n  n
Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done.

On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me.

While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far).

Of the six award winning novels that I had already read before I began my Locus Quest, four were written by the maestro, Dan Simmons.

It was the 2004 winner, n  Iliumn, which converted me into a Simmons fan-boy (and ultimately inspired the Locus Quest itself), but the other three winners (1990 – n  n    Hyperionn  n, 1991 – n  The Fall of Hyperionn, 1998 – n  The Rise of Endymionn) are all parts of his Hyperion Cantos, a masterwork which cemented his place in the sci-fi Pantheon over a decade earlier.

I’m going to pluck a few choice phrases from other reviews to give you sense of what lurks inside these pages:

“The sheer number of awesome science fiction ideas touched on in this book is mind boggling.” – Ed

”It is an intense read, and I found the 500 pages fairly flew by” - Nicholas Whyte

“What in the world did I just read, and why didn't I read it sooner?” - Kay

“I'm frankly terrified to review Dan Simmons' masterpiece Hyperion. It is too good and too big for me to do this right.” – Jonathan Cullen

It’s that last quote from JC that rings truest – this is a complex, inspired and unique vision of a sci-fi epic. Mashing structure and tropes from Chaucer and Keats into a universe of galaxy-spanning, time-travelling, visceral conflict takes an imagination and literary love above and beyond the call of normal storytelling duty.

There are characters and images here that have been reverberating within the walls of my skull ever since I encountered them. The brain damaged poet. The cruciform adorned priest. The utterly badass shrike monster him/her/itself!

Simmons does it all by turns – adventure, mystery, thriller, horror, romance, erotica, philosophy, high-concept, etc. It’s a tour-de-force that pounds you into submission.

There are two complaints regularly levelled at this book, so let’s get them out the way, shall we?

1)The book ends abruptly.

To call it a cliff-hanger would be generous. n  n    Hyperionn  n and n  Fall of Hyperionn were written as a single volume and split into two for the sake of publishing. Honestly, it reads like the editor just found the mid point and took a cleaver to the original manuscript – there is no effort made to make the first instalment stand alone.

The simple solution? Read the two halves together and judge them as a single unit. How hard it that? It makes me rather irate when people moan about the ending, because it’s not an ending! It’s a mid-point! Get to the end of n  Falln and THEN try and tell me that the ending didn’t blow your mind surer than sucking on the business end of a bazooka. I dares ya!

2)There’s too much jargon and not enough explaining.

I don’t argue this one – it’s a fair complaint (if this is an issue for you). This is high-brow space-opera, so there’s a lot of tech, a lot of acronyms, a lot of made-up words and not a whole bunch of layman’s-terms.

For me, this is part of the appeal of what’s often called ‘hard sci-fi’. Everything is dropped on you ‘as-is’, and the audience is credited with enough wits (and genre experience) to pick it up and run with it. Simmons doesn’t waste any words making it easier for you.

I don’t mind this in the slightest. But if you’ve found it to be a turn-off in the past, then take due warning: this may not be the series for you!

but IF you can
a)endure a bit of hard sci-fi jargon
AND
b)are willing to put in the effort to read part-two before you reach a conclusion
THEN – order a copy immediately

And begin your own pilgrimage to meet The Shrike!
You owe it to yourself.
(happy hunting)

After this I read: The Fall of Hyperion

I’m finally getting to this sci-fi classic which derives its form from another classic of English literature.

We are in the 29th century and mankind, after spreading to hundreds of different planets, is at war. The Hegemony if facing off with the „Ousters“ (and possible another force behind that but no spoilers) which results, amongst other things, in a planet called Hyperion being threatened. Usually, humanity’s planets are connected by portals but some farther out are not. Hyperion is one such planet so traveling to and from this particular planet means some time dilation (important later). The planet is special for its structures, the Time Tombs, which are moving backwards in time, as well as their guardian, a being called the Shrike.
For some reason that we are to discover in this first book of a duology, seven people of various walks of life (and professions) were granted the last pilgrimage to the tombs and to meet the Shrike and have it grant them a wish (which was a bit confusing considering that being’s bloodthirstiness).

What we (mostly) get in this book, therefore, are the background stories of the seven pilgrims (six stories because one pilgrim is a baby or, depending on how you look at it, because one disappears at one point). Which brings us back to the influence regarding the form of this tale as it’s derived from The Canterbury Tales. Personally, I haven’t read them and I’d also say it’s not necessary. But the form was making this very interesting indeed.

The first tale was that of a priest (Protestantism is long gone but Catholicism has survived, albeit as a „weird“ minority cult) and it was deliciously creepy body horror. To think that this could be what’s behind the Jesus story … bwahahahahahaha!

The second tale was that of a former military leader and basically said „make love, not war“ … at least until the rather rude awakening. *chuckles sardonically*

The third tale was that of a poet and it simultaneously gave me the answer to my question about where, in the context of this story, Earth is / what happened to it and amused me greatly on a linguistic level (it also revealed just how long a single human being, thanks to special treatments, can live in this universe).

The fourth tale was that of a Jewish professor / his daughter and it was not only heart-breaking but also quite creepy. Especially ever since I’ve seen the cover of the second book! Let’s just say that it told of archaeology gone horribly wrong.

The fifth and therefore second-to-last tale was that of the female private detective and her human-AI-hybrid client/partner. Yeah it was a romance but also illuminating. AIs, a noir crime element of sorts, a heist and one hell of an implication for the resolution to come.

The sixth and final tale was that of the consul, the politician. He seemed like a complex character from the start and this story of ancestry and revenge proved why.

All tales, all reasons, ultimately have something to do with a previous visit to the planet or a previous encounter with the Shrike. That, however, is not to say that THAT is the mystery - it’s not by far as simple as that, which makes this tale so rich and wonderful.

In between the individual tales, the pilgrims progress down onto the planet and move about there, always learning new things. Those breaks were a nice breather / palette cleanser if you ask me. But they also served to intensify the strained atmosphere as the danger around the pilgrims spikes for various reasons. I was honestly so sad when, almost in a half-sentence, we witnessed the tree ship Yggdrasil being destroyed and the pilgrims discovered all that blood in the Templar’s cabin.

The worldbuilding was sublime, already starting strong with the introduction of the tree ships! Yep, living and breathing organisms (complete with branches and stuff) that are used to transport people around in space. They are Tesla trees (which also exist on planets) that are being propelled with the help of alien beings and piloted by Templars (nature priests). That was really cool!
There was a lot more - so much so that I can’t even only try doing this book justice with my review.

Fast-paced writing, individual tales within the tale that practically sweep you along and show you different corners of this universe, multi-faceted characters and mysteries to be discovered … is it surprising that I loved this? However, since this is NOT a standalone story, you’ll excuse me while I shall follow the yellow-brick-road and immediately progress to the follow-up part and the Shrike!

I had to be in the right frame of mind to read this book. Basically, it is The Canterbury Tales in space. Seven pilgrims set out on a potentially fatal one-way trip to visit the Time Tombs on the planet of Hyperion, where a godlike killing machine called the Shrike will possibly grant one of them a wish -- and probably slaughter the rest.

You have to have some patience, and be willing to change your focus from character to character, as each takes their turn telling the story of what has brought them to this pilgrimage. The novel is thus a collection of interconnected novellas with a common frame narrative. Each character's story is gripping, fascinating, chill-inducing. Each is worth the price of admission and offers clues to the puzzle of the Time Tombs and the Shrike. But for me, anyway, it can sometimes be tough to become attached to one narrator and then have to change to another. This is no knock on Simmons. His narrative is beautifully written, and once I was about halfway into the book, I couldn't stop reading. The payoff is totally worth it, as each story unfolds another facet of this incredible universe Simmons has created. It is a pilgrimage that is worth the journey -- and the book leaves us at a perfect cliffhanger, with the stories all told, the stakes raised, the mystery about to be confronted once and for all . . . but still no answers. And that's why I am buying the sequel right now!

DNF 25%

I might revisit this at another time because it wasn't all bad but overall I just wasn't feeling it. The book is comprised of short stories of different characters pasts who are on a mission together. The intro was really good as was the start of chapter one. Then it was quite boring for 50 pages. The last 25 pages of chapter one I thought it came together and I was starting to like it. Then chapter two I was once again bored and distracted.

I found myself wanting to read the other books I had going almost the entire time reading it. Maybe a retry down the road with nothing else going on.

Az amúgy is több sebből vérző szépirodalom - szórakoztató irodalom felosztáson belül a sci-fit szokás utóbbihoz sorolni, de hát miért, kérdem én? Inkább olyan helyzetben vannak a regények között, mint a gombák: se nem állatok, se nem növények, de mivel nem tudnak elszaladni előlünk, ezért szellemi lustaságból sokan növénynek tekintik őket. Holott az igazán jó sci-fi egyszerűen szépirodalom, csak épp a megszokotton túlmutató tudományos konszenzus képezi az alapját - ami praktikusan sokszor azt jelenti, hogy a távoli jövőben játszódik, és űrhajóban repkednek benne az emberek (és egyéb lények) ide meg oda. Fontos ugyanakkor leszögezni, hogy (és most a jobb sci-fikről beszélek):
1.) ...a lényeg nem a távoli jövő, az űrhajók meg az egyéb lények, hanem hogy rajtuk keresztül univerzális emberi problémákat lehet teljesen új aspektusból megvizsgálni.
2.) ... és igazából nem csupán arról van szó, hogy ezek a szövegek egy másik világról szólnak. Hanem azt a hatást is akarják kelteni, hogy egy másik világban születtek - ezzel elősegítik, hogy az olvasó valóságként fogadja el egy konstruált idő eseményeit. Ezt a hatást számos eszközzel elő lehet idézni - például ha valami hátborzongató hang töri meg az éjszaka csendjét, akkor az nem olyan, "mint a panyókás sakál dala", hanem "mint a korioláni laprigó nászéneke". (Ronda egy állat lehet ez a korioláni laprigó.) Az író tulajdonképpen úgy tesz, mintha feltételezné, az olvasó is e távoli létezés része, ergo annak közismert tényeinek birtokában van. Nem áll le tehát minden második oldalon kifejteni, miért van két nap az égen, és miért működik máshogy a gravitáció, mert ezzel egyfelől megtörné a varázst, másfelől retek körülményessé tenné a szöveget. Így persze veszedelmesen keskeny ösvényre téved: egyszerre kell elkerülnie az agyonmagyarázást, valamint azt, hogy az olvasó egy mukkot se értsen az egész szövegfolyamból. Részben ennek betudható, hogy oly sok sci-fi mint szöveg, egyáltalán nem könnyű olvasmány - amíg nem rázódik bele az ember, amíg nem fogadja el sajátos szabályszerűségeit, addig legalább olyan masszív és nehézkes tud lenni, mint egy Faulkner-próza.

És most a Hyperionról pár szót.

Elképesztően jó. Egy istenverte remekmű.

Az alaptörténet egy mondatban: hét, a legkülönbözőbb kasztokból összeverbuválódott embernek el kell jutnia a Hyperion bolygón található Időkriptákig, ahol a rejtélyes de annál gyilkosabb bosszúálló angyal (vagy Isten? esetleg történelem előtti - vagy utáni - ragadozó? netalántán félresikerült kísérlet? senki se tudja), a Shrike ólálkodik. Szokás a regénnyel kapcsolatban a Canterbury meséket emlegetni, mert a szöveg gerincét a hét* karakter személyes története adja, amelyet egyfajta rituálé keretén belül egymásnak elmesélnek, hátha egyéni tudásuk közössé tételéből kiderül, miért pont őket szemelték ki az öngyilkos zarándoklatra. Eszünkbe juthat továbbá a Dekameron is - hisz ott az emberek a külvilágban tomboló pestis elől vonulnak el témázgatni egymással, és lám, itt is a hátteret egy széthullni készülő világegyetem szolgáltatja, amiben az uralkodó Hegemónia végső összecsapásra készülődik a barbár Számkivetettekkel, miközben a Mesterséges Intelligencia áll a háttérben, és a mancsát dörzsöli. (De kivel van a Shrike? A franc se tudja.) A szereplők által elmondott mesék önmagukban is komoly értékkel bíró kisregények, amelyekben Simmons illusztrálja lenyűgöző írói képességeit: a nyomozó története például pazarul működő noir krimi, csak épp extrém közegben, a tudós elbeszélése pedig az egyik legmegrázóbb, legszebb interpretáció egy családi drámáról, amit valaha olvastam**.

Ugyanakkor nem csak arról van ám szó, hogy Simmons zsonglőrködik egyet, mint valami zenebohóc, bemutatva, milyen sok hangszeren tud játszani. Ezek a betétek nem csak önmagukban káprázatosak, hanem valamennyien alá vannak vetve a végső célnak. Ugyanazon végpont felé tartanak, kikerekítik és beteljesítik egymást, mind hozzátesznek valamit ahhoz a rémisztően gazdag univerzumhoz, amit Simmons olyan műgonddal kovácsolt. Hol sötétek, mint az űr végtelen hidege, hol pedig gyönyörűek, mint egy kettős naplemente egy távoli bolygón - de együtt mélységet adnak a történetnek, ami szédítő, mint maga a távolság.

* Incifinci spoiler: bár hét fő karakter van, csak hat történetet hallunk - nem mondom meg, miért. Ami azt jelzi, hogy Simmons van elég bátor eltérni a saját maga által felépített rendszertől, ha ezzel meg tudja lepni olvasóját.
** Ez a történet önmagában is remek érv amellett, hogy a szépirodalom és a sci-fi közti különbségtétel merőben mondvacsinált. Simmons ugyanis fog egy, csak a regény terén belül érvényes időanomáliát, amivel olyan helyzetet idéz elő egy teljesen átlagos tanárcsalád életében, ami egyszerűen feldolgozhatatlan. Ugyanakkor itt sem az időanomália a lényeg, hanem az, ahogy ez a család a problémát megéli - és ezen a síkon ennek a szövegnek sokkal több kapcsolódási pontja van a kortárs szépirodalomhoz, mint bármi máshoz.

Hyperion
Relectura 2021

De nuevo me ha maravillado. El utilizar el recurso de los peregrinos contando cada uno su cuento, le permite a Simmons realizar en cada relato, una mezcla de ciencia ficción con otros géneros, y entregarnos pequeñas historias magnificas cada una en si misma, y que a pesar de los distintas y separadas, integrarse en la historia de trasfondo. Aunado a que la prosa de Simmons es cuidada y agradable a la lectura, y ahora he podido disfrutarla en su idioma original.
Y en esta relectura, ya sabiendo de que va todo, he podido darme cuenta de varios detalles, o ver las cosas desde otra perspectiva, lo que le da un interés a continuar con la relectura de la obra completa.

Nuevamente 6 de 5 estrellas

Reto Popsugar 2021 - 40, categoria previa favorita, relectura de un libro favorito

5* Such an engaging and epic story following the journey and backstory of 7 very interesting POVs

This book is so good! Thank you to everyone who has been recommending this on my feed over the last month or so. I do not read Sci-Fi often being a big traditionalgrimdark fantasy reader but have on a few occasions taken the time to read a few so called 'Classics'. I can truly say this is a Sci-Fi classic.

The story follows a group of 7 pilgrims on a space expedition to the truly mysterious and unknown world of Hyperion. Each of these 7 pilgrims has their own reason for being on the journey and all have their own unique links that tie them to the world and its deadly host.

I found each story truly fascinating! They were all very different but all as equally enjoyable as the one before.

Just one warning, the book ends VERY suddenly and without conclusion!! I had to Google to find out its really like 1 book which got split in 2. So you really need to commit to reading both parts of the story. Which I will be doing.

I don't want to say too much more aside from do yourself a favour and please pick up this book and give it a read, you wont regret it.

"El Alcaudón es el Señor del Dolor y el Ángel de la Expiación Final, venido de un lugar allende el tiempo para anunciar el fin de la raza humana".

¡Qué enorme libro es este! Es una narración a varias voces, que abarca diferentes géneros y con tantos niveles de lectura, que ha sido un placer leerlo.

Además, no solo es una gran historia (o varias grandes historias), sino que también se nota el amor del autor por la literatura y la poesía, a las que rinde homenaje a lo largo de todo el libro; algo que no es tan común entre los libros de ciencia ficción, pero que se agradece bastante.

¿Qué más se puede decir de un libro del que ya se han dicho tantas cosas? Solo agregaré que sí, que debes leerlo, que si lo tienes en tu lista de libros por leer lo pongas entre los primeros lugares, porque realmente disfrutarás del viaje.

I read Hyperion nearly two months ago and I am still thinking about it. Truly one of the best Sci-fi novels I've ever read, and probably will ever read.

Hyperion follows a pilgrimage to the planet of Hyperion by six people. Each person has their ties to Hyperion and own reasons to be going there, a planet ruled by the mysterious Shrike. Plus, there's a spy on board. Intrigue abounds! The pilgrims decide to take turns telling their stories about why they are going to Hyperion. What results is a Canterbury Tales-style book that will leave you feeling every emotion, make you think, horrify you, and leave you in suspense...for with each story, the Shrike becomes a bit more of a enigmatic entity, and our crew is heading straight for it...

The priest's tale is incredible. It had me glued to my seat, absolutely invested in this insane, horrifying tale.

The soldier's tale is about bullets, boobies, and butts. This tale is the only reason Hyperion doesn't get a perfect score from me; some interesting things happen, especially the ending, but it's primarily interested in shooting things and saying the word "buttocks" as much as possible.

The poet's tale has the most distinct voice, and the most comedy. It is a reflection on the value of art and the reasons for art existing, and artist's need to follow their muses. This one was really good.

The scholar's tale...is pinnacle fiction. This is it. Simply one of the best things put to paper and each page brought the emotions to life even further. The last few pages were read through a haze of misty eyes. The whole book is worth reading for this.

The detective's tale was good, but a bit long, and falls a bit flat, I think partially due to following up Scholar's Tale. Some neat concepts, though.

The consul's tale was really good, bringing everything together in a way(as the rest of the story is told primarily through the consul's POV) and answering some questions. The intergenerational story told here was very gripping.

And then, cliffhanger city. Don't read this expecting resolution. I need to get to Fall of Hyperion!

9.5/10

Well, this is definitely one of those cliffhanger ending books, as many people warned me. So.... close.... yet so far away.

Anyhow. The book was excellent, I loved the independent narratives and the writing style. This book made me want to learn so much more about the universe it's based in/on. The allusions to classic poetry and literature were very fitting to the story line, and I think they'll only deepen with what I've read so far of The Fall of Hyperion. Yes, I immediately went out and bought the next book in the Hyperion Cantos, since I HAD to know what was going to happen to the seven pilgrims next, Well played, Dan Simmons. Well played.

Update, 9/30/19:

Failing at life and abandoning the readalong.



I thought I could finish this in, September. Wrong. Now it is Spooktober and this just doesn't fit the theme of what I want to be reading right now. Hoping to pick it back up in November.

Original:

I am participating in a Hyperion readalong!

I haven't read a complex sci-fi in a while...
Will my brain still be able to handle it?



You're right, Han. I got this!

However, I will be taking my time and pretty much utilizing the entire month to get through it. Fingers crossed for success!

A science fiction and literary masterpiece.

What was I doing with my life before I read Hyperion? As a huge science fiction and fantasy reader, I thought I had a pretty good grasp of what science fiction was capable of but wow did this book completely blow away all expectations.



How does one even begin to talk about this masterpiece? I could start with the masterful and subverting storytelling or the bottomless well of characterization. Or how about the subtle yet overarching world building and dozens of sci fi tropes expertly woven throughout? Hyperion is so many things and above everything it is a story about time, love, regret and horror.

I’ll start right off with the prose--it’s phenomenal. Simmons cuts the fat, describes what needs to be described without being indulgent. He instantly can create an entire planet, shade it in with a culture and then place the character set pieces to engage. He’s economical with his words when he needs to be and layers in the pretty words with impeccable literary timing. The dialogue is real and the scenes are framed perfectly. Hyperion is at once a single story but also separate vignettes, a la Canterbury Tales, each contributing to one another and the overall arc of the story. If at first you don’t think this kaleidoscope story-telling doesn’t work, just wait for it because believe me, it all comes together brilliantly.

Barbarians, we call them, while all the while we timidly cling to our Web like Visigoths crouching in the ruins of Rome's faded glory and proclaim ourselves civilized.

The world building—excuse me—worlds building is an enormous achievement. Without infodumping, Simmons unfurls a sprawling intergalactic hegemony where humanity spans dozens of planets many thousands of years in the future. Of course he’s not the first to do this but here’s what he achieves: he makes this future social construct of humans actually feel familiar. And how? Because he leaves vestiges of Old Earth (current day) littered through the story from poets like Keats to common world religions including Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The degradation and transformation of these modern-day cultural pillars is fascinating. Yeah, catholic priests are still around but they are not up to things you might think. This book is full of prophetic dreams and visions that bring a welcome mysticism that hangs beautifully over a hard sci-fi backdrop.

It occurs to me that our survival may depend upon our talking to one another.

The world building is subtle, coming in at different angles and not slamming the reader with rigid boundaries and arcane history. The building is organic and there is one thing Simmons does that others fail at: the fancy sci-fi worldbuilding isn’t just a gimmick with a flimsy plot. The world building isn’t even what makes this book so good! And don’t get me started on the multitude of amazing sci fi elements throughout these pages: time travel, relativity, entropy, reverse aging, space travel, multi planet governments, AI overlords, robotic secession, cyberpunk, time travel warfare, alien space battles and much more.

Words are the only bullets in truth's bandolier. And poets are the snipers.

Here are the other things Hyperion is: an erotic romance, a tragic romance, a trans robotic romance!, a noir, a slasher film, a psychological horror, a requiem, an uprising of natives, a story about imperialism and rebellion, a political thriller, a writer chasing his muse and so much more. Now you wouldn’t think that throwing all these elements together would work at all but guess what? It does, really, really well. And that is why this book is so brilliant. Hyperion is both epic in its scope yet able to find balance and have a main plotline where everything comes together.

It no longer matters who consider themselves the masters of events. Events no longer obey their masters.

Above all, Hyperion is simply a beautiful book about a group of strangers on a mysterious pilgrimage whose past lives not only inform the ongoing plot but serve to enrich characterization and character dynamics. I’ve never read anything like this and it is going on the tippy top of my masterpiece shelf. I cannot wait to read the rest and I can’t recommend this book enough. Please, this needs to rocket up your TBRs. This is easily one of the best science fiction books I've ever read.