The Fall of Hyperion

Rating:
Summary: And the greatness continues...
Review: I wrote a review for Hyperion. I didn't think a book could be as spellbinding as Hyperion, but Dan Simmons did it again! This book was unbelievable! He continued to show us the rich future he gave us a taste of in the first book, and continues to lay an even more intriguing story on top of it. I simply could not quit reading it.
As with Hyperion, I have purchased the next book in the series and I believe I am going to continue my voyage through the world of Hyperion. As with the first, this series has only been rivaled by Frank Herbert's Dune. I can't think of any other series in this genre that has held my attention so intensely.

Rating:
Summary: Dan's next great book with some problems
Review: Dear reader beware of any review that attempts to give you a plot synopsis of this novel. Your enjoyment can only be lessoned, as one of the strongest aspects of The Fall of Hyperion is its methodical revelations, peeling the layers of the onion back to reveal "the big picture." A fair synopsis must be reduced to this.

This book answers two questions.
What happens when the pilgrims reach the Time Tombs?
What happens to the Hegemony of Man as the pilgrims reach the Time Tombs?

And a grand plot it is indeed. As epic as The Lord of the Rings and as filled with political machinations as Dune. Simmons does an outstanding job of addressing an eclectic cornucopia of ideas to include - art, science, slavery, philosophy, theology, artificial intelligence, and metaphysics. All within the context of mankind's struggle to save itself while not really being sure who the enemy is. Up until the last five pages before the epilogue I was asking myself, "Just exactly how does he intend to wrap all this up." But he does. He wraps it up in a neat little package with ties drawn all the way back from the first novel. Every question that I had was answered, except for just exactly what the purpose of the ... oops, can't tell you that.

The other real strength here is that once more Simmons draws on his talent to breath life into his characters. He made me cry again (I hate him for that.) The original pilgrims retain their depth, but the new characters never really achieve the same level of solidity.

But he does include two things in this novel that just plain annoy me. The first and third parts of the book are riddled with sections written in present tense. I have always found this to be a pretentious attempt to be "artistic" (like e.e. cummings always writing his poetry in lower case.)

The other problem is far too much use of poetry. I've never been a fan of poetry. I love the written word, and for me the attempt to encapsulate ideas within the constraints called for by poetry are like trying to build the Sistine Chapel using designs for an outhouse. I know there are throngs of intellectuals that disagree with me. So be it.

Well worth the read. After two days I'm still mulling over some of the ideas and emotions brought forward by this work. That's a sign of a good book.

The sequel test? Well in this case, I'm thinking that I will not proceed to Endymion without reading a few reviews myself. Hope no one puts in a spoiler.

Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary.
Review: .
Whereas typical writers introduce, fill in, and conclude their stories, Simmons' Hyperion books just start and then slowly end. This, to me, is the most natural and welcoming way any story can be written. Nevermind all that self-conscious structuring; you'll see none of that here. That's not to say that there isn't structure in Simmons' books. He structures, alright, but he does it for a reason.
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In the Hyperion series (for the record, the order of the series is: Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, and The Rise of Endymion) you'll find many of the elements that make any literary work spectacular - parallels, symbolism, empathy, historical references, foreshadowing (as much as there is unpredictability), openmindedness, etc..
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You'll come across countless instances where Simmons' biases as a writer shine through in bold statements - and then you'll watch him approach and unravel these statements from opposing perspectives. Few of the underlying statements Simmons makes are not thoroughly analyzed and criticized. If any. The only possible exception I can think of is Simmons' recurring usage of the concept of love. And I must say, he does some marvelous things with it...
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You won't see just one lengthy, drawn-out climax in this book - rather, the entire book is a series of delightful encounters, some profound and some delicate. You'll be shocked at a tragic or wondrous turn of event, or you'll be in awe at the clarity of a particular description, or you'll find yourself nodding, smiling, and murmering crude names to the conniving Simmons as loose ends tie themselves up before your unsuspecting eyes.
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Don't expect to fly through this book (why is that deemed a good thing anyway?). Expect to savor every last detail, re-reading entire chapters if you must. Are you a wine-drinker with an imagination? The Hyperion series is the perfect read for you. Simmons' mastery of language, understanding of human nature, and confidence as a writer place him far, far ahead of nearly all (if not all) of today's other authors.
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Dan Simmons is now my favorite writer. Orson Scott Card takes second.

Rating:
Summary: The Fall of Hyperion
Review: In the field of science fiction, sequels usually don't live up to the original, especially not when the original is as good as Hyperion. The Fall of Hyperion is a bit of a let-down because author Dan Simmons turns away from the main strengths of the first novel and tries to move to a new setting, new characters, and a new style. Although this sequel does show the fate of the pilgrims from Hyperion and explain the nature of the Time Tombs, the majority of the action is set on TC2 and other planets and deals with politics and warfare in the Hegemony. The pilgrims are only mentioned during brief dream sequences. Perhaps the biggest dissapointment is that Simmons doesn't create any more wonderfully imaginative planets or any other new setting for this novel. He just employs the same settings as the previous one. However, The Fall of Hyperion does have a very well-orchestrated plot that explains all the loose ends that were left open from the original.

Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: This book is book 2 in an incredible series of four. The story draws you in and doesn't let got even after the book is done. If you like sci-fi or even if you just like a good book you should pick this up. But in order for it to make sense besure and pick up Hyperion first. Hyperion lays the ground work for the next three books.Although I think that The Rise of Endymion is the best in the series, all of the books are incredible storyies well worth the time to read. GO READ THE BOOK!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Print too small to read
Review: I have 20/20 vision and I found it exceedingly difficult to read the miniscule print in the paperback edition....The font is so small my eyes hurt after a handful of pages.

Rating:
Summary: Part II to One of the Best SciFi Books of all Time
Review: The story is rich, complex, has many great characters, is exciting, makes you think, and fills you with wonder. This, and Hyperion, is Dan Simmons best work. The book is so good that unfortunately none of his other work can come close to its greatness (although much of his other work till about 6 years ago) is pretty darn good. A later two addition to this series, while fun, doesn't come close (and somewhat takes away) to these two original masterworks. If you love SciFi at its ultimate best (better than Dune) then don't live without it.

Rating:
Summary: Epic Sci-Fi at Its Best
Review: This second installment (not an actual sequel) of Simmons' incredible Hyperion saga is every bit as engaging at Hyperion, completes the tale of the Hyperion Pilgrims in a powerful, complex and shattering conclusion.

Simmons writing style is excellent for this type of story, he peppers you with the right amount of details that fully immerse you in his world and continues to amaze, delight, evoke sorrow and joy in the best of ways. His literary references are spellbinding for a sci-fi story and he's inventive beyond belief. If only George Lucas was this good.

I felt sad when the story ended, because I got so attached to the people, places and events and at the time the next set of book wasn't yet published. However, now Simmons did revisit the world of the Shrike with Endymion and the story can continue. Who says you can't return home again?

Rating:
Summary: Exciting second part to the Hyperion story
Review: If for some reason you are considering reading this book without first reading Hyperion, STOP and go buy Hyperion to read it first. This book will make no sense to you if you have not already read Hyperion. The Fall of Hyperion is essentially the second half of the story of Hyperion. Neither book would stand on its own, but when you put both books together they make an interesting and well-written story.

The first book in this story, Hyperion, provides all the background of why these individuals are on a pilgrimage to see they mysterious and dangerous Shrike - a creature known for its ability to travel through time and tendency to kill people for rather mysterious reasons. The second book, Fall of Hyperion, is written in a completely different style than Hyperion. While Hyperion tells the story of each of the pilgrims on the trip and their motivations, Fall of Hyperion is about the action that is going on in the confrontation between two groups of humans and between AIs. The conflicts that are going on are at points difficult to follow because the timing is not always concurrent. In addition, the activity on Hyperion is being told from the viewpoint of an AI construct who is somehow eavesdropping on the pilgrims on Hyperion. This leads to the story being a little bit on the jerky side, kind of truncated in strange places.

Because Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion are in essence one book, I was irritated by the difference between the style of the first book and the style of this book. I can understand the necessity of the changing the style because the style of Hyperion would not have worked for this book. However, since the books are so intrinsically tied together, the style differences seemed disjointed.

I clearly have mixed feelings on whether I enjoyed this book or not. I am irritated by the trend in sci fi publishing towards these "two part" books. If neither book has the ability to stand on its own, why should they be published seperately? It doesn't make sense to me. Because the books were published seperately, Simmons apparently felt the need to drop reminders back to things that happened in Hyperion, which was a compete waste of text. To make it clear, I have no problems to books that have sequels. That's fine. This book is in no way a sequel to Hyperion -- it is a part of Hyperion.

Assessing this book on its own, I would only give it three stars. However, as part of the Hyperion-Fall of Hyperion story, I would give the books together four stars.

Rating:
Summary: pretty nifty
Review: this whole series of books was very entertaining, while at the same time,not afraid to take a few metaphorical jabs at organized religion and its totally baseless promise of immortality