Hyperion

Dan Simmons

Jan 2011 · Hyperion Cantos Book 1 · Sold by Spectra

About this ebook

A stunning tour de force filled with transcendent awe and wonder, Hyperion is a masterwork of science fiction that resonates with excitement and invention, the first volume in a remarkable epic by the multiple-award-winning author of The Hollow Man.

On the world called Hyperion, beyond the reach of galactic law, waits a creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.

On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope—and a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.

Praise for Dan Simmons and Hyperion

“Dan Simmons has brilliantly conceptualized a future 700 years distant. In sheer scope and complexity it matches, and perhaps even surpasses, those of Isaac Asimov and James Blish.”—The Washington Post Book World

“An unfailingly inventive narrative . . . generously conceived and stylistically sure-handed.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Simmons’s own genius transforms space opera into a new kind of poetry.”—The Denver Post

“An essential part of any science fiction collection.”—Booklist

Ratings and reviews

A fascinating read! I highly recommend it for Sci-Fi enthusiasts. I'm still kicking myself that I hadn't read it sooner. This is book #1 of The Hyperion Cantos series. This series is comprised of 4 books. Please don't let any poem verses in it derail you with an unfortunate DNF. Simply skim/skip over them. If you enjoy poetry, you will really appreciate them. They add depth and color to the storyline. This first book builds around the characters and their journey of the Shrike pilgrimage. All characters so different and interesting, each was like reading a different book in and of itself. This made the main plot so enjoyable it was hard to put this book down at night. Yes, the book does end in a cliffhanger, but I felt it was a very satisfying one. It sets up the scene for the next book in the series. I've just bought the second book and can't wait to jump into it. Be warned of gory violence/sexual nature that might be a bit disturbing for some readers. But they account for only a few small sections in the book.

I read Hyperion because it was on many top ten lists of the greatest novels of science fiction. The novel has an interesting approach to telling the story; however, there is too much extraneous, chaotic detail, so much that I would skip entire paragraphs knowing that they were not compelling elements of the story lines. The majority of the story is composed of the 7 anecdotes of each of the 7 pilgrims. Most of those are interesting. However, one has a growing suspicion that the pilgrimage will not come to a satisfying conclusion. And, it's never made clear why these seven pilgrims are selected to be on the pilgrimage, as the story ends just as the pilgrims reach the Time Tombs. If the author is saying that the important part of the story is the 7 anecdotes and that the climax of the pilgrimage is of little importance, then I don't find that to be compelling conclusion of the novel. If the ending is simply a cliff hanger that leads into the next book in the series, then I do not find that compelling either. I suspect that the books in this series continues the mystery of the Shrike and the Time Tombs... I am just not that interested. I am curious about two aspects of the story.... (1) Does Rachel ever stop getting younger before she is born? And (2) how does the Hegemony deal with the threat of the AI Techno Core? The first requires a conclusion of the pilgrimage. The second would require an extensive story in its own right. It will be a long time before I decide to read the sequel.

A raft of compelling and thoughtful and heartwrenchingly human stories adrift amidst the plodding throes of a glacial river. It took me several tries to get into Hyperion. I found myself fascinated each time by Father Duré's story to the extent that I remembered it vividly even years after my first time with it. Afterward, though, and each time that the narrative shifted from unique character perspectives back into the prime timeline, I found myself hitting a wall. Having finally finished it, I can say, with confidence, that there is sincere and dreadful beauty within these pages. I cried, I laughed, and I found myself daydreaming about the Shrike and the TechnoCore and Sol Weintraub's harrowing journey each time I was forced to put Hyperion down. Finding this beauty, however, takes work. Much of this book is pockmarked with poorly explained techno-jargon that slows pacing to a crawl. Despite that, and the cliffhanger ending, Hyperion was well worth my time. I'm excited to read more!

About the author

Dan Simmons, a full-time public school teacher until 1987, is one of the few writers who consistently work across genres, producing novels described as science fiction, horror, fantasy, and mainstream fiction, while winning major awards in all these fields. His first novel, Song of Kali, won the World Fantasy Award; his first science fiction novel, Hyperion, won the Hugo Award. His other novels and short fiction have been honored with numerous awards, including nine Locus Awards, four Bram Stoker Awards, the French Prix Cosmos 2000, the British SF Association Award, and the Theodore Sturgeon Award. In 1995, Wabash College presented Simmons with an honorary doctorate in humane letters for his work in fiction and education. He lives in Colorado along the Front Range of the Rockies.