A review by arockinsamsara
The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons

adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

 The epic space opera continues in great fashion. This picks up right where the first novel left off, but it expands the scope in an intense and immersive way. Our time is spent now between the various pilgrims as well as the political machinations happening in the capital, and by adding this political thriller aspect Simmons just manages to make the genre-mashing scope of this story even bigger. 

Everything you love about the first novel is repeated here, with great writing that is dense and thoughtful, with an even greater emphasis on poetics, both in theme and style. There are heavier philosophical ideas explored here, and as these combine with highly evolved AI and time travel there are certainly some sections that definitely force the reader to tune in and pay attention. Even as the story grows it never feels like it gets away from Simmons, and it flows across worlds and modes of existence and through characters in a seamless and inviting way. The characters from the first novel become more interesting as they continue on their journeys, and at the same time we are introduced to a host of new characters who are equally compelling and fun. The story-telling device that Simmons uses to link the political story in the capital to the pilgrims’ journeys is genius and feels like it genuinely adds to the story instead of just being a convenient literary device. 

I really appreciated the individual journeys, and the role that poetry, or art and aesthetics, plays in all of them. It isn’t always so literally discussed, but there is a sentimentality to each of the character’s journeys, an exploration of how each engages in ideas of beauty or honor or sacrifice as a way of ordering the universe and recognizing or simulating the divine. Simmons could have just been loosely inspired by Keats’s poems, borrowed their titles, and left it at that. Instead, he took grabs on Keats with both hands and brings him into the story, adding a poetic sensibility to this sci-fi epic that just makes it feel different, warmer and more personal, more embracing, than any sci-fi epic has any need to be. It serves as this wonderful connecting thread that adds this coherence or continuity across the expansive scope of this story. 

 

I felt the ending was earned, and even though some of it was pretty clearly telegraphed early on it was still remarkably satisfying. This is an incredibly fitting complement to the first novel. Simmons is able to take what could have been unwieldy and shape it into this heartfelt, expansive epic that encourages exploration of faith, divinity, pride, family, honor, sacrifice, destiny, family, devotion, and colonialism/expansionism. In addition, it asks fundamental questions about over-reliance on technology and asks you to try and divine the line when dependence on technology stops being a benefit to the growth and expansion of humanity but instead a shackle. It manages to tackle these ideas and more with wonderful writing, dense and engaging world-building, and characters that you care about.