Hyperion

By: Dan Simmons

Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, Jay Snyder, Victor Bevine

Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it.

In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all. On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope - and a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.

©1989 Dan Simmons (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

Hugo Award, Best Novel, 1990
Locus Award, Best Novel, 1990
"Dan Simmons has the Midas touch: Every genre he writes - whether SF, horror, mystery, historical, or thriller - he turns to gold. Hyperion and The Fall Of Hyperion set a new standard for grand-scale science fiction." (Kevin J. Anderson, author of The Saga of Seven Suns)
"Dan Simmons was a star from the outset. It was the Hyperion books that made him a superstar. The man, quite simply, is what we in the trade call a writer's writer." (Mike Resnick, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author)
Each of [the pilgrim's] stories would make a superb novella on its own. ( The New York Times Book Review, Gerald Jonas)

Huge variety, great stories

Great book that ties in multiple stories into a cohesive worldbuilding narrative. Each character has a unique voice actor and each story has something to enjoy. Great sci-fi overall.

Each Person has a Tale to Tell, and it's Sci-fi.

It's a dark and stormy night, and these seven characters have stories to tell you. This book is formatted in that way, and it delivers on it well. Impending danger in the current timeline while each character tells a complex and differently voiced story. Some are better, some are worse. The voices were very good overall, though I think the woman was a bit tonally off, considering the circumstances these characters find themselves within.

A fine experience.

Hopelessly, ridiculously sci-fi. When there could be a normal tool or gun, it's a deathwand or a dephazer, a farcaster or a fatline. I only made up one of those. See if you can guess. Personally, I found the nomenclature for technology overwhelmingly silly and implausible, and had to put genuine work in to suspend my disbelief. Some ideas are gold, almost all are presented in this slightly childish way.

Great book, excellent performance (mostly)

I read this book years ago, and have flirted with getting the audio book for the last year. Finally got it, and it’s really good. The story has withstood the test of time. It’s such a well written and interesting tale.

My only complaint is the 5th part, the one of the female character and performer. The performance is so unenjoyable and hard for me to listen to. Almost every sentence ends with a down tone, emotionless.
Otherwise, a must listen.

Gorgeous, sprawling SF novel

When I started Hyperion, I did not think I was going to like it! 20 minutes in, it seemed like one of those confusing novels with too much information about what the future is like and with too many characters. But as soon as Father Hoyt started his tale, I was hooked until the very end. And I then immediately bought the next book in the series. I love how this book is not just about space travel. I understood the whole post-earth history by the end of the book, and the characters had become like close friends of mine. There is science, there is romance, there is action. There are mysteries galore, vast jungles, ocean worlds, high-tech cities... Time paradoxes, religion, politics, love, loss... it's a grand novel that happens to be set in the future. It's a little frustrating that the entire book only covers about 3 or 4 days, and the rest is flashback, but it's soo good that I didn't mind having to buy book #2 to find out what happens. Even though it's set centuries in the future, it's about what it is to be human. It's very easy to relate to the characters as people because the same themes affecting humanity today affect these people of the future. In addition to being interesting, it is well-written and delivered almost flawlessly by the cast of narrators. I wish every book I read was this good!

Disappointed by the ending

Loved it until the ending, seemed unfinished. So many threads that did not come together it's like the author couldn't think of a great ending so he just didn’t end it.

Will Never Read Dan Simmons Again

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The Canterbury's Tales structure with each character telling how they arrived was interesting, and I enjoyed each individual story and how it opened more speculation about the Shrike, Hyperion, and the Time Tombs.Then, the characters reach the climax of the book, and the book stops. No explanation. No resolution. No real cliffhanger. The book stops. So, I ask that Mr. Simmons abide by the implicit contract of a story. If you write one, give it an ending, or at least indicate that this is a serial and part of a series. I can't trust his books again after this, and based on the skill of the individual tales, he is capable of completing the story. He chose not to. I don't know why.

Has Hyperion turned you off from other books in this genre?

I will not read any of the Hyperion series after this. Sci-Fi is still a favorite.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

I liked that each character got an actor to play their parts. Some were better than others. I like them all though.

Do you think Hyperion needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I know there is a series of these. This book does not need a follow-up. This book needs to be completed.

Any additional comments?

Again, do not read this book if you expect any kind of stand-alone story. It is not. It stops rather than coming to a conclusion or ending, and I found the final scene insulting. The characters prance away with no conclusion. I felt the author was thumbing his nose at the reader in not writing an ending.

With that said, if the individual tales are taken as an anthology rather than a larger novel, the book is well constructed and enjoyable. I would have been less disappointed if the book had been presented that way. This was bait-and-switch.

Great Sci Fi Read

One of the best written science fiction books out there. wish this was more popular than it is.

amazing

Most amazing book ever...Characters, story line, universe he created is amazing. I keep this book in all my players and listen again and again

Breathtakingly well written and well narrated

The story is slow to start but so incredibly worthwhile. Brilliantly written, masterfully narrated, I enjoyed every moment. The plot is woven together so intricately and offset by moments of shock and comedy, keeping one engaged. This novel establishes the world in the characters, drawing the listener in and the narrators ensure that the experience is absolutely enthralling. I recommend this book extremely highly.

I wish it were longer, as long as it is.

Equal parts Heinlein & Lovecraft, with a dash of Carlos Castaneda for absurdity. It is long, but very worth it.