The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The continuing story of the Pilgrims and the tale of their venture to the time tomes comes to a conclusion in the Fall of Hyperion.
This book picks up where the first, Hyperion, leaves off. What changes is the narrative structure. The first book is based on the structure and character constructs of the Canterbury Tales. The second falls into a more traditional book structure with narrative view points switch from scene to scene. The use of first person and third person is a nice touch, though built through a construct of the world. This form (first/third narration) continues in the third and fourth books in the series.
I did not like this book as much as the first. This book moves into more traditional space opera territory. Ok, so it is well written more literary space opera. The book does finish the tale of the pilgrims (well in some form). It is paced well and the tension from that is excellent. Dan Simmons knows how to write a book!
Dan Simmons
The audio book factor on this was not as great as the first either. The first was read by a cast, each voicing one of the major characters. Victor Bevine does the entire narration. He is excellent. His reading voice is pleasant and he does characterizations very well. But after the full cast, it is a step back. It works from a narrative stand point as the lead narrator is actually telling the third person portions.
Overall, compelling but not as great as the first. Some have suggested reading this first and then reading Hyperion. A very interesting idea.