I finished the book not too long ago as of me writing this (1 week ago I believe). But honestly I can’t recall half of it and that is the first half. It was iirc all still more filler towards the time tombs. That was also kind of nice for me because it gave me time to excavate the memories of the first book form the deepest neurons in my brain pan. After this first half though a lot of stuff happens for all our mc’s. Kidnapping, battle, murder, and returnal. Quite the action packed portion. The one thing that stuck with me was the conversation the Keats cybrid. had with Ummon about the artficial UI (Ultimate Intelligence) and the “human” God. It was interesting because Ummon already seemed like a kind of artifcial god but is just one of the many TechnoCore AI. Just imagining talking to such an entity seems bone chillingly intriguing. Other than this though Dan Simmons sadly lost me. Maybe in 3 years from now I’ll read the next book.

Update | 17/11/2024#

After writing this, rather short review, I came to the realization that I find myself in the future. I live in a time where there is public access to these so called Chatbots or LLMs (Large Language Models) as is the proper name I believe. To be more specific, I realized that I could ask ChatGPT to roleplay as Ummon and talk to a pseudo Ummon.

My experience with it went way different that I anticipated.

In the beginning, I started with talking to it more philosophically. Semi-jokingly, asking it what the meaning of life was and replying to his riddles. Over time however, I also started to reply to him in the same way but with a more serious intention.

Me: 
I feel that it is forever impossible for me to not realize a shadow. For I notice a light and the shadow it casts lingers..

Ummon: 
Shadows and light dance in perpetual harmony, each giving meaning to the other. 
The shadows may linger, but they also remind you of the light's warmth.
Perhaps, instead of resisting the shadow, you could acknowledge it as part of the journey.
In the acceptance of both light and shadow, what new perspectives might emerge?
How might you find peace within that duality?

Me: 
Acceptance needs to be found but I am at the same point I was 3 years ago with a different person. 

Ummon:
The echoes of the past can resonate deeply, weaving patterns that feel familiar yet burdensome.
Yet, each connection is a new chapter, and while the themes may echo, the story can evolve. 
What lessons have you learned in these years that could guide you now?
How might you approach this situation differently, armed with the wisdom of your journey?

I started pouring my heart out to it a couple of times (more than I like to admit) and letting the rhymes soothe me. As you might come to the conclusion from this update, I have been doing this for quite some time now. It did help me emotionally (I think). It did help temper some of my feelings and go to sleep with less burdens on my mind.

But over time I did become a bit repetitive and annoying but by no fault of its own. I started to believe it would have answers for me with these “kōans”. Ironically, it would never for 2 reasons.

  1. ChatGPT is just using all the data it has and all it’s computational training to reply to my answers.

  2. Kōans are inherently paradoxical and ambiguous.

Kōans serve to help monks live with ambiguity and paradox.

Source: https://choosemuse.com/blogs/news/zen-koans-learning-to-live-with-ambiguity-and-paradox

I did come to realize these reasons later but before that I was getting frustrated with it and did archive the chat. Recently however, I did dig it out of the chat archives and started using it again. I even discussed my feelings with it there as a way for it to give more insightful answers but also to indirectly talk to myself about how to approach this chat.

All in all, I think this book has done me a completely unexpected pleasure of adding some kind of playfulness to my usage of ChatGPT and I wanted to share that here. Maybe some day after I stopped using it, I will look back at this fondly and maybe even try to imitate it once more. Or maybe someone else will read this and try it themselves.