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)

Masterpiece

A masterfully told frame narrative, each chapter secrets revealed, tension builds insurmountably, the plot thickens!

Amazing sci fi work

An amazing sci fi work, I have no idea how I never heard about it. I look forward to the rest of the series.

Farcasted into a rich, exciting sci Fi universe.

Easily a classic of the Sci-Fi genre. deserves its own series, movies, toys whatever you name it. so deep and Rich and exciting and it's look on science fiction is so new to me I just couldn't stop listening.

Love the book, but the casting was upsetting.

I love this series with a soul-deep passion, but I was so disappointed with the voice actors for Brawne Lamia and Colonel Kassad. I couldn't even listen to Lamia's chapter.

Spectacular. Enter the Time Tombs!

Would you consider the audio edition of Hyperion to be better than the print version?

Reading is a different experience, couldn't be "better or worse", but what I will say is that the production was spectacular. The only other audible production I can compare it to is Dune. It was just great from the main narrator to the different characters just great. I wouldn't have enjoyed a movie more, which I think is a better comparison.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Rachel has to be one of the most interesting and compelling characters I have encountered. A close second would be Father Hoyt...all in all the character development is very well done.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, but he (they) did an awesome job.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

"go listen to the audible version first, they did it better"

Any additional comments?

Simmons is just a great writer, I would compare him to Arthur C. Clarke and Ursula LeGuin.. He is descriptive, develops characters very well and presents a multi layered story that draws you in. the basic story premise is based on systems theory, religion, poetry and a complex science fiction space opera. Detractors will maintain that Simmons spend too much time describing minute items. But I enjoy getting lost in the details of a good story so I personally enjoy that. I plan on listening to the remainder of the series. I cannot say enough about the production and overall delivery of this great book. My favorite (besides Dune and the Dispossessed) on audible in the SciFi category thus far. Thanks!

Engaging

Where does Hyperion rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is an enjoyable listen. Although each story took a little for me to be engaged, they are all fully enjoyable and propel the main storyline well. If you enjoy futuristic fantasies that incorporate heroism, romanticism, piety, sacrifice, love, loyalty and politics, this is a must read.

What other book might you compare Hyperion to and why?

The story moves forward by different pilgrims telling theirs, much like the Canterbury Tales.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

I enjoyed the fact that there were different performers speaking different stories.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

What would you do...or did you do...to be part of the pilgrimage?

Thought provoking.

The lady and the tiger in sci/fi ...? Probably not (with a sequel running around). Could easily stand alone and be considered very deep. I guess I'll see. This one? Very nice :)

Sad its over

Just finished the whole series and have to say that I enjoyed every single book.

Sci-Fi Gem Mixed with Horror

I'm not surprised to find that Dan Simmons also writes horror stories. This well-crafted tale is punctuated by grisly and gruesome scenes that make you gasp in horror. I sometimes found the descriptions so disturbing that I would have to stop listening, and come back to it, when I had gotten over the impact.

Simmons has few equals, if any, in story-telling. Instead of having haunting images presented to me as I read, I would have preferred a PG-13 version.

Note: I hate horror movies, murder mysteries, slasher movies, and anything involving macabre depictions of torture and death. So, this is written not as a warning for the general listener, but for anyone who might think twice about listening to or reading a horror tale.

The narration in this story is excellent.

Very very very good Science fiction

I'll hold back the word great until I read the sequel and see how the author ties up the lose ends.

If you ever wondered if there was a literary place where The wizard of Oz, the Canterbury tales, and Rosencranz and Guildenstern are dead meet. There is and its here.

Simmons does an excellent job an area where most Sci Fi writers fall desperately short. He brings us into a complex future world and describes it to us while telling the story rather than taking breaks from the story to tell us how the technology, society and government function. (Orson Scott card really needs to study a book like this so he can avoid his characters annoying dialogs about how the magic or the science works, but I digress).

The story about the Pilgrims headed to certain death but they each work hard to get there, are they doing so of there own decision or have they been pawns of greater power. Is this their fate or can they alter their own destiny? They learn as they approach the inevitable they only have each other, hope and maybe even faith. Is there fate a senseless death? a final atonement? Retribution? an answer to an unknowable question, or maybe just maybe they will survive.

The book does try make a point against industrialism, and for conservationism toward the end, but its not overly political. Published in 1989 way before the Web, his insights into the "Data Sphere" and "commlogs" (read internet and google devices) is fascinating.

I found Allyson Johnson's performance to be lacking, the others were very good to outstanding.