Hyperion

Hyperion is one of those classic fantasy stories that’s genre defining, and often makes ‘must read’ lists. I have a rather thorny relationship with lots of these books. I find Lord of the Rings frustrating and Dune rather boring. I tend to gravitate towards lesser read early works, such as those by George MAcDonald. Hyperion though, is a classic that really captured my imagination and ran with it.

Elevator Pitch:
Seven Pilgrims are on a journey to see the Shrike in the Time Tombs on the planet Hyperion. There is the Priest, the Soldier, the Poet, the Templar, the Scholar (with an infant daughter) the Detective, and the Consul. And as time passes, they decide to share the stories that led them to this pilgrimage. This book centers around those tales, and is a clear reference to classic work of the English Language The Canterbury Tales.

What Worked for Me
Overall, I found the framing narrative really successful in Hyperion. I enjoyed how each of the stories fed gradually into the larger picture of the story, and how each contributed bits of knowledge to the reader’s understanding of this universe. It helped that each of the stories were so different, so permeated by the voice of each of the characters telling them.

The tales themselves were (mostly) transcendent. Carefully crafted to balance their individual needs with the greater story being told, each felt like a shot of adrenaline into a reader’s imagination. The Priest’s Tale was a wonderful example of how short form horror can be far more effective than longer novels. I was in tears during The Scholars Tale. The Poet’s Tale was appropriately loquacious and grand. The Detective’s Tale had some issues, but revealed a really fascinating bit of information about the broader world. All of them were exemplars of their respective genres, transporting me to different worlds and emotions. Each was wonderful in isolation, but when placed next to each other to create such contrast of prose, style, and mood, they jumped off the page and marked Simmons as a master of the written word.

What Didn’t Work for Me
And then there was the Soldier’s Tales. Which, even without being put in comparison to the rest of the writing, it would have been bad. An example of 1980s Military Science Fiction with all the sexist baggage that comes with it. It’s astounding at how badly its done. When compared with how thoughtful and intentional the other Tales were though, it felt like Simmons’ had hired a creative writing freshman to ghost write. Thank goodness the story came second instead of first, because if it had been the opener, I would not have continued reading to experience the brilliance of the Scholar’s and Poet’s Tales.

In Conclusion: A masterfully written pilgrimage story with a glaring open wound marring what could have been perfection.

• Characters – 4
• Worldbuilding – 4
• Craft – 5
• Themes – 4
• Enjoyment – 5