The biggest challenge with any sci-fi book is getting up to speed with the vernacular. Hyperion throws an incredible amount of this type of language at you right from the get go. I was first introduced to the apparent main character “The Consul”. He is one of 7 passengers on a “tree ship” headed for the planet Hyperion. As a reader I was juggling understanding this world, why the planet and setting are important, who the players were, and making predictions as to what happens next right from the first page.
I would like to mention that there doesn’t appear to be chapters in the traditional sense. Instead, outside of descriptions of the tree ship and the main character describing his surroundings, the first major change in pacing for the text happens when it comes to the main characters explaining their own stories as a device to deepen the readers understanding of everyone. As far as I can tell there is one such chapter (5 in total) for each of the “pilgrims” on the ship.
Its not until nearly 1/6th of the way through the first section of the book, when you finally reach the end of Chapter 1. I am not typically the type of person who will skim ahead or flip through the pages to find the end of a chapter. Somehow setting a subconscious “ok I have this many pages to read” flag in my brain tends to rile up a feeling of anxiety. Anxiety might not actually be the word I am looking for here, maybe apprehension? I am not quite sure how to describe it, but either way that “feeling” builds. I had resigned myself to the fact that this book may not contain chapters. The first chapter does indeed end, I can assure you. Its formatted in such a way that after a brief jargon filled introduction, you are roped into the “journal” like backstory of a Jesuit priest who presides the rest of the group in exploring Hyperion In self imposed exile as punishment for some unknown crime.
*Note: My first attempt at journaling my experience reading this book was a mess. I basically just free flow wrote out all my thoughts. See: Hyperion Notes Section One. I won’t be continuing with this type of practice for further reading.
Premise
Five pilgrims on a trip to the mysterious planet called “Hyperion” to meet a godlike figure called the Shrike. They know that only one of them will survive the encounter and be granted their “wish” from the Shrike. They whole of the book takes place in route to the home of the Shrike.
Journals
- Journal 1 - Father Hoyte: Tells the story of a predecessor priest that came in contact with the Shrike and a mysterious people on the planet called the Bikura. The priest dies among the people of the Bikura in a gruesome way and his mysterious affliction was passed on to Father Hoyte.
- Journal 2 - Colonel Kassad: Gives his history coming up through the ranks of the FORCE military complex for the ruling government. During his sim training he was haunted by a mysterious woman who he fell in love with. During an attack by a mysterious outer system race of humans, he crash landed on Hyperion and found the woman again in league with Shrike. The Shrike and the woman revealed their powers to control time.
- Journal 3 - Martin Silenious: His story also tells of his upbringing. He is hundreds of years old in this book on account of being frozen before the “old earth” was destroyed. For someone who seems like a pompous and annoying character, you find that his life has had lots of ups and downs throughout his journey.