Rating: 
Summary: This is what science fiction can be!
Review: I had been away from science fiction for a long time, when a clerk recommended this book and The Fall of Hyperion.
Simmons is a class A writer , this book invoked passions in me I hadn't experienced since I had read Asimov, Herbert and Heinlein.
A sort of Canterbury Tales of the future. The Shrike is one of the most intriguing figures I have found in fiction.
I loved the Farcasters, the Hawking Drive and the references to AI.
Could this be the salvation of Science Fiction
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating mix of literature, science-fiction and horror
Review: I love this book. This book, along with Ender's Game, helped get me back into science-fiction, and it certainly was a great way to reenter. I have never seen a novel that can mix so many elements so well, and pack so much while still keeping it fascinating.
I tried to impress my English teacher with this book by showing her how it tied into Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, but she didn't buy it, not being a science-fiction fan. She didn't know what she was missing. Not only does Hyperion echo the Canterbury Tales (the quote at the end of the Prologue is the end of the Old English Canterbury Tales' Prologue), but Simmons also manages to weave the life of poet John Keats (the name of the book is from his unfinished poem). I have never seen a novel that derives so much from literature, and not even contemporary literature at that.
The plot. Wow. That's all I can say. I don't anybody can do justice to the plot by summerizing it, only by reading it can you fully appreciate it. Instead, I'll mention that I love Simmons' writing. His style is full of detail, sometimes seeming to literally describe everything, but always flows brilliantly, until the reader suddenly realizes they have a hundred pages in the course of an hour and never even gave a though to the passage of time.
So, throw in all that described above, some classic science-fiction moments (I love the scene where they realize the tree is travelling backwards and is thus in their future. And some of them are on it), and the wealth of a totally new universe, a reader does not have to look anywhere else to find one of the greatest science-fiction novels of at least the eighties and possibly all time.
Oh, yeah, know what the best thing is: it doesn't end! There's a sequel! All right! Bring it on, Dan Simmons is the master
Rating:
Summary: Bite my betroth, this is good !!
Review: Whooo, if you like Scifi with a slice of horror, you will love this.
Rating:
Summary: Highest Recommendation. Simmons'masterwork. Ten stars.
Review: There's so much good to say about this book, that I could never fit it all in, without completely boring and alienating anyone who may read this review. It simply must be read to be believed. I've personally read it six times, and am planning on reading it again.
Coupled with its' sequel, The Fall of Hyperion, Dan Simmons has created a universe of complexity and wonder, which I enjoy enough to return to again and again.
If you enjoy re-reading books, and find that you learn something new each time, then you'll love this book.
The story takes place in the future, after the Big Mistake has decimated Earth, and driven its' survivors out to the stars. The resulting Community of Man, known as the Hegemony, wages a war with a rouge fleet of humanity, known as the Swarm. Aided by advanced computers,
simply known as AI (Artificial Intelligence), whose computing power is such that they can predict the future with over 99.9999% accuracy, the Hegemony maintains a tenuous grip on its' collection of worlds, known as the Web.
However, the AI's ability to predict the future (and thus assure the continued dominance of the Web) with 100% accuracy is hampered by the existence of the world known as Hyperion. Apparently, Hyperion serves as an unknown variable in any equation that the supercomputers develop. Further, there is the Shrike, a seemingly immortal, unstoppable killing machine whose designers and purpose are unknown, and whose very existence may(or may not)decide the outcome of the Web.
The Hegemony decides to send a group of seven pilgrims to Hyperion, in an effort to solve its mysteries, and in doing so, continue the reign of the Hegemony, at the expense of the Swarm.
Based partially on an unfinished poem by Eighteenth century English poet John Keats(which chronicled the cataclysmic battle between the Greek Gods and their predecessors, the Titans), and Modeled after Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the story unfolds with each pilgrim stating his/her reasons for going on the very dangerous journey. Along the way, the reader is drawn in to Simmons' world, as the secrets slowly begin to unravel.
Regretfully, this clumsy attempt of mine berely scratches the surface of this wonderful and challenging novel. You simply must read it, and enjoy. Filled with metaphor, poetry, action, and intrigue, Hyperion is a fantastic, if difficult read; however, if you're willing to put your mind to work, the effort is very rewarding.
Rating:
Summary: The Best!!!
Review: One of the best books I ever read. From the first page to the last keeps you hooked, and you just can't wait to read the second part (The Fall of Hyperion). Notice that you must not read the second part without reading the first and vice-versa. The caracters are very deep, their stories very tuoching, the situations allways changing, there isn't a moment for boredom. The first two parts of the sequel deserve my admiration, I hope the third will keep up with it.
And to keep adding, the Science Fiction behind the story is simply great. The ideas that have como to Dan Simmons with the "portals" are a very good idea as to what might happen if we had them. A lot of authors have used them in SF but none with such realism. I have only one thing to say to Dan Simmons, "Thank you for giving us this book".
Rating:
Summary: Top-notch
Review: One of the best series of all times; ranks
with Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. The characters are believable, the dialog engaging,
and the story is fascinating and will suck you in.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: Simmons has taken a handlefull of human beings and transformed them into paper and ink. Some of the best characterization you will ever encounter is to be found in the Hyperion Saga. I lived and breathed and died and lived and breathed and died and lived and died again with Paul Dure. My heart ached with Rachel's father, and I even began to empathize with the Shrike. I can't say these books are the best I've ever read, but they are certainly up there
Rating:
Summary: I give Hyperion (the trilogy) an augmented 10 out of 10!
Review: Hyperion should NOT be read apart from its "sequels." In fact, the three books are so closely linked that they are not really sequels: they are a single story in three volumes.
My review is based on the three volumes as a whole, and I give them a collective "10." If you are a lover of intelligent sci-fi, then these books are for you.
So why do I give these books a 10? Hmmm, many reasons: 1. It WILL expand your ideas about what reality could be. 2. It will make your feel emotions you've not felt before. (When I finished the section about Paul Dure on the tree I had to put the book down for a while in order to reflect on what I had just read! Good Grief! I can't believe someone can imagine stuff like this! Thank you, Dan.) 3. The sci-fi part is great! How about those faster-than-light ships that accelerate so fast that the only way to fly is through resurrection? 4. It has great hard action sequences. I will never forget the battle between the Shrike and Nemes. (What a babe?!)
Sheesh, can anyone really review this trilogy adequately? There's nothing like it.
Rating: 
Summary: If you liked it, you need a drool cup.
Review: One of the worst books ever written. The sequel is another. Fluff for the easily impressed. If you are completely taken in by verbose drivel and pseudo-intellectualism, this book and it's sequels are for you. I would have rated it a "1", but the words were spelled correctly
Rating:
Summary: Une bombe dans le monde du space-opera!!
Review: Impossible de lacher Hyperion, La chute d'Hyperion ou Endymion!!
Ces livres sont de véritables bombes à retardement dans les mains du lecteur! Dan Simmons tel un alchimiste a repris tous les thèmes de la SF pour en sortir une pierre philosophale absolument incroyable. Un chef d'oeuvre majeur, une écriture splendide! Ne passez pas à côté de ces livres!
Vite vite Mr Simmons la suite..
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