roseo

A novel both luminous and terrifying, Hyperion is a must read. I was surprised at how much I loved this book, and can't wait to get started on the second chapter of this epic story. The thing that struck me most was how adept Simmons is at utilizing classic clichés and troupes of science fiction, while at the same time reinventing them to suit his purposes. Each tale is told in a distinct style that is immediately recognizable to an avid reader of the science-fiction genre, but also contains elements from the whole spectrum of western literature. The story of Brawne Lamia, for example, is a perfect paradigm of cyberpunk noir, but becomes something else within the larger narrative of the book. I loved the following lines which showcased just how self-aware and "meta" Simmons can be: "You've read all the cyberpunk stuff. You know all about the terrible beauty of the datumplane, the three-dimensional highways with their landscapes of black ice and neon perimeters and Day-Glo Strange Loops and Shimmering skyscrapers of data blocks under hovering clouds of AI presence" As someone who has read a great deal of cyberpunk there is always the inevitable description of the beauty and speed of the matrix/datumplane whatever, so it was nice to see Simmons acknowledge the cliché even while exploiting it for his story. The other narratives were equally evocative: The Priest’s tale, “The Man who cried God” reminded me of Lovecraft’s “At the Mountains of Madness” and Poe’s “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym” which are both concerned with scientific expeditions that end with terrifying conclusions. The Poet’s story, “ Hyperion Cantos” filled with literary in-jokes and quick-witted prose, follows the eternal journey of an artist searching for his muse while trying to resist the temptation of mediocrity. The Scholar’s tale, smaller in scale than the others, is all the more poignant because of its’ subject matter: A father’s quest to solve the mystery behind his daughter’s bizarre illness. I would stop reading the book after each of the tales in order to fully digest the implications of the revelations, but ultimately they work beautifully as a whole. Once all the stories are put together the true scope of the crisis is revealed. The entire universe is threatened by the truth in these stories; danger looms from all angles and nothing is what it seems. Of course the key to everything is the enduring mystery of the Shrike, a creation that sends shivers down my spine. The Shrike embodies death perfected, but I don’t believe they are evil in the normal sense. Instead I feel they are closer to Galactus, a necessary purging fire sent to cleanse the universe when its decadence has gotten out of hand. For the Shrike alone I would recommend this book, but the real genius lies in Simmons brilliant manipulation of classic literary devices to create a new and innovative science fiction masterpiece.

2023-06-16 18:29