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A review by caffeinatedwaffle
The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
adventurous
challenging
dark
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? No
3.25
Dan Simmons’s “The Fall of Hyperion” has a tough act to follow. “Hyperion”, with its Canterbury Tales homage and richly, deeply imagined pilgrims, was a stunning blend of mythology, character, and science fiction.
In contrast, this sequel feels, at first, like a misstep. Gone, off the bat, is the intimately framed narrative, replaced by a more sprawling, political, and often abstract structure. Two new narrators are introduced, and while one succeeded in grounding me in the sprawl, the other feels like an experiment that never quite clicks.
The opening can be slow and even disorienting, trading the personal stakes and mystery of the first book for galactic diplomacy, AI councils, and prophetic dream sequences. I loved the harmonious melodies and self-contained tales of Hyperion, and this shift felt like a betrayal.
But if you stick with it - oh oh oh does it reward you.
The final third of The Fall of Hyperion is as my students say “peak”.
It moves fast, with high emotional stakes and breathtaking scope. Simmons begins pulling threads together, answers to long-held questions arrive with weight and elegance, and characters find closure in ways that feel both surprising and satisfying. It’s the kind of payoff that re-contextualizes and justifies everything that came before.
It’s also a rare book where the final two chapters had me literally on the edge of my seat. Well, my barber’s seat, as I was getting a perm. I nearly forgot where I was. That’s how gripping the ending is.
The novel also deepens its philosophical and poetic ambitions. There’s a constant logomachy between human choice and machine intelligence, between mortality and transcendence. The influence of John Keats (whose spirit haunts both novels) is felt not just in name, but in theme, this is a book preoccupied with beauty, impermanence, and the dream and lie of something eternal. His works form the omphalos of this novel and I intend to revisit his works.
If Hyperion was the myth, The Fall of Hyperion is the revelation. It may not enchant as immediately, but it delivers in spades by the end. For those willing to navigate its more cerebral first half, the back third is a narrative treasure trove of thrill , emotion, and satisfaction.
In contrast, this sequel feels, at first, like a misstep. Gone, off the bat, is the intimately framed narrative, replaced by a more sprawling, political, and often abstract structure. Two new narrators are introduced, and while one succeeded in grounding me in the sprawl, the other feels like an experiment that never quite clicks.
The opening can be slow and even disorienting, trading the personal stakes and mystery of the first book for galactic diplomacy, AI councils, and prophetic dream sequences. I loved the harmonious melodies and self-contained tales of Hyperion, and this shift felt like a betrayal.
But if you stick with it - oh oh oh does it reward you.
The final third of The Fall of Hyperion is as my students say “peak”.
It moves fast, with high emotional stakes and breathtaking scope. Simmons begins pulling threads together, answers to long-held questions arrive with weight and elegance, and characters find closure in ways that feel both surprising and satisfying. It’s the kind of payoff that re-contextualizes and justifies everything that came before.
It’s also a rare book where the final two chapters had me literally on the edge of my seat. Well, my barber’s seat, as I was getting a perm. I nearly forgot where I was. That’s how gripping the ending is.
The novel also deepens its philosophical and poetic ambitions. There’s a constant logomachy between human choice and machine intelligence, between mortality and transcendence. The influence of John Keats (whose spirit haunts both novels) is felt not just in name, but in theme, this is a book preoccupied with beauty, impermanence, and the dream and lie of something eternal. His works form the omphalos of this novel and I intend to revisit his works.
If Hyperion was the myth, The Fall of Hyperion is the revelation. It may not enchant as immediately, but it delivers in spades by the end. For those willing to navigate its more cerebral first half, the back third is a narrative treasure trove of thrill , emotion, and satisfaction.