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Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

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Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#61
post #15

Enjoyed the first Hyperion, but Fall of Hyperion was a bit of a slog for me. If Fall of Hyperion were compressed into the conclusion of Hyperion and other stories left as novellas (in the way James S.A. Corey has done), I think I would have enjoyed the story more.

In contrast, getting through Hyperion was hard for me (some of the character stories I LOVED and some felt like a slog), but I really loved Fall of Hyperion.

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#62
post #28
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…

> The Hyperion Cantos is a masterpiece which every scifi fan ought to have read You have to have some affinity to religious/Christianity/church topics, otherwise it’s quite a turn-off.

:shrug: I'm an Atheist, I loved the series.

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#63
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…

Carrion Comfort is a ridiculously entertaining novel.

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#64
post #28
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…

> The Hyperion Cantos is a masterpiece which every scifi fan ought to have read You have to have some affinity to religious/Christianity/church topics, otherwise it’s quite a turn-off.

[deleted]

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#65
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…

Great writer. For people who want to get a taste of Simmons without committing to an entire book, I would recommend this (very) short story: The River Styx Runs Upstream[1].

[1]: https://talesofmytery.blogspot.com/2013/02/dan-simmons-river...

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#67
post #32

I read the Hyperion books during a particularly intense period of my life and found them quite powerful. I didn’t know anything about Simmons at the time, but I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that like Tolkein these stories started with an oral format for children.

My "intense time of life" story re: Hyperion. I was finishing "The Rise of Endymion" and was stricken with a kidney stone. It was absolutely eerie, and has cemented my memory of that book in a strange way.

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#68
If one enjoys the Hyperion books, then it is highly likely one would also enjoy the Ilium books.

It's nice that he ruminated on these old stories these books riff on without being smug about it.

It's sad that he didn't manage to resist the fear based, fiercely reactionary politics of the last quarter of a century or so.

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#69
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…

Carrion Comfort is a ridiculously entertaining novel.

I favor Carrion over Hyperion and find myself repeating Sheriff Bobby Joe Gentry's line "I like junk" quite often.

Re: Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, has died

#70
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The Hyperion Cantos is a masterpiece which every scifi fan ought to have read You have to have some affinity to religious/Christianity/church topics, otherwise it’s quite a turn-off.

It's interesting how different stories have different underlying religious underpinnings in different parts of the world. It's important to consider that these themes are precisely because the stories are born from the surrounding culture. Christian references in the Cantos were probably incidental, given the expected familiarity of the intended audience (american white male young men). eg The Matrix trilogy started…

Not sure if I agree with the christian references being incidental ... the first book is literally a retelling of the The Canterbury Tales, all the characters are on a pilgrimage. there are a bunch of religious groups with at least one being central to the story, there are cross shaped parasites that grant eternal life.

I still think you can enjoy it without caring much about religion.

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