Hyperion: In Progress (No Spoilers Please)

[Adelaide]

This topic is for those who want to discuss the book in progress. No spoilers please.

[Cheryl]

I'm trying to get this book from my library, but it's currently checked out. I'll also be traveling next week, so the soonest I can start reading this book will be mid month.

I have tried reading Hyperion before without success. But I'm going to give it another shot. Sometimes I'm not ready to read a book, and will have success on a subsequent attempt.

[Adelaide]

I tried to read this before when I was sick and got through the priest's tale and then stalled, so I'm also on my second attempt. We'll see how it goes!

[Adelaide]

Ok. So I've gotten through the priest's tale and the soldier's tale (which I had forgotten I had read before) and enjoyed them much more this time around. I've started the poet's tale, and realized this was where I stalled out before BECAUSE I HATE THE POET AND HIS STORY. I have an hour bus ride ahead of me today, so I'm just gonna barrel through and hate read this chapter. Ugh. Seriously, I hate the poet.

[Cheryl]

Are all these tales related to each other, or can you skip some?

[Adelaide]

Well, they are supposed to give you background on why they are all going to see the shrike. I got through the poet's tale today. It got better, although still irritating. The next story is better so far.

[Adelaide]

Okay, so I finished the scholar's tale and am in the middle of the detective's. The poet's tale was definitely the low point of the book for me as the next two tales are very good. I can see why I hated this book when I was sick (it's pretty dense) but I'm really enjoying it now.

So what's going in is, there is a group of people traveling together to go see this menacing entity called The Shrike. Each person takes a turn telling their reasons for undertaking the journey. As they get closer to The Shrike, things get creepier. I don't think skipping a story you absolutely hated would ruin this book for you, but it might affect your knowledge of the next one.

[Cheryl]

I can imagine what you mean by saying it's dense. I looked at the opening of the book on Amazon's preview page for it. I don't know if this book is for me. I'm already reading a dense classic book for another book group. Two at the same time might be too much for me. And it doesn't sound like this will be a stand-alone book that can be enjoyed for itself. I'm not not a big fan of continued series novels.

I am enjoying reading your updates, Adelaide. I hope you enjoy the book!

[Adelaide]

So, I finished it, and I'll def do my (spoiler-free) write up on the "finished" thread, but I will say that I think this book could be read as a standalone if one was so inclined. Each of the stories is self-contained, and if you can live without knowing what happens when they see the Shrike, there is a lot of pleasure to be had here. The book does get easier to read as it goes along, but I can see it being a bit much if you had a lot going on.

[Cheryl]

I will probably give this book another go, but after I'm done with my dense classic book. I just have to be in the right frame of mind for it.

[Sarah]

I picked this up from he library, and am loving the sheer complexity of it....but it's going slowly...still on the priest's tale.

[Cheryl]

I just got this from my library today. I'm giving it another chance.

[Cheryl]

It's very early in the book, but I'm feeling a bit disoriented. You're just thrown into this universe, and have to pick up things (i.e. words, history, politics) as you go. I think this freaked me out last time I tried to read it, wanting to know EXACTLY what everything was, and what EXACTLY was going on. But I'm not doing that this read. Hopefully that'll help.

[Adelaide]

Yeah, I find that happens with a lot of sci fi. My tactic is to just go along with the flow and trust that it will all get explained.

[Sarah]

I just started the scholar's tale, what a wild ride so far. Very pleased with the quality of the stories. The poet's tale did tend to drag, though. Still a great read.

[Sarah]

I just started the scholar's tale, what a wild ride so far. Very pleased with the quality of the stories. The poet's tale did tend to drag, though. Still a great read.

[Cheryl]

I just finished The Priest's Tale. That was terrifyingly horrific! It was very well written and I hope the rest of the stories are as good. (I am expecting The Poet's Tale to be not as good, from the comments posted here.)

[Cheryl]

The Soldier's Tale has its own shocking ending. I did not anticipate that!

[Cheryl]

The poet's Tale and The Scholar's Tale were just OK. Nothing really stood out to grab me like the previous tales.

[Sarah]

Just finished the scholar's tale. It was almost too hard for me to read having a little daughter myself. Hope that kid ends up ok...

[Sarah]

Just finished the scholar's tale. It was almost too hard for me to read having a little daughter myself. Hope that kid ends up ok...

[Cheryl]

Sarah wrote: "Just finished the scholar's tale. It was almost too hard for me to read having a little daughter myself. Hope that kid ends up ok..."

Sarah,

Did you think that the author wrote the character Rachel in a believable way as she got younger? I guess I had a hard time with that. Was it realistic dialog coming from her? Since you are a mother with a young daughter, I'd be interested in hearing your opinion of that.

[Sarah]

It was totally realistic. So sad- I wonder if he's ever actually had a daughter himself. The info on Wikipedia about him is pretty sparse.

[Cheryl]

Thank you, Sarah and Adelaide, for helping me get through this book. Without your posts, I might have given up on it, which would've been a shame. I did like the book, after all, and will be reading the second book in the series. I just love this group! It helps me stretch my reading horizons, and introduces me to books I might not have ever read on my own.

[Adelaide]

Yay! I also was dreading it, but ended up having a great time.