Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
Just superb, 26 Feb 2005
Although written coming on for twenty years ago, the two novels that make up this omnibus edition, "Hyperion" and "The Fall of Hyperion" are absolutely "must-reads" for all serious lovers of literary SF.The first book sets out the stories of a disparate group of travellers, brought together to visit the machine entity/deity the Shrike at its "lair" in the Time Tombs on the planet of Hyperion. Ostensibly, this is an attempt to avert an invasion of the settled universe by a swarm/fleet of Ousters (humans who have opted out of the mainstream human culture, which is run and regulated by AIs). However, each has a personal reason to visit the Shrike (a normally fatal enterprise) and on the course of the journey, each tells their tale. Thus, the book is a sort of mini-Decameron for the SF crowd, with the author adopting a different tone for each segment. It is supremely written, each segment explaining more of the overall milieau and pushing the plot forward as well as delineating the characters. The second book focusses less overtly on the characters of the original book, as the action broadens out into the political background of the setting and the action taking place on other worlds, as the Ouster invasion and its ramifactions develop. This is more conventional in its structure, but nevertheless riveting, and building to a highly satisfactory conclusion (though it is one of those books which you don't really want to end, so immersive is the story). The writing is superb all the way through, brimming with ideas and packing a great deal of "sense of wonder", but also maintaining a high degree of action-packing and also, in parts, very moving emotionally (the last is not often a feature of even the best SF). And while fairly highbrow in places (the poet Keats is quite big in the storyline) it carries along the reader (like myself) who is not expert in these things without being annoying or patronising. Perhaps the masterstroke of the books is the "character" of the Shrike, a sort of emblem of the mystery at the centre of the books (rather like the black monoliths in 2001). But the Shrike is also horrific and unpredictable, and every encounter with it is memorable. As stated above, the books are about 20 years old. But they seem hardly dated, and the quality of the writing is some of the highest (maybe the highest) in the genre. Having read a lot of SF, and modern SF too, these really stand out for me as "core texts". I was initially put off reading Dan Simmons because I was only aware of his horror writing - don't be, this is pure, fabulous SF of the highest order. Everyone raves about these books - there is a reason.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Intelligent SF with plenty of gusto, 27 Jul 2006
Having been a reader of SF for the best part of 50 years, I was surprised to find I had overlooked these novels for so long. I have to admit I found the first book quite oppressive. The tales of each of the pilgrims are dark and tragic, and I found it quite hard going, although the story becomes more compelling as you try to piece together the connections between them. The latter part heads off into space opera, wilderness adventure, fractal and virtual universes, and moral philosophy.
I suspect that a reader more familiar with the life and works of John Keats would find another layer (or two) in this book, but even on face value it is an entertaining tale with well-drawn characters and which makes you care about the fates of the protagonists. As said somewhere else, the clever twist is that what appears to be a plot device is in fact central to the plot - the loose ends are tied up quite neatly and you don't feel cheated in the final exposition.
Overall I enjoyed this enough that I have immediately purchased the Endymium omnibus, which picks up some of the threads of Hyperion. I don't think that a first-time SF reader would make it past the first hundred pages or so, and would miss out on some stunning word images.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Up there with Dune as one of the best sci fi novels ever!!!!, 23 Nov 2004
Astounding, life changing, amazing, rollercoaster of a sci fi space opera, that i cannot praise enough as my grasp of the English language is not quite strong enough. I am a very discerning sci fi reader and was blown away by these novels. I have converted friends and family for whom the word "sci fi" conjurs up re-runs of Star Trek to sci fi fans with this novel. Practically every friend or aquantance i have talked to about these books has read the series after much intimidation from me and reported back in full agreement - This is a series you must not miss if you call yourself a "Reader" even if you dont like sci fi. There are so many layers to this book i cant explain here, but its like a great film, you dont want it to end and when it does, it stays with you forever. I have re-visited the story countless times and rank it up there with the greats of the 20th Century, easily as good as the Dune series, Tolkien, Phillip K Dick etc an absolute classic of the genre and defines the "whos" from the "Wannabes" in my opinion. Rumours of a film/s abound, lets hope it ends up a Peter Jackson as opposed to a David Lynch, if they go ahead and make a movie/s of it. Dan, you are truly a great, you deserve all the praise thats been heaped on you for this series. Also read his "Illium" (soon to follow "Odyseus") novel - Illium was also another superb sci fi opera.....thanks Dan Simmons for enriching my life and the life of those I know...stunning!!!
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