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)

Disappointing

Much buildup for a cliffhanger non ending. Disappointing waiting for all the unrelated stories to come together only for them to not really do so

Excellent Story

It is definitely one of the best books that I have ever read. I am looking forward to the sequel.

We’ll written - different

Very well written. Almost like multiple short stories combined for an overall story, some of which could be a book all in their own. Gripping and hooked. Thank you for your skills and well worth the read

Epic sci-fi Canterbury Tales

I loved listening to this - for the most part.
I especially love the Canterbury Tales-esque framing of an epic Sci-fi book. If you love good science fiction and good story telling, it’s hard for me to understand why you would not enjoy this book.

I am personally baffled by some of the reviews I read calling the book boring. Sure, there are some slower moving parts, but to me, even in those parts, the book retains a depth that keeps a listener considering quite a bit (if they care to). Granted, it is the type of book that if you do tune out at some point (which happens to me when I listen to just about any book), you’ll have to rewind a bit to ensure you didn’t miss a key detail that impacts plot or character development. I did find myself doing that somewhat often, but I really don’t mind that.

I will say, my biggest gripe with THIS performance was the female reader. I found her voice strangely simultaneously very inflected but monotonous. It also felt out of touch with the tone of characters and context to me. Her sections felt a bit to me like a news caster or GPS navigation system reading to me, and I did find myself tuning her sections out more frequently. That could (and likely is) a me thing, and could also be that I just wasn’t as gripped by that particular portion of the story. I was relieved that she only read a relatively small section of the book because if she had been a main reader, I likely would have abandoned the recording and opted to just read it myself.

All in all, I loved it though and am on to The Fall of Hyperion.

Took me Years to finsh

10/10 book. Was one of those books kept picking up and putting down, never really getting into it, once I did though. 5 or 6 really good short stories that all play into the main one

Narrator

The narrator’s way of describing the environment is top notch! I really enjoyed this book! I recommend the read.

An amazing classic

I loved the story and the performances. I wasn't a particular fan of Johnson's robotic reading style, but it wasn't bad. overall, a wonderful experience!

Shrike

Sci-Fi lord of the rings journey. Awesome. One of the coolest “villains” in fiction.

I wasn’t expecting so much of a carnal adventure.

Hyperion is a book that is rich in world building and a modern take on Canterbury tales (so I’ve been told). I wasn’t expecting to be so h*rny? It builds an awesome universe and look at the technology and politics of that universe, however the second tale is insanely awkward to listen to on a car ride home after a long day at work!

Haunting stories that make you hope

While this book has an underlying main plot, this book in particular has several vignettes that span the beauty and pain of the human experience.

It was one of the most poignant books I’ve read this year.