A stunning tour de force filled with transcendent awe and wonder, Hyperion is a masterwork of science fiction that resonates with excitement and invention, the first volume in a remarkable epic by the multiple-award-winning author of The Hollow Man.

On the world called Hyperion, beyond the reach of galactic law, waits a creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.

On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope--and a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.

Praise for Dan Simmons and Hyperion

"Dan Simmons has brilliantly conceptualized a future 700 years distant. In sheer scope and complexity it matches, and perhaps even surpasses, those of Isaac Asimov and James Blish."--The Washington Post Book World

"An unfailingly inventive narrative . . . generously conceived and stylistically sure-handed."--The New York Times Book Review

"Simmons's own genius transforms space opera into a new kind of poetry."--The Denver Post

"An essential part of any science fiction collection."--Booklist

Item Information Item Information

Format: MassMarketPaperback
Author: Simmons, Dan
ISBN: 9780553283686
Condition: Used
Dimensions: 7.08 x 1.09
Number Of Pages: 496
Publication Year: 1990

Customer Reviews

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5 ★ 67%

4 ★ 33%

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4.7

3 Ratings

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Sprawling sci-fi Canterbury Tales about the journey of seven pilgrims

Evan D. - 2 years 11 months ago

Hyperion is a science fiction classic on the level of "Dune." Too bad it's not often appreciated as such. It's dense, literary, and written with a depth uncommon to the genre. Dan Simmons introduces readers to the WorldWeb, a future imperfect like none other. He blends cyberpunk, neo-noir, classical romance, stark horror, and biblical terror to slowly build his reality. The book is structured in such a way that each chapter is a different character telling their story from the first person. The wide variety of stories told makes "Hyperion" a reading experience of constant discovery and amazing breadth. It might seem crazy, but "Hyperion" deserves a spot in the annals of science fiction along the likes of Dune, and Asimov.
HPB Staff Review
Best sci-fi novel ever. 6 tales leaving you to wonder who's request will be answered.

John D. - 4 years 11 months ago

A modern-day Chaucer's Tales. A group of pilgrims seek an answer to their individual prayers. One will be answered; the others will loose their lives. Along the journey, they tell their stories for their pilgrimage.. And how can you not like a character with the title of the Lord of Pain. Outstanding book, but you need the second book for the full story (The Fall of Hyperion).
Literary space opera with a little something for everyone

Christopher R. - 5 years 5 months ago

This sci-fi version of "The Canterbury Tales" casts a group of supplicants on a pilgrimage to seek salvation from the mysterious, cruel, and godlike creature known as the Shrike. Phenomenal world building. Simmons throws nearly every sci-fi theme imaginable into this sprawling space opera -- from time travel to transhumanism to interstellar war -- making the book feel at times a bit overly ambitious. Simmons uses his Chaucerian narrative frame to good effect, however, organizing and parceling out the many elements of his complex setting in a way that does not overwhelm this reader. Each tale is told in a unique genre, from epistolary to neo-noir. Some of the tales are better than others -- the Priest's tale and the Scholar's tale being particularly poignant. The characters are fleshed out well but sometimes described so clinically in the main narrative that they can seem caricatured. The book's many literary references may strike some as pretentious, but do not distract from what is one of the most compelling space opera stories I've read. The novel ends on a cliffhanger, so if you're hooked by "Hyperion" you'll want to pick up the sequel before you finish.
HPB Staff Review

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Sprawling sci-fi Canterbury Tales about the journey of seven pilgrims

Best sci-fi novel ever. 6 tales leaving you to wonder who's request will be answered.

Literary space opera with a little something for everyone