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)

More than a book

The important thing to understand is that is the first part of series and in reality this book is little more than a prologue. That being said it is a gripping first chapter. The hyperion series is more than a story, it is a work of philosophical and religious fiction that explores the meaning of life and the universe. Don't take that to mean its not full of action, it is. This series has everything in it from medieval sword fights to massive space battles and the destruction of worlds.

At its heart this is the story of mankind's struggle for true transcendence. The plot is deep and convoluted involving substantial time travel and is its secrets cannot be fully understood until the last book. This is a work that you have to begin with some faith that at some point it will all make sense. Trust me, it does and the final revelation in The Rise of Endymion is remarkable.
Christians beware, this book may challenge many of your belifes in uncomfortable ways.

Canterbury Tales in space with a side of mystery

Dan Simmons' Hugo award winning Hyperion is a richly elaborate tale of a complex futuristic galactic society long after the destruction of Earth. Hyperion is a world on the edge of space with only a loose attachment to the major societal and governmental organization known as the Hegemony. Its main interest lies in being one of only a dozen labyrinthine worlds, underground tunnels the origin and purpose of which remains a mystery. Hyperion also is home to the "time tombs", structures which create an entropic dysfunction in their proximity and has spawned a religious movement that believes an impending event is to occur. Completing the menagerie is a splinter sect of humans, analogous to barbarians, that confine themselves to space and intend to invade and destroy Hyperion. Against this backdrop, an apparently random collection of individuals has been selected for the last pilgrimage to Hyperion. Along the way, they each tell a long, fascinating tale that relate essential background info on the universe, provide a specific connection with Hyperion, and give them motive to have a grudge against the powers that be.

Th sci-fi elements are varied and numerous. Settled space interacts through "farscasters" that provide instantaneous interstellar travel between worlds. The "hitch" is that distant worlds require relativistic restrictions to establish a new travel site. As such, worlds not integrated suffer a time debt accrual, which results in quite a few seemingly long lived individuals. The concept of entropic dysfunction where time can go backwards is a fascinating addition. Artificial intelligence is a major player within the Hegemony with various sects with conflicting objectives. Cybrids represent AI entities operating within humanoid like physical bodies. Each of the "tales" is nearly a standalone short story in themselves. While each is informative regarding both the storyteller and the Hyperion universe, each also leaves plenty of unanswered questions.

The narration is an ensemble cast where each major storytelling character has their own voice with an overall narrator. Each narrator performs quite respectably and the story flows seamlessly which can be an issue for multi-narrator performances.

still great after all these years

I read this about 12 years ago and then listened to the audiobook. It was just as good as I remembered it and it translated well to audio. Ignore people complaining about the ending; they don't seem to realize that it is a two-part story. The writing is fantastic and many of the character's backstories are incredible and memorable stories unto themselves.

The narrating was hit or miss... the guy who played Martin absolutely hit it out of the park and was PERFECT. Just precisely how I imagined him and one of the best audio adaptations of a character I've ever heard. The Consul was an overactor, though, and the gal's attempt at an english accent was embarrassing for everyone involved. But that's no big deal considering the overall quality of the production and writing.

Excellent epic sci fi

I really enjoyed this entire series.

Will it go down in history as one of the greatest series ever written? No. However, the books are well written and the characters are well developed. You really get to know them as the series unfolds. After I listened to the first book, I had to hear the rest of the series.

As with all epic fiction, there are slow points. It is also not for someone looking for a quick listen. At around 100 hours for the entire series, it's quite a commitment. But it is one that is ultimately satisfying.

I recommended this book to friends that like epic SciFi

All Star Cast

For the reader who is thinking of buying this audio book. It’s worth the listen! Simmons is no doubt a very good writer. Hyperion is a continuation of the legacy of epic writers like Asimov and Herbert…sci-fi with a lot of detailed character stories and complex plot. The narration is excellent…a dream team of narrators that makes the story even better. Longer book, so might not be for the weak…but, the writing and ideas keep the book entertaining through out. The sci-fi fan will enjoy the experience.

Solid space opera

I very much enjoyed this novel, though it was a bit of a slow start. I think that most space opera fans will basically enjoy this novel. I liked the readers with the notable exception of Allyson Johnson. She wasn't technically bad, but poorly cast for the character of Brawne Lamia.

a thinkers story...

intellectual sci-fi of Clarkeian depth. truly a title that will be pertinent for generations.
as for the performances, they range from very good to annoyingly awful with Allyson Johnson's effort supporting the lower end.

Masterpiece Novel, Excellent Narration

What made the experience of listening to Hyperion the most enjoyable?

The novel is a frame story; structured sort of like Canterbury Tales. The main characters proceed on a pilgrimage towards a deadly encounter with a kind of mythical creature which is alleged to come from the future to judge humanity. They each tell their tale in order to determine why it is that they were all chosen for the pilgrimage and to piece together the plot from their separate viewpoints. Each individual tale is quite compelling. Some emotionally moving, others exciting. The author allows the reader to almost survey various subgenres of SF within a single novel and a large, sophisticated fictional world. I found that aspect of the novel most enjoyable and original.

Each tale is narrated by a narrator assigned to that character. During the scenes of the frame story, the narrators play their roles in dialog. When the character proceeds to tell his tale, the narration completely becomes the domain of that character's narrator. All of these narrators are extremely talented. I felt they greatly added to this audiobook. They took what really is an amazing novel and elevated it a great deal more.

The novel has a most excellent balance between plot and character. While it is largely character driven, and the true drama is almost certainly existential and philosophical, the author provides plenty of action to drive the story forward, especially in the more action-oriented characters.

The tale of the priest is theological SF. The tale of the military colonel is told in military SF. The tale of the poet is horror SF. The tale of the detective is pure cyberpunk. The tales of the scholar and consul are forms of time travel SF, but in the case of the consul, includes aspects of spy and mystery novels. All of these tales are seamlessly woven together in a frame plot that I found equally as compelling as the tales it frames. I rarely have encountered a novel structured in this way where the frame was anything more than thin bookends for the individual tale.

The themes of all these tales are intensely existential and speak to the human condition. They deal in human pain and grief in several contexts and aspects of life. Each of these griefs do in the end weave together to make a kind of sense.

I highly recommend this to hard SF readers who enjoy complex, intellectual plots and deep characters.

Very emotional stories.

I read Hyperion many years ago and loved it. This audio version is also excellent. The narrators all do a wonderful job bringing the characters to life. While I'll admit two of the tales lost my interest a bit, I still really enjoyed the (audio) book. Highly recommended!

overall disappointed

Is there anything you would change about this book?

the end

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hyperion?

the generals fight

Which scene was your favorite?

the blade tree

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

probably.

Any additional comments?

this was a very exciting and enjoyable listen throughout the whole story. the characters and story line develop well but the end comes very quickly and resolves nothing. the epilogue feels like the author got so many negative comments about the end that he felt he needed to add something. it is weak also. i was ready for some brilliant, genius, twisting at the end but it never came. that was a disappointment...