Paperback, 535 pages
Published Dec. 31, 2004 by Gollancz.
On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all. On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope--and a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.
this book avoids a lot of the problems of its prequel. the story is richer, the characters are more interesting and interact with each other more, the gigantic world is explored and detailed more, and the large-scale philosophical + political developments are crafted with patience and precision. I feel fulfilled after being slightly disappointed by book 1 overall.
Simply amazing book even though not that much is happening after all. The different characters stories were told so differently and engaging it really felt like the character telling his story. Obviously the stories were also very good, especially the one about the child.
The beginning feels a bit overwhelming with all the terms of this science fiction world but in time you'll understand the world more and more. And all the worldbuilding is done "on the way" - it never gets in the way of the story being told itself.
If you like science fiction i'd urge you to read this book, at least the first story (you'll know when it's finished).
Wowsers, what a ride. Fascinating universe, intriguing and wide-ranging characters, and a huge, complex story arc - perhaps at times too huge and complex. I never could really get fully on board with the mythical/metaphysical component woven throughout, which at times made things a little rough to get through. The fact that the narrator throughout was (sort of) a metaphysical-ish character made it difficult sometimes, but it was played down enough to work fine. And it was a crazy, wonderful ride regardless - the dilemmas set up were immense and presented well. Gladstone was a particularly powerful and engrossing character, and was very well portrayed - definitely a solid candidate for one of my all-time favorite characters. The universe of farcasters and particularly the consequences that played out through the climax were fascinating, and Gladstone's hand at the helm was expertly written. The chapter following the destruction of the farcaster …
Wowsers, what a ride. Fascinating universe, intriguing and wide-ranging characters, and a huge, complex story arc - perhaps at times too huge and complex. I never could really get fully on board with the mythical/metaphysical component woven throughout, which at times made things a little rough to get through. The fact that the narrator throughout was (sort of) a metaphysical-ish character made it difficult sometimes, but it was played down enough to work fine. And it was a crazy, wonderful ride regardless - the dilemmas set up were immense and presented well. Gladstone was a particularly powerful and engrossing character, and was very well portrayed - definitely a solid candidate for one of my all-time favorite characters. The universe of farcasters and particularly the consequences that played out through the climax were fascinating, and Gladstone's hand at the helm was expertly written. The chapter following the destruction of the farcaster network - little more than a list of worlds and their reactions - I thought was brilliant. The ubiquitous accepted reality of interconnectedness in the society was built up subtly but relentlessly, and the series of vignettes illustrating its collapse was excellent. While the planetary summaries were just a monotonous series of paragraphs, I thought it was quite fitting - this multitude of worlds that had been effectively one continuous expanse of humanity were now each relegated to a small individual paragraph, each dealing with the collapse in their own individual ways, dealing with the ripples of a severed galactic economy. Loved it. Oh, which reminds me of an eyeroll-inducing paragraph: somehow, even though the Catholic church has evolved and moderated over the last 800 years and elected a fucking Teilhard disciple as pope, basically endorsing humanism, the token Muslim planet reacted as all Muslims apparently do and always will: immediately descend into fundamentalism and middle-ages darkness. Come on, Simmons, you can do better than that.
And the Ousters! The future books had better feature more of them, because there is so much awesome potential there, and I am sad about how limited the glimpses I got in this book were. At this point, I care about them a lot more than Moneta and all that lot - it's just too handwavey and disconnected for me to follow or get too involved in so far.
Overall, a fascinating saga [edit: so far, yes Keegan], sweeping and grand and delicious, but got a little too metaphysical for my taste from time to time. But still well-worth the read, and of course with plenty of parallels and reflections on our world to make fodder for late-night discussions if one were wont to.
