The Fall of Hyperion

Rating:
Summary: great book: two questions
Review: Great book, terrific series (so far), but I have two questions: 1. How was God's Grove able to preserve its ecology when Maui-Covenenant had *its* ecology wrecked so quickly by the Hegemony? and 2. What happened to the whole business of the Shrike being slated to kill all the pilgrims but one and then to grant a wish to the survivor? The plot apparently went off in another direction, but all the characters seem to have forgotten about this earlier premise which once seemed so crucial

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant! A classic work!
Review: I thought I was literate- then I read this book. Inspirational, thought-provoking, totally defiant of categorization. Only Kim Stanley Robinson and Greg Bear compare in scope and breadth. I have just finished this book minutes ago and know that it will be years before I truly understand it. A treasure

Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: Hyperion & The Fall of Hyperion: Simply the BEST sci-fi books I ever read

Rating:
Summary: One of the best ScFi Books ever written
Review: I am not normally one who likes Science Ficition books, but this and Hyperion are obviously truly what this genre should always be. The final closing of a story who's foundation was layed precisely in the first, this story quickly moves into a complex interworking of the human Hegemony as they struggle against a future that lies hidden. The pilgrims fight to solve the mysteries of their own lives started in the first book, and their actions tie in beautifully with the epic story happening around them. And through it all the shrike waits, watching. This is a book that is exciting, uses a complex plot that plays out in such a way that will leave you shaking, uses many many themes that add massively including theology and many others, is realistic, is inlayed with a certain amount of terror, wonder, love, compassion, sacrifice, human understanding and struggle. A realistic epic, masterfully written with a skill rarely seen. You may have to read it in part several times to fully understand it (I did!) but even the first time through it is incredible. A novel of incredible scope, power and realisim. The new standard

Rating:
Summary: Blown Away, Part 2
Review: This is the second part of a truly wonderful and gripping story. _Fall of Hyperion_ masterfully completes the story started in _Hyperion_. I was just captivated. This is a must read story. Trust me on this one also.

Rating:
Summary: Read my review of Hyperion
Review: You can't read this one with out reading Hyperion. Fall of Hyperion is not really a sequal, it is more like a continuation. Chapter 1 takes up as if you were still reading Hyperion. Both of these books comprise one of the best stories I've read in years. It takes a lot for me to REALLY like a book, and Simmons has delivered

Rating:
Summary: Intrigue at a grand scale!
Review: After reading this book I understood that the stories of the pilgrims of the first part, "Hyperion", work as a clever device to reveal to the reader the magnificent and intriguing universe that Simmons has created for this series. If you finished
the first book with a feeling of disconnection between the stories, like I did, this is the part where all is blended together. The different patches are stitched together and the whole plot is laid before your eyes in all its complexity.

The scope of the story suddenly expands and it deals now with nothing less than the surviving of the human race. Difficult decisions affecting the destinies of entire worlds have to be made by leaders on the basis of insufficient and unreliable information. War rages. What is the role of the planet Hyperion and the shrike on this grand scale drama? Who can you trust?

The story offers some very interesting and not so obvious twists at the end. It has a sense of closure, but not all the issues are resolved. Actually, I think that the main issue is merely postponed to a time deep in the future of which we are offered only glimpses.

At times the story is difficult to follow because the pilgrims are split. Then we follow one of them for a while, and when
something extremely important seems to be about to happen... we shift to another pilgrim or subplot and start accumulating tension again. This format has the advantage, though, that it adds some suspense, and I liked it.

I assume that if you are considering reading this book is because you have read the first one. Go ahead! It will answer some of the many questions you must have. In case you have not read the first part, I do not think this second part is a stand-alone book; you need the background of "Hyperion".

Rating:
Summary: And the story finishes...for the most part anyway
Review: In The Fall of Hyperion, the sequel to Hyperion, we finally learn what happens to the Shrike pilgrims. The back drop is a stage of galactic turmoil. The Ousters are invading the web of known space, and it looks as if the human hegemony will soon come to an end, and possibly the human race as well. The Shrike pilgrims must risk the wrath of the Shrike as they explore the opening time tombs, or risk the fall of mankind forever.

Okay, kinda dramatic, I know. This is a worthy sequel to be sure. Learning the fate of the pilgrims (and especially the fate of little Rachel from the first book) is very worthwhile. Many threads are left open, which I assume will be covered in Endymion and The Rise of Endymion. My only real complaint is that the novel drags on for a while. Dan Simmons seems to have an obsession with John Keats (as he does with Shakespear in Ilium) and tends to ramble a bit. However, Dan Simmons is a fantastic writer who pulls it off well. This is definitely worthwhile if you have read the first book.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Sequal
Review: There are comparisons to be made between the epic "Lord of the Rings" and the first two books of the Hyperion series. The first book of both series is about travelers brought together under dark circumstances, all with a common goal. In "Hyperion" our pilgrims are on a quest to confront the Shrike, a god like being able to grant great joy and great pain. Each has a different objective and relationship with the Shrike and each knows that they may never return. In the first Hyperion book we hear each of their stories. In the second book "Fall of Hyperion" we not only see each of their confrontations with the Shrike, we are also exposed (much like in Return of the King) to a great and complex war.

The Hegemony (what I assume is a futuristic extension of a democratic earth) confronts the Ousters. The Ousters appear to be evolved humans, rejects at one point in time forced to evolve in dangerous and beautiful ways in the deep of space. The line in the sand for this war appears to at the edge of the Hegemony, at a planet called Hyperion. As the book progress, however; we soon learn that the Ousters may be the least of humanities problems.

This is a complex series of stories. The author Dan Simmons goes back and forth between our pilgrims on Hyperion (and their ordeals with the Shrike) to the Ouster threat and then to a nagging feeling that there's something worst. There are also connections to be made to the first book as well. As a result, it's not always an easy read, but it is a very satisfying read. If you enjoy smart science fiction, you should give this Hyperion series a chance.


Rating:
Summary: Part 2 of 2 ... the only thing is you have to buy two books
Review: Read Hyperion first, there is no other way to begin this roller coaster ride through time and space. Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion will lead you to one of the most unexpected conclusions I have ever read (at least after book two).