Hyperion by Dan Simmons

Hello, Stranger.

Let's talk about Dan Simmons's Hyperion.

The Short of It

Plot: Seven pilgrims journey to the one place that connects them: the planet Hyperion.

Page Count: 492

Award: 1990 Hugo, 1990 Locus SF

Worth a read: Yes. Right now.
Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
Bechdel Test: Possible Pass?
Technobabble: Moderate.
Review: Hot diggity dog. What a book. It's a masterpiece. The world is great. The characters are distinct and fantastic. A sense of mystery permeates everything, as well as urgency. Every plot beat is woven brilliantly - each character telling their story informs another, fills in blanks. But doesn't overfill! Keeps things mysterious! World building both answers and raises questions - but so, so, so well. Writing is crisp, pacing is great. I cannot recommend this one enough. Go! Get thee to a bookery!

The Medium of It

Spoiler Free

What're you doing, reading this blog post? Go out and buy the book! Or get it from the library! Or inject it straight into your veins! I have read this book twice in the last 18 months and listened to the audiobook. Then I made my dad read it. You know that thing, I think it's called being objective? Get that crap outta here! I love this book. This was the spark that started this whole reading project: I read this and was floored by the fact that I had never heard of it. I thought that there must be dozens of other total bangers that had slipped under my radar. And, I would say, I was right. This has been a great reading project! Okay, enough fluff. Almost enough. The cover is also super cool!

Hyperion is told as a series of stories nested within a broader narrative. Seven pilgrims are sent together to the planet Hyperion, which is a pivotal point in a conflict. Each has their own reasons for being there. Each tells their own story, to explain their past experience with Hyperion, and thus how and why they have each elected to join this mission. Simmons does himself a favor by giving everyone trust issues: there are good reasons that we, as readers, do not know much about each person: they are hesitant to share with others. This is also a question of balancing a remarkable ensemble cast: seven protagonists, the Shrike - our antagonist, and a few secondary characters. And Simmons, like a straight up boss, pulls it off. Each character has a distinct style of speech, a unique voice. One could probably identify each character's speech, even out of context, based only on style. 

It would be easy to do this if it was totally overdone. Arab Jones and High Bundy sound quite different from General Spike Stevens... but in the most problematic way. If this does not make sense, please check out: The Wanderer. Here there are distinctions is cadence and diction: the type of differences that truly exist between different speakers. 

Martin Silenus whirled and clenched his fists as if to strike the woman. Then he smiled. ‘All right then, lady, what do we do? Maybe if we sacrifice someone to a grass serpent the transportation gods will smile on us.’

Brawne Lamia’s stare was arctic. ‘I thought burned offerings were more your style, little man.’

Colonel Kassad stepped between the two. His voice barked command. ‘Enough. The Consul’s right. We stay here until the wagon arrives. M. Masteen, M. Lamia, go with A. Bettik to supervise the unloading of our gear. Father Hoyt and M. Silenus will bring some wood up for a bonfire.’

Three characters, all talking, all remarkably distinct. Abrasive sarcasm and verbosity pitted against concise anger and rounded out by clipped and dispassionate. Martin, the first, is a poet and an alcoholic. Of course he's verbose and sarcastic. Kassad is military: of course he's to the point. The way I'm oversimplifying this does a disservice to the level of craftmanship that has gone into the individual voices of these characters - it is simply meant to illustrate how speech style and individual background are linked.

There are seven pilgrims: Priest, Soldier, Templar, Poet, Scholar, Detective, and Consul. This lends itself to different genres of story: mystery, drama, romance, action... all nested within one broader narrative. Which is, as the youths these days might say, the cat's pajamas. Kids and cat PJs, a tale as old as time.

Hyperion hits every note just right. The pacing of the nested stories is solid throughout, keeping the reader engaged in the details. The meta-narrative has its own pacing, also well done. The world is built up well in both each story - developing a specific location, planet, time. But these bits then illustrate the broader cosmos in which everyone operates. Again, it's astounding. Somehow everything is written in such a way that there are full, comprehensive explanations - and each one raises more questions. It's awesome.

The gushing shall continue until the book has been read.

Bonus! The Audio of It
I'm glad that you asked.

Full voice casts elevate any audiobook, and push the experience of listening from simple narration to something more like a radio drama. Hyperion nails it: all of the actors deliver excellent performances which bring their characters to life. Again, it speaks to Simmons's skill as an author that the actors frequently speak in a fashion that matches what I imagine - they take their cues from his stylistic choices, and flesh them out further. It's a delight to listen to, even after having read the book. I wanted to say which performances I thought were the best - but really, all of them are on point. Sol Weintraub exudes a sense of loss, Martin Silenus bitter humor, Lenar Hoyt trepidation and fear... it's great. 

If you want to go explore Hyperion, consider using the links below! I'll get a few cents at no extra cost to you.

Hyper-link!

The Long of It
Spoilers Ahead!

We're gonna do a weird thing and only get into spoilers after I've reviewed the rest of the series. I don't know what else to say about this book on its own: I love it. Obviously. But I have mixed feelings about other books.

Which is to say: not Long of It, for now. I'll edit in a link to a "Hyperion Cantos Discussion" post once it exists. 

For now, remember: If the Shrike is fate, you cannot escape it.

Where will you go to confront your past, Stranger?

And don't forget to read a book!