A review by giant_manta_ray
Hyperion by Dan Simmons

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

3.0

Ambitious and imaginative world building, thought provoking ideas, and eschatological theme abound. It feels...dated...fairly often, you may find yourself rolling your eyes or cringing at the way things like gender and race and disability get portrayed. This was the main thing bringing the score down for me, and I could bring it down lower on this basis just for how distracting it felt. Last 2 stories were my least favorite, so it petered out at the end for me. It's hard to recommend, but also hard to pass on since the core mystery and the way it unravels over the course of these stories is just so strange and captivating. Reading this, I often wished for something else like it that didn't feel so icky. To that extent it's an inspiring work.
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