The Fall of Hyperion

The Fall of Hyperion should be read with the first novel in the series. It is the necessary conclusion to the first installment, despite it being a worse experience for the reader. Continuing right where the previous story concluded, it expands our ensemble of characters, introduces another Keats cybrid persona, and changes the narrative structure. The second John Keats persona can experience what others see and do via "dreams," allowing him to relay data on the pilgrims to Hegemony CEO Meina Gladstone. Unfortunately, the change in narrative structure is a turn for the worse, as the reader no longer has a Chaucer-like plot structure to mix up the stylistic and genre references. Moreover, the plot is stretched out with turgid, sometimes unnecessary prose and exposition. The whole experience starts to drag after a while, which is why we here at the blog took our sweet time to finish this novel. 

While there are some interesting new additions to the setting here, particularly the introduction of Ouster characters (and their vast Swarms), time travel, additional Keats allusions and more context for the development of the civil war taking place in the Core, the overall reading experience was not the greatest. It just seemed excessive and unnecessary for the story to be stretched in the manner it was, for its numerous digressions and the lack of adequate attention on more interesting characters, such as Ummon. Some of the new settings and visual language are stunning, especially the Ouster Swarm invading Hyperion, and the metasphere. 

The religious themes and apocalyptic imagery were occasionally interesting, particularly for the fusion of AI and human spirit embodied in a certain character, and the dualism of a battle between future Ultimate Intelligences crafted by humanity and AI. Sure, very Manichaean and perhaps Gnostic influences evident there, but science fiction has always reworked these themes in intriguing ways. Clearly, the Hegemony was a civilization in decline, dependent on the Core for its greatest scientific and conceptual revolutions. Thus, a civilizational change was necessary, one that would change the nature of humanity's relationship with technology and the rest of the universe. Perhaps the next civilization will fuse the cultures of the former Hegemony with the Ousters, their belief in humans adapting to the universe rather than terraforming other planets and reproducing old Earth. This is more plausible as a desirable future than the collective consciousness of Gaia in Asimov's  Foundation series. Besides, it builds on the messianic and Christian symbolism of the cybrid persona and Brawne's child. Perhaps it also appealed to Simmons and the ecological interests he clearly possessed when creating the Templars.