The Sword and Laser discussion
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Hyperion
2012 Reads
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Hyp: A great must read tale... be sure to finish it!
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If it is necessary to read the second four-hundred pages of a story before the first four-hundred can be perceived as worth the reader's time, then the author has failed. Badly.
Yeah, Hyperion and Fall.. was originally supposed to be one volume, it's splitting was an unnatural sundering, much like the Lord of the Rings by Tolkien.
You haven't truly finished unless you read Endymion and Rise of Endymion.Those two books will resolve many of the mysteries that were left unanswered. Fall does resolve most of the important things but there are still a lot of things to cover and the last two books will get to them.
The last two books are also much more character driven. Hyperion didn't really have a central character and Fall of Hyperion's main character I suppose was the 2nd John Keats cybrid but nonetheless he didn't feel like a lead character. Books three and four very firmly star four characters and nearly everything will be told from their viewpoints. There are still layers to be peeled and things to be revealed but for those who found the first two frustrating these would probably be easier reads.
I'm starting Endymion today for what I think will be the 4th time. I can't imagine ever getting tired of the series.
I loved the book right up until it didn't end. So many loose things at the end that I felt like it killed all the good will it built up in the individual tales of the pilgrims. It felt like all of their tales couldn't really conclude until we get to the Time Tombs. Which we never get to. I didn't Lem the book. Hyperion Lem'd me!
Daniel wrote: "I loved the book right up until it didn't end. So many loose things at the end that I felt like it killed all the good will it built up in the individual tales of the pilgrims. It felt like all o..."Funny, that's how I felt with Canterbury tales... Except Chaucer had a good excuse... he died...
Rik wrote: "You haven't truly finished unless you read Endymion and Rise of Endymion.Those two books will resolve many of the mysteries that were left unanswered. Fall does resolve most of the important th..."
After finishing Fall, I feel I finished the main story, and anything else is a sequel, and I don't 'need it'. Sooner or latter I'll read the rest of the saga, but I don't have any rush...
Mysteries unanswered? I can't remember any mystery unanswered other than what will happen with the characters that haven't died, something that happens with every story that a main character lives on...
Napoez3 wrote: "After finishing Fall, I feel I finished the main story"Yes, you could finish the second book happy. But the last two books change what you though was going on in the main story. I could have stopped at the 2nd book happy and I really expected the last 2 books just to be another story set in the same universe. It is, but it isn't.
Well I hope you guys are right. I started Fall today. I guess I wouldn't mind reading the whole series since I did enjoy this one. Its just I really wanted some more pay off in this book and not excited about reading a whole book just to get resolution on plot from a previous one. I don't like to go into other books with preconceptions and requirements for the content. Seems like a good way to be dissapointed at the end.
Napoez3 wrote:Mysteries unanswered? I can't remember any mystery unanswered other than what will happen with the characters that haven't died, something that happens with every story that a main character lives on. This is from the Endymion dust jacket: What is the nature of the AI Techno core and its final plan? Who or what kidnapped Old Earth? What is the origin and true mission of the Shrike?
And then in my own words the big thing is how will the Core UI deal with the threat of the human UI that was sent back through time. This is spoilerish for those who haven't finished Fall of Hyperion: (view spoiler)
You'll also get some of the things that happened in Hyperion that were sort of vague explained like Het Masteens tale.
@Rik, again... All of that sounds extremely fascinating to me... But what I feel when reading is completely different... I am really not sure why that is...
Rik wrote: "You haven't truly finished unless you read Endymion and Rise of Endymion.Those two books will resolve many of the mysteries that were left unanswered. Fall does resolve most of the important th..."
I'm reading the Fall of Hyperion right now; I'm 401 pages through. And I feel like this story involved me enough to get me reading whatever I have to to know the whole story.
While dreaming the vision of them all singing the song I noticed a cruciform of the second book laying on my chest.
Not only is the story not complete with only Hyperion but I'd say that it hasn't even begun. Hyperion, to me was necessary prequel material to the main story, 'The Fall of Hyperion' - the main story in this series is just wow. With the prequel delivered, the setting becomes full and vibrant, ready to deliver this well-thought techno-theological treatise on this future conflict between man and machine.
If you are considering lemming this book or have lemmed it, I would suggest reading the second book first then go back to the first. The second book has enough introductory material throughout that you probably won't be lost and after finishing the main story you will likely appreciate the prequel work and be eager to wade through it in much the same way a Tolkien fan is ready to wade through the Similarion.
The end of it is this, the Hyperion work as a whole really is one of the better works of science fiction that I've had the pleasure to experience. I would not have said this if I had stopped reading after Hyperion. - M.