Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos #1) – Dan Simmons (1989)
On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the 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.
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 new science fiction epic by the multiple-award-winning author of The Hollow Man.
My Review of Hyperion
(4 / 5)
Flashback to 1989, Hugo award winning Hyperion is released and makes a mark on modern science fiction. Even today, almost 30 years later it is still described as a classic masterpiece of the genre. So when I decided to finally take the plunge and read it (or listen to it in this instance), I was secretly hoping and somewhat expecting it to blow me away and become my new favourite sci-fi book of all time. Unfortunately it ultimately ended a little bit further down the list than I was expecting, HOWEVER I still thoroughly enjoyed it – and can understand why it is such a classic.
To cut an extremely long story short, the story is set on route to Hyperion, seven pilgrims have been chosen to make their way to the planet where the elusive time tombs have been baffling scientists for centuries. It is also the suspected home planet to an evil entity known as the shrike. Each of the pilgrims have their own reasons for being on this voyage, and every night one of the seven tell the others their story.
I really enjoyed the set out of the book, some of the stories were absolutely fantastic! My favourite being the very first one I think, about the cruciform, and also the story of the scholar and his family. WOW!
It was so hard to keep remembering that this book was written in 1989!!! There are just so many aspects of it that could have been written recently, the technology, the “world web”. A bit spooky at times how accurate some of the futuristic things Simmons wrote about were!
I actually don’t think this book would be the best for the sci-fi novice. It just starts straight into the Hyperion universe. There is no introduction really, no run down of the way the universe works, it’s just smack-bang into it and you kind of have to navigate your own way through understanding what the hell is happening… But in a fairly short amount of time everything just starts making sense and by the time all the stories are over you feel like you are part of it.
There were a few aspects of it that I didn’t enjoy that much. The book centres around and makes a lot of references to the poet John Keats. I hated poetry in school, to be honest I still don’t enjoy it. So a lot of the Keats stuff bored me.
A few of the stories were a touch boring. Especially the detectives story. I just couldn’t get into it. I felt a bit disconnected from it.
Did I enjoy the audio version?
It was a production that’s for sure! Each character had a unique voice and narrator which I LOVE. Although because it was so long, it did drag on in places.
Would I recommend Hyperion?
Its a classic of sci-fi literature. I am glad that I read it. I’m not saying it was the absolute best sci-fi you will ever read, but it was excellent, and overly enjoyable. I am going to read the next one.
I purchased the audio version of Hyperion myself at audible.com
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