MobileRead June 2014 Discussion: Hyperion by Dan Simmons (spoilers)

WT Sharpe · 06-20-2014, 12:02 AM

The time has come to discuss the June 2014 MobileRead Book Club selection, Hyperion by Dan Simmons. What did you think?

WT Sharpe · 06-20-2014, 12:05 AM

I thought the ending had a distinct taste of The Lady or the Tiger. I enjoyed the journey, but it was a long way to travel for an inconclusive finale.

Dazrin · 06-20-2014, 12:23 AM

I really enjoyed a couple of the stories and was almost in tears about Rachel, but as a review I read after I finished said: this felt like a prequel rather than a complete story. I really would have liked some resolution. I would be interested in knowing how these people got chosen. It isn't like they were particularly public about what had happened to each of them in regards to Hyperion. I suppose that is part of book 2.

Overall this ranks as one of the best books I have read this year for the story telling and quality, but by far the most abrupt ending.

I am surprised no one commented about me reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz right after finishing this when I posted in the "what are you reading" thread.

Mims · 06-20-2014, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I thought the ending had a distinct taste of The Lady or the Tiger. I enjoyed the journey, but it was a long way to travel for an inconclusive finale.

My sentiments exactly, so I went straight into the next one. That answered enough questions for me that I don't feel compelled to continue on with the series.

BenG · 06-20-2014, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I thought the ending had a distinct taste of The Lady or the Tiger. I enjoyed the journey, but it was a long way to travel for an inconclusive finale.

That's why you should read The Fall of Hyperion.

The other sequels are inessential.

ccowie · 06-20-2014, 04:28 PM

I really enjoyed this book although I would echo some of the comments about the lack of resolve at the end. In some ways it felt like reading a huge chapter 1.

The individual stories were all really engrossing and very imaginative. Rachel's drew me in the most and the writing in her story was brilliant.

caleb72 · 06-21-2014, 04:49 AM

I really enjoyed this book. At first I was a bit annoyed when it was obviously going to be nothing but back-story and only a tiny bit of plot (in the present), but I really started getting involved in this mini-histories.

Like others, Rachel's story really got to me. It was such a fantastic story.

But there's a lot to this novel that left feeling inadequate that I couldn't put the pieces together. We have several characters of different types - the P.I., the soldier, the diplomat, the priest, the poet, the scholar and the templar (not sure where he fits really). As I was reading the stories, I was thinking about the religion tie-in during the priest's tale - the evidence of an ancient Christian religion and its relationship with the Shrike. During the poet's tale, I was thinking about art as a form of creation - poetry creating the muse who is inspiring the poetry. Rachel's story has a strong link to the story of Abraham in the Bible and it's message of sacrifice to save a people at a time when the people look like they're approaching an end. The Consul gives us an interesting angle on humanity - the expansion and digestion of simpler and happier cultures - a form of history repeating. The P.I. creating another link between poetry/art and what is to come while exploring a more cyberpunk angle, with the entertaining Bogart-esque noir feel.

I felt like Simmons was saying something I just wasn't hearing clearly enough, but it was tantalising all the same.

OK - the abrupt end was painful and I'll have to find time to read the second book before too long to see if I can follow where Simmons is leading me. But besides that problem, I remained entertained for the duration.

sun surfer · 06-25-2014, 12:41 PM

I thought the book was good, in spite of my complaints with it.

I liked that the author was interested in weaving philosophy and poetry into the book, but I think he did it in a sort of scattered, overstuffed and somewhat immature way. The book was also packed with all kinds of genres and plots and themes and twists, and I think it was a bit much; it was all rather jumbled and at points it came off as silly. He threw in everything including the kitchen sink, or in this case the metallic vagina dentata.

I also thought the characters were mostly immature in a consistent sort of way and rather broad and weakly drawn for something so immersive and character-dependent.

And finally, I wasn't a fan of horror being intertwined into almost every story. I don’t like out-of-the-blue horror, and the first story was especially jarring.

Despite all of these considerable objections, I couldn't help but like most of the stories overall and think how imaginative and vivid it all was. I may eventually read the second to find out what happens and as advised quit the series after that.

caleb72 · 06-29-2014, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sun surfer

I liked that the author was interested in weaving philosophy and poetry into the book, but I think he did it in a sort of scattered, overstuffed and somewhat immature way. The book was also packed with all kinds of genres and plots and themes and twists, and I think it was a bit much; it was all rather jumbled and at points it came off as silly.

Well that's definitely a different perspective. I just assumed that I wasn't cluey enough to "get it", but maybe it was just a happy jumble.

treadlightly · 06-29-2014, 04:40 PM

Gah, a cliff-hanger! I didn't really get into the book until Rachel's story, it was indeed fantastic. Looking at the page count nearing the end, I had no idea how the story would be resolved in time. And of course it wasn't. I had a hard time understanding what the Hegemony really is, along with the All-Thing. I enjoyed the Consul's story which seemed to have the loudest message. I don't know yet if I will continue on to the next one. I feel I have enough time invested to need to know how the story ends, but cliff-hangers really annoy me. I wish it had been made clearer - maybe a "Part 1" on the cover?

Synamon · 06-29-2014, 07:31 PM

I'd like to thank everyone who posted for the heads up about needing to read at least one more book to find out how some things get resolved. I hate when one large book is split into pieces with cliffhangers between them.

fantasyfan · 11-10-2014, 03:37 PM

It took me some time to get through this book but I am so glad that I finished it. This is a magnificent book and a true literary classic.

Simmons brilliantly organises his book in the style of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" with the complex plot developed through a series of personal accounts of members of a Pilgrimage, each of whom is on a quest to meet a strange creature called The Shrike.

The various chapters are as follows:

Prologue
The Priest's Tale: The Man Who Cried God
The Soldier's Tale: The War Lovers
The Poet's Tale: Hyperion Cantos
The Scholar's Tale: The River Lethe's Taste is Bitter
The Detective's Tale: The Long Good-By
The Consul's Tale: Remembering Siri
Epilogue

The individual stories are perfectly integrated stylistically with the personalities of the various narrators and Simmons creates a remarkable literary kaleidoscope of personality, setting, and motive which is absolutely breathtaking. And the cosmos created by Simmons is unforgettable. It is beautiful, frightening, exotic--and relevant.

Be prepared for surprises in this wonderful book and while I haven't read the sequel, I understand that it is comparable in quality.

06-20-2014, 12:02 AM	#1
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,073 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	June 2014 Discussion: Hyperion by Dan Simmons (spoilers) The time has come to discuss the June 2014 MobileRead Book Club selection, Hyperion by Dan Simmons. What did you think?

06-25-2014, 12:41 PM	#8
sun surfer languorous autodidact ✦ Posts: 4,235 Karma: 44637926 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: smiling with the rising sun Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage	I thought the book was good, in spite of my complaints with it. I liked that the author was interested in weaving philosophy and poetry into the book, but I think he did it in a sort of scattered, overstuffed and somewhat immature way. The book was also packed with all kinds of genres and plots and themes and twists, and I think it was a bit much; it was all rather jumbled and at points it came off as silly. He threw in everything including the kitchen sink, or in this case the metallic vagina dentata. I also thought the characters were mostly immature in a consistent sort of way and rather broad and weakly drawn for something so immersive and character-dependent. And finally, I wasn't a fan of horror being intertwined into almost every story. I don’t like out-of-the-blue horror, and the first story was especially jarring. Despite all of these considerable objections, I couldn't help but like most of the stories overall and think how imaginative and vivid it all was. I may eventually read the second to find out what happens and as advised quit the series after that. Last edited by sun surfer; 06-25-2014 at 01:09 PM.

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06-20-2014, 12:05 AM	#2
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,073 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	I thought the ending had a distinct taste of The Lady or the Tiger. I enjoyed the journey, but it was a long way to travel for an inconclusive finale.

06-20-2014, 12:23 AM	#3
Dazrin Wizard Posts: 2,631 Karma: 73864785 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: PDXish Device: Kindle Voyage, various Android devices	I really enjoyed a couple of the stories and was almost in tears about Rachel, but as a review I read after I finished said: this felt like a prequel rather than a complete story. I really would have liked some resolution. I would be interested in knowing how these people got chosen. It isn't like they were particularly public about what had happened to each of them in regards to Hyperion. I suppose that is part of book 2. Overall this ranks as one of the best books I have read this year for the story telling and quality, but by far the most abrupt ending. I am surprised no one commented about me reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz right after finishing this when I posted in the "what are you reading" thread.

06-20-2014, 04:28 PM	#6
ccowie Hiding with an ereader Posts: 391 Karma: 3987376 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Kitchener Ontario Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony PRS 950, Ipad 2, PRS 350	I really enjoyed this book although I would echo some of the comments about the lack of resolve at the end. In some ways it felt like reading a huge chapter 1. The individual stories were all really engrossing and very imaginative. Rachel's drew me in the most and the writing in her story was brilliant.

06-21-2014, 04:49 AM	#7
caleb72 Indie Advocate Posts: 2,863 Karma: 18794463 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Kindle	I really enjoyed this book. At first I was a bit annoyed when it was obviously going to be nothing but back-story and only a tiny bit of plot (in the present), but I really started getting involved in this mini-histories. Like others, Rachel's story really got to me. It was such a fantastic story. But there's a lot to this novel that left feeling inadequate that I couldn't put the pieces together. We have several characters of different types - the P.I., the soldier, the diplomat, the priest, the poet, the scholar and the templar (not sure where he fits really). As I was reading the stories, I was thinking about the religion tie-in during the priest's tale - the evidence of an ancient Christian religion and its relationship with the Shrike. During the poet's tale, I was thinking about art as a form of creation - poetry creating the muse who is inspiring the poetry. Rachel's story has a strong link to the story of Abraham in the Bible and it's message of sacrifice to save a people at a time when the people look like they're approaching an end. The Consul gives us an interesting angle on humanity - the expansion and digestion of simpler and happier cultures - a form of history repeating. The P.I. creating another link between poetry/art and what is to come while exploring a more cyberpunk angle, with the entertaining Bogart-esque noir feel. I felt like Simmons was saying something I just wasn't hearing clearly enough, but it was tantalising all the same. OK - the abrupt end was painful and I'll have to find time to read the second book before too long to see if I can follow where Simmons is leading me. But besides that problem, I remained entertained for the duration.

06-29-2014, 04:40 PM	#10
treadlightly Wizard Posts: 1,370 Karma: 6957792 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Ottawa, ON Device: Kobo H2O	Gah, a cliff-hanger! I didn't really get into the book until Rachel's story, it was indeed fantastic. Looking at the page count nearing the end, I had no idea how the story would be resolved in time. And of course it wasn't. I had a hard time understanding what the Hegemony really is, along with the All-Thing. I enjoyed the Consul's story which seemed to have the loudest message. I don't know yet if I will continue on to the next one. I feel I have enough time invested to need to know how the story ends, but cliff-hangers really annoy me. I wish it had been made clearer - maybe a "Part 1" on the cover?

06-29-2014, 07:31 PM	#11
Synamon Lunatic Posts: 1,691 Karma: 4386372 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Land of the Loonie Device: Kindle Paperwhite and Keyboard, Kobo Aura, iPad mini, iPod Touch	I'd like to thank everyone who posted for the heads up about needing to read at least one more book to find out how some things get resolved. I hate when one large book is split into pieces with cliffhangers between them.

11-10-2014, 03:37 PM	#12
fantasyfan Wizard Posts: 1,368 Karma: 26886344 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Ireland Device: Kindle Oasis 3, 4G, iPad Air 2, iPhone IE	It took me some time to get through this book but I am so glad that I finished it. This is a magnificent book and a true literary classic. Simmons brilliantly organises his book in the style of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" with the complex plot developed through a series of personal accounts of members of a Pilgrimage, each of whom is on a quest to meet a strange creature called The Shrike. The various chapters are as follows: Prologue The Priest's Tale: The Man Who Cried God The Soldier's Tale: The War Lovers The Poet's Tale: Hyperion Cantos The Scholar's Tale: The River Lethe's Taste is Bitter The Detective's Tale: The Long Good-By The Consul's Tale: Remembering Siri Epilogue The individual stories are perfectly integrated stylistically with the personalities of the various narrators and Simmons creates a remarkable literary kaleidoscope of personality, setting, and motive which is absolutely breathtaking. And the cosmos created by Simmons is unforgettable. It is beautiful, frightening, exotic--and relevant. Be prepared for surprises in this wonderful book and while I haven't read the sequel, I understand that it is comparable in quality.

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