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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Hyperion is one of those novels that defies explanation when it comes to what I liked about it. I'm going to chalk it up to how different the book is in terms of the narrative style. Not that the narrative style is overwhelmingly unusual, but having six different personal stories described within the framework of one overarching story is reasonably atypical, and not as linear as I'm used to.
Before you say "it's like Canterbury Tales," let me say that I know that and, no, I haven't read Chaucer in its entirety, though I've read excerpts. But of all the things that I wish I had known more about before reading Hyperion, it isn't Chaucer. It's Keats, actually. Or poetry in general, but there are a lot of references to Keats. Despite a general dislike of poetry (with the exception of Yeats, for some reason), I may very well go out and read some of his work just to assimilate some of it, post-Hyperion.
Beyond that, I liked all of the characters, with the exception of Martin Silenius, who was wholly dislikable. I also had a peculiar dislike for Siri--I found her incredibly annoying. The individual stories were compelling and the science fiction concepts were intriguing. If anything, I could have done without the long sexual descriptions because, really, I just didn't care about those and they felt a bit over-the-top. But beyond that, the stories were satisfying.
One other thing of note is that there are scenes in Hyperion that are truly violent and visceral. The kind of scenes that make you stare into space, gaped-mouthed, because holy cats, they really did just describe that. These scenes are extremely well-placed and effective, more so because they're rare.
The ending, of course, is another matter--unresolved, but intentionally, it seems, with an iconic walking down the yellow brick road scene. That just leaves me with a need to purchase The Fall of Hyperion so I can find out what's happening with the Shrike and the Time Tombs.
Before you say "it's like Canterbury Tales," let me say that I know that and, no, I haven't read Chaucer in its entirety, though I've read excerpts. But of all the things that I wish I had known more about before reading Hyperion, it isn't Chaucer. It's Keats, actually. Or poetry in general, but there are a lot of references to Keats. Despite a general dislike of poetry (with the exception of Yeats, for some reason), I may very well go out and read some of his work just to assimilate some of it, post-Hyperion.
Beyond that, I liked all of the characters, with the exception of Martin Silenius, who was wholly dislikable. I also had a peculiar dislike for Siri--I found her incredibly annoying. The individual stories were compelling and the science fiction concepts were intriguing. If anything, I could have done without the long sexual descriptions because, really, I just didn't care about those and they felt a bit over-the-top. But beyond that, the stories were satisfying.
One other thing of note is that there are scenes in Hyperion that are truly violent and visceral. The kind of scenes that make you stare into space, gaped-mouthed, because holy cats, they really did just describe that. These scenes are extremely well-placed and effective, more so because they're rare.
The ending, of course, is another matter--unresolved, but intentionally, it seems, with an iconic walking down the yellow brick road scene. That just leaves me with a need to purchase The Fall of Hyperion so I can find out what's happening with the Shrike and the Time Tombs.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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:
No
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to! It gave me a lot to think about, and now I want to read the other books. My favorite was the story of the man whose daughter aged backwards. Soooo interesting. I wanna know how the meeting with the shrike goes!!!
Messed up, slim bedacht en licht vaag.
In dit boek geen glowstick demon dick, maar wél steamy shrike sex.
In dit boek geen glowstick demon dick, maar wél steamy shrike sex.
Sci fyi with a promising start, that just turned out to be written by a horny man
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced