I've always cherished this book and recently gave it a re-read - still holds the sharpness and sting! A great into into scifi for new comers to the genre, and a great refresh for the veterans :)

The fate of the universe hangs in the balance then. Isn’t it always the way? But leave any preconceptions you might have at the door - Hyperion is anything but predictable. For a start, that setup, with the seven pilgrims telling their stories to one another, is inspired by Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. There’s not much in sci-fi that uses that as its starting point. Much of the deeper meaning behind this and the various other literary allusions might well be lost on those who haven't studied the likes of Keats or Chaucer - or, indeed, have forgotten much of what they knew about them, as in my case - but the repeated references to both never feel like Simmons is showing off. They add flavour, but don’t spoil the taste. That the town of Keats on Hyperion itself is so named feels perfectly natural, as events in Martin Silenus' story make abundantly clear. The form Simmons has chosen here could at first cause Hyperion to be mistaken for a Bradbury style "fix-up" novel, in the style of The Martian Chronicles; that is, an overarching narrative being used to connect a collection of what are actually unconnected stories. But in reality, it becomes clear after one or two chapters that Simmons is eking out the world building, giving it to us in little doses as it becomes relevant and when it’s pertinent to that particular tale, but unafraid of referring to key institutions or structures before their storytellers mention them. It's an intelligent and daring approach to storytelling which makes reading feel like a rewarding experience; dots are joined across hundreds of pages to give a fuller and more organic feeling picture than would have been achieved through massive info dumps. Everything just feels very well woven together, despite the wildly differing tone of some of the accounts - there’s Gibson-esque cyberpunk (complete with a loving nod in the form of a brief mention of the legendary figure of “Cowboy Gibson”) and military sci-fi, as well as well as plenty of moments of humour and heartbreak. So much heartbreak. Simmons wisely resists the temptation to “overpopulate” his setting with locations too; despite the instantaneous travel afforded humanity by farcaster portals connecting worlds, it almost never feels like there’s any breathless, Star Wars style planet hopping going on. Hyperion itself allows for any number of interesting locations - no desert planet or city planet shortcuts here - with Simmons equally capable of making the fantastical believable and the mundane memorable thanks to his excellent prose. Tombs and temples make for atmospheric and mysterious locations anyway, but the gothic flourishes he wields just add another level to these spaces. It certainly doesn’t hurt the atmosphere, of course, to have a menacing and unknowable antagonist stalking through the narrative. The Shrike looms larger in some stories than it does in others, at times directly interacting with the storyteller and on other occasions affecting them thanks to its long reach through the Temple of the Shrike. That it can have such an effect on the lives of the protagonists only serves to make it all the more menacing, and - as Adam Roberts points out in the introduction to this edition - it's a figure well served by mystery. Hyperion not only stands the test of time, it endures as a high watermark for science fiction and a demonstration of what the genre is capable of. Authors who would seek to distance themselves from the genre fiction fans that embrace them would do well to look to Hyperion and see how beloved and highly regarded it remains.

Hyperion is one of those "masterworks of science fiction" that I've always wanted to read but never got around to. Now that I've read it, I think it's definitely worthy of that accolade. It's a story told in 7 parts, as the 7 pilgrims to Hyperion each tell their tale and reveal why they were chosen to visit the Time Tombs, an ancient alien artifact which is travelling back in time. The 7 different stories give a wide range of narratives and they all succeed in making each character unique. A cyberpunk detective thriller. A missionary's first contact with an indigenous tribe. A poet who finds his muse in death incarnate. An archeological dig on an alien planet. A Soldier. A Diplomat. A Captain. Each of them is told expertly and drags you deeper and deeper into the story, and Dan Simmons manages to write each with a different style that fits all the characters perfectly. This is very clearly 'Part 1' and ends on a cliffhanger, an uncompleted quest much like The Fellowship Of The Ring. But rather than being unsatisfying, it has just driven me to want to read the next book straightaway! I can't wait to see how it all comes together next.

I have read so much about this book (reviews, recommendations when looking up other titles) and heard so many amazing things about it before i'd even considered reading it that i was worries it would not live up to expectations and be a let down. This did not happen. I have just finished and was blown away, so interesting and exciting and so much crammed in that your on your toes to read the next page. I like that you get to know all about the main characters in such depth that you feel you know them and how they feel. Every story is unique and thought provoking. Would recommend to anyone. :) well worth a read.