Hyperion by Dan Simmons Pt.1
by İnci German
I’ve first read Dan
Simmons’ Hyperion over a decade ago
and rereading it for the Classics series, I was taken aback to realize that I
hadn’t forgotten a thing. Awkward… but in a good way.
It’s not like I could
recite it by heart, but every name, every scene, everything about this universe
was there, somewhere in my head, sleeping, waiting and it came back to me as I've reread: the
Hawking drive, the mysterious captain Het Masteen, the Hegira, the seasonally
burning tesla trees, the starship with a Steinway, the Shrike, Brawne Lamia’s
pearl-handled pistol…
It’s not the first time
I’m rereading a book, but with Hyperion it was like all of these words had been
chiseled somewhere in my unconsciousness and I immediately felt the comfort of something
deeply familiar. Why? What is it about them that they can have such an effect?
What makes a book feel so pristine, so fundamental? Or was it just me?
I’ve decided to take a
closer look at what Simmons does.
First things
first though, here’s a general synopsis for those who haven’t read it yet:
The end of
all times is soon and seven pilgrims are chosen by the mysterious Church of
Shrike to go on a pilgrimage to the Time Tombs: a sickly young priest of the
Catholic Church; a broken ex-soldier; a raucous poet; an old scholar whose
infant child grows younger by the day; a detective with an unfinished business;
a tormented consul and a secretive starship captain who knows far more than he
admits to. In order to make sense of this dubious situation they decide to tell
each other their stories.
This is the frame
story of the first book of the Hyperion Cantos and before going into further detail I want to warn everybody who hasn’t
read Hyperion, not to continue reading this review, for it might spoil one of the
best reading experiences you’ll ever have. Seriously: Read it first and come back.
Off
you go!
