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21904170 No.21904170 [Reply] [Original]

Is this worth reading? I like the concept of the Shrike but it's a pretty expensive book set for just mass paper backs.

>> No.21904229

the journey was great. the ending not so much.
>lol the cause for all the trouble is some time travel bullshit you can read about in the next book!

>> No.21904242

Has anyone read Hölderlin's Hyperion?

>> No.21904300

>>21904170
First two books are absolutely great, the latter two are a completely different story

>> No.21904848

>>21904170
It flatters to deceive. The first book is literally an anthology of unconnected short stories. The second tries to tie all their plot threads together, and largely fails.

>> No.21904869

>>21904170
>but it's a pretty expensive book set for just mass paper backs
what
where do you live, the moon? You can get the hardcover of the first two (only ones you should read) for 50 bucks
https://www.ebay.com/itm/285209356537?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=285209356537&targetid=1263433204734&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=9032155&poi=&campaignid=14859008593&mkgroupid=130497710760&rlsatarget=pla-1263433204734&abcId=9300678&merchantid=6296724&gclid=CjwKCAjwrdmhBhBBEiwA4Hx5g7J7H88nsczM6xDjS9pyYsrySV0zaxkctj-1m2fRQO4gbvpnalrO3BoCp-wQAvD_BwE

>> No.21904880

>>21904848
This. The first is good and has an interesting structure and then the second tries to do way too much and it falls flat and feels unsatisfactory. I never bothered with 3/4 and I think the general consensus is they suck.

>> No.21904925

Simmons is first and foremost a good horror writer so those elements, especially in the priest and poet's stories, stand out the best. Besides that I still liked Hyperion/Fall of Hyperion. It's a little messy but it's ambitious and interesting sci-fi that's a stark reminder of just how dull and low-concept the genre has become in the mainstream.

>> No.21904981

>>21904848
>unconnected
What its like being retarded?

>> No.21905025

>>21904242
yes, it's distilled beauty

>> No.21905028

>>21904981
Feel free to enlighten us.

>> No.21905048

>>21904925
Off a friend's recommendation I read The Terror, and then Hyperion 1 and 2. Loved em. Then I read Abominable and after endless hours of reading about the minutia of ice climbing and surviving in inhospitable environments I end up with possibly the dumbest espionage story with a retarded completely out of left field plot point. God I wish I had those hours back.
Are any of his other books as good as The Terror/Hyperion?

>> No.21905054
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21905054

>>21904170
Hyperion was great but it ends on a really lame cliffhanger. Fall of Hyperion was great until the ending. Literally the last chapter and everything is just bullshit.
WOAH DUDE MAGICAL CYBER GHOST BABIES
This >>21904848 anon is correct, you're told in the first book that all the stories are somehow connected, this is a lie. Still worth a read though, but I might even suggest skipping the last chapter of Fall. It really is that bad. Never bothered with Endymion because of that.
Also,
Priest > Scholar > Poet > > > Detective = Consul > > > Templar (lol) > Soldier

>> No.21905072
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21905072

>consul is introduced first, kinda as the MC
>his story is left to last
>think it's gonna be the highest stakes epic kino with the biggest reveals
>DUDE TALKING DOLPHINS LMAO

>> No.21905081

>>21905072
His story ruled

>> No.21905088

>>21904170
It is a good book, I read it several years ago.
I enjoyed it, but I probably wouldn't bother reading it again.

>> No.21905116

They are two of my favorite books. Books one and two are very different in structure, but they are both great in their own way. Go for it, although I would shop around for a cheaper copy. The newer version of the audiobook also has a great cast.

>> No.21905197

>>21905081
it had its moments but personally I felt like the ousters were the weakest element of the 2 books

>> No.21905198

>>21904170
It's great. The first one is art, the second one is plot. The third and fourth are optional, but have some staunch followers. It's fully defensible just to read the first. I personally loved the second, it's the first time in quite a while I've wondered where a story was going. But you could make a choice not to read past the first and it's artistically powerful to do so.

>> No.21905226

>>21905054
>Hyperion was great but it ends on a really lame cliffhanger.
hard disagree. The decision not to resolve the plot in any way is NOT a cliffhanger in this context, it's deliberately evocative of mans powerlessness in in the face of deity and fate. Their victory is in finding kinship as they go out together face certain death, despite the fact they all have good reason to hate each other. It's beautiful, and it would be robbed of its beauty if any questions about how it turns out were answered
That the second book resolves the plot points almost cheapens the first, but the clear split allows both the having and the eating of the proverbial cake.

>> No.21905238

>>21904869
When I was a kid hard covers were like $20, Large paper backs were $10 and mass paperbacks were $5.

>> No.21905320

>>21905226
I've only read it once but I really like your interpretation and will keep it in mind on re-reads. I don't think Fall would feel so cheap if the points weren't resolved so poorly and abruptly.

>> No.21905335

>>21905197
The ousters weren't involved with Merin and Siri at all as far as I recall

>> No.21905351

>>21904848
>The second tries to tie all their plot threads together, and largely fails.
>>21905054
>you're told in the first book that all the stories are somehow connected, this is a lie.
How dumb do you have to be?

>> No.21905356

>>21905335
yeah but they were the crux of that story iirc (he betrays the hegemony then betrays the ousters then it's revealed the ousters knew he was betraying them and it didn't matter)

>> No.21905363

>>21905351
You haven't told us yet. Weve been hanging on your words, anon.

>> No.21905451

>>21904848
>unconnected short stories
Yes, it's an homage to The Canterbury Tales. Did you not get that?

>> No.21905505

>>21905363
Look at the cover

>> No.21905513

>>21904229
>the ending not so much.
There was no ending lol
It literally just stops

>> No.21905519

Honestly the Priest's tale is so far beyond anything else in the book that it makes the rest of it feel like an after thought.

>> No.21905713

>>21905025
Thank you, I will read it.