Reviews

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

omipotent's review

4.0

I took a star off for failing the Bechdel test but I realise this is 30 years old - then again I think Dune managed this one so its a red flag. If you're writing an encompassing fiction but forget that women are a part of civilisation in order to write 'cool man fiction' I think we can take points off of the literature.
It covered a lot of interesting themes about life, religion, politics, colonialism and environmental consequences of humanity. It was creative and thought provoking.

markarubin's review

5.0

This is my new favorite book. Unbelievably creative, incredibly written. I loved the Chaucer style individual stories and how each was written in its own style. Epistolary novel of a missionary encountering a strange group of locals, a hard boiled detective story, a full on war tale. Just outstanding. I’ve heard the sequel doesn’t live up to this one but I want to know how the pilgrimage ends so onto to the TBR Pile it goes.

tim_23's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

neminaf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

jcooper221's review

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Really interesting story, the world building was incredible. It’s a story about 7 pilgrims in the vein of Canterbury Tales but with a huge sci-fi universe that feels like I only got a glimpse of. Horror elements featured strongly.

It took me three months to read, however. I’m not a fan of the short-story/anthology format, I kept losing interest after finishing one tale knowing the next would be completely different. The overarching story was pretty static too, not a lot going on, just journeying from one place to the next. Worse,

Spoiler

there’s no resolution to the main plot by the end of the book, so we never get to see the Shrike beyond flashes in a few of the tales.

A few of the tales were interesting, but several were just the author’s barely concealed sexual fantasies.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Terminal illness

jzvicto's review

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

disastrouspenguin's review

3.0

Not what I was expecting, though in retrospect I'm not sure what I was expecting. I found the story somewhat disjointed as it switched from one narrator to the next, and was happiest when the Consul was speaking. There wasn't really any sort of resolution at the end, so plan on reading the second book (at least). I was intrigued enough by the story presented to do just that.

proxims's review

2.0

Great concept that doesn't go anywhere. Stories were hit and miss. Writing did not flow easily. Took me forever to finish.

heysunbee's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

jada's review

5.0

excellent read. each story felt self-contained yet contributed to the overall narrative. my favourite story was the scholar's tale, and my least favourite the detective's, which, although it read like a noir novel (that's coming from someone who hasn't read one), it just was nowhere near as compelling as the rest.