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

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.

Clunky writing, obvious scaffolding, every two pages a forced excuse to force justify a similie to modern earth for us readers that the narrator would never use. 70s style scifi writing with no craft.

I found the beginning of this book a bit trying to push through, but I'm glad I did. This book mainly explains the back stories of the Shrike Pilgrims and each has an interesting story to tell. The Fall of Hyperion is by far much better, but I would recommend this book for anyone looking to read a sci-fi seres epic.

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.