iDontHaveAIDSstopAsking
53349
1018
18
Going through it for the I-don't-know-how-manyth-time, felt like a good contribution for today.
May 21, 2024 1:49 AM
iDontHaveAIDSstopAsking
53349
1018
18
Going through it for the I-don't-know-how-manyth-time, felt like a good contribution for today.
trybuttstuff
Fan-fucking-tastic read.
Noob3rts
Oh oh oh, I recommend the Stiger's Tigers series! It's as if Ancient Rome was transported into Lord of the Rings. It's fucking aweeeeesome!
cribbzee
Reading it now, for the first time. About half way through. Enjoying the journey
GrimNyrah
The Ship who Sang.
I'm on a classic sci-fi kick
ImperatorNikolai
Best sci-fi book I have ever read
Dontdeprivemeofmydelusion
Loved it
DireWolf505
Awesome book, as is the sequel.
Gandoron
I liked it. Simple, fun, edgey...
Columbus43219
I had to stop reading it... too much cruelty.
Switzerlandisntreal
This was the most complicated but unbelieveble interesting sci fi story I ever read.
mtlleaf
I love this series.
mynameislaval
Oh man I love this book
Shrike99
I also liked this book.
jackal12345
Currently reading it, on The Detective's story.
ChelVanin
Congratulations, you intrigued me enough to become a first time reader.
mercyPandaRunner
I too say: This book.
sjbrooksy7447
Read it last year and loved it.
OnoMichiosCharmingHassakuFace
I'm almost done reading it for the second time. Same edition. I just went to my room to pick it up, but my phone was on top of it, so I decided to go on imgur for a couple of minutes before reading a few pages. Life is mildly funny sometimes.
WillEdwards1604
I justbfinished fall of Hyperion and I wish I knew this book was a series. (This is how I got into Dune and then suddenly found out I had 5 more books to read.) Is fantastic.
DeVermisMysteriis
Just couldn't get into it. I liked the Priest story and the Shrike was cool, but the rest was pretty boring to me.
jlist
Please reconsider. The first book is unique inits structure, the other three books are much more straightforward in their format.
MetroidPrimeHesTheBest
As a father, the father of the daughter story fucked me up.
maobezw
the whole cycle is DOPE!
Cobalt1
it's SO GOOD
AllantDoran
I adore this book, but I just couldn't get on with the 2nd one. Something felt like it was missing in the soul of the story, but I couldn't for the life of me explain what it was.
The first one is a favourite though, I love it.
JustinWasHere
This is an almost universal sentiment.
AllantDoran
I wasn't sure if this would be the case, but I'm not surprised to learn I'm not the only one who feels this way.
jlist
Hope you reconsider. At least book 2, because it's really closes up the story in an amazing way. Books 3 + 4 are somewhat optional because it's set 100-ish years later.
AllantDoran
I'll try my best to carry on with it sometime soon then. I think for me, the ending of the original book is already a great place to leave it. Describing what happens after that is just not as satisfying as the mystery of ''I wonder what will happen next?''
Still, I'll genuinely try to get through it again.
LessofJess
Fantastic take on the Canterbury Tales. Too bad Dan Simmons is a complete nut job, climate denier, and jackass. https://x.com/jeffvandermeer/status/1176950521468506113
ArchangelZeriel
And his more recent novels have suffered for it too.
thatpatguy
See ya later, alligator.
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[deleted]
MetroidPrimeHesTheBest
Absolutely destroyed. That was when I realized how good the book was because of how much that story fucked me up.
[deleted]
[deleted]
MetroidPrimeHesTheBest
You have my vote!
MetroidPrimeHesTheBest
Is this from Rachel’s story? Cause if so, that one fucked me up.
BuffetSugar
Didn't expect to fucking cry this early today
brazzy42
BismarckZwo
After a while, crocodile...
Cincinasty
Goddammit.
AllOutOfEucalyptus
Every year I re-read/listen to Fall of Hyperion. I absolutely love this series and nothing is better than finding the (apparently) few people who also love it.
bluefrenchhorn
Fall is so good!
furballsoffury
Found it at Goodwill two days ago.
MagicBeets
Read all 4 in like 6 weeks. Really one of the best sci-fi epics ever.
IainG101
I'm one of the (apparently) many who isn't a fan. Now, I'm not saying it's bad; that is 100% not what I'm trying to say. But I just wasn't a fan of the direction the story went; the whole 'religion' direction (and I'll leave it that vague because spoilers). I enjoyed the anthology style of the first book, but especially the Endymion pair, lost me.
MetroidPrimeHesTheBest
The main thing I have to complain about is when it gets weird with the soldier having sex with the shrike. It’s like, could this be any more “sci fi written by a man”? Otherwise the story is good but I’m only on book 2.
1526395847
>book opens with a dude journaling and casually dropping that he bangs a goddess
Sure, ok.
>book reveals the goddess traveled back in time, met the journal dude as a child, he thinks of her like a daughter
Miss me with that shit.
1526395847
Book one was cool tho
jlist
I love taking cross-country road-trips with these audiobooks.
ChangeForGood
It was one of those books I almost put down initially. Stuck at it. Boom! SUCH a good read! Hadn't thought of re-reading it... Will give it a try..
jlist
People say the second two books are not as good, but I like them fine. Well, the journey of Raul does drag on every so slightly.
raifsevrence
The way the story starts is so nebulous and disjointed. There's no sense at all where it's going or even what it's about or is going to be about. It's a fantastic and rather compelling story once you get far enough along for it to start to really grab you. By then it's built this slow existential horrific suspense like you're consuming something from the Cthulhu mythology. The story is bizarre and fascinating.
BindersOfWomen
gotta read the whole trilogy
iDontHaveAIDSstopAsking
There's 4. And in my opinion they decrease in quality with each sequel. But worth reading all.
EarthDragon2189
Yeah...Endymion and Rise of Endymion is where the series really disappears up its own ass.
FoxAffair
I believe it is Rise of Endymion, but there's a section in one of them where our main character is on a mountain, describing all of the other fantasy mountains he can see, for what feels like 20 pages. I skip that part, but I do truly love this series outside of that.
jengaship
I'm reading it now (80% done) 4 solid pages of naming mountains. He also keeps listing people who are completely irrelevant to the story.
FoxAffair
Yes, that's the one. His world building is excellent, but this was so unnecessary.
reverendbonobo
I enjoyed the first book, but struggled to get through the second one. Is it worth forcing myself to read them all?
JustinWasHere
No. Imo. They don't do much to further the story of the original, and they just aren't as good.
sleepinggreenidea
His oeuvre in general decreased in quality (and become more infused with his increasingly reactionary politics) with each book he wrote. The Terror was a more recent one that broke the downward trend and was actually quite good, but even there you could see his political hangups coloring some story elements.
euphoricopportunity
Reactionary? Sad to hear it.
N0S4A2
Agree, book 1 is brilliant, they get worse and the last two were an active chore to listen to.
igglebotato
Book #2 was my favourite, by far. The Endymion ones were OK, but I was annoyed when book 4 turned into Aenea essentially turning to the audience and dumping about 40 pages of exposition.
notkvothethebloodless
She also at one point tells an entire civilization of people that have done nothing but help her and were desperately in need of her guidance to just 'try again!' And tbh I almost throw my phone at the wall when I read that part.
igglebotato
Saviours, eh?
JustinWasHere
Yeah I read them all and I agree. I wanted them all to be great. But the only one I recommend is the first one. That being said, the first one in just incredible. One of my favorites. Interested in hearing any other recommendations you might have @op
euphoricopportunity
The second was still pretty good. God... The fourth one. Were they teleporting via the power of love and using that to construct a Dyson swarm to rebel against evil space Catholics secretly propped up by robots who use humans as external coprocessors? I barely remember it, shit was a fever dream. Very 90s.
JustinWasHere
Sounds way cooler when you say it like that
FoxAffair
Carrion Comforts
wibbIywobbIytimeywimey
Im currently reading Endymion!
sleepinggreenidea
It's really not as good. It's not bad, and there's some parts that are really compelling, but he's started his descent into crankdom.
wibbIywobbIytimeywimey
I’ve enjoyed it so far, only a hundred or so pages in, but I find it interesting and he’s a great writer with compelling narrative imo.
xyrax
Yep, I read the last two SOLELY off of the strength of the first two (primarily book 1).
sircowdog
I found it to be dry and boring. Got about 1/3 the way through and gave up.
heroesblood
Same. I don't have the patience for Dan Brown explaining trees for multiple pages at a time.
Melkord90
This is me as well. My bookmark has been stuck in the middle of the poet's story for about 3 weeks, and I'm just not finding the motivation to continue on.
OverpricedCrayon
That confirms my suspicion. Never read it but i've always thought this cover was awful and made the book look dry and boring and is why I never read it.
KindaCHill
Wanna tell me about it in as few words as possible?
LanceCrossfire
Everybody missed the mad cyberpunk elements to it as well. At least in the first two books.
CarpoolTunnelSyndrome
Book
Aliubi
"No, sir. It is the Shrike."
Matigus
Canterbury tales in space
TheBluntSoldier
It good
tg2222222
Collection of words
Thisnamethingisdifficult
John Keats
RefurbishedArcReactor
That's the sequels.
Thisnamethingisdifficult
Except for, you know, the title of the first book/series.
jellyboner
Told in the style of the Canterbury tails, several pilgrims are drawn to face A god like demon that has affected their lives in horrific ways.
surelyglaurungisavailabledamn
AI is helping humankind but not really.
blackelf
It is unimaginably good!
UserWithoutUsername
AI sets an intrincate plan to make humanity their slaves. Humans try to blow it up. Lots of extra steps. Great read
suneloon
Meh. Read Dune instead.
jfkreuz
Tree of suffering
TheNameIsMadeUpAndThePointsDontMatter
Spiky quicksilver god suits enable time travel. Many quirky adventures ensue.
torillatavataan
Cool scifi adenture stories building up to a massive finale that's not included in the book.
Feralkyn
Fantastic summary. I got to the end and legit went "that's it??" and found out it's meant to be read with its sequel lol
yourlostcarkey
Robots. Lots of robots. In space. And some sex. And fighting of course.
T0go
Canterbury tales for scifi. Each story a different genre
HoldingAccount
No.
micmaz
Giant metal robot from the future; impales people, told in the most artistic way possible.
OmnibusLatinName
Much pain was had by all.
GhostOfPierceHawthorne
We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz...
ProfessorDumbass
Book
jlist
I asked ChatGPT to sum it up, and he said, Here's a glimpse of the pilgrims:
A priest grappling with his faith.
A soldier haunted by his past.
A poet seeking inspiration from the terrifying Shrike.
A scholar accompanied by a baby daughter.
A detective with a hidden agenda.
brazzy42
"A scholar accompanied by a baby daughter". If we needed proof that ChatGPT has no soul, this is it.
sizzbott
Frkng awesome:D
16bitStarbuck
Yes.
wibbIywobbIytimeywimey
Space, but like, an opera.. with lots of sex. Fantastic writing.
ThirtyForth
As I recall, this particular volume didn't have a lot, but where it lacks in quantity, Kassad provides ample whatthefuckery.
PresterJon
"So anyway I look away from the stack of burning bodies and it turns out that this chick I'm banging is actually a blender in disguise"
jesuisgur
Convoluted yet well written. Some sections don't make a lick of sense though.
crypticorb
Book.
KiteFlyingPianist
Sci-fie redux of The Canterbury Tales. It and the three ensuing ones—very good books.
jaggcomputing5
Personally I found the whole 'Ilogy' tedious. Far too much writing, a flatness that drained any excitement. Lots of unlikable characters, a general earnestness that called to mind PJ O'Rourke's statement, "Earnest is just stupid sent to college". A load of showy offy "Oooh, look how widely I have read" expositions. However, that is a personal opinion. I am pleased that others have greatly enjoyed it..
notkvothethebloodless
Hyperion 1&2 I love. The whole endymion thing I DESPISE. I cant fucking stand 'chosen one' child prophets and Aenea is definitely one of the reasons for that. Then there's Raul who is just the whiniest most useless shit in the entirety of the whole fucking universe. And it's annoying cause I did actually enjoy the ousters but they get bogged down by so much of aenea and rauls bullshit.
derJake
Thank god, I am not alone! I don't regret reading it, but I didn't enjoy it either. The Culture series is much more fun so far.
jaggcomputing5
You are evidently a person of refinement and good taste.
derJake
And you indeed as well, my good Sire!
Feralkyn
I will say I was really disappointed by its ending and found out later you're really meant to read it along with its sequel. I still haven't done that
wibbIywobbIytimeywimey
Well wtf are you complaining about then?!?!?! You didnt finish the story
Feralkyn
I ONLY GOT THE ONE BOOK IT DOESN'T TELL YOU "THIS BOOK IS INCOMPLETE" AHHH
wibbIywobbIytimeywimey
Go to internet. Type in “get me second hyperion book please” (please is optional, but it never hurts to politeness). Provide monetary funds in exchange for book. Read book upon arrival.
Feralkyn
No I know that -now.- What I'm saying is when I read it, years ago, there was no indication that it required a second book to finish the story.
rumandbass
Knives Out, in space
jlist
Futuristic sci-fi made by a genius English major who was compelled to make the structure of the first book like the Canterbury Tales, e.g. each pilgrim tells his story about why they're arriving on the planet Hyperion in the style of that work. The first two books are one story, the second two book are a second story set many years later. Total of four books (plus one bonus short story). It's the only work that can be compared to Dune in its overall scale.
invenio
The four books are referred to as the "Hyperion Cantos." They are really excellent. The following 3 books are written in a more traditional style.
IcarusTower
That would be an interesting argument to have. Would, say, the entirety of the Marvel 616 be in contention? Even if you narrowed it to the works of Lee and Kirby it still spans across the whole universe and beyond. Sandman would be a strong entry too.
PapaSez
I'm not sure you can rightly call someone THAT deeply bigoted/racist a 'genius'. Racism is inherently illogical, not exactly the purview of the intelligent.
SecondSince
Eh, comparing Hyperion to Dune is a disservice to Dune imo.
UserWithoutUsername
Asimov´s Foundation ; You may like it or not, but the scale is humongous
furballsoffury
Plus one
rumandbass
Discworld perhaps?
ImperatorNikolai
I’ve heard it likened to Canterbury Tales in space
Fahlm
For my Italian appreciators I’ve also heard it compared to Decameron
SlightlyDankMemes
I got halfway through that and bailed. It was fun for the first several hundred pages though.
Blimjoe
I tried to read Canterbury Tales but I found it incredibly difficult to think in middle english
invaliduserformat
Sorry to hear that! But I understand, it is veery difficult to get into that mindset, maybe try again though because it's super worth it once you get into it, it's a really entertaining read, tip: read it aloud to yourself to get the music out of it too, it will help, like Shakespeare is so much more fun to go through if you actually read it aloud.
zebdaPandaRunner
Fortunately, no middle English in Hyperion!
Blimjoe
Thank God for that... but I now feel obligated to push through and read it before i read hyperion, just so I can be like "wow, they were right, it is like Canterbury tales in space"
Somnipresent
When I studied it we had on the opposite page a translation to modern English.
SecondSince
Only Hyper English!
iDontHaveAIDSstopAsking
Complex to explain, simple to enjoy. 7 passengers on a pilgrimage, each telling their own story why they're there. Pilgrimage is to the Shrike, a metallic being murdering the inhabitants of an 'outback' planet Hyperion. Distinct writing styles for each story told.
wadatahmydamie
Reminds me a little of Cloud Atlas, though the characters are connected through kindness and time, rather than proximity
Merky600
Yes!!!
drduffer
Ah. “The Canterbury Tales”, Modernized!
GreenMnM
I honestly never read the Canterbury tales. But I did read this. I'm more action with my sci fi/ fantasy stuff. This wasn't bad. I got through it easy enough and I would recommend it, just not my cup of tea. 4 stars though. Take that for what it is
MFfromHell
The destination is really The Time Tombs, though. The Shrike is more of the book's antagonist.
OmnibusLatinName
A minor one. More like the boggie man.
MFfromHell
Well, the Shrike is a slick black, so maybe he does live in a tar pit bog.
greysonhackett127001
We don't refer to him as The Shrike. If we refer to him at all, it's as The Avatar or The Lord of Pain.
artifactcreature
FTUG
KamakaziSloth
And the Shrike is literally the God of machines and AI.
gandraw
it really isn't... But saying more would be hella spoilery for the later books.
Valthek
Suffice to say, the shrike doesn't fuck around
OmnibusLatinName
Well, there is that one scene from The Soldiers Tale...
KindaCHill
SOLD
herpb4uderp
its very dated imo. But im a big science fiction fan and its a critical book for the genere. he makes a reference to neuromancer in it which came a couple years before! also am excellent book. it created/established the concept of cyberpunk.
TyrannoNerdusRex
You won’t regret it.
Perkunas687
I will add here, as this is sci-fi, that after reading this book and its follow-up, both good books, I read A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge, and it may have been one of the best books I've read. I was on a real sci-fi kick for a couple years after COVID lockdowns.
ThirtyForth
Deepness shows humanity at its worst, to the point that I was desperately waiting for spider chapters. I fucking hate spiders. Good book tho
Myowngrampa
Noice, after I finish Neuromancer it's next up
[deleted]
[deleted]
Myowngrampa
I didn't know it was a series
herpb4uderp
a good book to read before hand! main character from neuromancer is referenced in hyperion lmao
Myowngrampa
Oh awesome!
sleepinggreenidea
Dan Simmons before the brainworms he was infected with after 9-11 turned him into a verrrry guilty pleasure to read. Even here you can see the brainworm eggs if you know where to look and squint, though.
jlist
I've encountered them a few times. Still love the guy,
Othernate
Alright, ruin Dan Simmons for me. All I know is that I couldn't get into any of his books he wrote after the hyperion and illiad ones, now I'm curious if that's related.
sleepinggreenidea
If you read Illium, you've seen some of his brainworms. The most famous and obvious step he took towards reactionary crankhood was his 2006 "time traveler essay". It's a thing of its time, but it's a doozy. https://groups.google.com/g/rec.arts.movies.current-films/c/0yiZdbXSStw
Othernate
Thanks! Also, gross. Also also exceptionally stupid, even if kinda well written? Like... setting aside the Dan Simmons as John Connor shit, was he really so xenophobic that he thought listing off a bunch of scary sounding names would be an accurate depiction of the next year? Not recalling anything particularly bad about Illium but mostly all I recall about that series was philosophical robots and greek gods talking shit and backstabbing each other, lol.
sleepinggreenidea
The main thing I remember to that effect was the major plot point about the derelict submarine with the black hole bomb on it that had been created by an evil Islamic caliphate before whatever happened to Earth happened to Earth. "Muslims will suicide bomb the entire world if it lets them kill Jews!" Well, and I also remember the defiance with which he described Achilles and Patroclus sleeping with giggling, dumb, slutty captured slavegirls and Definitely Not Being Gay, Not Even A Little.
rimoeng
I’m unfamiliar with his brainworms. Care to elaborate?
sleepinggreenidea
He's had increasing trouble keeping his politics out of his writings, and his politics are reactionary right-wing politics. He's a full-on proud Islamaphobe, but over time he went from just ranting about "dhimmitude" and the coming global caliphate to more generally and holistically sounding like a Fox News grandpa shaking his fist at the clouds. Flashback was the best example of something he wrote like this, although he could have done worse more recently - I stopped paying attention to him.
rimoeng
That’s too bad. I loved Hyperion.
mercyPandaRunner
Conservative Science Fiction authors almost always show their true colours when they age. Some are quite unremarkable, as long as the haven't been overtaken by the Zeitgeist too much, but you can often notice by a lack of... curiosity in their writing/world building, for a lack of a better term. But they always get cranky later, when the world has moved on and they fall behind on their static little hill-to-die-on.
1280X1024
https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/bm6dm/oh_dan_simmons_youve_been_my_favorite_author_for/
I was curious as well,
I think Hyperion was the only by him I'd ever read.
9/11 mindfucked a lot of us who lived through it as did the wars in it's aftermath.
sleepinggreenidea
The historical horror novel The Terror was actually quite good, although he throws in an unhealthy dose of "depraved homosexuals" for the human antagonists (who he treats less sympathetically than the supernatural monster killing off the protagonists - that's just a force of nature!). There's also some of his less-frequently-trotted-out creepy old man tendencies to describe with a bit too much detailed enthusiasm underaged girls' bodies.
LanceCrossfire
The problem is it wasn't just 9/11. Those of us who were adults then have seen 20 years of Islamic based horror from 9/11, Bali, London. Madrid, stealing kids in Africa, ISIS and that's without Afghanistan or Iraq. Even the current BS in Gaza has an Islamic bent to it. We're past the every Muslim is a terrorist BS but the last 20 years will stain Islam in the eyes of those of us who lived it forever.
sleepinggreenidea
So collective guilt is acceptable? Um. Does that apply to everyone, or just people you identify with personally? B/c if everyone gets to use that excuse, then the innocents brutally slaughtered on 9-11 can be dismissed by its murderous perpetrators as "unfortunate but necessary collateral damage" in a righteous, retributive war to overthrow a gov't that recklessly (if not willfully!) killed their people. You can't have it both ways unless you outright invoke "rules for thee but not for me".
vegivamp
You're not the only one that old, and some of us see a bigger picture. Sure, there's plenty of religious fundamentalism in there, but a lot of it is also in response to western, and particularly American imperialism.
9/11 happened BECAUSE of the US, by a terrorist groups that wouldn't even have existed if the US hadn't fed them money and weapons for decades.