The Fall of Hyperion

The Fall of Hyperion is the sequel to Hyperion. Hyperion, which you should read before diving into Fall, is a wonderful novel containing six independent and fantastic novelettes. After finishing it I knew that it would be difficult for the sequel to even match it and in my opinion Simmons doesn't quite make it. It's close though. Fall answers many of the questions you surely had at the end of Hyperion. You know, all the confusion you felt about the Shrike, the Ousters, the Time Tombs, Rachel and her Merlin's sickness, the Keats cybrid persona, the Templar's erg, etc. Most of it is explained, though you may find some of the explanations unsatisfactory because they're wacky!The quality of Fall's narrative isn't quite as exquisite as that of some of the stories in Hyperion, but it largely makes up for that by providing the big picture that Hyperion lacked. Although Hyperion hinted at important political forces such as the three factions within the Technocore or the impact of the Consul's treachery on the Ousters, the novel focused mostly on the planet Hyperion and its enigmas. In contrast, Fall takes a much wider view of events and about half the novel takes place in other parts of the Web (and even beyond). Fall's main asset is the riveting story told in the context of this wider setting. Events on the planet Hyperion itself are often disjointed and unclear; it's the offworld action that saves this book and nearly elevates it to the prequel's level.At the end I still had a few major plot questions (and I'm currently reading the sequel Endymion to hopefully resolve those), but nothing compared to the number of unanswered riddles the first book ends with. This series would provide great material for lively debate with your sci-fi and fantasy friends, similar to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Simmons really impressed me with Fall and I hope that Endymion continues the trend of providing a great alternate reality to explore. Highly recommended!

I had not heard of this book previously but after reading "The Terror" by Dan Simmons I decided to check this out and it May be my favorite science fiction book I have ever read, rivalling Dune. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the Cantos.

One of the best science fiction books I’ve read in a long time. Highly recommended and hope it’s made into a series.

The second and last volume in this series moves along like the first but can drag in spots. It’s great to follow the characters to their interesting ends though. Becomes a bit more classic space opera at times but has enough surprises to keep it going.

This book really tied everything up for me in a satisfying way. I actually found it more interesting than the original, which I already thought was compelling. I’m tempted to recommend it to several friends. Without hesitation, I give it a five-star rating.One of the first things that caught my attention was the beautiful cover—it immediately drew me in. As for the content, there were several standout moments that stayed with me. I especially enjoyed the scene where Father Paul came back to life because of the cruciform; I hadn’t realized that multiple cruciforms could give someone multiple lives. That concept opened up fascinating possibilities—almost as if, with enough of them, you could become anything you wanted.The battle between Kassad and the Shrike was another memorable moment, as was his reunion with Monetta. I also found the storyline involving the “speaks” to be unexpectedly moving and layered.This book reminded me quite a bit of Dune, and it’s clear the author was influenced by earlier sci-fi giants like Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke. In fact, part of what made this novel so powerful was how it seemed to build on the foundation laid by those previous works. Because of that, I can honestly say this may be the best science fiction book I’ve ever read.