Hyperion ****
The Fall of Hyperion (1990) ***
by Dan Simmons
Ever since I picked up Drood in Waterstones Bristol several years ago, I have been a big fan of Simmon’s work. He writes across numerous genres, particularly science fiction and horror, but always with great intelligence and literary allusions aplenty. His books tend to be very long and quite slow burn. You need to drink them in slowly and savour the taste.
Drood is a wonderfully evocative tale about Charles Dickens and the inspiration behind his final unfinished novel, as told through the eyes of an opium addled Wilkie Collins. Its been so long since I read it that I can’t really review it properly here, beyond noting that it’s flight across the darker side of Victorian London, through opium dens, supernatural visitations, and well researched insights into both Dickens and Collins, it right up my street.
However, having recently finished The Hyperion Omnibus, comprising both Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, I am going to be focusing on those two titles here.
Simmon’s literary allusions this time around are English poets, particularly John Keats (as the titles of the novels imply) but also Yeats, Byron, Chaucer and, er, whoever originated Beowulf. A couple of simulcrums of John Keats actually feature as main characters, and we get a chance to learn a bit about the poets life and death.
The story is set in the Hegemony, a group of planets under centralised control, and concerns their attempt to annex the planet Hyperion despite risking conflict with the Ousters, a large group of non conformists living outside of the Hegemony.
Hyperion is of interest as it is home to mysterious artifacts known as the Time Tombs, so called because they are surrounded by localised time tides and appear to be travelling backwards in time. It is also home to legends of The Shrike, an apparently supernatural manifestation of a demon, best described as a cross between Freddy Krueger, Pinhead and a cyberman. The legend of The Shrike is so powerful, it has even given rise to a religion and a church within the Hegemony. The various hegemony worlds are linked by farcasters, instantaneous travel portals.
The first book is science fiction fantasy. It sees the Hegemony on the brink of war with the Ousters, as the Time Tombs appear to be reaching the end of their backwards journey. Seven people have been selected by the ruling body of the Hegemony, and The Church of The Shrike, to undertake a final pilgrimage to the Time Tombs is a last ditch attempt to understand their significance and their secrets before war begins. So the scene is set, and we follow the pilgrims journey from the capital city Keats, to the site of the tombs. As the journey begins, each member of the party agrees divulge why they were selected to join the pilgrimage. And so begins the first novel, ostensibly a Canterbury Tales in space.
I don’t want to give anything away, but suffice to say each story represent a fantastic piece of world building and involves either Hyperion, The Shrike, or both. There is very little hard sci-fi in this novel and The Shrike is basically portrayed as a supernatural figure and the stories themselves range across body horror, murder, and religion. Each story is self contained meaning the book is largely episodic. we learn a lot of cool stuff along the way, for example very rich people use the farcaster technology to create houses where each room exists on a different world.
Hyperion is hugely enjoyable and in my opinion is the stronger of the two. The Fall of Hyperion picks up immediately where its predecessor finished. The episodic format is dropped and we focus on the Ouster attack and the activities of the pilgrims at the Time Tombs, albeit through an interesting narrative structure.
For two thirds of its length, Fall is just as compelling as H. However as we enter the final third, and explanations about the shrike, and the tombs are forthcoming, we veer into hard science fiction. Explanations involve superbeings, AI, and time travel. There is also a lot of exposition which is a little dry. The key concepts are written opaquely but aren’t too complicated. Those who like things to be tied up rationally will likely find the conclusion satisfying however. Personally I felt the journey was much more enjoyable than the destination.
Simmon’s followed up the novels with endymion. I have read these yet but they are on the list.
Mr Chuzzlewit Reviews 