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)

Darn good SI-FI tale!

Would you listen to Hyperion again? Why?

This was a great listen. Well narrated and an excellent story

Who was your favorite character and why?

The book follows different characters at different times. So one character becomes a favourite only to be replaced by another as the story evolves. Well constructed because of this writing style.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Clever the way a number of narrators join to give different dimensions to different characters.

Any additional comments?

Well written, an epic of different moments of drama and a range of characters that are spun out over the story and time.

refreshingly unconventional sci fi

Not all of the voices feel like they fit the tone of the story, but the plot and format were surprisingly complex and amazing at drawing me in despite the abrupt changes produced by it's story-within-a-story shtick.

awesome story but it ends abruptly.

I felt like there is another chapter that is missing from the novel. loved the different stories from the different characters, very very impressive world building.

Epic

Would you listen to Hyperion again? Why?

-Great story, will keep you guessing right up to the end!

What did you like best about this story?

-World building is very interesting; really dig how characters build up "Time-Debt" and how that affects their lives......and the Techno Core is very cool.

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

not yet!

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

Galactic Poetry

Any additional comments?

I'm now questioning my lifelong SciFi favorite of Dune.......

Just listen. Really. its just that good.

Wonderful story, bad narration

I have been re-reading this book for years. Some time ago, I was privileged to hear the unabridged version recorded for the Federal Library for the Blind. *That* was a good reader, who helped one become enveloped in the story. None of these multiple narrators, especially the woman, even came close. At best, I give them, and the producers, a low "C" for effort.

An engaging plunge into a new future

The author plunges the reader into a fully-realized universe without apology and allows us to learn by immersion. Told as a series of personal tales with a mysterious common thread, I found the story to be fascinating and awe-inspiring. My one criticism is that the author too often falls back on using examples and quotes from the 19th and 20th centuries rather than manufacturing parallel ones from a fictional future. I found it to be jarring to have such contemporary (to me) references in this wondrously futuristic tale. A highly recommended book, and I am eager to start the next.

Excellent Narrator

a very interesting collection of stories woven into one big story. the narration was just excellent.

awesome.

the great sci-fi for grown ups. I enjoyed all the stories of all the pilgrims.

absolutley fantastic

this is one of the best scifi books ive read/listened to. do yourself a favor and check it out!

A wonderfully imaginative tale.

What a great read and ride. The story's pace is very much like a sine wave. With each lull in the action the story weaves itself up and down for one vivid and wild Sci-Fi tale. A story you will not soon forget.