So I finished the first book in the Hyperion series... (spoilers)

Cafe Society
1

I read the first book and quite enjoyed it. I understand why it won the Hugo. It was really a nice book of short stories with a consistent theme (the best of the lot was the Scholar and his daughter).

But I have been looking through some threads about Hyperion since reading it and it seems everyone is universally disappointed with the second book and the Endymion books.

In fact, in a recent thread, someone said they wanted to write a letter to the author and ask:

mild to no spoiler but just in case:

THAT’S how you ended the series!"

I have started the second book and now that the pilgrims have told their tales of why they are on the pilgrimage I find myself not caring about what happens next.

I liked the first book for good story telling.

Is the second book worth it?

2

I enjoyed the entire series, but I’m weird that way.

3

I’ve read both Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion. I’ve never thought of it like you do, middleman. When you look at it as a collection of each of the pilgrims’ stories, it certainly is nicely self-contained. Did they reference the Canterbury Tales in the book, or did I get that from a comparison from someplace else? I did enjoy the second one as an extended epilogue, though.

Something that confused me, though:

They never again addressed the disappearance of Het Masteen. As I recall, they were wondering about what had happened one minute and then moving on the next. What happened there?

Also something that occurred to me when I read the first two books is that you could cast the pilgrims very well using actors from Star Trek (shame some of them aren’t alive any more):

The Consul - William Shatner
Lenar Hoyt - Rene Auberjonois
Fedmahn Kassad - Jonathan Frakes or Robert Beltran
Brawne Lamia - Roxanne Dawson
Het Masteen - Leonard Nimoy
Martin Silenus - Brent Spiner
Sol Weintraub - DeForest Kelley

Not that this would ever happen, and I’m sure many of you would disagree. It’s just that I found some of these actors to match pretty well with how I visualized the characters.

4

Count me as one of those who was disappointed with the sequel. The first book is an amazing work, and the ending should have been left as it was - paralleling the unfinished Cantebury tales to the very end. I didn’t like the idea of a sequel to being with. Moreover, the sequel itself does not live up to the first book. I tried reading the second book, couldn’t get myself interested, and didn’t even bother with the third.

5

I read them all, and they went downhill, each subsequent book not quite as good as the one before.

About Het Masteen-

He does reappear in the second book, with some explanation of what happened to him.

I loved the first, really liked the second, lthought the third was okay, disappointed in the fourth.

The second book was 100% necessary. I was so pissed at the end of the first one! WHAT?!? I sat through an entire book of backstory and that’s it?!? :wink:

6

Well, I enjoyed all 4 books. So there.

7

I’ll second this. What really bothered me in the last two books was

the midichlorianization of the cruciforms.

8

Yeah, I loved all four books.

9

Well, I did that, in an e-mail, because I wasn’t sure I understood the ending. Simmons responded that my interpretation was correct.

Oh. Well, um, thanks.