Hyperion

Rating:
Summary: This won the Hugo?
Review: While chock-full of interesting ideas, the story drudges along through a morass of overly expressed adverbs and adjectives without any real benefit to the plotting. Not to mention, the story as a whole is really a compilation of six 30-page expositional short stories loosely tied together by an additional 100 pages of story set in the "present". The author also overly uses sex and descriptive references to human fluids in what feels like a contrived attempt to lend interest to the story. It was only through pure will that I made it through this book (and the fact that behind all the garbage, the background ideas are quite interesting). For those looking for an interesting jaunt through sci-fi check out some works by Orson Scott Card, David Brin, William Gibson, or Robert Heinlen. This book just isn't worth the time, IMHO.

Rating:
Summary: Literature, not science fiction
Review: Dan Simmons created a masterpiece of literature in writing Hyperion. The book brings together seven pilgrims, who make the journey to the planet Hyperion in order to come face to face with the notorious and god-like Shrike. Each of the pilgrims has his/her own reason for being on the trip, and Simmons allows each pilgrim to tell his tale in his/her own style. It is the diversity of this story telling that makes it clear Simmons is a master of literature.

Slowly but surely, the reader begins to tie elements of the stories together, neatly woven to give you pieces of the puzzle, without giving away the answer. It is part of the beauty, and part of my sheer frustration, that the story really does not have an ending - rather the book finishes when the pilgrims reach their initial goal, which is to find the Shrike and the Tombs.

Once there, the question is, now what? Each pilgrim had a reason for coming, but how will they solve their individual dilemnas; what do they think the Shrike can (if he will) do about it; and most of all, why is Hyperion of such pertinent interest to the CEO of the entire Galaxy - or at least the planets that are connected to the web of technology.

The answers, like the book and its sequel, are complex. You have to read Fall of Hyperion for a satisfying conclusion. Nevertheless, the sheer beauty of this literature is astounding and deserves more than five stars.

Rating:
Summary: Slick and Original, but Ultimately Superficial
Review: I can understand why this book won the Hugo. I just don't happen to agree. This book is a strange amalgam of originality and confusion, exotic imagery in the service of melodrama, bold visions in search of meaning. It tries for, but falls short of real depth.

I admired it for its spunk, its willingness to take risks, its determination to say something. But, in the final analysis, it is a failure: a respectable failure perhaps, but a failure nonetheless.

This is the sort of work where the writer leaves things ambiguous to afford us the freedom to reach our own conclusions. Normally, I would be beside myself with joy. Most writers do not respect their readership enough to take such chances, and to happen upon such boldness is a cause for celebration. If daring were the only criterion for good SF, Hyperion would constitute greatness.

But there is more to science fiction than daring. For one thing, there must be a sensible and coherent vision: something that aims for the mind and not just the heart, or in this author's case, the gut. This book fails because it suffers from a case of intellectual dissipation. The various episodes are almost sessions of free association. Only the most superficial threads connect the various stories. The common world that the characters share is made up on the fly; contrived as a vehicle for what is basically a pastiche of personal horror stories. This is simply unjustifiable self-indulgence on the part of the author.

There is also a self-conscious cleverness about the writing that is extremely annoying. One can almost see the author congratulating himself as he tweaks this particular symbolism, or that particular allusion. 'I've just likened the Ousters to heaven, and the Technocore to hell. Ain't I clever?' Or: 'marvel at how neatly I subvert the crucifix icon.'

What this book lacks is self-discipline. The author is so enamoured of his bold visions, that he throws them all into the book like a vegetable stew. The book would have been far more effective had the author resisted the temptation to overdose on originality and sacrificed some of his exotic ideas for the sake of structure and coherency.

This book reads more like a fantasy novel than a work of science fiction. Fantasy is a genre much more forgiving of undisciplined flights of fancy. Science fiction demands form and precision: more like to classical than to jazz.

It is obvious that many readers have enjoyed this novel, so I am not about to tell you that you won't. But it isn't the masterpiece that some would have you believe. It is interesting, provocative and disquieting, but at the end of the day, it leaves one feeling unfulfilled. This is a failing that exists not so much in the heart of the novel as in its mind-space, and limits its accomplishments to the level of the superficial.

Rating:
Summary: Hyperion, Endymion and imperalist foreign policy
Review: Apart from the magnificent storytelling, the science fiction, the love story, and the 'down to earth' (as we say in Denmark) philosophy and poetic intensity and charm, reading Dan Simmons Epic is a must for everyone, who wants to understand European and especially American foreign policy. Who can ever say; I'm not a part of world history' after reading this saga?

ps. And thanks to the author for introducing the works of John Keats to so many younger I-did'nt-know-him-before.

Rating:
Summary: Absolute Brilliance
Review: Dan Simmons creates an extraordinary epic beginning with Hyperion. 7 people chosen to confront a monster on a distant planet. They do not know why they were chosen, or what they will encounter, all they have is their own story to try and figure it out.

Each character's story is so incredibly brilliant, plausible and tragic, only surpassed by the next. Every story leaves the reader ravenous for the next. And at the end of the book, again, the reader has that raveous urge to buy, borrow or steal the sequel "Fall of Hyperion" to find out how the 7 fated pilgrims fare. Dan Simmons has created a brilliant, Religio-Sci-Fi masterpiece with this book.

Rating:
Summary: nearly impossible to put down
Review: hyperion (and fall of hyperion) weave together several genres into one intricate and beautiful tale of personal loves, losses, and fears, without being overshadowed by the possible distruction of society as it is known in this stories setting. one minute it can have you drooling over intense combate scenes and the next tug at you heart with the emotion of losing a child or a lover. i recommend the whole set (hyperion, fall of hyperion, endymion, rise of endymion, and the short story orphans of the helix) to everyone who has a passion for reading work of the greats.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent but leaves you hanging
Review: Most importantly, understand that this is NOT a complete story in itself. It is the first book in a series, and it ends very, very abruptly. This was my only problem with it, though a big problem. I've been an avid reader of scifi since I was in elementary school, and I can definitely say this was one of the best I've ever read. The writing itself was superb: clever and often humorous. The plotting could serve as a textbook for a novel-writing course, perfectly planned and executed. The characters were varied and reasonably believable. The author's imagination was incredible. He came up with worlds, societies, and situations that were mind-boggling. By the time I was 90% of the way through the book, I was ready to pronounce it perhaps the best novel I'd ever read. Then it stopped. Dead. It just ended. None of the myteries were solved or explained. None of the questions were answered. It felt like the author had been tragically killed, and the publisher just went with what was finished of the manuscript. So be prepared.

Rating:
Summary: Word of warning
Review: I just finished it and can say that the ending is as disappointing as the rest of the book is good. None of the questions raised as main plot points are answered by the end. I wouldn't mind this had the book been structured in a way that might lead one to believe that it would not follow traditional literary structure, i.e., have a resolution. I'm not averse to alternative structures by any means - just don't bill it as traditional. While "The Fall of Hyperion" allegedly addresses the questions raised, the author should have had the courtesy to label this piece a "Part 1."

Rating:
Summary: I need some suggestions
Review: I have always loved science fiction since so much of it of a necessity is centered on the story. To me it seems like the perfect medium to tell a story. My problem is that I can't find a better sci-fi than the Hyperion/Endymion series. I've read several different authors, but I have never read a story like the one that Simmons tells in these 4 books. It ... because now I can't really read any other science fiction. ...

Rating:
Summary: One of the great epics of Sci Fi
Review: The Hyperion cantos is without a doubt one of the great epics in sci fi cannon, up there with the classic robots-empire-foundation series and the ender series. Where Simmons really shines is how he manages to create a galaxy with so much character and worlds that are so unique and vivid.

Seven pilgrims to the mysterious shrike tell their story, but their stories interconnect in many ways and in the process weave a mesmerizing description of their futuristic world. The technology in this book is plausible and will not seem outdated by the time you read the book. If you like hard sci fi, you will not be disapointed, Simmons respects the genre and does his research. If you like an epic plot with ramifications throughout the human universe (and the human spirit) this book and its sequels will definatly hit the mark. If you like well designed characters and backdrops, this book excels as well. Finally, if you like a good read period, then this book will keep u page turning many a night.