Book Review: Hyperion, by Dan Simmons

One-line summary: The Canterbury Tales as space opera, with a homicidal spikey alien god-thing stalking the pilgrims.



Spectra, 1990, 482 pages

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.

A stunning tour de force, this Hugo Award-winning novel is the first volume in a remarkable new science fiction epic.

( An abundance of imagination but a lack of vision in this very 20th century space opera. )

Verdict: Everything you want in epic space opera: a not-so-benevolent FederationHegemony, invading transhuman space hordes, running gun battles through world-hopping teleportation networks, cyberwarfare against hostile AIs, and a time-traveling alien Freddy Krueger, all woven around seven travelers who might be the cause or the prevention of Armageddon. This is the quintessence of genre fiction, with all the good and bad that that implies.

Book Review: Hyperion, by Dan Simmons

One-line summary: The Canterbury Tales as space opera, with a homicidal spikey alien god-thing stalking the pilgrims.



Spectra, 1990, 482 pages

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.

A stunning tour de force, this Hugo Award-winning novel is the first volume in a remarkable new science fiction epic.

( An abundance of imagination but a lack of vision in this very 20th century space opera. )

Verdict: Everything you want in epic space opera: a not-so-benevolent FederationHegemony, invading transhuman space hordes, running gun battles through world-hopping teleportation networks, cyberwarfare against hostile AIs, and a time-traveling alien Freddy Krueger, all woven around seven travelers who might be the cause or the prevention of Armageddon. This is the quintessence of genre fiction, with all the good and bad that that implies.