The Fall of Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #2) in Beyond Reality

Jan 24, 2008 Jeffrey rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

A big sf novel full of ideas and also bordering on horror this sequel to Hyperion can either blow you away or bore you silly.

I was a fan when I read it, but I never read it again.

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Aug 07, 2012 Banner rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi

This is truly epic fiction, in every sense of the word. The themes and plot are so huge, and complex they make definition ,in a review like this difficult. It goes without saying you should read these in order. When I finished the first book I came away more than a little confused about the plot. I found the individual stories amazing but the universe in which they took place, disjointed and almost incomprehensible. Those elements are more than rectified in the second book. I really have no choi ...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Adrienne rated it it was ok

Shelves: library, science-fiction

Like Hyperion, this was a solid novel that doesn't stand out very much for me. Overall I preferred its predecessor, in which we got glimpses into each of the main characters' pasts. This book dropped that format to move forward with the plot: a war (seemingly) between the Ousters and the Hegemony. (For the most part, we're on the side of the Hegemony, by the way.)

However, it did solidify in my mind why I typically don't like science fiction as much as fantasy novels. I find it hard to ignore the Like Hyperion, this was a solid novel that doesn't stand out very much for me. Overall I preferred its predecessor, in which we got glimpses into each of the main characters' pasts. This book dropped that format to move forward with the plot: a war (seemingly) between the Ousters and the Hegemony. (For the most part, we're on the side of the Hegemony, by the way.)

However, it did solidify in my mind why I typically don't like science fiction as much as fantasy novels. I find it hard to ignore the blatant references to science that (in our day and age) just doesn't work. However, I have no problem with magic in fantasy novels. Sure, you can destroy that tree just by thinking about it? You can share minds with animals? You can look all the way into someone's mind? No problem! It's magic! But when it comes to futuristic science, I just can't suspend my belief. I'm guessing that comes from so many years of science training. (Philosophical references to the Planck time and length also bother me. There's nothing profound about it - it's just science!) I find myself questioning the science and trying to work it all out in my head, and obviously that doesn't work.

I also got quite annoyed with all the references to the twentieth century. This book is set something like 800 years in the future, and people are still thinking primarily about the 1900s when there's nearly a millennium of intervening history. I just didn't buy it. I understand the the author is trying to reference things that are familiar to us, but they stuck out like a sore thumb. I would rather have had references to history that happened between now and the setting of the book; it would have felt more believable. (The same goes when the narrator points out that certain sayings or songs are no longer known by the general population but just happen to be used by the character at hand. Grumble!)

While I didn't dislike the book, I won't be reading the two following books. And as with many books with multiple points of view, I didn't really get too attached to any of the characters (except for Sol - I liked him and the dilemma with his daughter.) ...more

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