Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos #1) (Mass Market)
Staff Reviews
This is a stunningly ambitious book that presents its story in an unusual manner akin to Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, with seven characters brought together on a planet called Hyperion all chosen by a mysterious religious cult to embark on a pilgrimage to face an enigmatic figure known as the Shrike, whom is the central figure of worship in the cult. Each character tells their story to the group and they differ wildly in tone, style and presentation and are yet perfectly woven together to reveal not only the drives and motivations of each character but also the inner workings of the universe and the perplexing mysteries of the titular planet. Each story is richly told, comprising a gamut of emotions(one story made me weep, another sent chills down my spine) while the events of the present gain intensity and urgency with each revelation. I loved this book and I highly recommend it, and if you ask me about it in the store I'll give you a whole lecture!
— NicholasOn the world called Hyperion, beyond the reach of galactic law, waits a 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.
Praise for Dan Simmons and Hyperion
“Dan Simmons has brilliantly conceptualized a future 700 years distant. In sheer scope and complexity it matches, and perhaps even surpasses, those of Isaac Asimov and James Blish.”—The Washington Post Book World
“An unfailingly inventive narrative . . . generously conceived and stylistically sure-handed.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Simmons’s own genius transforms space opera into a new kind of poetry.”—The Denver Post
“An essential part of any science fiction collection.”—Booklist
“Dan Simmons has brilliantly conceptualized a future 700 years distant. In sheer scope and complexity it matches, and perhaps even surpasses, those of Isaac Asimov and James Blish.”—The Washington Post Book World
“An unfailingly inventive narrative . . . generously conceived and stylistically sure-handed.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Simmons’s own genius transforms space opera into a new kind of poetry.”—The Denver Post
“An essential part of any science fiction collection.”—Booklist