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Author
Index
S |
Dan
Simmons |
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Title
Index
I |
Ilium |
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| Year |
2003 |
| Publisher |
Gollancz |
| ISBN |
0575072598 |
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Synopsis
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Ilium
takes the epic
subject matter and
the themes of
Homer's Iliad
and views them
through the lens
of science
fiction.
On Earth, a
post-technological
group of humans,
pampered by
servant machines
and easy travel
via
"faxing,"
begins to question
its beginnings.
Meanwhile, a team
of sentient and
Shakespeare-quoting
robots from
Jupiter's lunar
system embark on a
mission to Mars to
investigate an
increase in
dangerous quantum
fluctuations. On
the Red Planet,
they'll find a
race of metahumans
living out
existence as the
pantheon of
classic Greek
gods. These
"gods"
have recreated the
Trojan War with
reconstituted
Greeks and Trojans
and staffed it
with scholars from
throughout Earth's
history who
observe the events
and report on the
accuracy of
Homer's Iliad.
One of these
scholars, Thomas
Hockenberry, finds
himself tangled in
the midst of
interplay between
the gods and their
playthings and
sends the war
reeling in a
direction the
blind poet could
have never
imagined. |
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Review
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'Ilium
is an eloquent and
exhilarating read,
depicted with a
frightening level
of reality.
It's all too easy
to think that the
ancient Greek Gods
and Heroes which
he has brought to
such sharp-edged
life would
genuinely behave
like this.
Dan Simmons has
produced a
sharp-edged story
that is both
involving and
intelligent,
blending together
a host of wondrous
themes, ideas, and
legends into
something that
sets the standard
for science
fiction in the new
century'
Peter F
Hamilton |
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Credit:
NASA
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Saturn's
Cool Rings
The
Cassini
spacecraft
has taken
the most
detailed
temperature
measurements
to date of
Saturn's
rings.
Data taken
by the
composite
infrared
spectrometer
instrument
on the
spacecraft
while
entering
Saturn's
orbit show
the cool
and
relatively
warm
regions of
the rings.
This
false-color
image
shows that
the
temperatures
on the
unlit side
of
Saturn's
rings vary
from a
relatively
warm 110
Kelvin
(-261
degrees
Fahrenheit,
shown in
red), to a
cool 70
Kelvin
(-333
degrees
Fahrenheit,
shown in
blue). The
green
represents
a
temperature
of 90
Kelvin
(-298
degrees
Fahrenheit).
Water
freezes at
273 Kelvin
(32
degrees
Fahrenheit). |
|
NASA
Image of
the day
archive |
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______________________________________________________
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