Reviews

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

andrew_j_r's review against another edition

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3.0

As someone who really enjoys Science Fiction TV and movies, I am well aware that I am very thinly read when it comes to books in the genre. Apart from one other book in the SF masterworks series, I have read little other than film and TV adaptations, so I decided to grab one from this set of books at random and then read it.
So what did I make of Hyperion? Well, the first thing is that it was not at all what I expected. In fact it is a sort Canterbury Tales, effectively a series of short stories linked by the world Hyperion and the religion there.
All of the stories were really interesting in their own way, but by the time you get to the final story you know from the amount of book that you have left that we are not going to actually see what happens to conclude the events that bought there people together. One is possibly dead, but even this is not resolved. The book just stops.
Of the six stories, easily the best and most interesting is the first. That is not to say that it is downhill from here, it isn't, you get six interesting tales about the people on this pilgrimage. But there is no payoff. The book had a beginning and no middle of end. If I had known this when I picked it up, I would have bought the next book (which was on the shelf next to it) at the same time, but I had assumed that it was a sequel, whereas now I am guessing that it is a direct continuation.
All in all I really enjoyed what I read, but it was like eating an appetiser and then being told that was the end of the meal. I want to know what happened next - ordinarily I would have gone into town immediately after finishing it but I am away, in the middle of nowher, somewhere first class post can even take a week or more! So I will have to wait, but I will be reading the next book sooner rather than later. The digestive juices are flowing, they just need something to digest.

brittonthenderson's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

dnk15's review

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challenging emotional funny sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

llaurrn's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sprit's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.25

I had no idea what this was about going in and somehow it was still not what I expected. I definitely need to watch a video and have someone explain it to me but I really enjoyed it!

harrkee's review

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

hun87's review

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adventurous challenging dark reflective 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

4.0

olityr's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Some of these stories were amazing, but I wish it was a stand alone. I feel like I need to continue, but I can't see how the sequel can follow this and not feel like a totally different series. 

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sekkeywho's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense 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

5.0