Hyperion is a very, very good book. The sequel might have been equally good if Dan Simmons would have not whiffed the ending. It so lacks in imagination that it made me angry. But let start at the top. Disappointments all around We left our band of intrepid pilgrims before they stepped down into the Valley of the Time Tombs on the planet Hyperion. They expected to meet the Shrike and die, except for one who – according to legend – would be offered a […]
This is only the beginning
This is another classic science-fiction novel, and the one with which I started my ‘quest’ for an expanded horizon in literature. Because I recently acquired The Fall of Hyperion, I felt that I had to re-read the first book of the Hyperion Cantos. It was worth it. Not only had I mostly forgotten the plot, the book is a joy to read, even if is unusually structured. Step out into the galaxy Dan Simmons’ Hyperion Cantos is set in the 28th century. Mankind has expanded […]
A flawed but still wonderful series ender.
So this shit right here is exactly why I read science fiction. It’s got EVERYTHING YOU COULD POSSIBLY WANT. Well, these last two books have been lacking the humor of the first two, mostly because the foul-mouthed poet Martin Silenus was relegated to a background role, but he was there a little bit at the beginning of the last book and the beginning and end of this one, so there was a little bit of humor there. But seriously EVERYTHING ELSE is here. You’ve got […]
And the story picks up 300 years later . . .
If I hadn’t already read (and been blown away by) the first two books in this series earlier this year, I would have been very impressed with this book. But as it is, even though it is very good and exciting and has great characters and poignant themes and hints at even more to come, it pales when compared to the complexity and madcap storytelling of Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion. Those two books were chock full of stories and characters and layers of […]
The fever dreams of John Keats.
I’m a visual person. With me, things have to be neat, aesthetically pleasing, and in some sort of discernible order (even if that order is nothing but visually appealing chaos), otherwise I get cranky. I like charts and graphics and brightly colored pictures. This probably has something to do with the fact that I have synesthesia, specifically grapheme → color synesthesia. For me, everything has a color, and in turn, colors provoke emotions. My brain also automatically attempts to visualize intangible ideas and concepts and place […]
Books like this are why I love science fiction.
So before I get into the nitty gritty nerdery that I’m about to spew all over this review space, bottom line is that this book was comprehensively awesome and you should read it. You don’t need to have read The Canterbury Tales to appreciate Dan Simmons’ epically epic first installment in the Hyperion Cantos series, and really, I suppose you don’t even need to know what The Canterbury Tales is, but you’re certainly not going to appreciate this book very much if you don’t. Hyperion, like […]