Hyperion by Dan Simmons || an introduction (some spoilers)

Hi everyone - today I’m going to be giving you an in-depth introduction to my all-time favourite science fiction novel - Hyperion by Dan Simmons.
The Hyperion Cantos as a whole is so dense with topics to explore that you can definitely expect more videos on Hyperion in the future.
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MY SCI-FI NOVELS
linktr.ee/book...
DELPHINE DESCENDS -
After her family is killed and her homeworld occupied, young Kathreen Martin is sent to the distant world of Furoris for re-education. She will live the rest of her life as a serf - to be bought and sold as a commodity of the Imperial Network.
When her only chance of escape is ruined, a chance mistaken identity offers her a new life as the orphaned daughter of a First-Citizen Senator and heiress to a vast fortune.
She vows to claw her way into power to sit among the worlds’ elite. Then, with her own hands, she will reap bloody vengeance on them all.
But, to beat them she must play their game. She must become worse than them all.
BLACK MILK -
Prometheus has the chance to bring his wife back from the dead, but doing so will mean the destruction of Earth.Spanning time, planets and dimensions, Black Milk draws to a climactic point in a post-apocalyptic future, where humanity, stranded with no planet to call home, fights to survive against a post-human digital entity that pursues them through the depths of space.Five lives separated by aeons are inextricably linked by Prometheus’s actions:
Ystil.3 is an AI unit sent back in time from the distant future to investigate Prometheus’s discovery...
The mysterious Lydia has devoted her life to finding a planet that the last remaining humans can call home…
Tom Jones (he’s a HUGE fan!) is an AI trapped inside a digital subspace, lost and desperate to find his way back to his beloved in real-time…
Dr Norma Stanwyck is a neuroscientist from 24th Century Earth whose personal choices ripple throughout time...
Prometheus must learn the necessity of death or the entire universe will be swallowed by his grief.
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GOODREADS:
You can follow me on Goodreads to see what I'm currently reading. / show. .
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[@sainsburyshopper]

Just jumped into this book. Was going to drop it after the first chapter failed to grab me, but then I got to the treeship, Father Hoyt's story and Dure's fate and I'm just completely enthralled. I can see it turning some readers away because it neglects explaining half the terms it uses like 'time-debts' and 'fatlining', instead expecting you to just pick it up on the way, but after you push through that initial confusion it gets really good.

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

Yes Simmons does expect you to pick things up and get f you keep reading you will. It is certainly worth the effort😊

[@heathertoribio5824]

I'm on the second book. I loved the first, but I'm really liking the second one. It gives the mystery the first book presented more context.

[@tappajavittu]

I read this book the first time over 20 years ago when I was 10, maybe a little too young to read something like Hyperion and I admit skipping some of Martin Silenus' poems and lots of things went over my head but I loved it, such a brilliant structure with different and entertaining collection of shorter stories in different genres, we got cyberpunk detective story, we got body horror, we got family drama, we got a rebellion, we got centuries spanning epic poetic saga, we got wild space war adventures all woven together in a epic space opera pilgrimage, it didn't take long for me to have read the whole series. I never enjoyed Endymion or Rise of Endymion as much as Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion, both which I think I've read both over 10 times. After recommending this book series, or well the first two to people constantly for well over a decade, it's great to see youtubers starting to talk about Hyperion. In the end Martin Silenus grew up to be my favorite character.

[@YarPirates-vy7iv]

I always read age inappropriate books as a kid too, but I read Hyperion for the first time at 35 and I still skipped the poems. Just like I skip the songs in Lord of the Rings/Silmarillion. Just not into poetry very much.

[@jtjr26]

This is one of my favorite series of books. It weaves a great story set over the course of centuries with great character development. It is not inaccessible with a lot of technobabble, though there is some. There is also a lot of classic poetry used throughout the series though that is more prevalent in the first two books. I just finished rereading this series about two weeks ago for the first time in about 10 years and I was not disappointed.

[@pdwyer1100]

Thanks for the great run down of the books. For some reason I bounced off Hyperion, and I don't think I read Fall of Hyperion, but I keep seeing other people rave about the books, so I might have to try again.

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

I get that. Sometimes you have to be in the right frame of mind to get into certain books. For me I’ve yet to meet a book that equals the cantos 😀

[@Turrican]

Just started this. Loving it so far!

[@bryanstewart9067]

Great video! This is one of my favorite books!

[@Ytnzy250]

Better than Game of Thrones? On par with "The Expanse"

[@filibuster0453]

I like how every single science fiction senate meeting takes place on Coresant. Not complaining at all though. Its one of my favorite settings ever.

[@antwozniak4323]

I needed this vid bad

[@DoomSplitta]

Excellent video.

[@edzielinski]

Excellent intro for anyone interested in the book. This covers some of the basic figures and main characters very well. If you want to know if this book is for you, it will require a deeper dive - there are literally layers upon layers of meaning in the book and countless cultural and historical references , many of them quite subtle. Just for example, the character names, too many to post here, but one example: Lamia Brawne. Fanny Brawne was the lover of poet John Keats and Lamia is the name of a Keats poem, and also a creature in Greek mythology. To fully appreciate the depth and thought that was put into the book, it helps to understand these references. If you're looking for a Jack Reacher type novel or a Robert Heinlein fast moving action sci-fi, this book will not suit. It's more along the lines of The Great Gatsby in terms of its place in fiction. I've read literally thousands of sci-fi and fantasy novels over the years, and for me, personally, this is in the top 10, along with Ender's Game, Gateway, Ringworld, and other classics of that ilk.

[@FunkyTomo]

Just started this book after readibg all the rave reviews on goodreads. Im dont usually read SF and found the first chapter incredibly confusing. Thanks to your vid, im going to try stick it out, now i can understand the concepts better.

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

Hyperion is a challenging book, even for the avid sci-fi reader. I'm really pleased this video helped you. I hope you end up loving Hyperion as much as I do.

[@FunkyTomo]

@@Sci-FiOdyssey Thanks, im glad you said that, so i know its not juat me whos maybe thick

[@turtleanton6539]

Wow that picture. Gotta get into that

[@DJRonnieG]

I thought the 'Endymion' books which are set before 'Orphans of the Helix' were phenomenal as well. Not sure which ist favorite, depend on mood but I like the space opera parts of the fall... other parts drag but even those parts contain relevant info when rereading the book. I think I'm on my 5th reread, this time I'm reading all four books at the same time. When I get bored of one I just jump around the timeline.

[@jimmydeandean1234]

Awesome will pickup books 📚 now 👍

[@foppy63]

Perhaps in the near future, master storyteller Dan Simmons will treat the humans to a final written chronicle, a glorious closure narrative that would provide illumination on the enigmatic universal entities named Lions and Tigers and Bears, who are the true masters of The Void Which Binds universe. A novella by Dan, in his sublime narrative style, would evoke love and empathy from his readers, not unlike the approach to universal essence the Lions and Tigers and Bears act on. The recalcitrant Shrike might want to give us all some closure, if it was so inclined. The Hyperion Cantos is already one of the most concise future trips ever devised, but maybe one last hurrah? /?;:^)>

[@ronw7667]

Perhaps not quite what you have in mind, Simmons did re-visit his world in a short called, if I'm correct, Remembering Siri. It's in one of his collections, but can't recall which book. Quite worth looking up and reading -- like seeing an old friend again.

[@nickfoster9350]

I got about 100 or so pages into this book, and put it down. I'm thinking I should pick it up and give it another shot, after seeing this.

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

Do it. You know it feels right.

[@TheFluidinsanity]

Very nicely done! its my favorite series. Where do the pictures you use come from?

[@AlchemistsTable]

I feel like the AllThing is today's version of a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) - but, clearly centralized. I have not read the book in >20 years, so I'm not sure of how the All Thing is "governed", though its governance includes connecting to all people.

[@mangoldm]

I enjoyed the first book but felt the Shrike was one-dimensional. What does it do all day, play solitaire and sharpen its blades? Is it better fleshed out in subsequent books?

[@Martyv231]

By far my all time favorites. I am looking for recommendations on other books that are like the Hyperion books. Thanks

[@ajaymoondb.a.205]

Dune

[@j.p.lovecraft1826]

Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds. The series is similar in that it can be confusing at first but once you get going and the layers reveal themselves, it is a fantastic journey. Through time and space, awesome yet dangerous technology/weapons. Alien worlds and beings. Backstabbing, scheming characters. Many different types of factions or groups. It’s just good and I consider the series of three books and the stand alone Chasm City as must read material for any Sci-fi fan.

[@manucitomx]

This is a very good video. Thank you.

[@DuckRon626]

In THE SOLDIER'S TALE: THE WAR LOVERS is the John Carter Brigade a reference to the Edgar Rice Burroughs Barzoom series, whose hero was John Carter? I'm thinking that it was, but, wondered about your opinion.

[@theedxqboi]

Great book! Thanks for the video!

[@fuffoon]

I don't remember what got me started on the series but I loved it. Its easily in my top 50. I have read so many epics that now I'm just enjoying some modern, more single event type sci-fi. Is there a good place to chat online with other sci-fi fans?

[@eliqfor1]

Pacem is read PaaCHem as in latin for peace

[@turtleanton6539]

Sounds awesome

[@FutureReverberations]

As I listened to this I realised there were details I didn't remember. Therefore I stopped listening. Time to re-read the entire cantos. :)

[@commanderfe]

where is bezos now? make that a movie already!

[@jamesrich5640]

I know this is your favorite book. There are a lot on elements that you talked about that sound really interesting. Is it easy to get lost in the plot with all these element?

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

James Rich I wouldn’t say it’s easy to get lost but there is a lot going on. It’s written really cohesively with each character telling their story all at once rather than going back and forth so it’s actually really easy to follow.

[@jamesrich5640]

hypeword SFF okay the going back and forth was worrying me. Thanks for clarifying

[@DJRonnieG]

@@jamesrich5640 in regards to books three and four; choose again. P.s.- the whole series is a masterpiece.

[@unity151]

Very nice video

[@nightshadeii9248]

I found Dune to be….boring (sorry!). Will Hyperion hold my attention better?

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

In honesty probably not. Dune is a major influence of Hyperion and it follows a similar expansive story with multiple POV characters. Saying that, you never know. It’s worth giving it a try in my opinion.

[@edzielinski]

My 2 cents. I'm a huge fan of Hyperion, but honestly I have mixed feelings about Dune. There's no doubt in my mind that it is a masterpiece (the whole series), but it's mentally very demanding of the reader. If you don't follow the endless array of characters, their families, the politics, and so forth, it won't be enjoyable. I would say that I found Hyperion easier to follow than Dune though, possibly because most of the stories were told from the viewpoint of each character to whom I grew attached, vs. Dune with felt like a single narrative voice describing everything from a rather detached viewpoint.

[@peterconway6584]

In a way, I found "Hyperion" as vaguely horror as well. I used to recommend it because each of the characters' story has a "EW-Factor" to it. You reach the end and you say "Ewwwwww!"

[@Vagran]

EW, as in, uncomfortable but entertaining like an episode of SVU, or Ewwww, as in man I wish I didn't read that?

[@needygreenjeans]

@@Vagran the Former. If you haven't read it I recommend giving it a shot. Its worth it.

[@peterconway6584]

@@Vagran : More like the latter, imo.

[@Vagran]

Well, I guess I'll give it a shot and see how it goes. Thanks for the quick replies.

[@fapl985]

what's the song in the background?

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

Rage by The 126ers kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqK2dKxrhZ5piK8

[@Ritercrazy]

Well explained. Does the book have s*x and drugs in it?

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

A bit of sex. I don't think any recreational drugs.

[@Ritercrazy]

@@Sci-FiOdysseyK, thanks!

[@damiancavanagh]

Great video but to give some constructive criticism it loses some of its effect due to the mispronunciations/misunderstandings. Eg cantos is the plural of canto, a type of poem, pronounced can-toe. Too many pedants like me stop watching after encountering an error so if you tightened that up you’d prob get more likes and subs. Which your content deserves.

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

I did not know that. Thanks for the tip 😀

[@damiancavanagh]

@@Sci-FiOdyssey thanks for taking that in the spirit it was intended. While I have you, Pacem is “pa-chem” not packem. It is the singular accusative Latin for peace. Pax also means peace in Latin in a different form (singular nominative).

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

No worries. I appreciate good feedback. Yes I did have another comment on Pacem. Good to know for future content.

[@Darthreloy]

Dont get the Audible version because the Narrator just destroys the book. Shame.

[@Turrican]

No. I'm listening to the audible version now and it's excellent.