The Fall of Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #2)

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The Fall of Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos #2)

4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 · rating details · 28,145 ratings · 808 reviews

The stunning continuation of the epic adventure begun in Hyperion. On the world of Hyperion the mysterious Time Tombs are opening. And the secrets they contain mean that nothing--nothing anywhere in the universe--will ever be the same.

Paperback, 517 pages

Published November 1st 1995 by Spectra (first published 1990)

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May 04, 2013 Clouds - (¿head-in-the?) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction-series, locus-sci-fi, science-fiction, reviewed, 5-star

Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done.

On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me.

While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became...more

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Jun 11, 2013 Jon added it

Recommended to Jon by: Sandi Kallas

Shelves: fiction, science-fiction, read-in-my-40s, space-opera, award-winners, hugo-nominee, nebula-nominee, liked-it

3.5 stars

Due to the acquisition of GoodReads by Amazon on March 28, 2013 and my existing and continuing boycott of all things Amazon, the review I wrote after reading this book now resides, safe and secure, at my blog. You can read it by following this link: http://bit.ly/19lrpTp

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Feb 22, 2011 Ian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: author-knows-my-life, blew-my-mind, fits-like-a-glove, must-read-again, question-reality, kicked-my-ass, audiobook, all-time-favorites

The narrator, Victor Bevine, is one of my favorites. He narrates all the other audio versions of the Hyperion Cantos, including the first, dramatized version of Hyperion itself. I gave five stars to the underlying written work. I only subtract a star for this audiobook because Mr. Bevine isn't quite up to the task of doing all the characters--particularly all the Shrike Pilgrims--by himself. Still, this audiobook is a great way to re-read Fall of Hyperion.

Merged review:

Having read Hyperion and F...more The narrator, Victor Bevine, is one of my favorites. He narrates all the other audio versions of the Hyperion Cantos, including the first, dramatized version of Hyperion itself. I gave five stars to the underlying written work. I only subtract a star for this audiobook because Mr. Bevine isn't quite up to the task of doing all the characters--particularly all the Shrike Pilgrims--by himself. Still, this audiobook is a great way to re-read Fall of Hyperion.

Merged review:

Having read Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion twice each, and now having read Endymion and Rise of Endymion, the third and fourth books in Dan Simmons' so-called Hyperion Cantos, I can say my initial reaction to the first two books stands: they're the best pair of books I've read regardless of genre, certainly the most influential books to me personally. Indeed, I now consider the first two books required reading for anyone who enjoys reading contemporary fiction, science fiction, and even non-fiction in the religious, theological, and philosophical veins.

One could read the first two books of the Hyperion Cantos and stop there; they represent a complete, satisfying story that gives you plenty to think about beyond the actual plot-lines themselves. But if you want to get the full meaning, see the entire subtle complexity, understand Dan Simmons' fears for a sickening and stagnant human future as well as his hopes for the fulfillment of human potential, an optimistic utopian outlook that seems at once utterly attainable and so far away, I suggest you read all four books.

I would love to write more about each book individually and the four books taken together, but they are simply too important to me. I read these books over the course of 2010, which is turning out to be the best year of my life in many ways, and the Hyperion Cantos have had an important and positive influence on my thinking about God and religion and love and family. Simply put, these books are close to my heart, and nothing else I say will do them justice.(less)

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Mar 13, 2011 Kemper rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, favorites, sci-fi, space, time-travel

"Nurse, this patient’s chart is very confusing.”

“Which patient, Doctor?”

“Uh..Mr. Kemper. He’s the one in the vegetative state.”

“Oh, that’s a very sad and odd case.”

“According to the patient history, he was admitted a few weeks ago with cerebrospinal fluid leaking from his nose and ears, but it seemed like he should recover. But yesterday he was brought in again, barely conscious and then he lapsed into a coma. The really odd thing is that I see no signs of injury or disease.”

“That’s right, Docto...more

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Nov 22, 2009 Brad rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

The Fall of Hyperion is a sequel. I swear. It says so right there on the cover of my mass market paperback, right above the cheesy artist’s rendering of Sol Weintraub presenting Rachel to a rather unimpressive Shrike.

But I’ll tell you, it sure doesn’t feel like a sequel. It feels more like the first book, the main book, of a series, and it makes Hyperion feel like a prequel -- a superior prequel, but a prequel nonetheless. And I really wish I had read The Fall of Hyperion before I read its pred...more The Fall of Hyperion is a sequel. I swear. It says so right there on the cover of my mass market paperback, right above the cheesy artist’s rendering of Sol Weintraub presenting Rachel to a rather unimpressive Shrike.

But I’ll tell you, it sure doesn’t feel like a sequel. It feels more like the first book, the main book, of a series, and it makes Hyperion feel like a prequel -- a superior prequel, but a prequel nonetheless. And I really wish I had read The Fall of Hyperion before I read its predecessor. I think I would have liked it more.

I did like it, though, despite my negative tone. I even loved some parts of it. The political machinations of Meina Gladstone, the in-fighting between the AIs (Stables, Volatiles and Ultimates), the early battles of Kassad and Moneta, the conversations with Ummon, all of these elements were fascinating, and the radical excision of the Core from all human affairs and the subsequent cost of victory blew my mind. In fact, this latter element may have been my favourite moment in either of the first two installments of Simmons' Cantos.

But these elements don't entirely mitigate my disappointment. I loved the characters from the first book; those who made the Pilgrimage to the Shrike had background stories so rich in detail, emotion, thrills, you name it, that their shift to banal plot devices, players present only to move the action along, disappointed me deeply.

I don't think I'd feel that way, though, if I'd met them in The Fall of Hyperion first. If Simmons had dropped me into the middle of the war between the Hegemony, the Ousters and the Core, if he'd thrown me into the midst of the Time Tombs, if he'd introduced me to the Shrike and the Keats persona and the Pilgrims -- without the baggage of what got them there -- I think I would have cruised through The Fall of Hyperion and loved it with fervor. Then I would have hungered to go back and find out what brought the Pilgrims to Hyperion, and I would have been thrilled by a prequel that was even better than the original.

Sadly, there's no going back now. But if you are someone who's planning to read these books for the first time I beg you to ignore the official order and start with The Fall of Hyperion. I am convinced you'll get more out of it if you've got nothing to compare it to and a healthy sense of wonder and confusion about what you are reading.

I'm really not sure I should continue reading the Cantos, but the temptation of finally understanding the purpose of the Shrike may be too tantalizing to ignore.(less)

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Jan 15, 2008 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who've read "Hyperion".

Shelves: sciencefiction

I liked "The Fall of Hyperion". It is an excellent book! Literate Science Fiction at its best. If I could give it 4 1/2 stars, I would. It's not as great as "Hyperion", I loved the structure of that book a lot more, but it is very much a worthy successor to "Hyperion". It's definitely not a standalone book. You have to have read "Hyperion" in order to "get" what's going on.

Plot
This book begins where the previous book ended, with the pilgrims entering the Time Tombs. The action switches between t...more I liked "The Fall of Hyperion". It is an excellent book! Literate Science Fiction at its best. If I could give it 4 1/2 stars, I would. It's not as great as "Hyperion", I loved the structure of that book a lot more, but it is very much a worthy successor to "Hyperion". It's definitely not a standalone book. You have to have read "Hyperion" in order to "get" what's going on.

Plot
This book begins where the previous book ended, with the pilgrims entering the Time Tombs. The action switches between the pilgrims and the leader of the galactic human government, called the Hegemony, Meina Gladstone and an artist she has conscripted to paint her picture, a human/machine hybrid "reconstruction" of John Keats. As the pilgrims split off from each other and go their separate ways to individually confront their fates, the action begins to switch in between them also.

Without ruining the plot, I will say that all of the dangling plot threads of the previous book are satisfactorily resolved in this sequel. Also, some plot threads are introduced for the next books, but you can leave the action with this book, if you wish, although I doubt you'd want to if you're a fan of the characters and the setting.

My Criticism
First, as in all books about humanity on this scale, religion inevitably plays some kind of role in driving the events. Simmons does a good job of pointing out the separation between creeds and true faith and the reality of what any kind of deity must be like. That is, there is a separation between one's conception of who a "supreme being" (or as Simmons calls it, "Ultimate Intelligence/UI") is, one's method of acknowledging, relating to, and deferring to this supreme being (religiosity/creeds) and the actuality of who this supreme being is from a purely objective point of view.

Second, any critique of any religion suffers to a certain degree if you're on the outside looking in. That is, if I'm a lapsed Hindu, or if I grew up in a society that was predominantly Hindu yet I never subscribed to that religion, any critique I have of that religion is perhaps coming from a place that resents the religion. The same thing applies to the converse. If I'm a Hindu, I can't really write an unbiased critique of Hinduism because I've obviously subscribed to the whole thing.

This is not to say that religious criticism is not possible, or that any points that are brought up in the criticism aren't valid. However, it is easy for someone with an agenda to take aspects of a religion out of their proper context and create arguments based on these fallacies.

Does this occur in the Hyperion Cantos? Not enough, in my opinion, to detract too much from the books. Certainly, Simmons "ultimate reality" posited in the Hyperion Cantos is very human-friendly in an agnostic kind of way. The books made me think long and hard about my preconceived notions of Religion and God, and that is always a good thing.

Religion and God is a touchy subject. It always will be a touchy subject. However, I do think that Simmons treatment of it is just right enough to be thought provoking without crossing the line into being overly offensive.

"The Fall of Hyperion" is a good read.(less)

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Sep 02, 2007 Andy rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fantasy-sci-fi readers into 19th century poetry.

A friend gave me these books (the Hyperion/Endymion series) about six years ago. They're more 'fantasy' science fiction - other worlds, alien races, etc - than 'hard' science fiction (by that I mean, could happen here and now) so I found them interesting, but you've got to like this style of material to get thru it. This book could have told it's story in half the space and still have been just as compelling - if not more so. If you want to ponder the philosophical meanings of existence, these a...more

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Sep 01, 2007 Frank rated it 5 of 5 stars

Dan Simmons is technically one of the best Sci-Fi writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. I am in awe of his narrative structure. This book, and it's first part Hyperion, are part of a story that rivals Herbert's work with Dune in scope and complexity, but if anything his writing style is a bit more approachable than Herbert's. Don't get me wrong, I love Herbert's work dearly, Simmons is just a little less hard-core sci-fi in his writing style. His plots and characters and setting are bold...more

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Jul 18, 2007 D rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-scififantasy, fiction

We are created for precisely this sort of suffering. In the end, it is all we are, these limpid tide pools of self-consciousness between crashing waves of pain. We are destined and designed to bear our pain with us, hugging it tight to our bellies like the young Spartan thief hiding a wolf cub so it can eat away our insides. What other creature in God's wide domain would carry the memory of you, Fanny, dust these nine hundred years, and allow it to eat away at him even as consumption does the sa...more

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Dec 29, 2009 Hazel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, for-rereading

I've just finished this again. At times it seemed unwieldy, although I imagine the change in structure was necessary for Simmons to weave all the strands of the story together. Overall though, I appreciate the complexity of the tale. Theological ideas are always a draw for me, Abraham was testing God! I enjoyed the poetry, too, and although I was never into Keats I'm now minded to look for a collection, and read more about him.

Maybe three and a half stars? I imagine I shall be rereading both bo...more

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Dec 21, 2011 Shara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Overall, it was a satisfying read. Simmons tied up most of the major loose ends, tied together elements of the first book beautifully, and left this reader with a satisfying ending and anticipation for the next two books. Not that I'm in a hurry to get to them. I found this particular volume to be a bit sloppier than its predecessor, and I spent much of my reading time shaking my head in confusion. It was a good confused, but I'll tell you what, the Lost mythology has NOTHING on this one. Sheesh...more

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May 13, 2011 Nancy Schober rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: series-hyperion, science, fiction

I think it would be difficult to read � Hyperion� , like it and not want to read � The Fall of Hyperion too. There were two themes in the second book that made me think the kind of ideas that gnaw away at me. First was the � Core.� While the book must have been written in the late 80� s for me � The Core� symbolized a science fiction version of the internet as an evil collective unconscious. I have a problem with this. My views were shaped by the first astronauts who dreaded being in the black v...more

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Jan 05, 2011 Brian rated it 2 of 5 stars

11/9/04 - 5/10

Series: 12/8/04 - 6/10
The Hyperion Cantos started off very promising. The first book is like a sci-fi version of The Canterbury Tales, with detailed personal looks at each individual character, each with different tones. Some of the stories were better than others, but all were good - the Sol Weintraub / Rachel story in particular was very haunting. The story is a creative look at 700 years in the future with very detailed worlds and cultures, mostly touched on in passing in the ch...more

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Mar 17, 2009 Alex rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: rented

After enjoying Hyperion more then I thought I would because it turned out to be a book you can think about a little as well as just enjoy for the story, this was a let down. The whole Canterbury Tales deal was jettisoned, and it was mostly running around and space battles and Keats (yeah, I'm not sure why Keats either... I can't even think of a reason that there would be an organic shift from Chaucer to Keats). So basically what you got was your average space opera mixed in with some literary al...more

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Jun 10, 2013 John rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of "Mass Effect"

[Kwatz!]

Deeply satisfying. The Fall of Hyperion departs from its predecessor's story-telling tack and goes for a straightforward run-through of the final days of the Hegemony of Man/WordWeb, vacillating between the dreams of a special cybrid-revival-persona and the events unfolding on the planet Hyperion (presented as the cybrid's dreams, sans electric sheep). It may sound a bit strange, but it works. Have faith.

Long story short, the book is a well written and well crafted gem in the oft-times h...more

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May 24, 2013 Nilesh rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: good-fiction

It's a let down from Hyperion - one of the best Sci-fi ever - but otherwise an excellent book.

The story contains amazing twists, keeps moving unpredictably and retains suspense while solving puzzles continuously. There are great theological, philosophical and existential discussions along the way. Yet, they do not spoil the tale. Rather, they should make most readers pause to consider the reality we live in, add many new possible causes/consequences behind our existence and provide new plots to...more

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May 21, 2013 Manrix rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Having read and enjoyed the prequel, Hyperion, it was only a matter of time before I got to this novel. Where Hyperion was excellent, the sequel was truly mindblowing.
Hyperion had a Canterbury Tales-style structure that appealed to me, but obviously wouldn't work for the second novel. Large parts of it are told by a second Keats retrieval persona, but sometimes this mechanism was a bit of a weak point in the novel. It is abandoned completely in Part II, to be picked up again in Part III, but sor...more Having read and enjoyed the prequel, Hyperion, it was only a matter of time before I got to this novel. Where Hyperion was excellent, the sequel was truly mindblowing.
Hyperion had a Canterbury Tales-style structure that appealed to me, but obviously wouldn't work for the second novel. Large parts of it are told by a second Keats retrieval persona, but sometimes this mechanism was a bit of a weak point in the novel. It is abandoned completely in Part II, to be picked up again in Part III, but sort of fading away during the last part of the book. But this is the only downside I've found.
For the rest, the novel has intersting characters, a compelling view of the possibilities of the future and the dangers of AIs. And in spite of being a completely reasonable society, the World Web still accepts something as strange as the Shrike as reality, and it doesn't feel out of place. This is one of the strongest points in the novel. Somehow, you can't help but accept all the strange things that you come across in the novel (and it gets really strange) as a logical part of that world.
At the heart of this story is, of course, the mystery of the Shrike. What it does and where it comes from is never completely explained, while still giving enough information to satisfy the reader. It has the right amount of mystery around it, even after finishing the novel.
The stories of Ummon the AI are wonderfully imaginative and very humorous, and the adventures of the second Keats retrieval persona, though very strange near the end, are infinitely interesting.
The motivations behind the three factions of the Technocore make sense, and their civil war (and its impact on the World Web) well thought-out.
Meina Gladstone is one of the coolest characters I've come across. She's capable and visionary. And she has a deep and terrible secret.
Still, most of all, the plot was what I loved most. There was so much going on, and yet it was all compelling, and it all made sense. There is sacrifice and hope and violence.
I cannot recommend this highly enough. It is one of the best novels I have ever read.(less)

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Mar 22, 2013 Manish Nair rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

So many questions, so few answers.

Continuing off the high of Hyperion, I absolutely ripped into The Fall, reading at an almost feverish pace to begin with. That said, my recollection of reading the beginning of the novel was one of disappointment. Since The Fall is a direct continuation of the storyline from Hyperion, I had expected events to pick up their tempo from where they had been left off. It was not really the case, primarily due to the introduction of a dedicated narrator to this story,...more So many questions, so few answers.

Continuing off the high of Hyperion, I absolutely ripped into The Fall, reading at an almost feverish pace to begin with. That said, my recollection of reading the beginning of the novel was one of disappointment. Since The Fall is a direct continuation of the storyline from Hyperion, I had expected events to pick up their tempo from where they had been left off. It was not really the case, primarily due to the introduction of a dedicated narrator to this story, a second cybrid recreation of the poet John Keats. Indeed, the entire book is about what he directly experiences in his persona, and about what he "dreams" the Shrike pilgrims doing and feeling. This new perspective shifted the balances slightly from Hyperion. However, the most frustrating element for me was that so little transpired in the opening chapters! There was very little interaction between characters, especially with regard to the pilgrims, who take on a relatively peripheral role with Simmons dedicating some pages to the development of the Hegemony leaders. Naturally this was necessary as the Keats cybrid and the Hegemony leadership grow in relevance come the end of the novel, but after being so pumped up about the ongoing saga between the pilgrims and the Shrike, it was a bit of a let-down. In fact, the portion regarding the Shrike pilgrimage develops rather slowly, in a manner almost anticlimactic.

Phew. Glad to get all that out. Mind you, that was only the beginning of the novel. Because moving on, The Fall of Hyperion was mind-boggling, in a grand way. It is difficult to describe without spoiling, but it should suffice to say that each of the pilgrims has his/her meeting with the Shrike, ultimately culminating at the end of the novel in a showdown between the Ousters, the Hegemony and the TechnoCore. The fractions within the TechnoCore are revealed, as is the existence of not one (not one!) but two Ultimate in the future that vie for dominion. Or maybe not?

Along with drawing influence from the actual work of Keats and certain theological lines, Simmons once again explores the intricacies of time. Two UIs are indeed present in one version of a future, but if there is more than one possible future then is that still the case? What if they carry their fight into the past; does that then make the future in which they exist the actual future? Simmons' writing literally transcends time, hopping from one age to another. But the glimpses the poor reader is offered do not shed light on this universe as much as it discombobulates (it seemed that way to me). My mind was left reeling at the end of the story, but in a satisfying way. I cannot pretend that I caught everything Simmons threw at me, but I certainly caught enough to be mindblown.

You can tell that I think highly of the story. Yet I have only given it 4 stars. I am reserving my judgement until I read the two Endymion novels, just to know if there is closure and whether I am on the right track. Simmons has left a lot of questions unanswered after the Fall, and while I assume that they are going to be answered in the next two novels, I want to find out for certain. If there is a method to the madness he has created, then I will automatically upgrade this to a 5 star.

By the way, the role of the Shrike is still kept an enigmatic secret. Just so you know. I thought I would gain a better idea, and at some points during the novel I thought I did, before everything was turned on its head again. I am resigned to having to finish all the 4 novels before all the "Why"s in this story become apparent. And I am preparing myself for immense satisfaction by the end of The Rise of Endymion. Reason enough to continue reading, no? I am sure Simmons will not disappoint. (less)

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Feb 25, 2013 Will Caskey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

In combination with the first Hyperion book, this is a pretty good space opera with a lot of wasted potential.

There's a lot to like about it. It has a good narrative structure that breaks things up without getting disjointed. The characters continue their development arcs from the first. There's an epic struggle between man and meta machine with horrifying consequences and heartbreaking dilemmas.

It's just that two thirds of the way through it shifts gears from being a truly epic work of sci if w...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Danielle Lanier rated it 4 of 5 stars

Just finished this book last night and dang, was I impressed. I myself am writing a book that uses travel similar to the farcasters in the world Simmons paints and so this book of course drew my attention.

I won't say that I was absolutely blown away by the characters because I don't feel I got the chance to know them quite as well as I would have if I had read Hyperion before I read this one, but my dang library doesn't have Hyperion, so I jumped into this one first. (I read another reviewer who...more

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Feb 17, 2013 Joe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook, scifi

This book is awesome. It's not Hyperion, and that's good and bad.

What made me want to continue with the series after putting it down for a year or so after finishing Hyperion, was wikipedia's description of the narrative style.

Hyperion:
Hyperion has the structure of a frame story, similar to Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron
Fall of Hyperion:
It abandons the storytelling frame structure of the first novel, and is instead presented primarily as a series of dreams...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-by-iamfantastikate, author-gender-male, author-nationality-usa, creatures-gods, creatures-original, genre-fantasy, genre-horror, genre-time-travel, genre-science-fiction, pov-first-person, pov-third-person-limited, publisher-random-house, rating-3-stars, read-in-2013, set-in-fictional-world, tense-past, tense-present, creatures-aliens

Should I read it?
Maybe? If you liked the first book, you'll almost certainly like this one. And, if you were a bit skeptical of the first book, as I was, I think you'll find The Fall of Hyperion to be the superior story of the two. However, don't expect answers to all your questions, and with the third and fourth books in the series not being directly related to the first two, per se, that may put you off.

What's the short and skinny of it?
Following the events of Hyperion , war is brewing betwee...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Alexis rated it 3 of 5 stars

3*1/2
It never becomes clear what John Keates is doing here, or at least why it should ever be John Keates of all people. It seems odd that several centuries and billions of people later the only figures of reference for humanity are Lincoln, Yeats, Escher and Churchill (and Keates - duh). These are objections that can easily be overlooked though, because the book really is that exciting as it unfolds, even as the plot becomes overly complex...until eventually it reaches the point you can only as...more

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Nov 05, 2012 Mel Windham rated it 5 of 5 stars

Dan Simmons' "The Fall of Hyperion" picks up right where the first book Hyperion leaves off. Though, the storytelling is a little different.

In the first book the Consul is the first person narrator, except for when the other characters tell their stories.

In this second book, we meet a new character: Joseph Severn, an artist living in TC^2, who has the ability to view our Hyperion friends in his dreams. During the first part of the book, we see things unfolding from Joseph's POV through a clouded...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Tim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, best-books-ever, needs-a-re-read

There are some novels which you will take with you wherever you go; they set the bar so high that deep down you know you may never come across something that will be that great again and you know you can never read it again for the first time. These books have characters that are so realized that you feel like you have always known them and that you actually care what happens to them.

I really can't write the review I want without spoiling anything, so I am just going to say that I was there with...more

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Sep 23, 2012 Jorge rated it 3 of 5 stars

Conclusión de la historia iniciada en Hyperión. En esta novela se relata el desenlace de la guerra entre la Hegemonía humana y los misteriosos éxters, así como la intriga y traiciones tejidas por el TecnoNúcleo, el imperio de inteligencias cibernéticas herederas de las primeras computadoras, y que controla subrepticiamente la Hegemonía humana.

En un relato que mezcla space ópera, viajes en el tiempo, tragedias griegas y la obra de John Keats, Simmons teje una historia de intriga política, traicio...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Judi rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Tyler Lapierre

Recommended to Judi by: Carl Petersen

Shelves: read-in-1999

I warn you now - pick up this book when you get your copy of HYPERION. At the end of HYPERION the pilgrims are just approaching the Time Tombs. The real adventure doesn't start until the sequel. This is when they each meet the horrible Shrike creature. Between the events at the Time Tombs and the Hegemony's war politics over the Ouster invasion, there's a lot of tension and anticipation. I found this book a little more difficult to read because the twin of the Keats personae introduced in the fi...more I warn you now - pick up this book when you get your copy of HYPERION. At the end of HYPERION the pilgrims are just approaching the Time Tombs. The real adventure doesn't start until the sequel. This is when they each meet the horrible Shrike creature. Between the events at the Time Tombs and the Hegemony's war politics over the Ouster invasion, there's a lot of tension and anticipation. I found this book a little more difficult to read because the twin of the Keats personae introduced in the first book is now the protagonist. I have never really cared for classical poetry but I didn't find this essential to understand the book since Simmons explains the connections for us. Simmons must be a very intelligent and well read man to be able to weave this futuristic novel around a classic poet.

Simmons also does us another favor. He frequently reminds the reader the background of a situation. Since I was reading these books back to back over a two week period, I sometimes found it annoying. But, I'll admit other times I was grateful. Maybe he expects a reader to take a longer break between books or take longer to read them. And if so these reminders would be necessary since there are a lot of things happening on a lot of worlds with a multitude of themes.

When Carl gave me these books he said that he thought that he might have found something that I couldn't just plow through; that I might have to stop and breath a few times while reading. He's right. These books are not fast reads. With both books, I had to stop and take breaks. Not only is there a lot to keep track of, but there's a lot of ideas especially about man, God and machines. I found that I had to just set the books down to think for awhile (or nap and dream). Occasionally I had to retrace my foot steps to make sure I really understood an idea.

After reading The Fall of Hyperion, I can see why many bookstores combine Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction in one section. This epic tale clearly has elements of all of these styles. But don't let me mislead you. This masterpiece is hard-core Science Fiction, with post cyber-punk influence.

As I begin my research on these books for this web page, I find that there are TWO MORE books in this series... guess who's putting in an order with Amazon.com...(less)

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Jul 28, 2012 Adam Callaway rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads

Publisher: Spectra
Release Date: 1995
Title: The Fall of Hyperion
Author: Dan Simmons
Subgenre: Planetary Romance
Pages: 528

The Good: Great characterization. Good pay-offs. Mind-bending ideas.

I start many series, but I don't finish many. Even rarer, I don't normally go right to the 2nd book in a series after I read the 1st. I lose steam. I get bored. Not so with the Hyperion Cantos.

The Fall of Hyperion is miles away from Hyperion in structure. Where Hyperion was 3rd person limited in between the corn...more

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May 26, 2012 Peter rated it 5 of 5 stars

Six pilgrims, each with distinct purposes, have landed on the mysterious planet of Hyperion. They come with selfish motivations, but the fate of humanity rests on their shoulders. Hyperion, the first novel of the two-book duology (and part of a four-book Cantos), detailed the stories of the individual pilgrims in the form of a frame story. The Fall of Hyperion leaves where the first novel left off, with the travelers landing at their pilgrimage site.

I must say that I enjoyed the follow up to Hyp...more Six pilgrims, each with distinct purposes, have landed on the mysterious planet of Hyperion. They come with selfish motivations, but the fate of humanity rests on their shoulders. Hyperion, the first novel of the two-book duology (and part of a four-book Cantos), detailed the stories of the individual pilgrims in the form of a frame story. The Fall of Hyperion leaves where the first novel left off, with the travelers landing at their pilgrimage site.

I must say that I enjoyed the follow up to Hyperion. I found the first book to be brilliant and while this may have not met my fullest expectations, it was engaging and helped tie up the mysteries of the planet Hyperion and the fate of the Hegemony of Man. Much of the story is told through Joseph Severn, the second cybrid of John Keats, who is connected to each of the pilgrims through his dreams. He serves as an informant for the CEO of the Hegemony and later plays a major role in the fate of mankind.

I will admit that I am struggling to write a synopsis of the novel — the plot unfolds like layers of an onion, slowly revealing the secrets of the Shrike, the purpose for the pilgrims, the nature of the TechnoCore, the true intent of the Ousters, and several other mysteries that were left unresolved in Hyperion. The novel’s framework is often loose, with departures from linear storytelling and is interspersed with poetry and the semi-cryptic language spoken by Ummon of the TechnoCore.

While I did not feel that The Fall of Hyperion reached the brilliance achieved in the first novel, it falls nothing short of excellent. The world-building is astounding and I was left satisfied at its conclusion. There are still some questions, that I hope will be made clearer in subsequent books. My biggest criticism of the work is that some of the rich characters fell a little flat toward the end. Father Dure seemed to suffer little agony, still bound with a cruciform that drove him to self-crucifixion. Martin Silenus, the passionate and often drunk poet, also suffered from apathy after being so driven in the previous novel.

Overall, my criticisms are slight in comparison to what Dan Simmons has achieved. I plan on reading the final two books in the series and perhaps will read them all again. If you enjoyed Hyperion, you need not waste a second reading any reviews and should pick up this title immediately.(less)

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May 24, 2012 Stephen Holmes rated it 4 of 5 stars

After reading Hyperion I had to pick up the next book in the series, and this book did not dissappoint. Unlike Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion was a cohesive story and did not jump around the same way. It answered many of the questions that I had at the end of Hyperion, and was a great story in its own right.

Plus, many of the ideas presented in the book were very innovative, especially for the time that this was written. I would say go pick this up if you have read Hyperion, but if you have finis...more

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About Dan Simmons

Dan Simmons was born in Peoria, Illinois, in 1948, and grew up in various cities and small towns in the Midwest, including Brimfield, Illinois, which was the source of his fictional "Elm Haven" in 1991's SUMMER OF NIGHT and 2002's A WINTER HAUNTING. Dan received a B.A. in English from Wabash College in 1970, winning a national Phi Beta Kappa Award during his senior year for excellence in fiction,...more Dan Simmons was born in Peoria, Illinois, in 1948, and grew up in various cities and small towns in the Midwest, including Brimfield, Illinois, which was the source of his fictional "Elm Haven" in 1991's SUMMER OF NIGHT and 2002's A WINTER HAUNTING. Dan received a B.A. in English from Wabash College in 1970, winning a national Phi Beta Kappa Award during his senior year for excellence in fiction, journalism and art.

Dan received his Masters in Education from Washington University in St. Louis in 1971. He then worked in elementary education for 18 years -- 2 years in Missouri, 2 years in Buffalo, New York -- one year as a specially trained BOCES "resource teacher" and another as a sixth-grade teacher -- and 14 years in Colorado.

ABOUT DAN
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His last four years in teaching were spent creating, coordinating, and teaching in APEX, an extensive gifted/talented program serving 19 elementary schools and some 15,000 potential students. During his years of teaching, he won awards from the Colorado Education Association and was a finalist for the Colorado Teacher of the Year. He also worked as a national language-arts consultant, sharing his own "Writing Well" curriculum which he had created for his own classroom. Eleven and twelve-year-old students in Simmons' regular 6th-grade class averaged junior-year in high school writing ability according to annual standardized and holistic writing assessments. Whenever someone says "writing can't be taught," Dan begs to differ and has the track record to prove it. Since becoming a full-time writer, Dan likes to visit college writing classes, has taught in New Hampshire's Odyssey writing program for adults, and is considering hosting his own Windwalker Writers' Workshop.

Dan's first published story appeared on Feb. 15, 1982, the day his daughter, Jane Kathryn, was born. He's always attributed that coincidence to "helping in keeping things in perspective when it comes to the relative importance of writing and life."

Dan has been a full-time writer since 1987 and lives along the Front Range of Colorado -- in the same town where he taught for 14 years -- with his wife, Karen, his daughter, Jane, (when she's home from Hamilton College) and their Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Fergie. He does much of his writing at Windwalker -- their mountain property and cabin at 8,400 feet of altitude at the base of the Continental Divide, just south of Rocky Mountain National Park. An 8-ft.-tall sculpture of the Shrike -- a thorned and frightening character from the four Hyperion/Endymion novels -- was sculpted by an ex-student and friend, Clee Richeson, and the sculpture now stands guard near the isolated cabin.(less)

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The Rise of Endymion (Hyperion Cantos, #4)

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Quotes from The Fall of Hyperion

“In the end--when all else is dust--loyalty to those we love is all we can carry with us to the grave. Faith--true faith--was trusting in that love.” — 14 people liked it

“We are created for precisely this sort of suffering. In the end, it is all we are, these limpid tide pools of self-consciousness between crashing waves of pain. We are destined and designed to bear our pain with us, hugging it tight to our bellies like the young Spartan thief hiding a wolf cub so it can eat away our insides. What other creature in God's wide domain would carry the memory of you, Fanny, dust these nine hundred years, and allow it to eat away at him even as consumption does the same work with its effortless efficiency?

Words assail me. The thought of books makes me ache. Poetry echoes in my mind, and if I had the ability to banish it, I would do so at once.” — 11 people liked it

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The Fall of Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos #2)

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