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Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

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Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#141

Post by Henchman21 »

bee_rider wrote: post #79
ortusdux wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm convinced that the studio forced the change to 'human batteries' out of concern over a conflict with Hyperion.

Probably the idea is broad enough to get away with borrowing it or putting their own spin on the general idea (I mean, it is expected that stores will influence each other and ideas will spread). I’d rather guess that a studio executive thought the battery idea would be more understandable to people (if that is the case though, I think they were dramatically wrong, the computing idea makes much more sense and I think…

Remember that all critiques of Hollywood require you to think like you’ve just consumed a massive line of cocaine. Because that is how they think and live. So, empathy reduced to zero, all your ideas are great, everything else is dumb, etc. Making decisions under the influence of strong narcotics is a recipe for idiocy.

Source: me, I had a huge cocaine problem and worked many years in the tech side of music and movies

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#142

Post by hyperion2010 »

To me, the Hyperion Cantos present a vision of the future that is incredibly hopeful. The path along the way may at times be bleak, and I find the handling of the TechnoCore to reveal echos of the great chain in a work that otherwise seems to totally reject it. Despite those and a few other shortcomings the Cantos are essential guides for charting our way toward a distant future that is filled with warmth, love, and compassion rather than the cold empty void of hate. To receive such a vision is a rare gift. Thank you Dan. Choose again.

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#143

Post by Brian_K_White »

layer8 wrote: post #53
mbeex wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Atheist here: Not true, there is much more in Hyperion (and even Endymion)

I’m not saying that you have to be religious. But if you find those topics and related symbolisms rather uninteresting in your sci-fi, then the books may not be for you.

People are interesting, and religion is a thing people do.

In this case there is quasi-religious imagery but you as the reader aren't actually supposed to be mystical about the god/devil in the story the way the characters themselves are. It's not C. S. Lewis

Do you also find LeGuin uninteresting?

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#144

Post by StillBored »

RIP, truly one of the greats.

His early stuff contains some real masterworks. Hyperion is still to this day, going to show up at the top of my scifi recommended reading list, most of his horror novels were also great in their own ways.

PS: I thought Fall of Hyperion should have been the end, it was just too final. There was plenty of space for some prequels but while the sequels contained some interesting ideas, they just never got to the level I felt justified reversing the finality of Fall. And Olympus/etc was pretty forgettable, but I don't regret the time I spent reading pretty much everything he wrote, sometimes more than once. So again, RIP.

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#145

Post by ZpJuUuNaQ5 »

isr wrote: post #139
ZpJuUuNaQ5 wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>never read anything from ever again I think it's a poisonous and reductive mindset to have. You can separate art from the character of the artist. If you cared about everything everyone has ever said or done in various stages of their lives, you wouldn't have much left to enjoy or appreciate.

He's referring ... to his "art". Thats what the piece he linked to was a part of. Its not poisonous nor reductive to decide not to follow an "artist" because his "art" is repulsive.

"I will never read anything by [AUTHOR] because some things [AUTHOR] wrote are now in my no no list."

Sorry, that just doesn't make sense to me.

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#146

Post by funemployed »

The books were incredibly influential on me as a teenager, twenty years later on re-reading the cantos I found some of the specific language around intergenerational romance to be troubling and the focus on it to be a major distraction from the rest of the excellent story.

Praying for his friends and family. RIP

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#147

Post by petsfed »

BigTTYGothGF wrote: post #92

I enjoyed the Hyperion books but this got him put on my "never read anything from ever again" list: https://web.archive.org/web/20060424105133/http://www.dansim...

So he had a pretty good (not perfect) run up until the final 1/3, then had a staggering turn that only the author thought was profound or earned?

That's a man who lived his craft right there.

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#148

Post by sleepybrett »

rdedev wrote: post #94
Freak_NL wrote: post #9

The Hyperion Cantos is a masterpiece which every scifi fan ought to have read, but I would like to recommend a lesser known title of Simmons for readers who have read at least some works of Charles Dickens (self-explanatory) and Wilkie Collins (such as The Woman in White or The Moonstone ). Simmons wrote Drood (2009), which takes these two classical authors and places them in a mystery novel. What struck me as partic…

I tried reading it but I couldn't get into it. Maybe it the heavy religious themes or just the science fiction being so far into the future? I really should give it a shot again

It's Canterbury Tales structure put me off and the reveals didn't do anything for me. I think I stopped after the second book.

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#149

Post by Agingcoder »

funemployed wrote: post #146

The books were incredibly influential on me as a teenager, twenty years later on re-reading the cantos I found some of the specific language around intergenerational romance to be troubling and the focus on it to be a major distraction from the rest of the excellent story. Praying for his friends and family. RIP

I read the book years ago so might have forgotten - what intergenerational romance ?

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#150

Post by rurp »

Freak_NL wrote: post #9

The Hyperion Cantos is a masterpiece which every scifi fan ought to have read, but I would like to recommend a lesser known title of Simmons for readers who have read at least some works of Charles Dickens (self-explanatory) and Wilkie Collins (such as The Woman in White or The Moonstone ). Simmons wrote Drood (2009), which takes these two classical authors and places them in a mystery novel. What struck me as partic…

Despite being a huge fan of Simmons I had originally passed on this one because I didn't care for the Dickens novels I had read in school. At a family gathering I was surprised to learn that my Grandma was a big Simmons fan. She convinced me to give Drood a shot and sure enough I really enjoyed it! So I'd say it's worth checking out even if you're not a big Dickens reader.
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