OLYMPOS

For those interested in reading highly literate fiction, this intelligent and fun novel (published as two volumes: ILIUM two years ago and OLYMPOS to be published two months from now) is for you. Below is the letter I wrote to HarperCollins...
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Hi, ****,

I have completed reading OLYMPOS. Throughout both novels, Dan Simmons employs a deft hand in creating people and even settings that we, as readers, care about. Dan also displays an almost pixieish playfulness with the novel form itself: his creation of Thomas Hockenberry (who deigns to defy GB Shaw’s maxim), his characters’ discourses re Shakespeare and Proust et alii, his re-imagining of the Trojan War, etc all speak of a creative and (very) bold author. The true extent of Dan's playfulness, however, knows no boundaries, as he provides new meaning (and shading) to the term, deux ex machina.

Thank you very much for sharing the galley for OLYMPOS. I enjoyed very much the experience of reading all ~1300 pages in one sitting (well, kindasorta one sitting). Doing so revealed authorial flourishes I otherwise likely would have missed.