Thursday 1 March 2012

#99. THE FALL OF HYPERION By Dan Simmons

Published : 1990
Pages : 535
Overall Mark : 8/10

The universe is reaching a crisis point. The mysterious Time Tombs are opening and the Shrike that has risen from them may well control the fate of all humanity. The Als we created have turned against us to build the Ultimate Intelligence - God. The God of Machines.

His genesis could mean the annihilation of the entire human race.

DAN SIMMONS (1948-)
Born in Illinois, Dan Simmons won the World Fantasy Award for his first novel, Song Of Kali. In 1990 Hyperion, the first book in the famous Hyperion Cantos series, won the Hugo Award for Best Novel.

VERDICT
Unlike the first book in this series, The Fall Of Hyperion doesn't feature individual tales from the pilgrims but instead progresses their tales and shows the events that follow their arrival at Hyperion. The realisation that what awaits them may not necessarily be death is broached and Simmons manages to turn this into an allegory about religion and how it can be used to improve life, destroy life and subsequently control our lives. An interesting tale that continues to impress.