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)

Just as good as when I read it years ago

I first read this book years and years ago. One of my first forays into "hard" sci-fi. I loved it. I've revisited many books I read way-back-when, and sometimes find myself disappointed. Not Hyperion. Still as good. Still as thought provoking. I liked how each character had their own voice, it was well done. Very smooth transitions, voices at the same volume. Not at all like the "dramatic readings" I've listened to before. I did not like the voice of Martin Silenus, the poet. He annoyed me. But maybe that was the point of casting that particular voice actor, Martin Silenus is a very annoying character.
In any case. I really enjoyed both this and its twin, the Fall of Hyperion.

Well-Written, Well-Read, Ultimately Pointless

I enjoyed the writing for the most part (see below), and the performance was excellent. But at the end of the story, I was left feeling that I'd completely wasted the 20+ hours because the ending was completely meaningless. No wrap-up whatsoever. Also, the endless praising of poetry is pretty annoying for those of us who don't really care for poetry. It's kind of like listening to your IT guy drone endlessly about the merits of computers, when you don't know or care about computers. If you love poetry, you may feel otherwise.

There's apparently sequels to this story, but I doubt I'll be investing the time and money to listen to another 70 hours before getting the whole story. In a GOOD series, each book should come to a reasonable stopping point and tell a story of it's own, and this one doesn't.

Interesting but slow

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

I certainly enjoyed the performances from the cast of readers and the stories within the novel were all interesting. Unfortunately the stories often dragged on or got too bogged down in details and flowery writing to keep my interest up. Most of the stories are in one way or another tied to the poet John Keats. I have no doubt the connections are interesting and entertaining for those more fond of or familiar with Keats than I am but for me it just got kind of tedious after a while.

I don't mean to say I didn't enjoy the book. The unique setting and stories were all well written and performed and mostly pretty fascinating. The slow pacing and over-reliance on the Keats references just often made me want to scream "I get it, move on please!!"

Would you recommend Hyperion to your friends? Why or why not?

I would give it a qualified recommendation. Not for everyone but I can certainly see it appealing to the right kind of reader.

Which scene was your favorite?

Several good ones to pick from and hard to pick one favorite. Without giving too many details, I'd say the combat scenes in the story of the soldier were the most engaging.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, and I wouldn't recommend it. It's over 20 hours long and it's a bit heavy to take on all at once even if it was shorter

Any additional comments?

Again, it was an interesting read and I don't regret listening to it at all. Great setting, great characters, and interesting stories. Just too slow at parts and too much Keats for someone who knows little about the poet. Probably the best way to sum up my feelings on the book is that it captured my attention enough to consider listening to the sequel but had enough drawbacks that the sequel is very low on my list of future purchases

ABSORBING

What did you love best about Hyperion?

If your looking for scr-fiction that has depth, not wrapped up in military techno words, but in life in the future, how the future people act, love, hate, how they are affected by the technology they have created, then Hyperion is worth consideration. It will entrap you into a world that is rich, well explained, but not tediously over worded. After all, really isn't it the people, the good and bad, who we want to know and become acquainted with?

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

The narration was done well. Some of the attempts at the different character voices could have been done better with another completely different person, but I would assume that is not cost effective. Overall, the narration did not interfere with the story, and did not bother me or take away from the work.

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

If the title were to sum up the theme of the book then the movie title has to fall somewhere in the area of Man vs Computer vs Religion. Perhaps, just the simple name of the book would be fine.

Any additional comments?

Hyperion captured me totally. I could not 'put it down'. Its not for the light reader or someone looking for techno jargon or strange alien races, but has more than enough technology, reasonable and believable, that supports the story and characters. The characters are solid and well defined to the point its easy to vision them and feel for and with them. Most touching for me, being a father, was the father in the story. Simply put, you read this and you will want the next book right away. Mr Simmons style of writing, his command of the language (I had to look up a few words), and the way he can describe details but only the details that matter, make for a rich fulfilling walk with the story teller.

Brilliant!

Stunning, fantastic and gripping sci-fi in the format of a frame narrative ala The Canterbury Tales. Hyperion is a masterwork and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

I enjoyed it overall.

What did you love best about Hyperion?

The way the story is written in a "Canterbury Tales" fashion. Each character's story is distinct both in style and substance but each adds information to the overall story arc.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hyperion?

SPOILER!!!:That the infant was aging in reverse after the adult had been attacked in and escaped the Time Tombs.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

Whichever narrator read the Priest's Tale.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The ending seemed rushed and left a lot hanging. Yes, it is the first of a series. But I feel like more could have happened in this novel. It is very much a setup for the other books in the series.

Any additional comments?

The P.I.'s tale was fairly dry and grammatically un-stimulating. I realize this is a style choice base on the character telling the story and so is a testament to Simmon's abilities. Just personally it got tedious to listen to, I can't imagine reading it.

One of the Best Books Ever. Dig in!

I adored this book, and the next book in the series, The Fall of Hyperion, is also a must.

Every character is deeply compelling and the plot is rich with mysterious interconnections, crunchy sci-fi tech, and intense human emotion.

This book, together with The Fall of Hyperion, are a masterpiece!

(Just fyi, this book provides the backstory for each of the characters. Fall of Hyperion delves into their subsequent adventure.)

Fascinating story, one VERY bad performance

Hard to review the book itself until I finish the series but the performances here are all excellent with one GLARING exception. The woman, Lamia(?), has the stiffest, flattest, most inhuman performance I’ve ever heard in an audiobook. She sounds uncannily like a text to speech program. If you ever wanted to hear a dramatic performance by Siri or Alexa, now’s your chance.

Good narrative, not Sci-fi enough though

Really enjoyed the narrative but the sci-fi elements were kept to a minimum and didn't reach the creative heights of the A Fire Upon the Deep novel by Vinge, for example

epic world building, compelling structure of story

really cool sci-fi concepts and fun creativity to explore. the story is told through a series of 7 pilgrim's stories as they begin a journey together. Each tells what has brought them to that point in relation to the story. Through these stories you learn more and more about the mystery of the plot. You also learn more about the universe build around this story. It was a really fun structure of story.