Wahahauw. Mijn hoofd is te klein opdat een meesterwerk zo groot en vol stekelige ideeën erin zou passen na een eerste keer lezen. Hoewel Simmons een prachtige wereld vol paralelle verhaallijnen uit zijn mouw tovert, leest ie wel even zwaar als het verorberen van een dubbele portie kaasfondue.

Hyperion
Seven hundred years in the future mankind is dispersed throughout the galaxy. Old Earth is long gone, the victim of an unfortunate incident involving a miniature black hole. The core of the Hegemony, the government of most of humanity, consists of the WorldWeb; planets that are connected by instantaneous transportation devices called farcasters. Planets that are not yet connected by farcaster must be reached by starship. Although most starships are equipped with faster-than-light Hawking drives, travel between the stars still requires a significant amount of time.

The story centers around the colonial planet of Hyperion; a backwater world outside of the WorldWeb. The planet is well known for the mysterious "Time Tombs" that are surrounded by an anti-entropic force field (which actually causes the Time Tombs to move backward through time) and the creature known as the Shrike. The Shrike is a horrifying four-armed monstrosity that has glowing crystalline eyes and is covered in metallic blades and thorns. The Shrike has been limited to the area immediately around the Time Tombs for centuries but has recently begun to range farther and farther from them. The creature is worshiped by the powerful Church of the Shrike, which believes that the Shrike will be instrumental in the end of mankind. Until recently the Church had sponsored pilgrimages to the Time Tombs. Many of these pilgrimages ended without any survivors. With the Shrike's newfound mobility indicating that it may finally begin the Apocalypse, the pilgrimage that comprises most of the book may very well be the last.

Unlike prior pilgrimages, none of the current group of seven pilgrims is a member of the Shrike Church, although all have some connection to Hyperion or to the Shrike. Like the pilgrims in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, each pilgrim tells his or her story. The stories are what make Hyperion really interesting. Some are told in the first person while others are told in the third person. One is told as a series of journal entries while another is told according to a person's stream of consciousness. Some of the stories are filled with action, a couple are more horrific, and a couple are heartbreaking. The motive and character of each pilgrim is exposed as his or her story is told. The stories build on each other, gradually revealing more and more about the nature of the Hegemony and about the role of Hyperion and the Shrike in the fate of humanity. Also revealed is the basic relationship that humanity has with the highly evolved artificial intelligences (AIs) that form the TechnoCore. Once slaves to humanity, the AIs of the Core declared independence centuries before the opening of Hyperion, declaring themselves as allies and friends to the Hegemony of Man instead. At least that's what the AIs claim. There are factions within the Core that see humanity as a parasite and a distraction from their goal of developing an Ultimate Intelligence; effectively a deus ex machina.

In addition to the Shrike, the Hegemony now finds itself threatened by the Ousters; a lost branch of mankind. As humanity left the doomed Earth for other inhabitable worlds, the Ousters refused to be dependent on the Core's technology, choosing to cut their ties with the rest of mankind and to dwell between the stars in vast fleets. The Ousters particularly abhor the Core-controlled farcaster system.

The story is grand in its scope and Simmons' worldbuilding is some of the best I've encountered. To top it off, Simmons doesn't forget to give the reader a cast of interesting, fully fleshed out people. I've read too many science fiction novels written by authors that were so fascinated by the fictional worlds they created that they forgot to give us a plot or characters that we'll care about.

The Fall of Hyperion
The Fall of Hyperion is narrated very differently and has a broader focus than Hyperion. The viewpoint character is a "cybrid"; a being whose body is fully human but whose intelligence is an AI that is shared between its body and the Core. This particular cybrid, a replica of the 19th century poet John Keats, has the ability to dream events happening elsewhere. It is through these dreams that we find out what's happening to the pilgrims featured in the first novel. Although the pilgrims' experiences continue to be an important part of the story, much of the novel's focus is on the organization of Hegemony itself, the conflict between the factions within the Core, and the invasion by the Ousters.

Many of the mysteries and apparent contradictions introduced in the first novel are explained in this book. After the buildup that the Shrike received in Hyperion I had been certain that it would be impossible for Dan Simmons to reveal its origin and purpose without disappointing the reader. Not only was I not disappointed, but the truth behind the creature turned out to be even more interesting than I thought it could be. Even after we know what the Shrike is, the creature loses none of its menace.

The Fall of Hyperion is even more epic in its scope than Hyperion. The story is about nothing less than the destruction of worlds, the clash of gods, and the fate of humanity. Despite this, Simmons gives us a great cast of complex, believable characters. I love a story with a noble protagonist and Simmons' books gives us several. I have a soft spot for characters who choose to face certain death because of loyalty and friendship.

Hyperion Cantos illustrates Dan Simmons' talent for prose. His writing is perfectly balanced between the bare-bones simplicity of an Orson Scott Card and the over-abundant descriptiveness of a Greg Bear. While I enjoy Card's writing, I feel that Bear's approach meanders too much from the plot and the characters. Although the worlds that Simmons has created, Hyperion's Valley of the Time Tombs, and the Shrike are all lovingly detailed, it's never to the point of distraction. Thanks to the grand scale of his stories and his writing style, I will definitely be seeking out more of Simmons' novels, especially the final two books of the Hyperion saga: Endymion and The Rise of Endymion.

Che dire, un mondo complesso, meraviglioso e impressionante fa da cornice ad una storia appassionante, a tratti più "filosoficheggiante" e narrativa, mentre in altri momenti più ricca di pura azione. Questa edizione è veramente MASTODONTICA e scomoda, ma sicuramente è una saga da avere in libreria, da leggere quando avrete tempo da dedicarle con pazienza. Ne consiglio la lettura per tutti gli amanti della fantascienza ma anche a chi vuole iniziare a scoprire questo genere col botto!

n  

“Saturn is fallen, am I too to fall?
ttttAm I to leave this haven of my rest,
ttttThis cradle of my glory, this soft clime,
ttttThis calm luxuriance of blissful light,
ttttThese crystalline pavilions, and pure fanes,
ttttOf all my lucent empire? It is left
ttttDeserted, void, nor any haunt of mine.
ttttThe blaze, the splendor, and the symmetry,
ttttI cannot see – but darkness, death and darkness.”
— Hyperion, John Keats

n

Since the early 80s, when his first short story was published with Harlan Ellison’s help – after having survived his critique on their first acquaintance – giving him his first success, and a big boost to his literary career, Dan Simmons has been one of the top multi-genre writers of our time, foraying over the years into science fiction, mystery, horror, and historical fiction, managing to sweep readers and critics alike, and to be awarded and nominated for his works on numerous occasions.
And in The Hyperion Omnibus, the first volume of the Hyperion Cantos collecting the first two novels: Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, Simmons – drawing inspiration from the life and works of the Romantic poet John Keats – creates his own vision of the far future, traveling us in a universe of priests and poets, pilgrims and mythical creatures, and humanoid species and artificial intelligences, but also in a two-legged story arc of religion and science, politics and war, and transcendence and horror, in a phenomenal, literary science fiction duology.

Hyperion (8.5/10)

In the twenty-eighth century the universe has changed. For four hundred years since the massive exodus of the human race to the stars known as Hegira, and the ultimate destruction of Old Earth, the Hegemony of Man – taking the driver’s seat of humanity’s exploration and colonization in the depths of the unknown – has become the new power of the galaxy, joining and uniting its hundreds planets under the ever-expanding Worldweb, and creating a politically and militarily powerful interconnected system that has left its superiority unopposed; but now, with the mysterious Time Tombs on the planet Hyperion – where the mythical Shrike, the Lord of Pain, dwells – to have started opening for the first time, causing the Ousters to come out of their shell, an unprecedented interplanetary war looms closer and closer – but the Consul, having once been a delegate for the Hegemony, taking on some of the most difficult and sensitive diplomatic assignments across the galaxy, gazes at the wonders of an Outback world.
Sensing the coming war to promise a large-scale conflict, and a change of power in the galaxy that could threaten both the Hegemony and the Worldweb itself, the Consul will be appointed by the Senate CEO and the Shrike Church to travel along with six other pilgrims in a final pilgrimage on the planet Hyperion, and uncover the secrets of the Time Tombs before it’s too late.
However, with their voyage to Hyperion having been revealed longer than they originally expected, extending their arrival to the Time Tombs and their encounter with the deadly Shrike even more, when they decide to share the stories of their past that brought them to this final pilgrimage, in hope to understand the forces that prompted them, and their deepest secrets come to light, the Consul and the other pilgrims will discover something that will change everything they believed they knew so far, facing an irrevocable reality that could judge their next actions as well as the future of all humanity.

Motivated by his agent to write his first long-form science fiction novel, in order to take the downpayment that he so much need in his life at the time, Dan Simmons delves into the genre he loved and grew up with, taking us in Hyperion far in the twenty-eighth century, into a galaxy where it has been divided into three factions: the Hegemony of Man, which – with humanity having migrated long ago to the stars – has built over the centuries a great interplanetary system, connecting its hundreds planets of the Worldweb through fatlines and farcaster portals (instantaneous communication and transportation technologies respectively) that has allowed them to have direct social, political and military influence with any of its worlds at speeds faster than light; the Ousters who, set apart from their human ancestors, evolving genetically in something much more alien, have explored far beyond the known worlds, creating their own, strange cultural society in the Outback – the “back” worlds – far from the control of the Hegemony that has made them their only – and greatest – threat; and the TechnoCore, a conglomerate of artificial intelligences – and seemingly allies of the Hegemony – which, seceded from the human race ever since the Hegira, taking in their hands the will of their actions – and their freedom – have become an autonomous force, building a big organization of social and racial sentient entities.
As well as to the planet Hyperion, where, with the Time Tombs and the Shrike – a killing machine of indescribable appearance and strength – having drawn the galaxy’s attention since their discovery centuries ago, has given rise to a new cult: the Church of the Shrike, which has taken upon it to send the proselytizers – and the naive – to the embrace of its steel thorns to seek their atonement, and the granting of a wish, creating over time nightmarish fables of horror.

A first installment in which, written in the same frame narrative as Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, weaving multiple interconnected stories within the main one, Simmons creates a vast cultural, political, social and theological universe of various races and factions, traveling us in a story of priests, poets, soldiers, detectives, artificial intelligences and mythical creatures, that combines religion with science, passion with soul-searching, and love with betrayal, building a phenomenal novel of many levels of storytelling and imagination – a literary achievement in science fiction which, showing the power of his writing and ideas, marked the genre as only a few have done before.

The Fall of Hyperion (9.5/10)

Few hours have passed since the invasion in the Hyperion System, and the end of their long peace; and now, with the Hegemony of Man being ready to officially declare an all-out war against the Ousters, wanting to unleash upon them the full power of the Worldweb to end them once and for all, the fate of the whole human race hangs in the balance, leaving the future of its survival more uncertain than ever – but Joseph Severn, having been alive and aware just these last ten months, assuming the persona of a nineteenth century artist to hide his true identity, has been attending to a party invitation.
Farcasting from the planet Esperance to the busy world of Tau Ceti Center – and capital of the Hegemony – arriving at the appointed time for the appointment with the most powerful woman on the Web: Meina Gladstone, Severn will be asked by the CEO personally to spend the next few days with them in the military councils, impersonating his artistic persona before brass and politicians alike, and to watch and observe the events of the war.
Yet, with his arrival on the CEO’s staff to have caught the eyes of many, leaving unanswered questions about his real purpose there, when he falls victim to a royalists group in their attempt to abstract him classified informations, and Meina Gladstone – as a reparation for his troubles – gives him the opportunity to travel to the planet Hyperion, and to better understand his connection with the pilgrims of the Final Pilgrimage, Severn will find himself lost between his dreams and the war for dominance of the galaxy, seeking for answers that will only raise even more questions.

Meanwhile, far away in the Valley of the Time Tombs, beyond the high desert of Keep Chronos on Hyperion, the Consul and the other pilgrims, having finally arrived at their destination after their long journey, traveling for a week through the wonders – and the dangers – of this strange world only to reach the kingdom of the mythical Shrike, have been spending their last moments together, awaiting for the fulfillment of their deepest hopes and desires that will put an end to their suffering.
But, with the collapse of the anti-entropic fields and the opening of the Tombs to have intensified the time tides all the more, causing raging weather anomalies in the Valley, when the judgment of Death personified finds them, and one after another fall into inexplicable events, the pilgrims will soon find themselves separated and stranded, facing their very survival.

While Meina Gladstone, having made the ultimate sacrifice to save humanity from total annihilation, opening the door to a threat that she thought she could control, will be faced with her own great challenge, and an unprecedented large-scale war that will put in danger everything they knew.

However, with the war against the Ousters to have taken a sudden, unexpected turn, revealing a massive opposition that could bring to the Worldweb itself a terrible and devastating impact, when the schemes of the secessionist artificial intelligences of the TechnoCore come to their finalization, and a power-struggle between gods breaks out across time and space, Severn, Gladstone, and the Consul and the rest of the pilgrims will have to leave behind their personal desires, and do their part in order to give humankind some hope of survival, because if they do not, a darkness like no other will shallow entire galaxies.

With Hyperion to have worked both practically and essentially as the prologue of this duology, setting up the way – even if somewhat unconventional for the publishing standards – for a much larger story arc between both books, Dan Simmons takes us in The Fall of Hyperion to Tau Ceti Center – or simply TC² – the capital and administrative planet of the Hegemony, whereby the Government House – and by extension each Hegemony CEO – controls the hundreds worlds of the Web, making it the base of operations for political and military actions, and the center of human space, as he/she imposes his/her will upon billions of lives; but also into the datumplane, a dataspace virtual reality, that interconnects each planetary system’s farcaster portals and fatline transmitters and receivers through the dataspheres – singularity containment spheres – with the Web itself, in a place where time and space do not fall under the laws of physics.
As well as to the Time Tombs, beyond the abandoned Keep Chronos and the ruins of the City of Poets – the Dead City – where once Sad King Billy sought to build unsuccessfully a refugee for artists, poets and other misfits of the society, where its mysterious structures lies: the Sphinx, the Obelisk, the Crystal Monolith, the Jade and Cave Tombs, and the Shrike Palace, which have become the attraction – and the death sentence – of many scientists, pilgrims and tourists since their appearance on Hyperion centuries ago, keeping their secrets hidden, and the terrible Shrike imprisoned from the rest of the world, that have made it and inaccessible and uninhabitable place.

A second installment in which, switching this time in a more conventional narrative, but keeping the quality of his writing at the same level as before, Simmons builds an intricate, multi-tiered story of true awe, uniting the threads of the two novels into a common plot, and traveling us in a thrilling and profound adventure of pilgrims, politicians, high priests, Templars, cybrids, humanoid species and godlike entities, that combines politics with war, sacrifice with survival, and transcendence with horror – a second installment which, concluding this first journey, culminating it in the best possible way imaginable, proves once more the well-earned reputation and success of the Hyperion duology.

All in all, The Hyperion Omnibus is a marvelous duology of science fiction and literary achievement, with Dan Simmons – bringing a high-level imagination and writing – traveling us to the far future, into a universe of priests, poets and mythically creatures, but also in a two-part story of religion, politics, war and transcendence, that creates an incredibly unique and superbly profound reading experience of true, and powerful storytelling.


Ελληνική κριτική 1/2:
Από τις αρχές του ‘80, όταν το πρώτο του διήγημα δημοσιεύτηκε με την βοήθεια του Harlan Ellison – αφότου έχοντας επιβιώσει την κριτική του στην πρώτη τους γνωριμία – δίνοντάς του την πρώτη του επιτυχία, και μια μεγάλη ώθηση στην λογοτεχνική καριέρα του, ο Dan Simmons έχει υπάρξει ένας από τους κορυφαίους πολυειδής συγγραφείς της εποχής μας, κάνοντας σύντομες επιδρομές με τα χρόνια μέσα στην επιστημονική φαντασία, το μυστήριο, τον τρόμο και την ιστορική φαντασία, καταφέρνοντας να σαρώσει με την φαντασία του αναγνώστες και κριτικούς ομοίως, και να βραβευτεί και να προταθεί για τα έργα του σε πολυάριθμες περιστάσεις.
Και στο The Hyperion Omnibus, τον πρώτο τόμο του Hyperion Cantos που συλλέγει τα πρώτα δύο μυθιστορήματα: Hyperion και The Fall of Hyperion, ο Simmons – παίρνοντας έμπνευση από τη ζωή και τα έργα του ρομαντικού ποιητή John Keats – δημιουργεί το δικό του όραμα του μακρινού μέλλοντος, ταξιδεύοντάς μας σε ένα σύμπαν ιερέων και ποιητών, προσκυνητών και μυθικών πλασμάτων, και ανθρωποειδών ειδών και τεχνητών νοημοσυνών, αλλά και σε μια δισκελής ιστορία θρησκείας και επιστήμης, πολιτικής και πολέμους, και υπέρβασης και τρόμου, σε μια φαινομενική, λογοτεχνική διλογία επιστημονικής φαντασίας.

Hyperion

Στον εικοστό όγδοο αιώνα το σύμπαν έχει αλλάξει. Για τετρακόσια χρόνια από την μαζική έξοδο του ανθρώπινου είδους στα αστέρια γνωστή ως Hegira, και της απόλυτης καταστροφής της Παλιάς Γης, η Ηγεμονία του Ανθρώπου – παίρνοντας τα ηνία της εξερεύνησης και της αποίκησης της ανθρωπότητας στα βάθη του άγνωστου – έχει γίνει η νέα εξουσία του γαλαξία, εντάσσοντας και ενώνοντας τους εκατοντάδες πλανήτες της κάτω από το συνεχώς επεκτεινόμενο Δίκτυο των Κόσμων, και δημιουργώντας ένα πολιτικό και στρατιωτικά ισχυρό διασυνδεδεμένο σύστημα που έχει αφήσει την υπεροχή της χωρίς αντίσταση· αλλά τώρα, με τους μυστηριώδεις Χρονοτύμβους στον πλανήτη Hyperion – εκεί όπου το μυθικό Shrike, ο Άρχοντας του Πόνου, κατοικεί – να έχουν αρχίσει να ανοίγουν για πρώτη φορά, προκαλώντας τους Ousters να βγουν από το καβούκι τους, ένας διαπλανητικός πόλεμος χωρίς προηγούμενο καραδοκεί όλο και πιο κοντά – αλλά ο Πρόξενος, έχοντας υπάρξει κάποτε ένας απεσταλμένος για την Ηγεμονία, αναλαμβάνοντας μερικές από τις πιο δύσκολες και ευαίσθητες διπλωματικές αναθέσεις σε όλο τον γαλαξία, ατενίζει τα θαύματα ενός κόσμου του Outback.
Αισθανόμενοι τον ερχόμενο πόλεμο να υπόσχεται μια μεγάλης κλίμακας σύγκρουση, και μια αλλαγή εξουσίας στον γαλαξία που θα μπορούσε να απειλήσει τόσο την Ηγεμονία όσο και το ίδιο το Δίκτυο των Κόσμων, ο Πρόξενος θα διοριστεί από την Διευθύνων Σύμβουλο της Συγκλήτου και την Εκκλησία του Shrike να ταξιδέψει μαζί με άλλους έξι άλλους προσκυνητές σε ένα τελευταίο προσκύνημα στον πλανήτη Hyperion, και να ξεσκεπάσει τα μυστικά των Χρονοτύμβων πριν να είναι πολύ αργά.
Ωστόσο, με το ταξίδι τους στον Hyperion να έχει αποκαλυφθεί μακρύτερο απ’ όσο περίμεναν αρχικά, επεκτείνοντας την άφιξη στους Χρονοτύμβους και την συνάντησή τους με το θανατηφόρο Shrike ακόμη περισσότερο, όταν αποφασίσουν να μοιραστούν τις ιστορίες των παρελθόντων τους που τους έφεραν σε αυτό το τελευταίο προσκύνημα, σε μια ελπίδα για να καταλάβουν τις δυνάμεις που τους παρακίνησαν, και τα βαθύτερα μυστικά τους έρθουν στο φως, ο Πρόξενος και οι υπόλοιποι προσκυνητές θα ανακαλύψουν κάτι που θα αλλάξει όλα όσα πίστευαν ότι ήξεραν μέχρι τώρα, αντιμετωπίζοντας μια αμετάκλητη πραγματικότητα που θα μπορούσε να κρίνει τις επόμενες πράξεις τους όπως επίσης και το μέλλον ολόκληρης της ανθρωπότητας.

Παρακινούμενος από τον ατζέντη του να γράψει το πρώτο του μακριά μορφής μυθιστόρημα επιστημονικής φαντασίας, προκειμένου να πάρει την προκαταβολή που τόσο πολύ χρειαζόταν στην ζωή του τότε, ο Dan Simmons βουτάει στο είδος που αγάπησε και μεγάλωσε μαζί, πηγαίνοντάς μας στο Hyperion μακριά στον εικοστό όγδοο αιώνα, μέσα σε ένα γαλαξία όπου έχει χωριστεί σε τρεις φατρίες: την Ηγεμονία του Ανθρώπου, η οποία – με την ανθρωπότητα να έχει μεταναστεύσει προ πολλού στα αστέρια – έχει χτίσει με τους αιώνες ένα μεγάλο διαπλανητικό σύστημα, συνδέοντας τους εκατοντάδες πλανήτες του Δικτύου των Κόσμων μέσω των fatlines και farcasters (στιγμιαίες τεχνολογίες επικοινωνίας και μετακίνησης αντιστοίχως) που τους έχει επιτρέψει να έχουν άμεση κοινωνική, πολιτική και στρατιωτική επιρροή με οποιουσδήποτε από τους κόσμους της σε ταχύτητες ταχύτερες από το φως· τους Ousters οι οποίοι, διαχωρισμένοι από τους ανθρώπινους προγόνους τους, αναπτύσσοντας γενετικά σε κάτι πολύ πιο εξωγήινο, έχουν εξερευνήσει μέρη μακρύτερα από τους γνωστούς κόσμους, δημιουργώντας την δικιά τους, παράξενη πολιτιστική κοινωνία στο Outback – τους “πίσω” κόσμους – μακριά από τον έλεγχο της Ηγεμονίας που την έχει κάνει την μοναδική – και μεγαλύτερη – απειλή τους· και τους TechnoCore, μια μάζα τεχνητών νοημοσυνών – και φαινομενικά σύμμαχοι της Ηγεμονίας – τα οποία, αποσχισμένα από το ανθρώπινο είδος από την Hegira, παίρνοντας στα χέρια τους την θέληση των πράξεών τους – και την ελευθερία τους – έχουν γίνει μια αυτόνομη δύναμη, φτιάχνοντας μια μεγάλη οργάνωση κοινωνικών και φυλετικών αισθανόμενων οντοτήτων.
Όπως επίσης και στον πλανήτη Hyperion, όπου, με τους Χρονοτύμβους και το Shrike – μια μηχανή που σκοτώνει απερίγραπτης εμφάνισης και δύναμης – να έχουν τραβήξει την προσοχή του γαλαξία από την ανακάλυψή τους αιώνες πριν, έχει προκαλέσει μια νέα λατρεία: την Εκκλησία του Shrike, η οποία έχει πάρει πάνω της να στέλνει τους προσήλυτες – και τους αφελείς – στην αγκαλιά των ατσαλένιων αγκαθιών του μυθικού πλάσματος για να αναζητήσουν την εξιλέωσή τους, και την παραχώρηση μιας ευχής, δημιουργώντας με τον καιρό εφιαλτικές ιστορίες τρόμου.

Ένα πρώτο μέρος στο οποίο, γραμμένο στην ίδια αφήγηση πλαισίου όπως το The Canterbury Tales του Geoffrey Chaucer, υφαίνοντας πολλαπλές αλληλοσυνδεόμενες ιστορίες μέσα στην κύρια, ο Simmons δημιουργεί ένα τεράστιο πολιτιστικό, πολιτικό, κοινωνικό και θεολογικό σύμπαν διαφόρων φυλών και φατριών, ταξιδεύοντάς μας σε μια ιστορία ιερέων, ποιητών, πολεμιστών, ντετέκτιβ, τεχνητών νοημοσυνών και μυθικών πλασμάτων, που συνδυάζει την θρησκεία με την επιστήμη, το πάθος με την αναζήτηση της ψυχής, και την αγάπη με την προδοσία, χτίζοντας ένα φαινομενικό μυθιστόρημα πολλών επιπέδων αφήγησης και φαντασίας – ένα λογοτεχνικό επίτευγμα στην επιστημονική φαντασία το οποίο, δείχνοντας την δύναμη της γραφής και των ιδεών του, σημάδεψε το είδος όπως μόνο λίγα έχουν κάνει ξανά.

*Το δεύτερο μισό βρίσκεται στα σχόλια, παρακάτω.

На „Книжни Криле” вече сме писали за „Петата купа” и „Лятото на страха” от Дан Симънс, но дори и да сте чели гореспоменатите книги, повярвайте ми, нищо не е в състояние да ви подготви за това, което ви очаква в „Хиперион”. Чета тази убийствена тетралогия, събрана в два тома с твърди корици, пълноправна (и дори задължителна!) част от поредицата „Велики майстори на фентъзи и фантастика” на изд. „Бард”. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...

Dan Simmon's four /Hyperion/ books. Excellent space-opera, with allusions to all kinds of literary genres and books, such as Keats or the Canterbury Tales.

It's years back since I read the books, but I remember thoroughly enjoying them.

Opus magnum.

Mais par où aborder cette œuvre monumentale ? La tâche semble insurmontable tant "CETTE ŒUVRE" est dense et complexe. Afin de se représenter l'immensité de cette histoire, sachez simplement que La Chute d'Hyperion est la suite d'Hyperion de Dan Simmons. Rien d'exceptionnel jusque là. Oui, sauf quand on sait que Hyperion (le premier roman donc) consiste uniquement en la présentation des personnages de cet univers et de leurs histoires. Oui, un livre entier pour introduire les protagonistes et l'univers d'Hyperion. Rien que ça.
Il est rare de tomber sur un roman de SF qui ne se contente pas d'être simpliste dans ses thématiques

Je ne me tenterai pas à résumer l'histoire de ces deux premiers livres ici, mais sachez simplement que vous aurez le droit à :
Des IA, le poète anglais (réel) John Keats, le poète John Keats mais dans un cybride (sorte de cyborg), du voyage dans le temps, du paradoxe temporel (tiens, je tiens mon bébé moi du passé dans mes bras ce qui veut dire que j'ai réussi à me sauver moi-même, mais pour me sauver moi-même je dois exister donc déjà être sauvé, mais pour ça il faut que je sois sauvé... Bref vous saisissez), des questionnements sur la religion, les dogmes, les dépendances, la technologie...

La technologie justement... Ce livre a été écrit en 1990 et aborde pourtant des thématiques tellement comtemporaines. Alors oui, vous allez me dire "duuuh c'est de la SF quoi, c'est pas la première fois qu'un auteur tombe juste". Oui peut-être, mais ici l'auteur nous décrit avec précision une société dépendante d'une certaine technologie apportée par des éléments extérieurs à titre gracieux mais dont l'utilisation a un coût invisible et ses utilisateurs exploités sans même le savoir (GAFA et nos données ?)

Bref je pourrai écrire un pavé encore plus long que le livre tellement y'a de choses à aborder mais :
- J'ai la flemme
- Personne ne le lira
- Z'avez qu'à lire ces bouquins
- J'ai bientôt plus de batterie
- Ma meilleure lecture SF de tous les temps
- Congolexicomatisation

Como el cerrojo de un penal. Lo que uno espera tras enfrentarse a una obra de esta envergadura en un idioma impropio es que, por lo menos, le guste para que el cerebro compense el esfuero y el tiempo dedicados. Otras veces el resultado no ha sido tan bueno y uno tiende a deprimirse y pensar cosas feas, pero lo de esta vez ha sido arrebatador. Hoy tenía intención de leer apenas una horita y ya terminarlo el fin de semana, pero no he podido evitar continuar hasta que se han terminado las páginas, pasando de la humedad ocular a la carcajada breve un par de veces mientras el vello de mis brazos era incapaz de volver a su posición normal tras erizarse con violencia.

Y mira que llevaba alguna gente dándome la chapa durante mucho tiempo con que tenía que leerlas, que le hacían sombra a Dune, que estaba perdiendo el tiempo con otras cosas menores, y yo ahí, a mi pera porque las presiones sociales son apenas brisas que pasan por mi vida de ermitaño dedicado al conocimiento y... Se me está yendo de las manos. Lo que quiero decir realmente es que es una de las mejores recomendaciones que me han hecho jamás, y que le gustará a cualquiera que alucine con la ciencia ficción en su vertiente de ópera espacial, así como a los seguidores de la Historia y las Artes musicales, especialmente a los egiptólogos (esas Tumbas del Tiempo) y los pianistas, porque el autor no ha escatimado en absoluto a la hora de documentarse sobre estas cuestiones. Creo que jamás vi semejante trabajo tan bien plasmado.

Las historias individuales de los protagonistas que se ven en el primer libro, magníficas, ya las hubiera querido la Dragonlance para sí (y mira que a mí me gustó la Dragonlance en mi juventud); la evolución de su historia conjunta y todo lo que pasa en la Hegemonía mientras tanto, apabullante; pero el desenlace, lo bien hilado que está todo sin que se le olvide coser unos detalles con otros... Magistral, no tengo palabras, y lo peor es que ni siquiera puedo acusarle de usar un Deus ex Machina (cough cough) porque él mismo te lo confiesa y te lo tienes que tragar de lo bueno que es.

Tan solo espero que los otros dos libros de los Cantos me apasionen tanto. Estos han sido, indudablemente, un listón que costará mucho superar. Y eso es bueno.

I'm stunned I've never heard of this before. Perhaps that says more about me than about broader tastes though.

Pretty much every part of the plot and world building is running at peak performance. It's standard scifi ideas made fresh, far flung politics made relevant and stories made essential to a highly scientific world. The construction of the Shrike is particularly impressive, and even the eventual explanation for what's going on with the creature doesn't rob it of it's other worldly horror. After all, when science advances far enough it is functionally indistinguishable from magic.

Мне очень понравилась вселенная в целом из дилогии про Гиперион- она продумана, логична, есть подобие интернета и быстрого доступа к общим знаниям. Книги писались в начале 90х, поэтому автору аплодисменты. Единственное, что меня смутило в обеих частях - это мотивация героев в первой и сверхинтеллекта во второй частях. Такие мегаломанские и голливудские ходы, все можно сделать очевидно проще, но тогда книга была бы потоньше и поскучнее, ну, это из серии: чего бы Гэндальфу сразу на орлах не долететь... Я небольшой любитель космических опер (кажется так называется этот жанр), но Гиперион и его падение мне очень понравились, особенно название планковской длины: «пустота, которая связывает»

Very early on this book gave indications that it could be a great one.

The setup is great. In fact, the first part, the first book, is all setup. Setup fleshed out with backstory on frame of world building. The backstories are great.

Dan Simmons loves literature. He loves classics. And he doesn't try to hide it. He flaunts it. Hyperion, the first book/part, is a tribute to an early English classic, and poetry, and a dead poet, in the future, in space, with sprinkles of cyberpunk and the armageddon on the top. The conclusion of the frame story takes the reader/story to the precipice without hanging from the edge by the fingernails.

The writing is pretty good. The styles range through the stories being told. If I'd read the first book and had to wait to read the second I would've been pretty impressed/satisfied, and looking forward to the next book. Would I have ached to read the conclusion/continuation? I don't know, I only had to turn the page.

So the second part/book introduces a new frame story/style/character, tells the stories of some of the next level characters, concludes the stories of the top level characters, builds to a crescendo, or a rolling of crescendos. a rolling storm of crescendos, if you like, and then wipes up the most pressing questions this reader had left.

Bravo!