Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
Just reread this and it holds up. It's the Canterbury Tales in Space! What I like about it how Chaucer's original text is more than a cheap overlay to seem sophisticated. The choice to have each pilgrim tell their story in very different styles really creates a caleidoscopic view of this reality. Even if the novel is severely in debt to other, preceding scifi such as Neuromancer (clearly acknowledged) and The Sparrow (not acknowledged), this first part of the Hyperion Cantos holds up. I don't think the Keats thing works well, though, and it works less and less as the novels move along. But this first iteration I think deservedly won the Hugo. I rarely finish books in less than a week, especially sizeable ones like this one, but this was a breeze.
Each story detailing the different motivations for each character’s pilgrimage felt like they existed within their own genre yet still seamlessly came together into this big picture space opera. Really an incredible piece of writing
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
So, it’s incredible, but I somehow missed the fact that it’s one of three. I kept thinking, “He can’t possibly wrap this up in that number of pages!” And? He didn’t. However, the Canterbury Tales-style was beautifully executed. The Shrike is a marvelous McGuffinesque figure here. I’ll keep going, which says a lot, given my vague aversion to series lately.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
Surprisingly horny, surprisingly sad
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I first tried to read this some years ago and was immediately turned off by the technobabble in the first chapter. On further insistent recommendation, I gave it another chance and found it to be an exceptional piece of science fiction.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A tour de force of creativity. Rarely do I read something and feel a continued sense of freshness in all aspects of the writing: prose, characters, structure, theme, and worldbuilding.
Brilliant.
Brilliant.