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Hyperion cover art

Hyperion

By: Dan Simmons
Narrated by: Marc Vietor,Allyson Johnson,Kevin Pariseau,Jay Snyder,Victor Bevine
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Editor reviews

Hyperion, one of the most celebrated Sci-Fi novels of all time and the first book in the Hyperion Cantos series, begins in the midst of an interplanetary war in the 29th century. Five pilgrims set out to the mysterious title planet in an attempt to prevent Armageddon, but while most of the planets in the Hegemony are connected by rapid transit farcaster portals, the journey is far from safe. Modified humans known as Outsters lurk in space stations between planets, threatening the very fabric of the planetary alliance.

Winner of both the Hugo Award and the Locus Award for Best Novel, Hyperion is easily one of the most important, groundbreaking books in Sci-Fi. It incorporates favourite elements of genre — including time travel, galactic war and intricate world building — making for a listen that any space odyssey fan will love. In audio, the experience is even more immersive as you’ll hear the individual stories of the five Pilgrims, each brought vividly to life by a different narrator.

Summary

On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all. On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope - and a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.
©1989 Dan Simmons (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

Hugo Award, Best Novel, 1990
Locus Award, Best Novel, 1990
"Dan Simmons has the Midas touch: Every genre he writes - whether SF, horror, mystery, historical, or thriller - he turns to gold. Hyperion and The Fall Of Hyperion set a new standard for grand-scale science fiction." (Kevin J. Anderson, author of The Saga of Seven Suns)
"Dan Simmons was a star from the outset. It was the Hyperion books that made him a superstar. The man, quite simply, is what we in the trade call a writer's writer." (Mike Resnick, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author)
Each of [the pilgrim's] stories would make a superb novella on its own. ( The New York Times Book Review, Gerald Jonas)

What listeners say about Hyperion

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    2,726
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    2,492
  • 4 Stars
    905
  • 3 Stars
    294
  • 2 Stars
    49
  • 1 Stars
    38
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,370
  • 4 Stars
    853
  • 3 Stars
    358
  • 2 Stars
    109
  • 1 Stars
    87

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A fantastic combination

We all have our favourite authors and when listening to them as an audiobook we either fall more in love with them or end up slightly disappointed that they don't meet our expectations - we don't like the reader or it doesn't fire our imagination the same as with our own reading. With this in mind, when I have been selecting new authors, I have done so on the basis of comments people have made, playing a sample of the narrator and how well it has been rated here and elsewhere online.

Dan Simmons and Victor Bevine et al have been a find! This has book has depth in all sorts of unexpected areas and the narration is first rate. Lots of different themes are covered from different perspectives as the story unfold before you - you'll love some characters, hate others and see still others in a new way. It makes you think about certain things that are relevant and wonder how you might have chosen to deal with it.

I don't wish to give any plot away and I hope that you might discover this wonderful combination of first rate narration with a fantastic author.

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59 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Inspired Sci-fi

I loved this book. It is beautifully written with brilliant characterisation and a really good storyline. The format means that there are six interesting stories narrated by each of the main characters and these in themselves are well-constructed sci-fi. The over-arching story kept me interested throughout and made me immediately order the sequel "Fall of Hyperion", which I also read and loved. Very highly recommended to people who like the genre - it is one of the best of it's kind. Well read.

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50 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Fantastic...but only as good as the narrators

This story is probably one of the best sci fi books I have ever read (listened to!). The stories within the story are likewise fantastic.

The only reason I gave it 4 stars is that an audiobook is only as good as the narrator. This book is read by numerous narrators and the lady who narrates M. Brawne Lamia has one of the most annoying accents ever! It was more frustrating as Brawne Lamia is a really interesting character.

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33 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful Sci Fi

This has got to be one of the best science fiction books I have read. The listener follows seven pilgrims who are on a quest to meet a mythical monster - the 'shrike' on the planet 'Hyperion'. Each pilgrim shares his story with the others, and each story is told in a different style which reflects the individuals' characters. The stories are sometimes harrowing, sometimes sensual and sometimes touching, but always riveting. Dan Simmons has created an incredible, multifaceted world (worlds!) with history, politics, mysticism and religion all mixed in. It is thoroughly captivating - buy 'The Fall of Hyperion' at the same time as you'll want to read on.

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Exceptional

An exceptional book, a very good recording and an enjoyable and engrossing experience from beginning to end.

If you can find the time please try to read the book, but if that isn't possible then this is the next best thing, a story of stupefying complexity and subtlety.

The best thing is that the second book is as good if not better than the first, so enjoy.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

As fine a Science Fiction Novel as Dune

Every so often you come across something really special when reading or listening. This is not "like" Dune There were times when listening the to this novel when the words flowed over the ear like quicksilver. It has real characters, great action and a unique storyline, it is complex but not obscure and it is epic without being pretentious. In short it is a real gem, listen to it!

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant!

On the book...
I really liked this book - and have recently finished listening to all of the series. Iain M Banks is still my favourite sci-fi author, but I'd listened to all of his audio books and wanted some more epic contemporary sci-fi and people seemed to recommend this - and rightly so. As a whole the story is definitely epic, has great characters and a really great story. In this one, the sex scenes were a bit perverse and unnecessary. I could see the idea he was going for with it - but it didn't play out well really and was pretty cheesy at times. Other than that, the story is really good and well worth reading.

On narration...
I didn't really think much of the narrator - it sounded like English wasn't his first language maybe. He pronounced every single word - like 'to' and 'a' - fully, which - when you actually hear it done - is quite strange. He occasionally made little errors in pronunciation - saying the 'chasm' with a soft 'ch' sound - which is a bit weird - or maybe he just did the whole thing in one take without bothering to fix the error. He also pronounced 'Aargh' exactly as it is written, with a clear 'r' and then a hard 'g' sound on the end. No-one really says that when they scream - that's just obvious - again - weird. The thing I disliked the most though was his inability to portray anything other than a small range of emotions. Whenever he took on a woman's voice - there was one set tone - and any emotion - such as anger - was not portrayed at all - it was always just 'the soft woman tone'. The range of accents for the different characters was good - just a bit more attention to tone and emotion was needed.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Best Sci Fi Series in Audiotape

This was an eye-opener! The whole series is exquisitely crafted and sensitively narrated and so good I hope it wins many many awards. The ONLY writer to rival Ian M Banks.
It takes just a little while to engage with the story, but then you realise that you are in love with this strange but fascinating world with astonishing yet poignant tales.
Highly addictive, I bought the whole series.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Hard work to get through to the end, but no ending

The plot was OK and the characters interesting but the "science" did not work for me.
It seems in this world anyone can do anything anywhere any time. All a bit silly!
Unfortunately as this book has no ending I decided to go on to listen to the fall of Hyperion, that's 20 hours of my life I won't get back............
I had ordered the two follow up books but have returned them unread.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant Story Let Down By Monotone Narration

Would you listen to Hyperion again? Why?

No. I'd prefer to listen to the other books in the series. I also found the main narration to be boring and monotone. It was just the strength of the story that held my attention.

What did you like best about this story?

The separate story lines are all unique and very engaging. Thankfully they also gave my ears a break from the main narrator as they were narrated by different voice actors.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Everything! The main narration is so monotone I almost stopped listening to the book. I decided to give the book until the end of the first mini story (which starts at about the 2 hour mark) before deciding if the entire book was a lemon. Luckily, the first story was very enjoyable and after that the other voice actors who narrated the other stories really saved the audio for me. Had I stopped listening I would have missed out on a very good book.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The first narration from a different voice actor!

Any additional comments?

I think this book could have been so much better with a different narrator (such as R.C. Bray). With better narration I would have given 5 stars across the board. The other narrators were very good I just didn't like the main narration.

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8 people found this helpful