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The Fall of Hyperion
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 21 hrs and 45 mins
- Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction
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Publisher's Summary
On the world of Hyperion, the mysterious Time Tombs are opening. And the secrets they contain mean that nothing - nothing anywhere in the universe - will ever be the same.
Critic Reviews
"State of the art science fiction...A landmark novel." (Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine)
More from the same
What listeners say about The Fall of Hyperion
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Sharan
- 16-03-19
Amazing!! Keeps you wanting more.
So many concepts, so expertly dealt with!!
This is what the current movies are based on.
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- Darwin8u
- 15-06-12
Hyperion is FALLEN, am I too to fall?
Am I to leave this haven of my rest,
This cradle of my glory, this soft clime,
This calm luxuriance of blissful light,
These crystalline pavilions, and pure fanes,
Of all my lucent empire?
It is hard to restrain myself and not be overly poetic in my response to this SF masterpiece. This second novel in Simmons' Hyperion Cantos dances between magic and good old fashioned Hard SF. It isn't that I don't have critical issues with the novel. Please, Simmons, please find another way to describe the sky/heavens that doesn't involve Lapis lazuli. However, not many novelests have the skill to allude to epic poetry while dealing with issues like pain, death, time, God, gods, poetry, empathy. Simmons not only kept these threads alive, but wove them beautifully and tied them all off. Just for THAT this novel deserves five stars.
For me the Hyperion novels are on the same level as Lord of the Rings, Dune, the Foundation trilogy, the Book Of The New Sun, etc. Definitely worth the time and effort. Bevine does a great job narrating the second book. I think it made sense to switch from multiple narrators in Hyperion to a single narrator in the Fall of Hyperion (seems to me to fit with the change of narrative structure Simmons intended). Enjoy.
53 people found this helpful
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- Celeste M
- 09-03-14
I loved Hyperion, but...
Hyperion was solid sci fi. Well, a bit corny and odd in spots, but mostly inventive, engaging, and thoroughly fun. I even enjoyed the ending, which seems a love-it-or-hate-it kind of thing.
I was excited to see what was going to happen in The Fall of Hyperion - the second chapter of the wild world of the Shrike!
As the story progressed, my anticipation was replaced with mild disappointment. The story lines muddled together in a complicated baroque jumble. Towards the middle of the book, I kept thinking that I'd accidentally rewound the story, but it was just that the author kept saying the same thing over and over. Plus, although I'm a fan of metafiction and allusions to classic literature, this book's heavy handed eruditism felt embarrassingly self conscious. Wasn't sure I cared about the characters anymore. Things just kept happening to them, and they didn't seem actively engaged in their future, so neither was I.
12 people found this helpful
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- Trex
- 26-05-13
If I'd wanted hours of rattling poetry . . .
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
Hours upon hours of rattling poetry to get to the end of the story that was only pretty good. I did want to know what happened in the end but I'm not sure it was worth the effort.
20 people found this helpful
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- T. Mcpherson
- 10-04-09
Excellent story, Excellent Narration.
I couldn't be happier with this purchase. I reviewed Hyperion immediately after I finished it because it left me very excited about this series. I decided to wait until I finished the remaining 3 books before reviewing any of them individually. It is not very often that you come across a story that is so promising and I was afraid that the remaing books in the series would fall flat, or even worse, tank completely. I am very relieved to say that this is not the case at all. Simmons continues to weave a fantasic world in this second book and it leaves you hungry for more. The narration truly is excellent. After the first book, there was a slight transition in getting used to hearing a single narrator rather than a full cast, but Victor Bevine is definitely the correct choice for this project. As I listen to more and more audiobooks, I'm beginning to realize that narrators fall into roughly three categories. Class "C" would be the ones who are terrible and should not be allowed anywhere near a microphone. Class "B" are the ones who do a competent job, but don't really stand out or excell at their craft. And the class "A" narrators who provide truly excellent performances and who display an abundance of talent. Bevine is definitely a class "A" in every way. With audiobooks, when you have the combo of a good book helmed by an outstanding narrator, it just doesn't get much better than that.
18 people found this helpful
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Overall
- OldDog
- 13-01-10
Necessary after You Enjoyed Hyperion
Single narrator this time, but excellent. When he goes over-the-top (rarely), it's where my inner voice would have as well while reading.
This, simply put, is Part II of a novel that wouldn't fit in one jacket. Again [See my review of Hyperion if you wish.] I've enjoyed the pace of this being read aloud immensely.
16 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Robert
- 08-03-11
This will spoil you for anything less
I don't write separate reviews for books in a series. Especially here, where Hyperion has been called the prologue to the Fall of Hyperion (FoH), it's been intimated that the former cannot stand on its own and I agree. Some have compared and contrasted the two connoting that there is perhaps a lack of cohesion and that they are very dissimilar. To that end, I disagree. The "prologue" smoothly transitions into the main body of the work and feels completely natural. Taken together, the two seem very much a part of a cohesive whole.
I was skeptical that the stellar cast of narrators of Hyperion could be equaled by a single actor, albeit Victor Bevine in FoH. Mr. Bevine was phenomenal and I never, at any point in the listening, felt like the work was diminished.
It is good that I have listened to this author later in life. Having been brought up reading the classics of all genre of literature, it is often difficult to appreciate lesser works after having experienced the masters. Dan Simmons is a master when compared to authors of any genre. I have heard Simmons compared to Dickens. Truly in his development of characters, the comparison seems a fair one. It would be hard to compare the plot of this work to that of any other.
Often fraught with and characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtapositions, the work is almost too much to be believed. But somehow Simmons makes it all believable for some time in the future. Unlike some classic, older SciFi which seemed futuristic when it was written but then later became seemingly dated, this piece is fresh, modern or hopefully even timeless. There's religion, technology, philosophy, excitement, a great deal of love and caring among seven pilgrim strangers and funny, now that I think about it, only one real villain in a world that is more vast than I can even imagine. This is truly a magnum opus in every sense of the word.
42 people found this helpful
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- Sandrine
- 24-10-13
A very long fall
What did you like best about The Fall of Hyperion? What did you like least?
I was just curious on how the epic tale of Hyperion was going to be continued. I listened through it and I found it just a little bit too long. The story does however develop nicely and a new things come up just like in a good series.
Any additional comments?
I'll need a little break before listening to the next book. ;o)
5 people found this helpful
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- Shawn
- 09-04-13
Interesting sequel, very different story
This sequel has a different structure than Hyperion. While sacrifice, pain and tests of torture are common in the Hyperion Cantos novels, this one more closely follows two people in a narrative of the events since the last book.
This one feels more civilization spanning and more big picture than the first book, which was more personal, as required by it's structure.
5 people found this helpful
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- Olaf
- 24-10-13
couldn't finish it
My introduction to Dan Simmons' books was Endymion. Apparently, the third book in the cycle, pretty good in my humble opinion, so imagine the excitement about three more books in the series that will keep me entertained for weeks.
If your patience can handle it, the author's imagination is wild and command of the language is impeccable. On the other hand, I listened to the Hyperion and if the ending had been anything but the cliffhanger it was, I would have stopped there. But I had to find out what would happen to the pilgrims, so I bought this one.
The book is long - I would have lost patience and skimmed through it if it was the printed copy. Infinite amount of details and monotonous descriptions that don't add anything to the story nor to the characters... Switching narration speed to x1.5 helped for awhile but I'm in the middle of the second part and I just can't go on...
I don't usually write such negative reviews but I'm upset enough to do so, despite a high overall rating for the book. Maybe it will stop someone with similar taste from unnecessary aggravation.
34 people found this helpful
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- Ronald Albury
- 09-02-15
Okay book - but I'm stopping the series
Whereas the first book in the series had boring gaps due to development of some unlikable boring characters - I think this book got carried away with mysticism. Now, I enjoy some mysticism blended into a good story, but not when it is 'in your face' like a blinking neon sign.
10 people found this helpful
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- Thomas
- 11-08-11
Great!
On the book...
The fall of Hyperion is well named, with each new calamity coming after the last. I've just finished all four audiobooks, so I can't remember the exact details of this one - but I really liked them all!
On narration...
I didn't really think much of the narrator - it sounded like English wasn't his first language maybe. He pronounced every single word - like 'to' and 'a' - fully, which - when you actually hear it done - is quite strange. He occasionally made little errors in pronunciation - saying the 'chasm' with a soft 'ch' sound - which is a bit weird - or maybe he just did the whole thing in one take without bothering to fix the error. He also pronounced 'Aargh' exactly as it is written, with a clear 'r' and then a hard 'g' sound on the end. No-one really says that when they scream - that's just obvious - again - weird. The thing I disliked the most though was his inability to portray anything other than a small range of emotions. Whenever he took on a woman's voice - there was one set tone - and any emotion - such as anger - was not portrayed at all - it was always just 'the soft woman tone'. The range of accents for the different characters was good - just a bit more attention to tone and emotion was needed.
34 people found this helpful
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- Keith Rogers
- 30-01-11
Great book
Great book, and well read, but it is a shame that they didn't continue with the full cast recording from Hyperion
31 people found this helpful
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- Cubano343
- 29-03-18
Great book but ditch the music
Excellent book, really gripping in parts and a sensitive continuation of the characters' fates as they prepare to meet the shrike.
The narration is hit and miss, with some passages moving me to tears but others sounding like he's turned the page and realised he should have intoned the first part of the sentence differently. This makes for a patchy experience.
Also, music fades in from time to time, without any apparent logic and to deleterious effect. It sounds cheesy and it takes the listener away from the world in which they were immersed. So seriously guys, remaster this and ditch the music.
10 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 04-09-17
Makes me remember why I loved the first book
I enjoyed the Fall of Hyperion, just not as much as I enjoyed Hyperion. A lot of the elements that really made the previous book for me, the mysteries and the cast of different narrators for different characters, aren't in this book. It's still solid, I enjoyed the new characters and different viewpoints the book offered, but as the story went on it felt like the mysteries set up in the first book were just a lot more compelling without answers.
Out of the original cast I'm glad Victor Bevine was chosen to narrate. While he wasn't my favorite from the previous book there's a certain quality to his voice that I really enjoy. I've read reviews that call him monotone and dull and honestly those kind of reviews do make me hesitant about a book. I'd advise anyone unsure about him to listen to the audio sample in full if they're worried, I personally loved his performance and maybe you will too.
Overall it's a worthy successor to Hyperion. The original book remains one of my favorite audio books but this sequel is a solid and engaging follow up. Less a fall from Hyperion and more a very slight decline. I know that's a terrible joke, I just wanted to use it.
8 people found this helpful
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- Peter
- 02-12-09
More great writing
Brilliant sequel to Hyperion. Continues pretty well where the last one left off and reveals what happens at the Shrike 'Time Tombs' to the pilgrims. Superb characterisations by both the author and the narrator make this a great listening experience that has some amazing sci-fi concepts embedded in a truly rivetting story. I will definitely be investing in the two "Endymion" sequels. Highly recommended to people who enjoy intelligent Sci-fi.
7 people found this helpful
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- Srjane
- 18-01-18
Confusing
Firstly, this is a really complicated sci fi story. I’m not sure if I missed a few explanations but I had to let go a lot of the scientific detail. It’s hard to look back on an audible book for repeat info, especially one of this size.
One suggestion for the orator would be to have longer breaks between each point of view or scene. Often I didn’t know who or where I was as each paragraph seems to run on like a sentence.
The plot is complicated too with many characters and Ai tricks. But I particularly liked the Rachel and her dad story. Not quite sure what happened to her but I suppose it may be the focus for another book?
I think this book may be better enjoyed in its print form but well done for the depth of characters and plot lines.
5 people found this helpful
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- Richard
- 06-11-19
repetative
Really enjoyed book one. This however is a repetative, pretentious drawn out piece of crap. Really annoyed I wasted a credit on it. Perhaps if I grow a beard, polo neck sweater and start smoking weed, I may get it.
4 people found this helpful
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- Mr. M. Bleck
- 21-03-18
Hegemony fights back
I preferred the pace of revelation of wonderment and awe better in the first book but this one packs a huge amount of crazy good stuff in its second half. Can’t wait for book 3.
3 people found this helpful
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- Tom
- 19-11-09
Brilliant
Not much to add to other reviewers except that excellent doesn't begin to describe this book. But read "Hyperion" first as this book follows on right from the end of it. Narration was faultless too. What a great book. Strongly recommended.
6 people found this helpful
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- Mr I S Walters
- 14-04-18
Compared to Hyperion
Hyperion had many players voices, this has one ( however talented) which is a shame as you tend to identify with the original voices. Other audio Sci-Fi books have extensive music and effects this has none. The story however is compelling. If you listened to Hyperion this listen is essential.
2 people found this helpful
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- Rainer
- 09-09-15
Great follow-up to the first book.
I won't go into the story or anything like that, but I will review the Audio book instead.
This is an immediate continuation of the story from the first book, which ended on a cliff-hanger.
The reader did a great job. The first thing I noticed was that he pronounced some words slightly different to the readers in the first book. Most notably, Lusus. I think the pronunciation in the second book was correct.
The other thing I noticed was the stark difference in the way Silenus talked. Not in a bad way, but I never got used to it. I think I preferred the reader from the first book for Martin.
The shifting narrative from first-person to 3rd person worked well.
The only weird thing I found is that occasionally throughout the book all of the sudden music would just start playing in the background for no apparent reason. Weird.
Anyway, I don't need to recommend this book, if you read the first, then you'll probably read the second. If you enjoyed Hyperion, then you'll enjoy The Fall of Hyperion.
4 people found this helpful
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- Steven
- 05-02-17
Well done, but I enjoyed the first a bit more.
The problem is that I feel like you need to have read John Keets's work to truly enjoy this book. The story from the first book is so well done, and this one glosses over a bit too much of what I would have actually like to have seen. Some things from the book are abandoned or left abstract like why the pilgrims went on the journey in the first place. Still, there are so many threads that nicely got tied together and I did enjoy it.
Probably my biggest complaint is that I wanted the book to hurry up and tie up loose ends and I wasn't actually enjoying it. Still love dan Simmons though.
Also disappointed that there's only one narrator, but it makes sense and he did a fine enough job.
1 person found this helpful
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- Aiden
- 22-03-21
Just as intriguing as Hyperion with twice the acti
Rich world building and dynamic elements of this story give all the alien vastness of a sci-fi with a carefully crafted narrative that demands attention from the reader and every last citizen of the explored in-book universe and the perfect pairing to the first Hyperion story.
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- Kaz
- 21-01-21
Great story, so why only 4 stars?
I did love this book and initially was going to give it 5 stars. The creativity is fantastic, the tipping on of every stand superlative, but ...
For my tastes, there was a little too much literary argumentation, philosophical mish mash, which felt a bit like self-indulgence; spouting off to a captive audience. I get that some of it was necessary to give the right mood and flavour, but for me, it was overdone.
And still, I would recommend this to anyone who loves space opera and I fully intend to go on to the third in the trilogy.
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- Antony Stein
- 14-01-21
Hard to explain how great this book is...
Words, tones, paintings in the mind. A truly tactile and wonderful experience. Sumptuous. Brilliant.
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- Aleksandar
- 08-10-20
Absolutely brilliant
This has to be one of the best sci fi books I’ve ever listened to. This and the first book.
Everything was great.
Just buy it. Then listen. You won’t be able to put it down
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- Anonymous User
- 29-05-20
The best
The best science fiction writing I have ever read, bar none! The interweaving of past and future was both seamless and added a dimension that I have yet to experience.
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- Anonymous User
- 25-06-19
Amazing
Read the kindle version a couple of years ago and just going the whole series again as audiobooks. Could not recommend more!
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- Anonymous User
- 26-02-19
Not as good as the First
Same story, same characters but so much slower, at times mindless babbling that seemed to extend for light years. It picks up at the end and ties up all the lose ends. But definitely not as enjoyable as the first
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- Thanh
- 21-11-18
This series is like a thiccc onion… so many layers
enjoyed every bit of it. I'm going to listen to it again. words can't describe the scale the story is and how well crafted everything about the Dan Simmons universe is. love it love it love it.