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Summary: Are you of the cruciform?
Review: If you are not stunned - rocked back on your emotional heels and left gasping - by the fate or F. Paul Dure, then I think you must not be human. If you don't understand the literary scholarship behind the form of Hyperion, the reason John Keats and his poetry is a focus of the story and the reason the demon is called The Shrike; well, you're missing half the fun and you really should read something besides science fiction.The book works at many levels, not the least of which is a spectacular impalment - a literal impalement, by the way - of religion in general and Catholicism and Christianity in particular. God exists in this book in the form of the Technocore, but there's nothing to admire. His angel is an unstoppable killing machine, and his purposes are vile. But what is a metaphor here is a large club in the Endymion series. I like and re-read Hyperion. It has moments that are transcendent. Simmons cannot sustain those moments, though, which in my mind causes to book to fall short of greatness.
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Summary: Simmons is the Master!
Review: Not being a fan of long, epoch-like science fiction, I was daunted by these four novels. However, being a long time Dan Simmons fan, I made the effort. I've never regretted my decision. Hyperion and its' following three stories are "The Lord of the Rings" of our generation. Simmons proves that he can work and succeed in both horror and science fiction genres.
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Summary: I love this book!
Review: How do I start? A great book, that forms the begnning of a series. In this book, a great picture is being reaveled to our eyes: A wonderful and fritning reality. I won't tell the story, but the stories of the six pilgrims are exciting and interesting in so many ways. Altough this book is actually just a prolog, the reality that it builds is something magnificent. I just hope that the following books won't let me down.
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Summary: Very disappointing, considering the reviews
Review: This book strongly resembles your typical horror movie, such as "Scream." The characters are dark and unappealing; the violence is graphic and lacking any kind of foundation which would justify its existence in the book. There were some intriguing ideas about the future of mankind, but I felt they were lost in the author's rush to get back to his vicious Shrike theme. I don't care enough about the fate to the characters to seek out the concusion of their quest in the next book.
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Summary: This book casts a long shadow over all SF that I read
Review: This book is one of my favorites. I found it by accident and was completely surprised. The format of retelling the pilgrim's stories is handled masterfully. Each story is different and compelling in it's own right. The shrike is one of the more interesting villians ever created, which is amazing considering it doesn't utter a word. The following books in the series are good but none can rise to the promise of this first volume. One of my top five books.
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Summary: loved it: still do
Review: this is by far my favorite sci/fi story(all four books included) every time i read it i get such a strong emotional attachment to the characters that when i'm done i'm left with a feeling of emptiness that there will be no more time with them till i decide to start reading it again(usually about a week later) no other book or story i've read has been able to do this. but if you continue to the third book from the first two, be warned there is about a three hundred year separration between the two. so there is a big difference between the halves of the story. i also heard there is a follow-up short story by dan simmons in the book horizons. i have yet to read this but that is because i ordered it and haven't gotton it yet.
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Summary: Great Read But Be Warned
Review: This is a great book, and while I do not think it is the greatest SF book ever written, I will say I agree with many of the reviews I've read. The only thing I think worth adding is this warning: This is the beginning of a series of books and while the various sub-stories which make up the book are more or less complete, the novel does not actually end. It leaves you with a lot of What about this? and what about that? I have yet to read anymore in the series, but I really hate when I'm forced to because I want to know how a story turns-out and the author wants to sell more books by putting the answer in part 2. I much prefer a novel that is complete within itself even if it is part of a greater series of works. Regardless of all that, I still recommend the book.
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Summary: The Best Work of Science Fiction EVER
Review: I came across this book by mistake, but it was the best mistake I ever made. Simmons' use of the Catholic church was brilliant and totally unexpected. A Catholic myself, Simmons taught me a whole lot about my own religion. He also gives you food for thought throughout the other books in the series by tying in and clarifying concepts brought forth in "Hyperion". I get something new out of it every time I reread it, which is around fifty times by now. The new way to read it is to try and cast actors for the movie. Recommended to all serious sci-fi readers.
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Summary: Why ?
Review: Why is Hyperion such a success ? Why did Hyperion amaze so many people, including reputedly harsh critics ? Well, Dan Simmons has pushed SF a step further, enlisting it in that closed circle called "literature". SF, for a long time, has given us beautiful stories that have made us dream, clever plots that have tricked us but Simmons gives it a whole literary dimension : his style is unique and amazingly clever, his study of characters is simply enthralling. He uses literary tricks i had never seen before in a SF book and the themes he develops are, both on a philosophical and sociological ground, so cleverly treated I'm still thinking about them (i.e. the choice of Abraham). So much to say about this book and so little place. One thing to remember : if u wanna take a step higher in SF, buy this book, read it and think about it.
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Summary: Simply the best.
Review: I've read a lot of sci-fi/fantasy over the years, and this remains my all-time favorite novel of the genre. Fascinating, haunting, literate and one you'll want to return to. You'll want to read more by this very talented, underrated author.
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