Reviews

La caída de Hyperion by Dan Simmons

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mystikbunny's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

noemilysclub's review against another edition

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5.0

Wow. All of the mysteries wrapped up very pleasingly; loved everything about (without spoiling anything!) the nature of god, really loved Gladstone. A lot to think about in this book!

keiusify's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

5.0

I don't even know where to start. This book is 710 pages long and a wild ride from start to finish. Multiple characters are at the focus of the story, the scene switches frequently, so that each character's story progresses piece by piece, but the timeline stays concise (except for the

timetraveling

) and every character's story ties up neatly in the end.

The book has some harder parts, like the poems and koans(I'm not proficient in poetry), but overall it reads quite smoothly.

Spoilers below:

Similar to other SF novels, the downfall of a great empire is the major topic of the story. There is interstellar warfare (intertemporal warfare??), travelling through cyber dimensions, and fighting against the super big evil monster called the Shrike. The Shrike itself is more like a Deus ex Machina, akin to the Wizard of Oz (5 stars for the foreshadowing in the previous book) and does not really have an agenda itself but is more of a control mechanism, so that events play out as they should.

Finally, the book has highly memorable lines, good writing, good characters and a gripping finale. A true 5/5.

Content Warnings

jgspice's review against another edition

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4.0

This book is a slog to get through, but I enjoyed the highs a lot. Wasn’t exactly the direction I envisioned a sequel to “Hyperion” going, but I enjoy how well this novel tied up almost all of the loose ends left by its predecessor.

sabrinahughes's review against another edition

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4.0

Parts of this book were really great, far better than the first book. But it seemed like in the last quarter the author was like “lol, lmao” (which was still enjoyable tbh), and then by the last few chapters he just got tired of writing everything altogether and wanted all of the characters out of his brain.

garbanzobeans's review against another edition

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fast-paced

4.25

I really enjoyed this, I felt like it was more engaging when compared to the first one. Obviously the first starts out with a bang from the priest’s tale, but l never got that same “high” from all the other stories. I really liked the constant widening of scope and specifically the amount of mystery. It doesn’t get stale until the last 50 pages…

Ever since Rachel started going back in time and Moneta is shown to be going backwards in time, I was like “please don’t make Rachel into Moneta”. Idk it just felt kind of too convenient and also weird thinking about her dad hearing about their very-much-sex-first relationship… like if love is the ultimate power and shit, shouldn’t they have gotten to know each other more? I get the abrupt sex at the onset I book 1 was really a hook, but it’s weird that they don’t really know each other right? That’s why I’m not giving this a 5. Because I felt like that whole thing could have been done better…. But nevertheless fun book, where at least there are female characters written by a man that don’t scream boomer energy (still not great by modern standards though due to their general flatness compared to the male peers’ depth)

Kassad fell flat for me. Warrior storylines are too linear. Also, Brawn ultimately being defined by the motherhood throughout the book, I guess makes sense because she is the mother of the special baby - but mehhh didn’t land for me.

Gladstone is great and really standout. Some great political stuff compared to other sci fi fantasy (I’m looking at you late series WoT)

Anyways, I’m rambling, fun book, almost gave a 4.75 but kept lowering my rating as I brought up my gripes.