Hyperion Review
Why you shouldn't be intimidated by this honker
Hyperion, by Dan Simmons
Let me just start by saying that I tore through this almost 500 page honker of a book in less than a week. That’s how much this story hooked me. Or should I say, how these stories hooked me. Let me explain.
Hyperion follows the journey of 7 pilgrims, in the days before galaxy-wide war breaks out, to visit the Shrike. The Shriek might grant one of the pilgrim’s wishes and will slaughter the rest. But the focus of the story is not so much on their trip but on the stories of pilgrims and why they decided to do the pilgrimage in the first place. As I’ve read in multiple places, this book is The Canterbury Tales in Space.
I was a little worried about jumping between stories and not having the focus of the book be the plot of the travel. But I was pleasantly surprised! The plot moves at a fast clip in between stories, and the stories themselves are very compelling. Once I started a story I wanted to read it through in one go. Each story is a novella in length, with Kindle telling me each chapter was between an hour and an hour and a half. Most of each chapter is a pilgrim’s story.
All the stories have different styles and flavours, making this book a really unique experience. I had a hard time pinpointing my favourites: the Priest’s and the Consul’s stories. They’re the first and last stories of the book, respectively, and really bookend the experience. The Priest’s story sets the tone of how messed up this whole endeavour is going to be, and the Consul’s story brings it all together at the end. And this book messes with you in all sorts of ways, including thinking about what is time, life and death. Yes, it can get very philosophical!
One small spoiler… it ends on a cliffhanger. So if that’s a concern for you, have the next book ready to go. Since this series was published between 1989 and 1997 and won a number of awards, it’s not hard to get a hang of the whole set. And am I going to read the whole series? Probably, if the quality doesn’t change. I’ll definitely read the next volume, Fall of Hyperion, soon. I think this might be one of my favourite books of the year, honestly.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes the blend of sci-fi and horror, great character background setting, flawed and compelling characters and doesn’t mind stories messing with their head.
I read this book for the Reading Glasses Challenge prompt “read the favourite book of someone close to you” since this is one of my partner’s favourite books.
What else have I been reading?
And a little update on my reading! This week I’ve:
Read (review coming soon):
The Mimicking of Known Successes, by Malka Ann Older (ebook)
Continued Reading:
Stuff Mom Never Told You: The Feminist Past, Present, and Future, by Samantha McVey, Anney Reese (book)
So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix, by Bethany C. Morrow (audio)
Started Reading:
Into the Bright Open: A Secret Garden Remix, by Cherie Dimaline (book)