Muse of Fire [Hardcover]

Dan Simmons (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Hugo winner Simmons (the Hyperion Cantos) combines his fine prose with a well-developed sense of wonder and love for reworked literary and mythological materials. In this far future, Earth is a mausoleum and the far-flung human race occupies the lowest level of a complex interstellar hierarchy. The Earth's Men travel to distant worlds and perform Shakespeare before human servants and slaves, bringing them some moments of pleasure and notions of Earth's lost glory. When aliens take an interest, the Earth's Men find themselves giving command performances of King Lear, Hamlet and the Scottish play for a series of increasingly important alien species, with evidence that the fate of all humanity may rest on the quality of their work. This finely crafted novella is a perfect example of Simmons's many strengths. (Dec.)
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From Booklist

The Muse of Fire schleps the Shakespearean troupe the Earth’s Men to the many planets inhabited by the slaves called arbeiters and doles, who, like the actors, are human. The players are slaves, too, really, like all humans since, thousands of years ago, the Archons found earth and erased its culture, except for Shakespeare. After a particularly good Macbeth, attended by some Archons and their dragomen (interpreters), one of the latter comes to the company and orders them to play for an all-Archon audience on another world. After that he orders them to yet another to play before the Demiurgos, who control the Archons, and after that to another to perform for Abraxas, the incarnate god. The actors thereby climb the ladder of a universal order humans have been made to believe is divine. They suspect they’re being tested. They are, as proxies for all humanity—and more. Simmons’ novella, narrated by a young male earth’s Man, is an exceptionally artful religious legend of the far future, and quite special. --Ray Olson

Product Details

• Hardcover: 100 pages
• Publisher: Subterranean; Second Printing edition (December 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596061812
• ISBN-13: 978-1596061811
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #893,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Do you want to read this book for much less than this price?, January 29, 2009

By 

Bornintime (The East Coast) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Muse of Fire (Hardcover)

First off it's not a book really. Well, this edition is a book. But in normal type it's about 60 pages only. Not even a novella, only a mere story that would normally appear with another 10 or 12 stories. If you are like me and want to read all of Dan Simmons' work but don't want to pay big bucks for a collectible edition you are in luck. The exact same story appears in the SF Anthology NEW SPACE OPERA edited by Gardner Dozois. You can get it new for about 8 dollars, used for less, or maybe, like myself, free from your public library. The story itself is very good, everything we have come to expect from a Simmons SF story.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Purpose of Creation, January 12, 2009

By 

J. Brian Watkins (Laie, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Muse of Fire (Hardcover)

To those who bemoan word counts, I say that Mr. Simmons' writing is a bargain at twice the price. In this novella, Mr. Simmons successfully channels both Ray Bradbury and Gnostic mythology to bring us a story about creation and the meaning of life. It brings to mind the comment made by Lewis Thomas to Carl Sagan that if mankind were to broadcast Bach to the stars it would constitute bragging but it would be wise to put the best possible face on such an acquaintance. In Muse of Fire, Mr. Simmons posits that the creations of Shakespeare justify our creators' efforts entirely. Perhaps taking a page from Mr. Bloom, Mr. Simmons argues that Shakespeare, properly understood, transcends mere art and constitutes mankind's most valuable contribution to creation.

Mr. Simmons' love and admiration for Shakespeare pervades this story, which is worthwhile not only for its especially novel and creative take on our universe, but also because it encourages its reader to seek out and rediscover Shakespeare's infinitely rewarding art.

Worth every penny.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good, but available elsewhere, March 7, 2009

By 

Michael Lichter (Buffalo, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Muse of Fire (Hardcover)

First, this novella is available in the collection THE NEW SPACE OPERA edited by Dozois and Strahan. It's a decent collection and cheaper by far than this volume.

Second, it's a well-written novella with good atmospherics -- a lot of tension, and a lot of wonder. On the other hand, the final punch line is probably going to be hard to buy for people who are not hardcore Shakespeare fans. I felt a little cheated, but obviously not so much that I felt like giving it a bad rating (although if given a finer-grained rating system, I'd give it a 3.6/5.0 rather than 4.0/5.0).