Hyperion

I really, really, really hate books like this. Oh, it's not a bad book, don't get me wrong. It's just that nowhere on the book did it indicate that this is the first Hyperion book. Which means that I got to the rather abrupt, Wizard of Oz ending and then nearly threw the book across the room in rage. So yeah, it's a good book. And now I have to go and hunt down the next one....more

I really, really, really hate books like this. Oh, it's not a bad book, don't get me wrong. It's just that nowhere on the book did it indicate that this is the first Hyperion book. Which means that I got to the rather abrupt, Wizard of Oz ending and then nearly threw the book across the room in rage. So yeah, it's a good book. And now I have to go and hunt down the next one. Bastards. Anyway, Simmons has pulled out one of the oldest storytelling devices in English literature, and made it new again. It's the far, far future. Earth is long destroyed, but a planet-spanning Hegemony has taken its place, stringing worlds together in a vast, interstellar web. All but the enigmatic planet of Hyperion. It is on Hyperion that the mysterious and terrifying Shrike lives, the guardian of the Time Tombs. And it is here that the ultimate future of Humanity will be decided. If interstellar war, spies and general bad luck don't end it first. Seven people, citizens of the Hegemony, are chosen to go on the Shrike Pilgrimage, a journey to the Time Tombs in which they will attempt to open the Tombs and control... whatever it is that they can control. And they have to get there before the Ousters, another spacefaring "nation" of humans do. And so the pilgrims travel to Hyperion. As they do, they decide that it would be in all their best interests to know why it is that each one has been chosen to go, in case their shared backgrounds might give them a clue as to what they'll need to do next. And so it is that the Priest, the Soldier, the Poet, the Scholar, the Detective and the Politician tell their tales of loss, hope and rage. Each one of them has been touched by Hyperion, even before getting there. And each one has been used by the Hegemony to achieve some greater purpose, one in which their individual desires don't matter. To my mind, the individual stories are far more fascinating than the overall arc, which is pretty murky up until the end. Humanity is painted as a petty, vengeful, manipulative race, or at least the Hegemony is, and the characters hold the key to its downfall. If I read it all correctly, that is. Anyway, it looks like there are three more books I have to find. Dammit.   hide

When something is as widely acclaimed, as this book is, I usually find myself getting my hopes up and then being bitterly disappointed. This novel is an exceptional surprise. If you're a light pulp SF reader you may find the book a little too pretentious (I mean really - a planet hundreds of years into the future with its major cities named after a 19th century poet), but ignoring that and...more

When something is as widely acclaimed, as this book is, I usually find myself getting my hopes up and then being bitterly disappointed. This novel is an exceptional surprise. If you're a light pulp SF reader you may find the book a little too pretentious (I mean really - a planet hundreds of years into the future with its major cities named after a 19th century poet), but ignoring that and taking it as it is I appreciated the tale anyway. It brings a bit of class to the declining quality of SF these days. The book is made up of several characters oustanding stories that lead them to volunteer as the last pilgrims to investigate the mysterious Shrike and the reverse-time Time Tombs on the planet Hyperion before the Ousters (the returning human horde) destroy (or capture) it. I can't wait to find out what happens next in The Fall of Hyperion despite its lack of continued acclaim.   hide

Freaking awesome. One hell of a book. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone who likes Sci-fi. This book has tons of nifty inventions, but at the same time they are not miracle wonders but advanced technologies with their own limitations. Space battles are fought with giant ships from light-minutes or hours apart. Ionized contrails streaking behind battle cruisers for hundreds of thousands...more

Freaking awesome. One hell of a book. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone who likes Sci-fi. This book has tons of nifty inventions, but at the same time they are not miracle wonders but advanced technologies with their own limitations. Space battles are fought with giant ships from light-minutes or hours apart. Ionized contrails streaking behind battle cruisers for hundreds of thousands of miles. Houses that spans 9 planets. These are the kind of wonders that inspires. The stories each character tells is amazing and enthralling. It only makes me wish the rest of the series could have been as good and awe-inspiring.   hide

This was leant to me by a friend and I was loath to report back to her at the start for fear of offending her with my assessment of what was turning out to be a bit of a meandering void. Then I got to the story by the poet and there was some serious genious in there, even a few lines to add to my list of favourite quotes. Simmons has some real ability ... at times. I felt that it was a...more

This was leant to me by a friend and I was loath to report back to her at the start for fear of offending her with my assessment of what was turning out to be a bit of a meandering void. Then I got to the story by the poet and there was some serious genious in there, even a few lines to add to my list of favourite quotes. Simmons has some real ability ... at times. I felt that it was a bit like an excuse to write a serious of short stories and tie them together to form a full length novel without the anti-cred of an antholoogy of short stories. Reasonable premis I guess, the ending left me a little hollow and feeling used, :-).   hide