'm sure that I'd pick up some info that I didn't catch the first time. Great way to intelligently cope with a long work commute!

Even though I don't have much interest in Shakespeare, I decided to read it anyway because I love Bill Bryson's books. I learned more about Shakespeare than I ever wanted to know, but did learn some very interesting facts too. Bryson is a great researcher and always manages to glean facts that no one else does.

This is my fifth book by this author and she just keeps getting better! Goodman always has strong female lead characters. Her storytelling is wonderful and keeps you turning the pages and wanting to read just one more chapter. This is the first book that didn't have a theme of water in it. The setting in Italy is beautiful. I also like how you can never guess ahead of time how the mystery will unravel.

This was not an easy book to read. In fact, structurally it may be the most difficult book I've attempted to review here. Dan Simmons, notable for his Hyperion Cantos (and specifically Hyperion, winner of the 1990 Hugo Award) is known for long, complex sagas involving themes drawn from disparate sources throughout literature. His best stories take more than one book to complete, and Ilium is no exception: I plan to read the sequel/conclusion, Olympos, as soon as I get some other reading I need to do out of the way.

Basically, if you want it, you've got it in Ilium: in addition to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey (for that matter, the whole of classical Greek drama and literature) you've also got William Shakespeare (specifically The Tempest and the sonnets), Marcel Proust, Edgar Rice Burroughs (via John Carter of Mars), H. G. Wells (via The Time Machine, First Men In The Moon and possibly The Island of Dr. Moreau), Buck Rogers, some Jewish tradition, and a touch of H.P. Lovecraft for good measure. Simmons in his introduction describes the book as being similar to his childhood experience of mixing and matching toy soldiers from different eras to create elaborate battles. He does exactly this, figuratively and literally, in Ilium.

The story is set in the 40th century, when 'old-style' humans have become decadent and lost all contact with human culture and history under the influence of modified 'post-humans' who've set themselves up as reimaginings of the ancient Greek gods. Appropriately, they live on Mt. Olympos--Olympos Mons, a volcano the size of France on Mars, the highest peak in the solar system. The post-humans have not only set up shop on Olympos but also terraformed Mars. Either on Mars itself, or traveling through time to Earth, the post-humans busy themselves observing the Trojan War in 1200 BC (or a recreation thereof). To aid them they've resurrected classical scholars from throughout history. One such scholar, Thomas Hockenberry, lived during our time and becomes embroiled in a plot by Aphrodite to assassinate Athena. He does find time to get lucky with Helen of Troy along the way, so at least he's got some fringe benefits to his job.

Meanwhile, a group of moravecs--sentient robots--working on the moons of Jupiter discover that the post-humans' activities threaten the fabric of spacetime itself, and seek to locate and destroy the source of the activity in order to safeguard life throughout the solar system. In their spare time, the moravecs study what they term 'Lost Age' culture: the whole of human history, art, and literature up to at least the 26th century when a not-completely-specified disaster overcame humanity and set the stage for the setting we see now.

A group of old-style humans becomes involved via the services of Savi, a woman who's lived for 1400 years and is the sole source of any meaningful knowledge of human culture. Initially out of curiosity, and then after Savi's urging, the old-style humans (including the only man left on Earth who can read) start to seek out the truth behind the culture the post-humans have imposed upon them.

But wait...there's more! Along with the Greeks and Trojans, bio-engineered Greek gods, resurrected historians, androids, Eloi, Morlocks, and the Wandering Jew are Little Green Men (who are called as such in the book), Native Americans, anime-style combat mecha, Lovecraftian Elder Beings, and lots and lots of references to Proust and Shakespeare. Oh, and did I mention the dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts that have been reintroduced to Earth's ecosystem?

For those not well-versed in literature, the first three-quarters of this book could get intimidating. I'm very familiar with the Greek classics, somewhat familiar with Shakespeare (The Tempest is not one of the plays I've had any contact with) and not familiar at all with Proust (whom I actively avoided thanks to a literature instructor whose moods were as black as her clothes--although Simmons may have redeemed Proust for me here). I found it a challenge to wade through the references and some of the deeper literary discussion that fuels most of the first half of the book, so a reader whose familiarity isn't as great may have more difficulty. These sections do have bearing on the larger story, so they shouldn't be neglected by the reader. Just have patience and all the cool stuff with androids and nuclear weapons will show up in due course.

The moravecs are easily the most relateable of the characters, showing more depth of emotion and humanity than most of the human characters (with the possible exception of the Greeks and Trojans, who are played pretty much as they were depicted by Homer). Orphu and Mahnmut argue, bicker, have raging disagreements, and are together for each other through all circumstances. They as far as I'm concerned are the true heroes of the story. They're the ones who recognize the threat and take action, sacrificing everything in order to safeguard others. Hockenberry gets annoying and takes actions (e.g., his trysts with Helen) that actually jeopardize both his stated and unstated missions out of pure selfishness. The old-style humans are thoroughly irritating in their ignorance and childishness, although at least two of them manage to show greater initiative and awareness toward the end. It says a lot that, at the end of history, the one man who can change these children in adult bodies into true men and women turns out to be one of the greatest heroes from history's beginning.

Simmons as I said before is incapable of finishing a story in one volume. He takes 570 pages just to set up the conflict he really wants to show (and which he apparently shows in Olympos). I'd read both of these together if you're up to the challenge. It's worth the patience, but patience it will demand.

Okay me and this book did not get along. As short as it is, it managed to take me 2 months to read it. This is one shakespearean book I didn't like till the end.

A historical account of Julius Ceaser's life during the time he ruled over Rome. This one kept me interested because I knew the outcome already, I just wanted to see how it would be carried out. It was wonderful. Shakespeare never fails to impress. "Beware the Ides of March"

A classic. . .who doesn't love this story?

I love this so much, to the point where I've memorised my favorite parts. When we read this in class, I found that I was one of the few who caught on to the jokes.It's such a wonderful story, though a bit depressing at times. But it has that lovely dream like quality to it.

I chose the "Shakespeare Made Easy" version of this play, because this is the text I used when I taught this play. It is a great way to ease into Shakespeare's language because the book provides a "modern day" translation, line for line.
But, once you get the plot, go back and read this play again for the way Shakespeare is able to express very basic human themes in a superbly poetic and insightful way.