A review by ailsaod
Hyperion by Dan Simmons

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I thought this was a sci-fi book - not sci-fi horror!!! Oh boy was I not prepared for the depths this book goes to - or just for anything about this book to be honest!

Hyperion is inspired by the Tales of Canterbury (which I only have a vague idea of what they are to be honest) and consists of a group of 'pilgrims' from different backgrounds travelling together and telling each other their life stories. So far sounds boring, except all these people have some kind of horror element in their backstory, some of which I found interesting but others were unpleasant to read. I would strongly recommend looking up the content warnings for this book as it covers a wide range of topics people might have difficulty with. I personally really struggled with the soldier's story as sexual horror is something I avoid and some of the things in that section were a bit much for me (understatement of the year!).

One thing I found frustrating about this book is that I never really understand what the point of it all is. For most of the book you don't know what the Time Tombs even are and you certainly don't know why anyone would want to go there. It does get explained a bit towards the end but it never really made sense. I get that it is supposed to be mysterious but it felt more like badly explained to me. There are a lot of interesting things in the worldbuilding of this book but they are just mentioned casually like "oh yea Hyperion is one of those labyrinth worlds". OK, please elaborate?

Another reason I didn't like this book much is the way the characters are written - the main character is pretty much a blank slate and is barely even named in the book (which is for plot reasons, but doesn't make his point of view any more enjoyable!). A lot of the other characters behave in ways that are so strange that they seem unreal and everyone is really horny which didn't help.

I think this book is for a specific type of reader - which is not me! - but it's not terrible. I would have been slightly more appreciative of it if it had ended at a less frustrating point but I have no intention of putting myself through book 2!
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