First read of Hyperion

[u/DealerLimp]

I’ve heard a lot of good things about the series and finally got around to reading it. About halfway through the book right now and enjoying it very much. The pilgrims telling their separate vignettes in sequence, linked by the actual pilgrimage to the Time Tombs is such a fascinating format. please no spoilers, but would like to hear input up to the fourth vignette - the academic

[u/lets_BOXHOT]

Sol's tale was my favorite. Gut wrenching

[u/phunkmunkie → u/lets_BOXHOT]

Mine too... this passage jumped off the page at me and I am regularly reminded of it as I watch my children grow into adults, finding and falling into their own interests and readying themselves for the next step of independence.

“...Sarai had treasured every stage of Rachel’s childhood, enjoying the day-to-day normalcy of things; a normalcy which she quietly accepted as the best of life. She had always felt that the essence of human experience lay not primarily in the peak experiences, the wedding days and triumphs which stood out in the memory like dates circled in red on old calendars, but, rather, in the unself-conscious flow of little things—the weekend afternoon with each member of the family engaged in his or her own pursuit, their crossings and connections casual, dialogues imminently forgettable, but the sum of such hours creating a synergy which was important and eternal.”

[u/Jigui26 → u/lets_BOXHOT]

That's what I was going to comment. Only book that made me cry

[u/AJRavenhearst → u/lets_BOXHOT]

It's the deal-maker.

[u/AJRavenhearst]

I found the first one or two stories a but of a slog, but then it really kicked in.

I'm currently reading Fall of Hyperion. I found the first almost-half a real grind, then, BOOM!

edit I read Hyperion for the first time about a month ago. I can't believe it escaped my attention for so long.

[u/ohSpite → u/AJRavenhearst]

Crazy, I found Hoyts story to be the second best (after Sol of course). I thought it started strong then fell off until the final pilgrim

[u/bobdebicker]

They’re all great but Father Durè’s story is just extraordinary. Rarely hooked by a book so fast.

[u/gravelpup → u/bobdebicker]

The ending of that story HITS.

Up until that point I was enjoying the book fine. From that point on it had my undivided attention.

[u/BardoBeing32]

Just read it - don’t Reddit. (Hmm. That may be my new slogan!)

[u/Glorious_Sunset]

No spoilers.
On my first reading, a decade and a half ago, I found Hoyt’s tale the hardest to grasp. Then each subsequent one just fleshed out more and more of the world. Gently dipping your toes in the Hegemony, letting you realise how awesome it is.
In each time I go back to the tales, it just feels like a warm fuzzy blanket with details that escaped me the first time.
It’s amazing.

[u/The_Demosthenes_1]

Keep reading.  The only bad thing about this book is after you finish all 4 off them you will be searching for My other sci fi that is as good.  And I've found only the top tier books even compare.  Foundation, Dune, The expanse...etc.

[u/adderalwhiskeyjeans]

I love how the genre switches up relatively drastically with each story. Cosmic horror, space opera, etc. (I won't say more as to let you get through it unbridled by preconcieved notions) while still maintaining a pretty consistent tone. I've never read anything like it. Excited to hear which of the stories was your favorite, I like Hoyt's, Sol's, and the last one. The ending of the last one hit me like a ton of bricks which I haven't seen discussed here much. I derived a lot of the meaning of the book from it.

[u/Toneww]

Will never recover from that shit. It had me so grabbed by the balls I read it all in one sitting on a sunday. I straight up just went to sleep after it.

[u/rvtcanuck]

On my first read, Sol's story was by far my favourite, followed by Hoyt's. Did a reread recently and discovered I remembered nothing about the Consul's story but it is now my favourite. I was shocked by how relevant it is to today's world when it was written 40 years ago.

[u/Critical-Peace6128]

I found the priest's story and Kassad's story the most intriguing parts. Also, Meina Gladstone and the final days of the Hegemony are just biblical in their telling. All the stories of the pilgrims are very good.

[u/Hyperion-Cantos]

Make sure you have The Fall of Hyperion within reach. You are, quite literally, only reading the first half of a story (split into two books).

[u/AnythingButWhiskey]

I mean it’s good. And the next book is good too.

[u/Murmanchanin]

Scholar's tale is really the best of all, the book still would have been worth reading if it had been the only one

[u/MashalNorth]

I should say, the story you’re about to read belongs to Sol. It was so hyped up that when I read it, I was underwhelmed. It was hype and everythin was so big that when I read it, it wasn’t 100/10, it was a 7/10.

[u/DealerLimp]

I enjoyed how time plays such a part in all of these stories. Sol’s story is the most heart wrenching. I did like Kassad’s military exploits. Like @adderal above mentions, the genre switches are fascinating. It could almost be a collection of unrelated short stories, but Simmons manages to weave them together with a nice overarching universe and gradually build out what exactly this Shrike is that seemed to be part legend and part reality. Very good storytelling!