Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos)

Hyperion is phenomenal! The writing is so eloquent that it was actually shocking to believe that this was written in 1989, it felt like this had easily been written and released this year because nothing felt dated about the story, the characters or really anything involved with the storyline. It’s described as The Canterbury Tales in space, though I’ve never read The Canterbury Tales, I can’t exactly say that. What I can say is that this was truly something unique to me, as I’ve not really experienced a type of story telling like this where it felt like six different novellas tied into one large story. After reading this I can truly say that Simmons is a master of the science fiction genre by writing such a masterful tale that had me reading every chance that I got and frothing over his beautiful writing style. Hyperion’s setting of a 29th century world has such an intricate plot with a very rich and detailed universe where humanity has colonized numerous planets. One of my favorite things is spotting references, and Simmons has a lot of them placed within the story, at one point I would say “oh this reminds me of this” and then Simmons would point that out later letting you know that’s why it’s similar, part of that is using historical themes such as Greek and Biblical Hebrew to help tell a part of the story. Hyperion has a perfect pacing that never felt sluggish or too fast moving at any point and if you’re looking for a story that is much more character driven than plot, as the focus is on learning about the characters, this is definitely the story to read. Within each story, Simmons does a great job of weaving in action and drama with stories of political power, familial love, religion and fate. What intrigues me the most is that while the story of the characters is happening, a war is underway with the Ousters, that could destroy Hyperion. “Words bend our thinking to infinite paths of self-delusion, and the fact that we spend most of our mental lives in brain mansions built of words means that we lack the objectivity necessary to see the terrible distortion of reality which language brings.” The story follows six pilgrims and their expedition to Hyperion, my worry with how this story was told is that I could end up not liking one or more of these stories within, but that was not the case, each story is well established and thought provoking while also being dark and tragic to their own extents and always leading back to one thing, the Shrike, a terrifying creature that is sent back in time. The differences in the style of each story is what made this so unique, one story felt somewhat like Westworld or Ready Player 1, one was a bit more comedic, another one felt like a nod to Isaac Asimov’s iRobot, while another had a Benjamin Button, 50 First Dates quality about it to give multiple parallels to how different each one of these characters are. Simmons attention to focus on these characters that are deeply complex and so very flawed is what makes this stand out the most, on top of that there is the mysterious Shrike creature that is sent back in time, a creature that is described almost like Galactus the world eater, but with a more sinister xenomorph look to it. With everything that’s been revealed about the characters, there’s still quite a bit of mystery still left to figure out in the rest of the series and its sequel since the story ends on a bit of cliffhanger with the group reaching their destination as all their stories have now been told. I’m not a big fan of cliffhangers, but this series is old enough that all books are available, so there’s no reason for panic. Another thing I’m always leery about is multiple narrators, because if one is bad, it can put a damper on the story, but again, this was not an issue because all five narrators, Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, Jay Snyder & Victor Bevine were terrific. They made this story even better with superior performances that got me in my feels and had my spine tingling from theme sheer terror that they felt, this was perfect in every way imaginable. As Dwight would say, perfectenschlag.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons is the first book in the Hyperion Cantos series and folks, its a good one! I've always been looking for a good sci-fi book that deals with some type of mythical creature and whatnot. So when I read the description of Hyperion and the Shrike, I was sold. It also helped that I've seen this series posted on many "must read" lists online. Like many reviews have stated, this first book in the series serves nothing more than an "introductory" of the characters. Basically, each character has their own story to tell and when one is done, a small break back to reality is given until the next story is told. Think of it as several novella's. Either way, I think it's a pretty good way to start off the series. It gives the readers a good chance to get familiar with the major characters. Whether you think each story is interesting or not, well, that's obviously a different thing altogether. The book does start off a bit slow but after reading the first story of the characters, I knew I was in for something special if all the other stories followed suit. The common ground is that each character's story has something to do with the character's pilgrimage to the world of Hyperion where they will eventually meet with the legendary Shrike creature. Father Hoyt - I absolutely loved his story. It was mysterious and haunting at the same time. It gives the readers a first glimpse of the Shrike. Kassad - His story gives the readers a taste of the powers the Shrike wields along with how dangerous they can be. Martin - One of my least favorite stories to read although it did have some funny moments here and there. As with every group, there has to be one guy that seems to piss everyone off and in Hyperion, it's Martin. Sol - I'm sure his story will be a fan favorite for many readers. It's sad to read what happened but does give us another glimpse to the mysterious ways of the Shrike's power. Brawne - Her tale involves the most action. Also, it does take some patience to read through during the later part as it requires quite a bit of imagination from the reader. The Consul - Definitely a very weird story at first but pans out nicely towards the end. I appreciate the author spending a lot of time giving details of the world around the characters. I do have to admit though that there were many times throughout the book where the author would use a "technological or sci-fi" term without explaining the details or giving a explanation. The only way of knowing what that term means is to hope that the author uses it more than once and piecing the context in which it was used to predict the definition. It's definitely not bad enough to the point where it would drive one crazy though. The world the author builds is your standard affair of stuff where Old Earth is no more but instead hundreds and thousands of planets are now inhabitable. Travelling via farcaster portals to different planets definitely gives this book the "sci-fi" feel. Some readers didn't like the cliff hanger ending but I felt it ended exactly as I thought it would. In fact, I wouldn't even consider it a cliff hanger at all. A cliff hanger to me would be if a major character in the story was shot by a mysterious person and it ended right there. With Hyperion, I believe the choice is up to the readers on whether they want to continue with the series or not based on the ending. If they chose not to continue, I think the author did enough to close out the stories of the characters so that the readers don't feel cheated with having to purchase the next book in the series to find out what happens next. If they choose to continue, which I consider myself in this category, then I'm sure the next book will continue right where this one ended. The Shrike legend will definitely continue!

Very enjoyable read and no issues with the print.

Dan Simmons has the ability to send vivid images to your imagination, and make them come alive. The story itself, composed of intertwining plots, unravels as each one of the protagonists offers his or her own version of events. This is the first book of the Hyperion Cantos. If you like it, be sure to check out The Fall of Hyperion, which brings the first part of Dan Simmons' Hyperion History to a close. There are two follow up novels, Endymion and The Rise of Endymion, which are a continuation of the narrative arch initiated with Hyperion. These books are all full of intertextuality and are laced with (English) literary, historical and philosophical references (apart from the one Simmons invents). If you like reflexive Sci-Fi you will fall in love with the Hyperion Cantos.

Premier volume des Cantos d'Hypérion, ce livre est pour moi un de mes grands classiques de la SF. C'est un incontournable.

Vale cada centavo, excelentes condiciones.

I enjoyed the first book in the series a lot, but my main criticism of it was that while I the pilgrim's stories were all well written there wasn't much revelation in the core mystery of the story. I'm pleased to say that that mystery is revealed in this second book. I didn't agree with some of the direction, but it was at least thought provoking and didn't cop out in the same way as similar stories have - yes I'm looking at you Nights Dawn Trilogy! :-) This is a much busier read than the first book with quite a lot to follow. Luckily each thread has its own texture so it's quite easy to slip from one to the other. It also handles the time travel aspect quite well, which is something that usually puts me off a story but is used to good effect here. While there are many individual threads the story loosely groups into two - the first being the personal stories of the pilgrims. As with the first book these are the strongest aspect to the story. There is great drama here and great sadness, so much so that at one point I renamed the book to a litany of suffering. The different characters blend together well in these threads and each cast a different focus on what it means to be human. I noticed a different quality to the writing here as well, the author deals with personal circumstance and tragedy in a fluid manner that really speaks to the emotion of the events. The father and the daughter with Merlin's disease really stands out as an example of this. Less strong is the grand overview thread, or the space opera aspect if you prefer.While this has some nice ideas, it just doesn't come across as well as the individual tales of the pilgrims. What does work is how it draws the different threads together and comes together for a cohesive conclusion. I love stories that make you think and science-fiction is a goldmine for that type of stories and here we have a wide range of different philosophies and concepts that give pause for thought. As I mentioned earlier I didn't agree with some of the direction, but that's just personal taste, in the end I enjoyed where the patterns took me. In summary this is an excellent read and a stronger more rounded book than the first and I've already bought the next in the series to see where it takes me.