The Fall of Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, Book 2) Kindle Edition

A superb complement to the first and greater volume in the Hyperion series. Alone among science fiction novels, Hyperion and it sequel both address the complexities of the human spirit along with the consequences of Universal Artificial Intelligence. Nearly every other sci-fi writer is a lover of intellect and reason without examining what makes humans human. Mr. Simmons has the courage to investigate this ultimate conundrum, with outstanding results. A first rate novel in all respects - story, plot and characters, not to mention a lucid prose style that carries the story forward with pacing.

I enjoyed Hyperion, the first book of the series. I looked forward to receiving the “payoff” setup in the first book by reading Fall of Hyperion.Boy was I disappointed, left unsatisfied, and confused. Simmons does a good job of building out a fantastic world. However, the storyline drags audiences to patiently endure 400 pages of (enjoyable) build-up, only to end rapidly in a series of nonsensical wrap ups and deus ex machina moments.The original Hyperion also featured a wide range of styles/emotions due to the characters' framestory structure (terror, adrenaline, comedy, sympathy). Fall of Hyperion, while still very well-written, doesn't quite achieve the same range due to its traditional narrative structure.It gets a second star because of the potential you get to enjoy, before the final disappointment.Overall, it feels like Simmons either wrote himself into a corner and couldn’t get out, or had higher ambitions for the story but couldn’t quite pull it off without losing audiences (at least he lost my interest/I didn't fully get it).Finally, I’ve read some opinions on the internet advocating adapting the books for tv or movies. I hoped for the same after reading book 1, but realized how the rapid book 2 ending confirms that adapting the series may be a mistake (shades of GoT season 8 on TV).

As the pilgrims prepare to enter the Time Tombs, the war between the Ousters and the Hegemony is just hours from breaking out. Can they enter the Time Tombs quickly enough to prevent intergalactic war and the deaths of billions?Here we are, the second half of the epic Dan Simmons started in Hyperion. Kassad, Brawne, and the other pilgrims introduced in the previous book meet their destinies. However, the bigger story is the war between the Hegemony and its enemies.Using the dreams of Joseph Severin as a linking device, the story follows the actions of Hegemony CEO Meina Gladstone trying to avert war with the Ousters and frequently cuts to action on Hyperion. As the zero hour nears, the truth behind what is happening unfolds and it has wide reaching consequences.I'm dancing around the actual events of the story to avoid spoilers but I can't imagine reading and enjoying Hyperion without devouring this one. People throw the word 'epic' around very lightly these days but Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion comprise an epic of galactic scope.Gene Wolfe once said “My definition of good literature is that which can be read by an educated reader, and reread with increased pleasure.” Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion definitely fall into that category. The text of both books is peppered with literary references and lots of Christian symbolism, as well as thought provoking philosophical ideas. There's also a pro-environment message, as well as warnings of becoming too dependent on technology.I get the feeling that Dan Simmons thought it might be his last big chance to show what he could do and he pulled out all the stops, combining heady science fiction concepts with things he gleaned from being an English major in college and years of teaching. I understood far more this time around but felt like there were still a lot of things I couldn't quite wrap my head around. I guess I'll schedule a reread for sometime in 2025. I hadn't planned on rereading the Endymion books but a reread of those is probably happening in 2018.My second journey to the Time Tombs was even more rewarding than the first. Hyperion retains its place next to The Dark Tower as one of my favorite epics of all time. Five out of five stars.

For me the true benchmark of a good sci fi novel has always been that it should make you sit back like a pothead after a giant bong rip and make you go "whoa dude". It would suffice to say that the sequel to Hyperion had several of these moments, and I could stop writing this review right here. But I shall ramble on for a bit.Simmons takes the mise en scene he creates in the first book and brings matters to a head. The end game is a conspiracy involving actual deities spanning the vast lengths of space and time. The author takes St. Teilhard's idea of an omega point and proposes the idea that there is an actual God, that has evolved from humanity, and exists in the distant future. This "human God" is at war with the god of machines, ie., an Ultimate Intelligence that the AIs have managed to create.So effectively this takes the well used trope of man vs machine/creater vs created and implements it on a cosmic level.What is also pleasantly surprising and refreshing about this series is its celebration and love for poets and poetry. Part of the reason for this is that Keats' last poem was about a battle between the old gods(The Titans) and the new gods(The Olympians) and is the namesake for the first novel.This is a book that embraces ideas in Science, Theology, Philosophy and Poesy to create an action packed, conspiracy laden epic that spans everywhere(from the quantum realm or the "void that binds" to the einsteinian realm of four dimensional space time) and everywhen(from the 19th century past of John Keats to several million years into the future).If you want to pick up a tome that you can enjoy and that at the same time makes you go down Wikipedia rabbit holes about catholic priests, quantum theory, Romantic poets, evolutionary biology, wormholes and singularities, this is it.

Well the first book was almost brilliant so one shouldn’t expect the follow up to be anywhere near as good. And it isn’t. There’s too much bad poetry for starters. Then time travels messes things up as it creates flaws in the plot line. And finally some of the new characters lack depth. It’s a shame because the depth of the characters was one of the strengths of the first book.On the plus side, the story is well woven, interesting and the plot introduced in the first book is added to, thickened logically and drawn to its conclusion. An enjoyable read even with the drawbacks highlighted above.

If you're considering reading this book after having been blown away by the first book in the series, just like I did, then don't.Without giving any spoilers, I can tell you that Dan Simmons fails to expand on the wonderful story he tells us in the first book. There is more poetry then should be. Individual story lines of characters are nowhere as interesting as they were in the first book.As Simmons goes into details of the science of his sci-fi, things even do not make sense or become way too complicated to understand to enjoy the story, and not in a hard science way complicated, as in what on earth is going on and who did what and why again complicated.Yes, there is a grand setting and story that are revealed to us, but inconsistencies, boring poetry and various critical elements of the developments which simply have no explanation make it difficult to enjoy the story we're being told.This could have been a great follow-up to the first one if Simmons did not push some elements of the story telling so much. Unfortunately, it is not the sequel the first book deserves.

I went straight to this book after reading the gripping conclusion of the 1st entry in the series once all of the pilgrims tales had been wrapped up. With so many loose ends left over from 'Hyperion', this book promised a lot and in a way it delivers- Simmons' imagination which was so evident in the 1st book is almost supercharged in this book as the book takes you to new dimensions and concepts which stagger the mind. Simmons does a good job of helping you picture such areas as the megasphere/metasphere and planets, cultures and technology that could leave you lost in space.I did find many aspects of this book confusing however, just when I thought I was understanding some part of the plot, a character would say something later that would leave me to doubt what I had just read. There were a lot of instances I found where characters merely inferred something without finishing their sentence that would leave me none the wiser afterwards.The book also struggles from the same problems as the 1st book in that I found the dialogue to be very robotic and dry. Simmons portrayed the characters well, but it felt like their dialogue was a mere formality to keep pushing the plot and grand concepts further along. As an example I found that a lot of the characters would simply respond to questions with a simple 'Yes' or 'No' response or often not even respond at all. Some of the characters also expressed unnecessary profanity a lot of the time which surprisingly seemed to display a lack in vocabulary when it came to communication.Overall it's a solid book with a great story, but don't be surprised if you find yourself lost in the many fantastic plot lines.

Finally I finished this book. It was a long, complicated, drawn out road - a bit like this review - but I got there. Overall I prefer Hyperion, and I'll tell you why.Fall of Hyperion continues directly from the end of Hyperion with the Shrike Pilgrims arriving at the valley of the Time Tombs on their journey to meet the Shrike, whilst the planet Hyperion prepares for Ouster invasion and the leaders of the Hegemony prepare for war. Hegemony CEO Meina Gladstone has summoned the cybrid version of John Keats (Joseph Severn here) to help her with her plans, ostensibly to draw portraits of her, but he has a connection to the pilgrims that can be used to monitor their progress. Meanwhile there are stirrings in the TechnoCore...Gone is the structure of the previous novel, the individual tales set amongst the frame story of the pilgrimage, now replaced by a more straightforward narrative, or so you would think. Fall of Hyperion is a complicated, sprawling mess of a book, frequently jumping from world to world, from first person to third person, and from one time to another and back. When I say mess I don't mean that it's terrible as such, but merely that it's all over the place. It begins reasonably enough - chapters alternate between Severn's adventures with the politics of the Hegemony and Severn's dreams of the pilgrims' continued plight in the valley of the Time Tombs. It's not long though before Simmons abandons this and things spin out of control, both with the story itself and the narrative employed in telling it. It's a complicated story that could have been just that extra little bit clearer. Some may find the challenge of understanding it all rewarding.Complexities aside, this is an engrossing story, full of deceit and huge implications, with well-painted characters and environments - nobody can doubt Simmons' writing chops. Central to the book is a cautionary tale about over-reliance on technology and the dangers of artificial intelligence, whilst at the same time there are many other facets touched on. I'm not the most observant of readers, but I'm sure there's lots going on underneath the surface of the novels here in terms of philosophy and literature. For my tastes, there is too much poetry that I can't make sense of - yes Dan, we know you're a fan of Keats, but the poetry and obscure literary references are becoming a bit much for poor old ignorants like myself. The book starts well and ends well, with several surprises saved until the end (although they could be guessed) and many threads left open for the next books. I do find however that the mystery and confusing nature surrounding the Shrike and its actions is becoming a bit tiresome at this point.There are some niggles with the writing style, particularly with phrases that are repeated all too often. Phrases such as:"Vermilion sands""Lapis lazuli sky""(character name) made a gesture with his hand...""Sol fed Rachel one of the last nursing paks..." (I'm paraphrasing)There's also far too much nodding in this book for my liking. Everyone nods too much, or the fact that they have nodded comes up far too often. Next to shrugging this has become my new pet hate for repetition in novels.But yes, I enjoyed the book. Not as much as Hyperion, but I enjoyed it for the continuation of the story and resolution of some threads whilst others were frustratingly unresolved or new ones were added. It's more complicated than it needs to be, but the challenge is enjoyable.8/10Note: I will not be reading Endymion for a while, I need a break from this series!

I don't often finish a book that is so good and feel good about finishing it. However, the story was told so completely, all loose ends ties up so perfectly, that I felt complete and satisfied. Bravo to the author.