I’ve always loved Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, the concept of a group of travelers telling each other stories to make their trip more interesting. This idea could easily be applied to a more modern voyage. Little did I know that Simmons had been there and done that with Hyperion. When I realized that was what was going on, I had one of my “Oh, Hell yeah!” moments and Simmons had me hooked.
I have too many books that I want to read, and I’ve come to accept that I will never have the time, so I grabbed Hyperion on Audible. It was an awesome performance. The multiple narration worked perfectly. Each storyteller unique in their style, Hyperion didn’t feel like the work of just one author. I think that this is a testament to Simmons’ skill as an author and the insight of the production team of the Audible.
Hyperion was a science fiction book a bit outside of my comfort zone, but after reading The Terror, Simmons rocketed to the top of my list. His characters in Hyperion were incredibly intricate and I was able to connect with each of them. I was invested in their stories.
There are some pseudo political themes to the story and on a certain level Simmons forces his audience to think about things a bit without it overtaking the story.
Bring on The Fall of Hyperion! I need to know what happens next, and that is the true test of a book!