Believe the hype

I very much enjoy short works of fiction. What they may lack in depth compared to longer works they often make up for in greater focus. You can read the story in one sitting and not be distracted by any filler — making it easier for you to get to the core of the issues being explored.

Dan Simmons’ Hyperion is an almost unique novel in how it combines the best features of both longer and shorter forms of fiction. The book is set in the 28th century, where the Hegemony of Man has colonised much of the galaxy with the help of the artificial intelligences it has created. When the breakaway human group known as the Ousters threatens the distant colony world of Hyperion with invasion, seven pilgrims are sent to the planet to attempt, for the last time, to contact the entity known as The Shrike — a seemingly alien, godlike creature that thrives on pain. During their journey to the Time Tombs, where The Shrike resides, the seven each tell each other the stories of their lives and what drew them to this pilgrimage. These stories work well as individual pieces of fiction (indeed the final one, ‘Remembering Siri’ was published on its own before the rest of the book was even written) but, taken together, they slowly reveal more and more not only about the fascinating characters but also about The Shrike and the reasons for both the pilgrimage and the Ouster invasion.

One could argue that Hyperion simply provides the back-story and exposition necessary to understand its three more action filled sequels but that would be unfair to the novel. Hyperion is a masterful exercise in worldbuilding, creating a rich, detailed and believable universe. It respects the reader’s intelligence, with crucial facts being revealed subtly and complex situations being presented differently from the points of view of different characters.

The three sequels — Fall of Hyperion, Endymion and Rise of Endymion — abandon this Canterbury Tales style storytelling to their detriment. As is often the case with a long, uninterrupted narrative the story very easily becomes confused. The books try to tackle many weighty topics, such as the role of religion or the attitude of highly advanced AIs towards their human creators, but the themes often don’t fit together and not all are satisfyingly resolved. Various small inconsistencies and plot holes also begin to appear as the story progresses. While none of these are fatal to the narrative they do become increasingly annoying. The worst example of this is when a very likable character from the first novel is brought back in the third as the genocidal dictator of an oppressive theocratic empire with the only reason given for this abrupt change in personality being a statement that he was “weak willed”. I’m not saying that the sequels are bad. Beneath their many problems they tell a compelling story. My main criticism is that they do not live up to the promise of the first novel, which was a near masterpiece. They’re enjoyable reading and probably worth a look. The first novel, however, is certainly worth a look — it’s a true classic of the science fiction genre.