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Feb 15, 2011

Jonathan rated it:

I'm frankly terrified to review Dan Simmons' masterpiece Hyperion. It is too good and too big for me to do this right. So...if I'm going to do it wrong, I might as well have fun. I thought I would mirror both Chaucer's and Simmons' use of the frame story in my review:

(The opening bit of Keats poetry)

He enter’d, but he enter’d full of wrath;
His flaming robes stream’d out beyond his heels,
And gave a roar, as if of earthly fire,
That scar’d away th More...

27 comments like (36 people liked it)

Apr 12, 2011

Kemper rated it:

Somehow I’ve managed to read a dozen books by Dan Simmons without getting around to Hyperion, one of his most acclaimed works. Frankly, I’ve been scared of it. Simmons has been mashing up horror, sci-fi, hard boiled crime novels, thrillers, and historical fiction while often stuffing his books with so many ideas that it was all I could do to keep up so this seemed like it could be a bit more than I could comfortably chew.

Just as I feared, while I was reading and nearing the end, S More...

18 comments like (35 people liked it)

Feb 02, 2012

Kay rated it:

WHAT THE SHRIKE!

What in the world did I just read, and why didn't I read it sooner? This book is so superbly written and crafted—it's easily one of the best books I've read, one that excels in storytelling and writing!

If I could give this book more than five stars, I definitely, definitely would.

The scope of imagination, wordplay, and critical analysis of humankind is astounding. I do think that the "frame" structure of the story, in which each c More...

14 comments like (15 people liked it)

Feb 04, 2011

Brad rated it:

I am a sucker for novels made up of short stories; I am a sucker for the Romantic poets (especially Keats); I’m a sucker for spine tingling sci-horror, space opera, sci-fi tragicomedy, sci-tragedy, techno-noir, cyberpunk, conspiracy theories and doomed love stories. I am a sucker for literary intertextuality and pop intertextuality. Mostly though, I am a sucker for a good tale, and that is what Hyperion is, but when I read this story ten years ago I found that it left me a bit cold. I think I fi More...

62 comments like (16 people liked it)

Feb 02, 2011

Jon rated it:

I'm disappointed. Just when I was getting pieces of the puzzle and a few of the questions answered, the story ends. Abruptly. Thank goodness I didn't read this when it was first published or I would probably also be angry.

This is a re-imagining or a re-working of the literary frame tale, similar to Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales but as science fiction space opera.

Seven pilgrims en route to Hyperion to petition the Shrike, also known as the Lord of Pain and the Avat More...

4 comments like (13 people liked it)

Feb 01, 2008

Dale rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

3 comments like (14 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Mark rated it:

I loved this book.

It follows roughly the same format as Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales": several separate stories all related to each other.

On the planet of Hyperion there exists a being called "The Shrike". It is a being made out of shiny metal covered with spikes and has four arms and a deadly reputation for killing people. Fortunately, it's constrained to a small area of the planet Hyperion. The Shrike is so mysterious that a church has been fo More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Aug 28, 2009

Mark rated it:

Not having ventured far into the literary world of fantasy/sci-fi in my years of reading I was surprised to find, while rummaging through my bookshelves, that I had all four books of the Hyperion "cantos". That's rather presumptuous of me, I thought, since the author and book was totally unfamiliar in my mind. "I hope I bought these at a used bookstore", i muttered to myself. The "Hugo Award" label on the front cover had some influence on me I'm sure in addition More...

4 comments like (8 people liked it)

Sep 25, 2008

Matt rated it:

I can see why this book won the Hugo. It's a well-conceived and mostly well-executed "space opera" type scifi book. You know...lots of new terms to use, lots of talk of strange teleporter technology and different types of "drives" for space travel, the introduction of a new variant of a far-future space "empire" (in this case the "Hegemony"). I gave this 3 stars not because I think mathematically it deserves a "60%" rating. I picked it becaus More...

0 comments like (10 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

SKB rated it:

I cannot put into words how much I hate this book. A friend of mine gave me this book as a birthday gift, so I had to read it. I kept telling him I don't "do" most sci-fi, but he said based on other books I liked that I would probably like it. I did not. Oh boy, I did not. I also almost vomited on the bus when I got to the part about the cruciform. And there is an actual vagina dentata in the book--I totally laughed out loud because I thought, "Really? Dan Simmons, you are REALLY More...

6 comments like (8 people liked it)

Dec 22, 2008

Charles rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 13, 2009

Hugh added it

This was like a movie you love as entertainment and that you go back to over and over, but that you hesitate to recommend because you think it probably deserves the critic's rants. The five stars means that I know I will pick these up and read them again some day. I don't expect anyone else to.

I picked this up on the shelf in the office at the little summer resort on Saltspring Island where we go every year. We were checking in for the week and I wanted something to read. And i w More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 21, 2010

Nicholas rated it:

Oh, Simmons, you awesome bastard. This is a sci-fi take on the Canterbury Tales. Except really interesting. With amazing characters. And great settings.

Seriously, the characters here are all unique and wholly interesting. I found myself reading about the story of one character and wanting to tear the book page by page when I was jumped to the next tale. The only thing stopping me was how good the NEXT story was.

Not all of the tales are gold but the ones that aren't ar More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 04, 2008

Dave rated it:

A great sci-fi story told in the "frame story" format. (Like Canterbury Tales.) Seven very different people are on a pilgrimage together to Hyperion and each of their back-stories unfolds the plot.

What I liked best about this story is that in addition to being a great story and setting, (common in good sci-fi/fantasy) the author happens to be a great writer (not so common even in good sci-fi/fantasy). You can tell that the author has a love of science and futurism but also More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Adam rated it:

I love these books.

Simmons is a prolific writer, and Hyperion/Fall of Hyperion are the best two books he's ever produced. Song of Kali comes close, but these two books are at the pinnacle of science fiction. They're really a single book, probably split to hit publishing deadlines.

The story is loosely built around the structure of the Canterbury Tales. There's a primary arc that weaves the lives of several characters together as they try to unravel several mysteries. Each More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 07, 2007

Serenity rated it:

Despite the deliciously embarrassing cover, Hyperion is one of the most inventive and strange novels I've ever read. I had a difficult time getting going because Dan Simmons plunges his readers into a world and time(s) that are so familiar but overwhelmingly alien. At first I felt like an interloper, but as I kept reading, I became more like an adopted family member.

I got this book for my birthday from a friend who has introduced me to most of my favorite science fiction/fanstasy n More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Feb 01, 2012

Shelly rated it:

The greatest science fiction story ever written and the first book in the greatest science fiction series ever made. There are a lot of other Scifi books that I truly love, but this one will always hold a special place in my heart.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 23, 2008

Lynn rated it:

Adult science fiction that is a lesson in how to write science fiction! Awesome read. Highly original, fabulous characterization and a page turner to boot. A sort of space setting Canterbury Tales with a twist.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 09, 2008

Mike rated it:

The first of four glorious pieces of high literature of the science fiction genere. Yes the cover looks ridiculous, but Simmons kicks some serious literary ass with this series. Trust me.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 29, 2011

Michelle rated it:

I haven't read any sci-fi in awhile so I thought I would dive back in with Hyperion. It came highly recommended, and rightly so. It's a futuristic take on the The Canterbury Tales in that it has seven people making a pilgrimage to see a terrible being known as the Shrike. On the way, each pilgrim tells their tale about why they have chosen to undertake their current path in life. It's basically a collection of short stories bookended by a main plot.

Each story is full of sadness a More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 17, 2009

Hazel rated it:

Oh, Goodness! I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed this. I'm tempted to give it 5 stars this time, but I'll restrain myself.

On this reading I'm particularly impressed with how unique was each voice, each storyteller. So, each tale read as if told by a different person. I felt moved by the Scholar, whose tale is primarily that of a father fighting for his child. I felt engaged by the Priest, whose journey of hubris and sacrifice is familiarly Catholic. I don't care much for the self-ind More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 08, 2011

Ben rated it:

I can best summarize my feelings about Hyperion like so: why did someone let me read the terror that is The Terror when I could have read a good book by Dan Simmons?!

Frame stories are not my favourite way to conduct business with a novel. In general, Hyperion's greatest flaws lie within its structure, frame story included. That and the abrupt ending devoid of any real conclusion are probably the two chief sources of criticism, from myself and from other reviewers. Like many other More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 02, 2008

Rob rated it:

More like: ★★★⅔

SHORT VERSION: a scifi redux of the Canterbury Tales; six densely packed, interlocked, interwoven tales that create a whole that is epic in scope. Gripping and creative with all the right literary nods. And yet oddly anti-climactic and maybe even a little unsatisfying.

NOTES IN PLACE OF A REAL REVIEW:
* A strong, engaging (if somewhat vague) opening chapter; but the vague elements seem to be in line w/ some scifi conventions so...
* the pace crea More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 01, 2011

Matt rated it:

I was pretty much engrossed from page 1 of Hyperion. It's a story about 7 strangers on a pilgrimage and each one has their own intriguing story.

The book is more about their pasts than it is about their pilgrimage. They each take their turn giving their story in hopes of figuring out why they are on this pilgrimage and what their purpose is.

I don't want to give any spoilers but to me, each of their stories was amazing, yet bizarre. Dan Simmons is such a great story tell More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 13, 2008

Mark rated it:

The Hyperion Cantos, Dan Simmon's trilogy of futuristic speculative fiction, is as good as writing gets. He explores themes of loss, grief, love, the bonds that connect us, and religion in society. Truly a masterpiece of writing!

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 17, 2011

Marjorie rated it:

This book reminded me of The Canterbury Tales, A spaceship carries travelers on a pilgrimage and they share their stories. The ship's interior resembles a tree and the stories weave together. It makes for an interesting trip.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 26, 2007

Donna rated it:

I read these (4) books when they first came out and read them again in 2001. I finished Simmons' Ilium and Olympos this summer and was finding "reminders" of Hyperion and Endymion popping up all over the place and I just could not resist another reading.

I find myself smiling when I am amidst a passage and feel as though I'm remembering an event with an old friend.

These novels are smart, deep and thought-provoking on all levels of the "big" topics: s More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 03, 2009

Mary-Elizabeth rated it:

What can I say, I lived this book while I read it, I believed it totally, was immersed in the world it created fully.
A beautifully written book, a must read

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 30, 2010

Allan rated it:

Score 9

A brilliant and clever book. An interesting take on the sci-fi genre. At the beginning of this book it reminded me of The Murder on the Orient Express, as they all embark on their journeys. Loved all their individual tales and reasons for their pilgrimages...Looking forward to the next book....Hyperion Falls...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 13, 2011

Nancy rated it:

Hyperion-Dan Simmons[return][return]I picked this book up awhile ago when I was trying to find a science fiction choice for our book club. After 50 pages or so I laid it down when distracted by some other shiny inviting book and didn t restart it until all my easy reading fodder had been consumed.[return][return]I have no idea how I did that. I d stopped just short of it getting exciting. I am so in awe of Dan Simmons. I must confess that in some modern books I do think, gosh, even I could c More...

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