Series Review: The Hyperion Omnibus by Dan Simmons
Book 1: Hyperion
Book 2: The Fall of Hyperion
Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion have a continuous narrative, but they are totally different structurally. The series is set in the 29th Century.The human Hegemony has spread all over the spiral arm of the Milky Way, the various planets linked by a mysterious network of "fatlines" and instantaneous travel a reality by devices called "farcasters". Humans live in an uneasy coexistence with a society of AIs, and the Ousters are threatening to invade the Hegemony.
In Hyperion we are introduced to seven pilgrims from totally diverse backgrounds selected to travel to the eponymous planet where exists the Time Tombs, mysterious artefacts where time appears to flow backwards. In the Time Tombs lurks the Shrike, a mysterious being with its own cult of followers and a nasty way of dealing with its victims. The structure of Hyperion is a sort of SF homage to the Canterbury Tales. In the hope of figuring out why they, out of all of the possible people, were chosen to go to the Time Tombs and what might be going on, the pilgrims agree to tell each other their stories and their reasons for going to Hyperion.
Each pilgrim's tale is absolutely wonderful. There's a first contact story, some military SF, social satire, literary symbolism, colonial rebellion, cyberpunk, hard-boiled detective, a touch of horror, and two beautiful stories of personal tragedy. Each story has its own distinctive voice, its own style, and its own narrative technique. They're all wonderfully told, each one separate and unique, and yet all blend together into a larger narrative. This is nott a collection of unrelated tales; after the first few stories, we can see deeper patterns, can sense forces coming together, can see effects of one story in another, and feels the storm gathering. Hyperion is an extremely well-written book. It attempts a risky narrative structure that could leave it feeling fragmented, but instead pulls off the convergence of the diverse threads with elan.
Picking up directly after the end of Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion takes a step back and starts to tell the story from the perspective of the Hegemony government. Now the subtleties of the Hegemony government and its relations with the AI TechnoCore are brought into the picture.
A reincarnation of the poet John Keats, a body created from DNA and a mind via AI download, who was introduced in the first volume, becomes more central here. Occasionally, Dan Simmons moves into present tense for scenes filtered via the Keats character's mind. Things get complex, very complex -- possibly too much so for one reading -- but the author maintains exemplary control of his material.
The beautiful and slowly constructed rising action from the first book was a hard act to follow, and The Fall of Hyperion feels occasionally frantic as it tries to get everyone in place to resolve as many of the dangling subplots as possible. The action occasionally gets choppy, and some of the Hyperion stories get short shrift. The implications of the detective's story turn out to be the most important in the broader stage. Dan Simmons has an amusing take on AI discussions, though, and the conversations with Ummon speaking in Zen wisdom sayings are some of my favorite parts of the book. Weintraub's continued struggles with the ethics of faith are very very intriguing; the progression of sacrifice and man's relationship with God is presented here in a previously unexplored direction. And the climaxes, when they come, are suitably catastrophic on multiple levels.
All in all, the Hyperion Omnibus is one of my all time favourite SF series... Dan Simmons deserves special recognition for the way his books contain elements of several genres, and the overall effect is highly satisfying. 9.5 on 10!
