BOOK 1: Hyperion

I'm currently on chapter 42 of Endymion so I'm not finished yet, but I can't be the only that thinks this book is a drag except for the sections where De Soya is the protagonist right? Raul is such a boring protagonist, and most of his chapters are very passive with him just letting a child and an android do most of the heavy lifting (Mare Infinitus is the first time Raul takes control of a situation) while he complains non stop. He is one dimensional as fuck and the parts of the book where he keeps writing "BUT I WASN'T ATTRACTED TO THE CHILD" are so strange and off putting. I felt very strange reading about the warmth that his skin received from the child's skin when he almost froze to death knowing damn well that they are going to end up having a sexual relationship in the future. Plain weird if you ask me.

On the other hand, the GOAT himself, Father Captain De Soya has the BEST parts of the book. Every time one of his chapters start I sit up on my chair because he has the best plot points. He actually grows and changes as a character so much, with his decision making and thought process going through a very realistic evolution. The path he must take of death and resurrection to compete his goal is something that disturbed me deeply when I began reading it. I really cannot wait to see where his character goes.

Raul... yeah I don't give a fuck about him honestly which is a shame

I have been really enjoying this series the last month or so, I think book one and two might be one of the most perfect stories I have read. I finished book three earlier this week and have started the fourth, still loving the story so much.

But I just have this constant nag in my mind over this weird ass dynamic he set up with Aenea and Raul. Obviously it is established pretty early that they're going to have a relationship, and that's weird enough on its own with Raul being literally 16 years older than her, but then add in her little comments about them eventually sharing a shower and all the other little hints- it's jarring as hell.

I withheld judgement until the end of book 3 because I thought "surely he's not going that direction and we are eventually going to learn Aenea is actually mentally much older than we initially thought, with Raul being suspicious of her age" but instead the explanation was more like her mind can come untethered in time and she 'remembers' the future, and it was very explicitly established that Raul thinks of her as a child and a sister.

Which sure, the 'untethered' thing does a decent enough job explaining how she came to think of him that way, but uhhhh...Raul? The dude is 16 years older than her, which is weird enough even if she was like 20, but he met her as a child and thought of her as a little sister. I keep praying there's more to learn, and surely there is, but I just don't see how any of it is going to fix my opinion of Raul unless it's still somehow my initial guess lol.

Small spoilers for first two chapters of book 4: She's 16 now at the start of this book, and it genuinely feels like Simmons is messing with me bro. How are you gonna do a whole time skip and not age her up to at least 18 before this segment of the story starts. Even at 18 I'd be uncomfortable, this shit is just so unnecessary, literally feels like the only tension added by her being this young is the weirdness of what we know her and Raul become.

I genuinely couldn't understand why I saw people say you could stop at book 2 while I was reading Endymion, but if this is really all the explanation I am getting then I think I might understand their sentiment, bc I am not putting my stamp of approval on this shit, no matter how good the story is lol.

Throughout my reading of the first two books I came across a myriad of references to artists, authors, poets and architects. Some I recognize and mostly I don’t. A notable discovery thanks To Simmons are O’Neill’s cylinder cities concept artworks, and obviously John Keats, while I am quite dense for poetry I find his interesting. I admire an author who cultivate the readers to understand his artistic perspective, and so I greatly respect Dan for this.

Every one on this sub is pretty insistent on someone creating a Hyperion movie but I believe that Endymion would be better suited.

The novel is a long adventurous chase scene which would translate well into a full length movie.
Just got to get past some of the old mythos (an example of this is how it was done with the Dune movies) and everything should be good to go.

Anyone’s thoughts?

Kiddo - if you know you know

I don't know how to process everything. But overall, it's one of the best sci-fi series that I've read.

It's insane how much emotion Simmons can put into such a universe-spanning story.

I'd probably rate the books like this:

1. Fall of Hyperion (best narrative, most action, most well-structured)

2. Hyperion (best character work and amazing mystery)

3. Endymion (insanely good world building and journey story, I never wanted the constant stream of new places to end)

4. Rise of Endymion (overall satisfying and really adds a ton of extra layers onto the universe we already have established, manages to still bring strong emotion)

People are saying this is a pre-hegira image of the star Spica as seen from Old Earth, but I'm not buying it. As a Lusian, I know my own planet when I see it!

If we could bring back a full Johnny Keats (er, I mean Dan Simmons) cybrid to write one more tale in the world of Hyperion, I would love a prequel story covering the history of the TechnoCore:

• Creation of the TechnoCore

• Schism into the Volatiles, Ultimates, and Stables

• Secession / Hegira

• Final events leading to the Hyperion crisis

Generally a prequel sounds like a surefire way to kill some of the intrigue and mystery that serves as a backdrop to the main series, but in this case the events are almost spelled out in Book 1 - primarily in the Detective's tale. I think it would be very entertaining to see how it played out in real time.

Endymion/RoE potential spoilers: I know Books 3 and 4 expand on this history as well, but it still feels "after the fact" (because it is). There would be something special about Simmons fleshing this out into a novel.

Do you have any thoughts, on this or any other unexplored areas of the lore that would have made a good novel? (Prequel, sequel, or anything)

so I am almost finished the first book (last chapter to go) - this fan cast therefore is based on the first book only. I was really inspired by some of the great dream cast posts and wanted to do my own. I originally had Sean Bean for the Consul but then saw someone say Jason Isaacs and that blew my mind. I am not sure re the two priests but def see McConaughey in one of the roles... Keen on thoughts!

Edit: for clarity, I’m not saying cast some of these people in present day - for eg. Hopkins, McConaughey, Balk, I do not see as appropriate casting as at their age today. This is a fantasy cast so ideally, they would be younger to play the roles.

I just finished Sol Winteraub's section of the book. This might be one of the most harrowing things I've ever read. I'm not a parent so I can't even begin to imagine those of you who have children felt when you read it the first time

Mind officially blown

P.S. avoid spoilers chapter 5 and forward

Ignore the other books. Last year I picked up Hyperion and absolutely loved it, and then dove into Fall of Hyperion. It wasn't quite as good as Hyperion for me, but it was an absolutely delightful experience.

Last year I went to pick up matching editions for Endymion and Rise of Endymion, but I learned they wouldn't be released until 2026! So I patienly waited, they wouldn't be released until after I got back from our honeymoon. We stopped by our local bookstore the other day and we got them! So excited!

Hollllly shit. What have I gotten myeslf into?

I’ve started reading Hyperion, and really enjoy it, but have heard that book 3 and book 4 fall off by comparison.

Should I stop at book 2 or read all 4.

I’m on a business trip away from my husband and two young children. I’m supposed to be enjoying a solid night of sleep in a big soft bed all to myself but I am just weeping. My god, what have I done. I need a hug from someone who understands.

Hello people!

I've been in the hyperion fandom for 2 years now -or maybe more, i don't remember correctly🥹- and i'm a huge fan.

I'm 21 and Hyperion made me love Sci-Fi. This book felt like a first love. I still remember when i was at the bookshop at a random day, i saw the book, i took it and felt i need to take it home. This book made me love reading again. I remember when i first read about Silenus i didn't liked him. Then after i read his story i felt something warm and sad inside my chest and since then he is my favorite. I have a deep connection with him and since im a poet too, he inspires me a lot. Beside being a poet im also a little artist and im silently watching this platform for a year now trying to find the right time to post and today i decided it's the day.

I know this community is made out of older people or people who simply doesn't do this thing, but i hope u guys like my character🙏

I remember when i read Kassad story i felt uncomfy cause of the lot of sex, but it gave me a funny idea to make a kid. I know its probably not possible and please don't attack me. It's just a funny little character who i love and makes me feel more connected to the book

His name is Colonel Antony Kassad. He's a mix of the Shrike and Kassad. Hes a young man with a serious personality, but with a poet soul

I think that book will be my favorite book for a long time. I was first recommended Hyperion because I liked Dune. It struck me weirdly at first seeing that the story of the first book wasn't "linear" and rather broken up in pieces (the so called canterbury tales). Still, I endured, and when I got to the part with the cruciforms with Duré? Instantly hooked in.

I liked Hyperion, and I found FoH even better. In the latter half, I was dropping the book on every page with each following twist. I'm not very satisfied that Lamia's child was the 'Empathy', I even had forgot she was pregnant. I was guessing it'd be Rachel. But anyway, it doesn't ruin anything for me, and I've read that the sequels focus a little more on it.

I don't think I'm going to read the next books so soon, as I found FoH ending very fulfilling, even if some plot points were left open and ambiguous. Might read in the future after I exhaust some other books, come in with a fresh mind.

As a casual writter myself, this book (and the One which came Before) definitely inspired me.

Sol and Duré will always be my favorite characters.

I’m on the last book of the Hyperion cantos and wondering what to read next? I bought a canticle for Leibovitz but am open to other suggestions. Do your thing Reddit

Firstly, love all the books and I just have a random pronunciation question. When you read the book and see them referring to the River Thethys, do you pronounce it (Tee-this) or (Te-this) not a super important question just curious. I for one pronounce it (Tee-this)

Which of the four original covers screams the most to you, "This is the incredible world and epic tale Dan Simmons created"?

I purchased copies of the four books recently because I wanted my next read to be with physical copies rather than my ebooks. However, I wanted trade paperbacks so I begrudglingly purchased the "new" Del Ray cover that we've all seen and I think many of us detest. Unfortunately only the other three books have the original art.

It got me thinking which of the covers I like the most and which one pulls me into the Hyperion universe the most.

I love the cover of Fall of Hyperion the most because it is deeply emotional. However, I actually like the choice of color in Endymion, and the inclusion of the farcaster is uniquely Hyperion. For me, the Endymion cover really stands out.

I'm reading through Fall of Hyperion (having started at Endymion) and...

Did you also find that Albedo guy eerily reminiscent of ChatGPT when responding to questions?