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William's Reviews > The Fall of Hyperion
The Fall of Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #2)
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A chaotic mess sprinkled with rubies...
(The first book, Hyperion, is a masterpiece)
This continuation of the Hyperion saga seems to have been written by Dan Simmon's agent, pushing for more pages, using a neural whip on him for more cash. Ugh.
Very long-winded and dull chapters, repetition, clumsy interaction between the pilgrims and other players, religious claptrap flowing endlessly....
Simmons is clearly very (very) literate, hurray. We know that, and his inclusion of endless references to famous works and people sadly seem to be only a means to extending the page count, much of the time. (Sometimes, the poetry and references are brilliant, to be fair).
And along with all this, some genuine rubies (about half-way through) from the most interesting characters: Sol and Brawne. The Kassad romantic sequences with Moneta are often wonderful, but the battle sequences are tiresomely repetitious.
Of the overlong ending, which somehow seems rushed (strange), the stories of Moneta, Sol and Rachel are the most surprising and enjoyable.
A good editor would have stripped 150 pages from this book, and enforced a more even pacing and style on Simmons (and his agent).
Hyperion was a work of true genius. The Fall of Hyperion is merely a work of commerce.
(The first book, Hyperion, is a masterpiece)
This continuation of the Hyperion saga seems to have been written by Dan Simmon's agent, pushing for more pages, using a neural whip on him for more cash. Ugh.
Very long-winded and dull chapters, repetition, clumsy interaction between the pilgrims and other players, religious claptrap flowing endlessly....
Simmons is clearly very (very) literate, hurray. We know that, and his inclusion of endless references to famous works and people sadly seem to be only a means to extending the page count, much of the time. (Sometimes, the poetry and references are brilliant, to be fair).
And along with all this, some genuine rubies (about half-way through) from the most interesting characters: Sol and Brawne. The Kassad romantic sequences with Moneta are often wonderful, but the battle sequences are tiresomely repetitious.
Of the overlong ending, which somehow seems rushed (strange), the stories of Moneta, Sol and Rachel are the most surprising and enjoyable.
A good editor would have stripped 150 pages from this book, and enforced a more even pacing and style on Simmons (and his agent).
Hyperion was a work of true genius. The Fall of Hyperion is merely a work of commerce.
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Reading Progress
February 7, 2016
–
Started Reading
February 7, 2016
– Shelved
February 10, 2016
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8.0%
"So far, very different from the first book. I am happy to see many of the main characters, but the weakest part of the first book (interplay between the main characters) is half of this book so far. The pacing is far more dull and un-illuminating in so many ways. Perhaps the author was told by his publisher to chop the last 1/3 of his original idea and conclusion, and stretch this into a further "large work". Ugh."
February 12, 2016
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22.0%
"Interesting construction, but I continue to feel this is a 200 page "completion" of the first book, stretched to 530 pages."
February 13, 2016
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46.0%
"Not completely long-winded, but certainly too overwritten to be compelling... EXCEPT for the last 20 pages or so of The Scholar's continuing story, the regression of his daughter Rachel, poignant and immediate and ultimately human. Again, The Scholar's story incandescent."
February 16, 2016
–
Finished Reading
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Peter
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Aug 09, 2017 08:10AM
Thanks for the review. I've never read the sequel, and won't now....
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Well, that was a lie ;-] -- I read back in 1991, liked it less than #1. No memory of it now.
Thank you. #1 requires the perspective of 50 years, perhaps.#2 mostly throws dirt on #1
I agree wholeheartedly about the excessive length. In addition, there are tons of inconsistencies (e.g. how can Severn enter people's dreams after the AI system has been destroyed, why did he need the neural loop in the first place if he can know what's going on after it has been removed from Lamia). I never saw the relevance of Keats to the whole thing, other than the that he wrote Hyperion). Finally, the central motivator, the battle between the human and AI "gods", is never resolved; no way am I going to read another thousand pages to try to find the answer!
No kidding. The whole book is a mess
I still throughly enjoyed this book, but I agree with you on several points. The first book is probably one of the best sci-fi books i've ever read, and its a shame the sequel ended up like this.
Yes, the first was extraordinary.
Completely agree with your review. I wouldn't even be surprised if at first this story was in just one book but for commercial reasons they decided to smear and pad things out resulting this abomination. I felt some of the last chapters of the first book (the story of the Consul springs to mind) were similarly dragging things out although on the whole it's a much better read. Shame, waste of an epic universe, grest ideas and an interesting set of characters.
Totally agree, Rik. So much potential, wasted.
