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)

loved it

It was a very interesting collection of stories with sci fi leanings. The ending was a bit abrupt but I liked the tales that were told throughout.

Good but an unsatisfying ending

I was engrossed in the stories being told by the several purple on this journey and ultimately disappointed in the very intelligent, artistic ending for leaving me without a sense of resolution for the characters I'd become invested in.

If you don't mind the story ending in any open ended kind of way, then definitely read this book.

The voice acting was a little flat in places but not in a way that kept me from enjoying the story.

20hrs of background filler for the next book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

only to those who can afford the second book .

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hyperion?

The prolog for the next book

Amazing Universe

What did you love best about Hyperion?

This series is very heavy, but its well worth the commitment. This and the rest of the series are easily some of my all time favorites. Its a very long, complex, well developed story and very satisfying the further in you get.

top notch

What a great book! each story gets better than the last. Can't wait to read book 2.

I've read this many times but never heard it...

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

I would rank this in the top 10% of the audiobooks that I have heard.
I've loved this series for years and the plotline of the traveler's stories works extremely well as an audiobook.

What did you like best about this story?

The author has an amazing ability to tell stories that are epic in scale but are told through the lens of very realistic and understandable characters.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

This is the first audiobook I have heard that had multiple actors reading the different characters...I wasn't sure I'd like that format but it really works here.

Any additional comments?

The one very odd thing about this audiobook is there are bits of soundtrack music that seem to be dropped in at random. It isn't a bad thing...just odd.

Why so much sex?

I was tricked into reading a part romance novel. The unnecessary sex bits in every story were disliked by me. They are easy to detect and a couple skip forwards gets back to the story. But this review is to worn those who would rather not read pornography, that’s why I took two stars off. Also ended in a way that required the rest of the books to be read as well. I’m not sure if I’ll continue the series.

so much wasted potential

50% captivating and 50% blather; author can't get out of his own way and just tell the story. Not sure if the story isn't sufficiently rich or if the author is simply too enamored of himself... Simmons is no Cormac McCarthy but seems to think he is. Reader is excellent and the story has enormous potential.

Sci-Fi Classic Read with Great Performance

This is a sci-fi classic that is also well recognized beyond the genre, told in a fashion similar to the Canterbury Tales. The performances were great from the cast, and I particularly love it when they find different voice actors for a book that has so many different voices. I was highly satisfied by the listen and recommend it to anyone who is interested in reading/listening to this book.

Well written but..

It’s several well written short stories. But not well meshed together. I feel it then ends a bit early with no full explanation.