Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #1)

by Dan Simmons

The whole planet reeks of mysticism without revelation.

Oh, God, to be sick so far from home.

going into the darkness, if not hopefully, then prayerfully that there is some reason for it all, something worth the price of all that pain, all those sacrifices.

IN THE BEGINNING was the Word. Then came the fucking word processor. Then came the thought processor. Then came the death of literature. And so it goes.

1989

It is not difficult, I have learned, to remain a pre-Copernican pagan in the postscientific Hegemony.

I was unaware of this fact, secure in my arrogance that the very act of creating gave some worth to the worthless abortions I was spawning.

I explored religions and serious drinking, finding more hope of lasting solace in the latter.

any allegiance to a deity or concept or universal principle which put obedience above decent behavior toward an innocent human being was evil.