RIP. I really liked the Hyperion books and Ilium/Olympos. He seemed to become a bit of a chud after 9/11 but the books are still well worth reading.

Yeah, the Islamophobia in Ilium/Olympos made me really tempted to put the books down several times. It's such a strange about-face from when he wrote the character Kassad in the Hyperion Cantos.

Like Frank Miller, it seems like 9/11 just broke him.

Loved Ilium, and Olympos a little less so. Inspired me to read the Iliad.

Things most people don’t know about Illinois is that while the Mason Dixon line officially goes around the bottom of the state, philosophically it cuts through the middle. Peoria is maybe thirty miles north of the rednecks.

Add that he was a boomer and I was disappointed but not surprised when people started complaining about him.

Ha, I’d argue it starts right at Pekin.

That puts several university towns below the line. But little towns outside big towns in the Midwest have their own vibe.

> He seemed to become a bit of a chud

I will now read Ilium/Olympos