The Hyperion Cantos

[Tom]

While I was away I managed to squeeze some reading inbetween cocktails, and finally knocked Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion over.

What a fucking amazing bit of work. I hadn't been that moved by a book (or 2, as it were) since I read Asimov's 'Foundation' trilogy. The scope and the humanity he creates is staggering.

Should I get the Endymion books also? Are they as great as the first two?


Spoilers maybe:













I almost shouted out loud when I pieced it together : the labrynth, the cruciform and the Core. One of those rare moments when I get completely consumed by the book I'm reading.

I'm sad Kassad got owned. I hope he makes a return somehow. Ummon was awesome.

[groovypanda]

best science fiction book ever.and yes - you need the endymion books too :)

[votingfloater]

What a fucking amazing bit of work. I hadn't been that moved by a book (or 2, as it were) since I read Asimov's 'Foundation' trilogy. The scope and the humanity he creates is staggering.

Blimey, that's high praise. I'll have to give these a bash.

(Oh and I almost forgot: congrats Tom, sounds like you had an awesome time :) )

[Tom]

I would suggest you do check these out. 'Hyperion' is fantastic, but what he does with 'The Fall of Hyperion' had me sitting in quiet thought for hours after I had closed the book.

Matt: Are the Endymion books a true continuation of the Hyperion books, following Lamia, the Consul, Sol etc? I really, really love all the main pilgrim characters (esp. Silenus - "Hey, do you know the fucking Shrike is behind you?")

I feel like I should re-read the last half of the second book to make sure I fully understand a few of the concepts and ideas.

I really enjoyed the parts set inside the Core.

[groovypanda]

the 2 endymion books don't continue directly where fall of hyperion finishes - however it's a definite continuation and there are some characters who are in these books - i really don't want to say too much and give too much away but my advice would be get them and read them (preferably without reading the back of the books) and i'm 100% convinced you'll love them too (especially based on some of the things you said in your last post ;))

matt :)

[Aaron Contreras]

Endymion isn't as good but is still pretty damn good.

I went fucking apeshit over Ilium...but was rather let down by the sequel Olympos.

[votingfloater]

wowowoh... hold on.

Assuming I get hooked, how much am I letting myself in for, in numbers of books, please? :)

[Tom]

The Hyperion books are like this: Hyperion + The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion + The Rise of Endymion. As matt stated, the Endymion books are a continuation of the Hyperion books.

Illium and Olympos are books by the same author (and are also fucking fantastic) but are unrelated to the Hyperion books.

Aaron: I kind of agree, though it did enjoy Olympos quite a lot.


Cautiously excited that Simmons is currently writing screenplays for Hyperion feature films.

[King of Snake]

almost finished with Fall of Hyperion now, it's indeed an amazing book! I just got Ilium as well so I'm gonna read that after i finish FoH.

The Shrike has got to be the creepiest "villain" ever :eek:

[votingfloater]

I finally got hold of the Hyperion omnibus from the library. I have mixed - but mostly positive - feelings about it so far, but it caused me to remember a book called The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. It's an interesting take on faith, the universe and evolution from with a hard SF slant. And it doesn't weigh as much as Hyperion.

Nothing really to do with Hyperion, but I thought it was worth a mention.

[adam]

I picked this up last night and I just finished the second chapter, in which Kassad recounts his past visit to Hyperion...mucho enjoying this. No time to post. Gotta read.

[votingfloater]

I read Hyperion and Fall... while I was away, and I have to say I preferred the first book. Possibly because it covers more human, personal stories than Fall... which was more grand scale trad hard SF opera stuff. Having said that, there were a few aspects of the second book that I thought were really well done (not wanting to spoil, all I will say is /kwatz// :D ).

[adam]

Yeah, I really like the format of this first book. The fleshing out of the universe by succesive different characters' backstories...each one is good on it's own, too...just finished wassername, the woman. Sol's was brutal. Almost done first book.

[votingfloater]

Yeah, it's one of those archetypal story-types: a quest story. Done really well though.

[Tom]

Yeah, the first book's cast's stories were fantastic. I really liked The Priest's and Sol's. The Consul is a wonderful character, such a complex player. I quite enjoyed the parts of the books set in and around the Core entities.






I finished the Endymion books a few weeks ago, and while they are quite different in execution to the first 2 books, they were excellent. You guys need to hurry up so I can talk freely about this shit.

Possible spoilers:














Raul is an amazing character. I've never felt a closeness to a character in a novel quite like I did with Raul. The way Simmons conveys Raul's love for Aenea is almost too much... I can remember reading when Raul first finds out about Aenea's 'missing 1 year and 11 months' - and wanting to vomit. Also, Aenea's final gift to humanity, or more specifically, Raul's retelling of it, brought tears to my eyes. Such a tragic ending for poor, poor Raul, but such a positive new beginning for humanity. Absolutely gutted that I've finished the series. A re-read will be happening very soon.

[adam]

Finished the first one. I'll get on the second quickquick.

[adam]

Finished the first two. Not going to dive into the other two immediately. Too much other stuff on my To Read list.

I've been saying I want to re-read Catch 22 for years. Fuck that book is awesome.

[King of Snake]

I just finished Illium, thought it was quite good. I especially liked the Moravec characters. It did feel like he was trying to tell too many stories that didn't seem to have a clear relation with eachother (I'm sure the sequel will shed light on some of it) and you're kinda left in the dark about a lot of stuff.
Is it worth getting the sequel as well?

also, does anyone else think that Simmons likes to use the word "obscene" a lot? I noticed it mostly in Fall of Hyperion, but also a couple of times in Illium.

[Tom]

The sequel is essential :)