Philoscifi

The Hyperion series consists of 4 books: Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, and Rise of Endymion. The first 2 books are sometimes called the Hyperion Cantos, and it is a brilliant mess, like a Jackson Pollock painting. There are great ideas, intense action, and outright craziness. I highly recommend it, but be prepared for sensory overload. The last two books are sometimes called the Endymion Omnibus, and it is the odyssey of a Christ-like figure. It is very different from the Cantos, but it is still worth reading.

One of my favorite ideas from the Hyperion Cantos is the conflict between the Hegemony and the Ousters. Is the universe ours to modify as we see fit, or should we adapt to it? This is a dilemma that we ourselves are increasingly facing. The Hegemony uniformly terraformed every planet for comfortable human habitation; as a result, humanity had not evolved in hundreds of years. They also discover later that the technology that made their vast empire possible comes at a steep price. The Ousters rejected this system and opted to live in the harshness of outer space. As a result, they evolved into many incredible forms.

My favorite idea from the Endymion Omnibus is that love is the Void Which Binds. The Void Which Binds is the mysterious force that appears throughout the series that is utilized for faster-than-light transportation and communication. Love has a transcendental quality to it – it does seem to transcend space and time. This idea pushes the Omnibus into the metaphysical realm, which not everyone likes, but it makes it much more memorable.

If you liked this, share!
Email or post to social networks

Link here
Simply copy and paste the code below into your web site (Ctrl+C to copy)
to get a link that look like this: Hyperion series

<a href="http://www.philoscifi.com/scifi/works/hyperion-series">Hyperion series</a>