Don't Forget to Read a Book!

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Dan Simmons's The Fall of Hyperion. The Short of It Plot:  The Shrike is not the only threat facing the pilgrims of Hyperion, and much needs to be resolved before the Time Tomb opens. Page Count:  517 Award:  1991 Locus SF Worth a read : Yes. Primary Driver:  ( Plot ,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Fail(?) Technobabble:  Yeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh Review:  A decent sequel, though a huge change in both tone and format from Hyperion.  Characters are solid, though heavily dependent upon their development in the first book. Plot is interesting enough to keep raising questions - but not every answer is satisfying. Pacing is all over the place - intermittent monologues pause everything for the sake of exposition. Read it because you've read the first book. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Spoilers for Hyperion  though! This is a short review, because it boils down to this: You should read Hyperion , becaus...

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 t...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Dan Simmons's  Song of Kali. The Short of It Plot: It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to speak with an elusive author. But darkness and danger are everywhere... Page Count:  311 Award:  1986 World Fantasy Award Worth a read : Maybe? But probably not.  Primary Driver:  Rare bonus: Atmosphere. Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  Minimal. Review:  Excellent use of atmosphere, legitimately gripping as horror. Masterful interplay of understated yet unsettling and acutely horrifying. Pacing is slow but usually well executed to ratchet up tension. Like much horror, often hard to get behind the protagonist - he continues to do unreasonable things, and push himself needlessly further into these situations. Also, feels kinda racist. No one is slinging slurs around, but there's definitely some problematic fetishizing goin' down.  The Medium of It Spoiler Free! I am not a voracious consumer of horror; I believe that the tec...