Bueno, esto ha sido una pasada. De principio a fin. Jamás había leído algo semejante. Hyperion es una puta obra maestra.

By far the best science-fiction book that I have ever read. Simmons is such a fantastic author and especially when he writes in the SF genre. This one parallells The Canterbury Tales but told through space opera. Seven pilgrims go on a mission to discover the secrets behind the infamous and legendary Shrike. A must read for sci-fi fans.

La famosa novela de Dan Simmons publicada en 1989 y ganadoras de los premios Hugo, Locus e Ignotus, es la primera de una tetralogía llamada Los Cantos de Hyperion. Siguiendo una estructura narrativa similar a la de Los Cuentos de Canterbury de Geoffrey Chaucer, nos narra la historia de cómo siete personas se dirigen al planeta Hyperion a una última peregrinación a su encuentro con el Alcaudón, el conocido Señor del Dolor. Durante el viaje que nos lleva hasta las Tumbas de Tiempo, hogar donde el Alcaudón permanece encerrado hasta ahora, conoceremos las increíbles historias y los motivos que a cada uno de los peregrinos los ha llevado hasta esta misión suicida; revelándonos a su vez pinceladas del complejo universo que ha desarrollado Simmons.

La novela, que recibe su nombre del poema épico inacabado Hyperion de John Keats, es un conjunto de historias muy diferentes entre sí que tienen como nexo en común en algún momento, Hyperion. Tendremos la historia de un sacerdote católico que se embarcará en la búsqueda de los Bikura, una extraña población de Hyperion. Un ex alto cargo militar, que sufrirá con los delirios de un extraño amor. Un poeta borrachín lleno de talento, y obsesionado con terminar y perfeccionar su obra maestra. Un profesor con una hija, que tras su visita a las tumbas de tiempo merma tanto mental como físicamente hacia el pasado. Una detective privado que nos aportara la trama más policiaca y sci-fi de toda la novela, y por ultimo un cónsul de gobierno que oculta un secreto fundamental en toda la historia.

La historia se caracteriza por utilizar diversos métodos de narración y estilo en cada una de las seis historias que hilan la trama central. Esto es especialmente singular, porque Simmons demuestra ser capaz de crear y hacer reales unos personajes solo con sus historias. Además los capítulos son muy extensos, solo tiene 6 para las 600 y pico paginas de extensión, que abarcan una historia cada uno, y un tramo de la travesía; pero que se hacen realmente amenos y entretenidos, siendo casi imposible (salvo imperiosa necesidad temporal) dejar la historia a la mitad. Una historia fascinante construida a base de personajes, con una diversidad temática abrumadora (perdida, lucha, amor, arte, venganza, muerte, esperanza, religión…), ayudándonos además a construir un complejo universos lleno de facciones y elementos. Decenas de mundos, sociedades humanas, extraterrestres, inteligencias artificiales y más elementos futuristas (teleyectores, universos virtuales, terraformación, comunicación interespecies,…) forman este mundo de Simmons. Si sois como yo un poco novatos en la Sci-fi en una vertiente más compleja, tener un buscador cerca si os gusta comprender todo el vocabulario que aparece, porque la experiencia se disfruta el doble.

Hyperion podría decirse que es un gran flashback que nos ayuda a comprender y a situarnos en la historia que va a contar a lo largo de la tetralogía, Los Cantos de Hyperion. Planteando conceptos de evolución tecnológica, religión, familias, ecología, arte… y miles de temas más, iremos comprendiendo el funcionamiento de estos universos, sus facciones, sus guerras y los objetivos de cada una de ellas. Es como un gran prologo para una historia mayor y más ambiciosa, que cuando comienza a pillar ritmo termina, para dejarte con la miel en los labios, y deseando coger su continuación, La caída de Hyperion.

Reseña en el blog: https://boywithletters.blogspot.com/2...

Occasionally I stumble upon a list of ALL-TIME BEST SCI-FI that includes such stalwarts as Frank Herbert's space opera epic, William Gibson's twitchy cyberpunk opus, and a litany of other classic genre experiments that almost always include Dan Simmons' mind-bending Hyperion. I'd been told it was strange, dense, and nonlinear, but one of my buddies vouched for it's excellence and I decided to dive in (Cheers, Dickie!). Not only did I think Hyperion was worth all the hype, it was kind of absurdly up my alley and is one of my favourite reads of 2020 to date.

Hyperion is a melting pot of SFF goodness that tipped its hat to its genre predecessors and paved the way for the exciting stylistic experimentation for which the genre is now known. Built as a framed narrative, Hyperion sees a group of seven strangers set off on a pilgrimage to the eponymous planet in search of the otherworldly Shrike. Each of the six stories in the novel are told in an existing genre of SFF that are tied together by the blood-stained barbed-wire of the Shrike. Finding out which subgenres Simmons dips his toes was part of the novel's joy, so I won't rob you of the experience. Suffice to say that Simmons shakes hands with Herbert, Gibson, and other titans of sci-fi just as easily as masters of horror, romance, and literary fiction.

I was more than a little reminded of one of my favourite authors: David Mitchell! I wouldn't doubt that his interlinked stories and polyphonic style was fostered by Simmons' writing. The spot-on switch in genre and voice between the stories worked for me throughout the novel even though I enjoyed each of the stories to varying degrees. I'd actually be quite excited to see which stories tickled other readers the most, as I'm sure that each will connect with the reader in a different way. Personally, I'm going with Sol Weitraub's story as the most interesting use of its central conceit compounded with deep emotional resonance.

To address the complaints of the novel's difficulty: I found it quite readable, mysterious but not obtuse, and revelled in the fractured nature of the story. In my opinion, the varying styles, POVs, and settings help to do immensely wide world building quite economically. The Hegemony is as firmly fixed in my brain as Arrakis, Osten Ard, or Hogwarts. By the time I was done the first story I was convinced that this was my type of book, but by the time I was done the second I was sure I'd found a new favourite novel to gush about.

My sole complaint, if I may, is that this REALLY isn't the whole story; the book ends in such a fashion that it demands your reading of the sequel. This is only a little disappointing because books like Dune, The Left Hand of Darkness, Neuromancer, Oryx & Crake, and other SFF classics are able to stand on their own despite their inclusion in a larger series. Instead of standing on it's own, Hyperion almost feels like it ends just as the narrative's climax is about to be achieved. Luckily, I had such a great time with this book that I'll almost undoubtedly be reshuffling my TBR to make The Fall of Hyperion next in line.

Again, this book is expansive, chock-full of interesting ideas, cool characters, horrifying situations, and mind-altering cosmic strangeness. I'm going to go ahead and pass on Alex Dickie's superb recommendation to the rest of you: snag Hyperion ASAP.

Anno 27XX
L'umanità della Rete ha da tempo colonizzato centinaia di mondi nella spirale della Via Lattea utilizzando navi a balzi quantici. Viaggiare tra le stelle però produce debiti temporali di decenni ai viaggiatori in base alla legge della relatività.
Ogni mondo assorbito dalla Rete subisce la stesso destino, uniformità, ne vengono sfruttate le risorse e li si contamina con la presenza di milioni di coloni modificando e distruggendo gli ecosistemi. La triste natura umana.

Sul pianeta Hyperion, nella lontana periferia della Rete, c'è un luogo misterioso, le Tombe del Tempo, sede del misterioso Shrike, entità divinizzata della Fine dei Tempi. Sette pellegrini vengono scelti per giungervi un'ultima volta. Sette sconosciuti, tutti collegati al terribile destino dello Shrike, iniziano il viaggio.

Durante il viaggio ognuno di loro racconta la propria storia per prepararsi ad affrontare il destino.
Ogni racconto viene espresso in modo unico, in base al personaggio, utilizzando stile e vocabolari diversi, tutti affascinanti per messaggio e inventiva, spaziando dalla religione alla sociologia, dal mistero del tempo al significato della vita, della politica, ecologia, guerra.

Unica nota amara probabilmente il finale aperto, assolutamente necessario proseguire la lettura del secondo romanzo per chiudere la storia e rispondere a molti quesiti irrisolti.

-----------------------------
Year 27XX
Web humanity has long colonized hundreds of worlds in the spiral Milky Way using quantum leap ships. Traveling among the stars, however, produces decades-long temporal debts to travelers based on the law of relativity.
Every world absorbed by the Internet suffers the same fate, uniformity, its resources are exploited and contaminated with the presence of millions of colonists, modifying and destroying the ecosystems. Sad human nature.

On the planet Hyperion, in the distant outskirts of the Web, there is a mysterious place, the Tombs of Time, home of the mysterious Shrike, a deified entity of the End Times. Seven pilgrims are chosen to come there one last time. Seven strangers, all connected to the Shrike's terrible fate, begin the journey.

During the journey each of them tells their own story to prepare to face destiny.
Each story is expressed in a unique way, based on the character, using different styles and vocabularies, all fascinating in their message and inventiveness, ranging from religion to sociology, from the mystery of time to the meaning of life, politics, ecology, war.

The only bitter note is probably the open ending, it is absolutely necessary to continue reading the second novel to close the story and answer many unresolved questions.

"Se me ocurre que nuestra supervivencia puede depender de hablar el uno con el otro"



Puntuación: sería un 4,5 dejémoslo en unas bonitas 5 estrellas, lo admito es una joya de la CF.

I gave this book a few days to sit in my mind before I wrote a review, so here goes:

I went into reading Hyperion with the highest of expectations. This was a book that many consider amongst the best - if not THE best - work the genre has seen. Additionally, I had read Dan Simmons before, and although the four books of his I had read I had mixed reviews, I knew that the man could write. High expectations often yield disappointing results, but in the case of Hyperion, my expectations were met. This is one of the best works of science fiction I've ever read.

There are many instances that this does not feel like science fiction at all, however, due to the framed narrative that unfolds like Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The strength of these tales within the overall story provided a depth of character often ignored-or at least not emphasized-in this genre, while also doing a tremendous amount of world building. I appreciated how each tale often employed a very different writing style, which helped both the narrative momentum (framed narratives can often feel slow because the main story often has to slow down), and the different styles really helped flesh out these wonderfully diverse characters. And some of these shorter stories are downright remarkable, one of which had me in tears like no other book in this genre has ever done.

I didn't love the open-ended ending (although it made me pick up The Fall of Hyperion almost immediately), and I don't love how sometimes Simmons is a big long-winded, but I loved the book. This is a top 10 work of science fiction for me, the only question being "How high?" will it climb my rankings through the years?

Easily my favorite science fiction book of all time, and among my all time favorite books.

Going in I absolutely did not expect that to be the case. Oh I had heard great things, but I also knew about the frame-story nature of the book and the structure similar to Canterbury Tales which didn't appeal to me. I decided to try it out anyway and I'm glad I was wrong.

Dan Simmons uses that frame-tale structure in such a way that it doesn't feel disjointed and it all seems a part of one cohesive narrative. And the individual stories within are something that are going to stick with me for a long long time. Heartbreaking, violent, horrific, and beautiful are all words that come to mind at different points for each story. Are all the stories equally enjoyable? No. The detective's tale and the consul's tale were a slight be below the others, but still had great moments and draw connections to the wider narrative. That being said I haven't been enthralled with a book like I was with Hyperion in a long long time. The writing just sucks you in even before you hear hints of the world building or the emotional beats of the individual stories. I was absolutely engrossed.

This is going to be a book that is going to stick with me long after I have finished it. As I sit here now I think back to each tale and how they connect and all the things I might have missed. There is a lot to unpack in this book, and I'm sure too much went over my head whether it be parts of the larger story or a litany of literary allusions and references. I want and need to know more. It takes a special book to have that kind of impact.

SF Masterworks (2010- series) #21: This book was a very deserving winner of the Best Novel, 1990 Hugo Award. Seven pilgrims travel to the mysterious Time Tombs on Hyperion and share their stories of how they ended up being a pilgrim. Words escape me - immediately I had to start reading the sequel The Fall of Hyperion! On so many levels this book is a masterwork from a constructed reality that covers universes and eons, through to a cosmos wide legacy, mythology and strategic planning by numerous power bases centred around the legend/myth of the Shrike.

This is a meticulously amazingly well thought out reality, that sets out the myriad races, creeds, sexes, cultures, customs, religions, technological development, species diversification, power sources etc. etc. and just as essentially sets out how their existences, development and growth (or collapse) impacted on each other's worlds over centuries. Then there's the superb use of the pilgrim's story telling device, that not only pushes the main story on, but seamlessly provides the depth and vibrancy to lay out this reality to the reader in such a simple, yet compelling way. 10 out of 12 - A FIVE STAR READ!

Pilgrim artwork: fom the 'Hyperion Cantos' Tumblr account and Tumblr artist - davidswiftart

The sunset comes through the open chapel window and bathes the altar, the crudely carved chalice, and me in light. The wind from the Cleft rises in the last such chorus that with luck and God's mercy - I will ever hear.

Hyperion takes place long after Earth has been destroyed and is referred to as Old Earth. Humans now live on several planets, one of which is the planet Hyperion, where a creature called the Shrike lives near the Time Tombs, structures which move backwards through time. 7 citizens are sent with the hope that they will be able to prevent Armageddon. This book mainly revolves around the stories of the pilgrims as they travel to the Time Tombs, describing their backgrounds and why they accepted the pilgrimage.

Rarely has a book moved me from tears to elation and back again so quickly. Dan Simmons does a great job of setting up the story and describing a scene. He has a beautiful use of language that makes me wonder why I haven't picked up one of his books before.

I don't often like books of short stories, but this one worked. The stories were all connected in subtle ways, and really helped me get a feel for the characters and their motivations in this trip. It also offered a glimpse into different parts of this unique world. Some stories were heartbreaking, and some made me laugh with wordplay or insights into humanity.

In twentieth-century Old Earth, a fast food chain took dead cow meat, fried it in grease, added carcinogens, wrapped it in petroleum-based foam, and sold nine hundred billion units. Human beings. Go figure.

It does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, but this book has done such a great job with the backgrounds of the characters that I am thoroughly invested in seeing what happens to them in book two.

Recommended for anyone who wants to explore a strange new world with some great and unique characters.

Cross posted at Kaora's Corner.

First of all, let me begin by saying that I really enjoyed reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons.

The depth, variety and scope of his imagination is a joy for any science fiction fan. Having said that, there were some flaws that must be addressed. The dialogue is frequently flat and there are some corny stereotypes that were fun but also distracting when the writer is trying to create a serious work. The pace is also a problem. I had to invoke my rule to give any book at least 100 pages before I set it aside. It was not just that the narrative was slow, but Simmons takes the reader for granted in the first quarter of the book, trusting that he will be able to keep the reader’s attention. It was not until the halfway mark that I really began to buy what Simmons was selling.

Also frustrating is the thematic trend of science fiction and fantasy writers to write a series, to which Simmons subscribes. This book is entertaining and enjoyable but is clearly meant to begin a series, the denouement is posted somewhere after the back cover. This is not necessarily wrong or a problem all by itself, but I do think it adds to a book to stand on its own. Certainly there are great series and books that are meant to be a part of a series, but as an artistic achievement and for literary significance, a novel should be able to be its own story, even if it is a part of a larger chronicle.

That said, Hyperion is a fun, smart book. Structured along the lines of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales and with frequent literary references, especially to John Keats, this is well written and compelling. Another fundamental aspect of a good science fiction book is the ability to illustrate a future setting. Simmons use of the Chaucer template allows him to explore several different settings in the future universe he has created, and it is a very good universe, reminiscent of Clarke, Asimov and Heinlein in its detail. And I will read the next book in the series, Sam I Am, with a fox and in a box, because Simmons has created a very good book in Hyperion that will probably continue to be good as a series.

** A year later and I still have not read the second book, still mad about the ending

** Years later and I still have not read more, still mad about the ending

** Ok six years later and I am reading the sequel.

You GUYS!!!!!! Don’t be FOOLED like we were in picking this up. This is a Keats Mary Sue fanfic at best, in which nothing is accomplished but masturbatory short stories which could have large swaths of text heavily featured in r/menwritingwomen. At one point a Keats AI dies in a woman’s arms and she compares it to his last orgasm inside her. I cannot make this up. I am flabbergasted that so many people revere this book on ANY level, given its utter circle jerk of the Western canon as it was in the 1980s/90s. 4000 years later and all people can talk about is the Wizard of Oz? I seethe.