Book Review: Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #1) by Dan Simmons
Cover art by Gary Ruddell
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: Hyperion Cantos (Book #1 of 4)
Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera
Pages: 483 pages (Kindle Edition)
Word count: 167,000 words
Published: 26th May 1989 by Spectra
My 600th review goes to Hyperion, an absolutely imaginative and magnificent classic science fiction novel.
After years of having Hyperion by Dan Simmons on my TBR, I can finally say I’ve read this beloved classic sci-fi novel. Before I started reading this novel, I didn’t know much about the premise or the content of the Hyperion except that there’s this creature called The Shrike in it, and also this book or series is one of the most beloved and highly praised sci-fi novels of all time. I’m actually shocked that Hyperion was first published in 1989. It holds up incredibly well. Hyperion felt like a book written way ahead of its time, and I’m not surprised this has become a classic now. Hyperion has been on my TBR pile for almost 6 years, and because I’ve been missing sci-fi a lot lately, I thought I might as well read this series now, and I’m definitely not disappointed by the first installment of the series. It’s the other way around. This has turned into one of my favorite sci-fi novels.
“It occurs to me that our survival may depend upon our talking to one another.”
Hyperion is the first book in the Hyperion Cantos quartet by Dan Simmons. On the world called Hyperion, beyond the reach of galactic law, there 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.
Picture: The Shrike by Jaime Jones
As many reviews have stated, Hyperion is often pitched as The Canterbury Tales in space opera. It is essentially seven novellas in one novel, and it’s different from the majority of novels I’ve read so far. I didn’t know that I would be reading six different tales told by each individual, and I get how this can be a hit or miss because it feels like a collection of connecting novellas. Initially, it did take me some time to get used to the narrative structure. My degree of likeness with each story differs, but I loved how each one of the stories shed utterly important revelations regarding each individual, Hyperion, and the ominous creature called The Shrike. My review will consists of my brief thoughts regarding each tale in Hyperion.
“You have to live to really know things, my love.”
The Priest’s Tale
This is the tale about Father Hoyt and mostly Father Dure. The Priest’s Tale is the first story told by the pilgrims embarking upon Hyperion. And I think the ending of this tale could easily be the make-or-break moment for the reader. As I said, I did not know what kind of book Hyperion was, and reading the tale of Father Dure being told in the form of a diary took me some time to get used to. I wondered, “Where is this story going? What is the purpose of this tale?” And when I neared the end of the chapter, my jaw dropped. What happened to the Priests was insanely terrifying and impactful. The Priest’s Tale allowed Simmons to inform his readers immediately that Hyperion will be a bleak and harrowing tale. The theme of faith was elaborated carefully, and we get to find that The Shrike is not the only creature that should be feared in this universe; there are more. I absolutely loved this one, and I consider The Priest’s Tale my second favorite tale in the novel.
“I now understand the need for faith—pure, blind, fly-in-the-face-of-reason faith—as a small life preserver in the wild and endless sea of a universe ruled by unfeeling laws and totally indifferent to the small, reasoning beings that inhabit it.”
The Soldier’s Tale
If I were told to describe The Soldier’s Tale in three words, it would be blood, war, and sex. The Soldier’s Tale tells Kassad’s fight against the Ousters and why he needs to go to Hyperion. Overall, while it is well-written and great, I did not like this action-packed story as much as The Priest’s Tale. But seeing more glimpses of what The Shrike is capable of here has certainly mesmerized me. By this stage of the narrative, I already thought of The Shrike as one of the scariest creatures in science fiction, and reading the book further has proved that notion more. I rank The Soldier’s Tale as my fourth favorite tale in Hyperion.
Picture: The Lord of Pain by Ari Ibarra
The Poet’s Tale
I really loved The Poet’s Tale. The third tale in this book is told from Martin Silenus’s POV, and the depiction of writing, poetry, art, and what it means to become a writer was so profound. Out of all the Tales in Hyperion, this was the one that made me highlight so many passages. Simmons successfully put many thought-provoking and resonating passages without making them a hindrance to the pacing. The revelations about The Shrike revealed in this tale, in addition to the previous tale, were so mind-blowing to me, and I can’t wait to find out whether it’s all true or not. The Poet’s Tale is my third favorite tale in the book.
“Words bend our thinking to infinite paths of self-delusion, and the fact that we spend most of our mental lives in brain mansions built of words means that we lack the objectivity necessary to see the terrible distortion of reality which language brings.”
Picture: The Poet’s Tale by Raymond Swanland
The Scholar’s Tale
This is it. The Scholar’s Tale is my favorite tale in the entire novel. It’s probably the most different compared to the other stories. By putting the extraordinary circumstances in ordinary lives, Simmons effectively made The Scholar’s Tale, the fourth story, the most heartbreaking and powerful tale to read. I read this long chapter about Sol and his family in one sitting. I just couldn’t put it down. Family and parenthood are the key themes of this tale, and once again, the gradual sadness caused by the unstoppable passage of time was incredibly well-written. It is a poignant tale, one that will make you sit and think, make you reflect on what truly matters, and it’s so worth your time to read.
“Sarai had treasured every stage of Rachel’s childhood, enjoying the day-to-day normalcy of things; a normalcy which she quietly accepted as the best of life. She had always felt that the essence of human experience lay not primarily in the peak experiences, the wedding days and triumphs which stood out in the memory like dates circled in red on old calendars, but, rather, in the unself-conscious flow of little things – the weekend afternoon with each member of the family engaged in his or her own pursuit, their crossings and connections casual, dialogues imminently forgettable, but the sum of such hours creating a synergy which was important and eternal.”
Picture: The Scholar’s Tale by Raymond Swanland
The Detective’s Tale
Unfortunately, after the greatness of The Poet’s Tale and The Scholar’s Tale, this tale felt tame in comparison. The fifth Tale is a murder mystery story, and comparatively, it’s my least favorite in Hyperion. It’s one of the longest chapters in the book. I couldn’t feel invested in the love story, and it’s disappointing that it doesn’t add many big revelations regarding The Shrike or Hyperion. Despite that, I cannot deny I still found the tale readable and engaging enough.
“Most murders,” I said, “are acts of sudden, mindless rage committed by someone the victim knows well. Family. A friend or lover. A majority of the premeditated ones are usually carried out by someone close to the victim.”
Picture: The Long Goodbye by Jaime Jones
The Consul’s Tale
On my first read, the final Tale in the book was my least favorite Tale. I retract that statement. While it is, in a way, plagued with the same issue as The Detective’s Tale, the Consul’s Tale did offer some tidbits about Hyperion and the Shrike. It did not have the impactful pieces of mysteries and revelations on The Shrike provided in the first four tales that made them memorable, but I enjoyed reading how the Consul’s Tale connects with the other pilgrims.
“Anticlimax is, of course, the warp and way of things. Real life seldom structures a decent denouement.”
Picture: Siri’s Rebellion by Jaime Jones
I haven’t done my research on this, so I can’t confirm whether this is true or not, but the relatively abrupt ending might mean that Hyperion and its sequel The Fall of Hyperion was one big book divided into two novels due to its length. If I were to rate Hyperion based on the first four Tales I read, I’d rate it with an easy 5/5 stars rating. However, although the final two tales didn’t earn that rating because they did not click with me as much, I am still sticking with 5 stars for my rating of the book as a whole. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts here, and Dan Simmons has shown his versatility as a writer so damn well with all the Tales told in Hyperion. The Tales combined has constructed an impeccable sci-fi novel that stood the test of time and will continue to do so. Undoubtedly, I am eager to read The Fall of Hyperion next month. Hyperion was utterly brilliant. I desperately need to find out how this grand setup will be concluded.
Picture: Hyperion by Jaime Jones
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