Review: Hyperion

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Near the end of March, a colleague of mine mentioned that he was reading Hyperion. "Have you heard of it? It's amazing! It's so good!" His excitement for the book was obvious, and I was looking for something to read, so I added it to my hold list.

I have to say, he was absolutely right. Dan Simmons sci-fi pilgrimage is extremely well realized. He's done an incredible amount of world building, and it shows. There's a sense of a larger history in this universe, and the little drips and drabs that he doles out through the course of the story left me wanting to know so much more.

Hyperion is the story of seven pilgrims working their way to Time Tombs and the sacred temple of the Shrike, a creature/being/entity worshipped by the Church of the Final Atonement. The majority of the novel is comprised of the stories of six of the pilgrims, told to each other over the course of their journey (yes, like the Canterbury Tales) to meet the Shrike.

Each of the pilgrim's stories is told in a different voice, and each helps flesh out the larger narrative and provide details that help the reader better understand the universe the book is set in (I really can't say enough about how impressive Simmons' world building is; concepts and technologies are mentioned early and often, and while some of them aren't really explained in detail until later, I never felt lost).

While the book does end on a bit of a cliff hanger, the individual stories are so compelling, and the action so well paced, it felt more like a natural breaking point, rather than an abrupt departure.

Highly recommended for sci-fi fans.



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