Hyperion

[The Human Q-Tip]

Can someone sell me on the book?

I'll say this - it is a fairly dense book. Simmons is almost more of a literaturist than a typical science fiction writer, and it is very much a character driven story. The SF elements obviously are still there, but it isn't a quick read and makes you think about issues like war, the meaning of faith, death, etc.. There are also a couple of really strange mysteries that are at the center of the story's journey, centered around these Tombs - the characters' destination - that are moving "backwards through time." Plenty of "holy fuck" moments. And it all happen in less than 500 pages.

The reason I mentioned all that is because you can kind of tell that it isn't everyone's cup of tea - it's dense. But, it still sold very well, and won two of the three major science fiction awards in the year it was published. The Hugo Award winners in particular are well worth reading, and Hyperion especially so.

 

[Cavatt]

It's canterbury tales set in the far future where the earth has been mysteriously destroyed in a teleportation accident by the Artificial intelligences that run everything.

There is a demon on the planet Hyperion that can travel through time and it appears randomly and impales people on a giant spikes metal tree to suffer in eternity. Nobody knows what it is or what its purpose is, and there is this group of people that all have unfinished business with the "demon" and each tells their cuckoo story on the way to the Time Tombs, where time can get all wonky.

It has elements of every kind of story, it's a war story, a romance, a detective story, religious redemption, addiction, and indictment of bureacratic monopolies.

I have read several of his books and I had to reread this one because some of the stories are so different it is hard to rememeber they are in the same book.

I'm trying to think of any other book where the payoffs work so well, but the way he makes you curious as to what the hell is going on and he actually pays it off in a satisfying way. There are technically 4 books in this series, but the last 2 are written more than decade later and are not nearly as good. The first 2 are a coherent and tight story that is self contained and the last 2 are not as good but have their own interesting ideas and try to finish the story completely which was probably unneccesary.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

What was the general reception of Foundation? I haven’t read it but thought it was solid.

I’ll definitely keep watching Foundation.

I've read the Foundation series, but didn't watch the show. Very different approach to SF than is Simmons/Hyperion. Azimov was less a great writer than a great imaginist/visionary. So his stories generally are very plot driven rather than character-driven.

The actual writing in the Foundation novels is pretty weak, but the scope of the story is fantastic. It didn't hold up too well for me on a reread because of the writing, but the story itself is still great.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

It's canterbury tales set in the far future where the earth has been mysteriously destroyed in a teleportation accident by the Artificial intelligences that run everything.

There is a demon on the planet Hyperion that can travel through time and it appears randomly and impales people on a giant spikes metal tree to suffer in eternity. Nobody knows what it is or what its purpose is, and there is this group of people that all have unfinished business with the "demon" and each tells their cuckoo story on the way to the Time Tombs, where time can get all wonky.

It has elements of every kind of story, it's a war story, a romance, a detective story, religious redemption, addiction, and indictment of bureacratic monopolies.

I have read several of his books and I had to reread this one because some of the stories are so different it is hard to rememeber they are in the same book.

I'm trying to think of any other book where the payoffs work so well, but the way he makes you curious as to what the hell is going on and he actually pays it off in a satisfying way. There are technically 4 books in this series, but the last 2 are written more than decade later and are not nearly as good. The first 2 are a coherent and tight story that is self contained and the last 2 are not as good but have their own interesting ideas and try to finish the story completely which was probably unneccesary.

Very good review. I did still enjoy Endymion and Rise of Endymion, probably because I just liked knowing how it all ended up, and they were well-written. But they didn't have the same incredible mashup of characters, philosophy and truly mind-bending science fiction that the first two books had. I remember feeling a massive "holy fuck" when I finished Fall of Hyperion.

And I'll just say that if someone is inclined to start reading them, make sure you have both of them on hand because you're definitely going to want to start Fall of Hyperion the moment you finish Hyperion.

 

[CleveRocks]

I don't think the foundation series did the book justice.. the movie was more interesting in its handling of emperor, than of the primary story around the foundation.. I think that is because series cannot capture all of the threads of the book.. I think the same happened with the dune movie..

Hyperion is an exhausting read.. but a shit ton of content. In the right hands it is lord of the rings. But not sure who can capture it and make it accessible

 

[MD13]

Can someone sell me on the book?

I'd say that there's something for everyone in the book. Each story is a completely different genre, and they range from really hard sci fi to being almost purely character driven. I didn't LOVE every story, but each was brilliant in its own way. I know there's a body horror tale which a lot of people say is their favorite, but for me the two that stuck to me the most were the two that were about relationships and loved ones. For this reason it's a book that I could give to someone who's not a sci fi fan and I think they'd still find deep enjoyment in it.

 

[Cavatt]

Very good review. I did still enjoy Endymion and Rise of Endymion, probably because I just liked knowing how it all ended up, and they were well-written. But they didn't have the same incredible mashup of characters, philosophy and truly mind-bending science fiction that the first two books had. I remember feeling a massive "holy fuck" when I finished Fall of Hyperion.

And I'll just say that if someone is inclined to start reading them, make sure you have both of them on hand because you're definitely going to want to start Fall of Hyperion the moment you finish Hyperion.

Yeah I didn't hate #3 or 4 but it had a completely different vibe and it was a more linear narrative if you can say that about a time travel story.

Have you read "Summer of Night"? It is sort of like IT and is a straight up historical fiction horror book. It is really dark and scary. I like Olympos and Ilium better because of the bonkers sci fi, but Summer of Night is super original and very weird.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I'd say that there's something for everyone in the book. Each story is a completely different genre, and they range from really hard sci fi to being almost purely character driven. I didn't LOVE every story, but each was brilliant in its own way. I know there's a body horror tale which a lot of people say is their favorite, but for me the two that stuck to me the most were the two that were about relationships and loved ones. For this reason it's a book that I could give to someone who's not a sci fi fan and I think they'd still find deep enjoyment in it.

I loved the soldier's story. Different payoff than I expected, and probably resonates the most with me because I was still a captain in the Marines when I first read it. Just did a wonderful job of explaining how soldiering and wanting to preserve life can coexist in the same person.

One other thing I remember from that time was a buddy of mine saying we should write a book together, and me thinking that sounded pretty cool. Then I read Hyperion and figured it was massively beyond anything I could ever hope to write myself.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Yeah I didn't hate #3 or 4 but it had a completely different vibe and it was a more linear narrative if you can say that about a time travel story.

Have you read "Summer of Night"? It is sort of like IT and is a straight up historical fiction horror book. It is really dark and scary. I like Olympos and Ilium better because of the bonkers sci fi, but Summer of Night is super original and very weird.

Absolutely. I read both Summer of Night and a Winter's Haunting, the sequel. Loved them both, but A Winter's Haunting was really powerful with the focus on just the one character.

Also really enjoyed Children of the Night. Really great book, but I thought the ending was a bit rushed. Also, did you see that they made The Terror into a miniseries? Did a pretty good job, too. More historical fiction than true horror/SF, but a cool story pulled from actual events.

 

[MD13]

I loved the soldier's story. Different payoff than I expected, and probably resonates the most with me because I was still a captain in the Marines when I first read it. Just did a wonderful job of explaining how soldiering and wanting to preserve life can coexist in the same person.

One other thing I remember from that time was a buddy of mine saying we should write a book together, and me thinking that sounded pretty cool. Then I read Hyperion and figured it was massively beyond anything I could ever hope to write myself.

I loved the Scholar's tale because how could you not, and most of all the Consul's tale. I just thought it was an absolutely brilliant romance and all of the themes were incredibly explored. Seeing the world change before your eyes was genius. Don't want to get too into it for everyone who hasn't read it yet.

 

[Chris]

This for real?

I read this back in college a decade ago. It was phenomenal. No way they can do it justice unless it’s a miniseries or multiple season show.

Just an insane story. I need to reread.