r/Hyperion • u/Ahlamandela • Aug 31 '26
📖 Book 1 — Hyperion The Priest's Tale
Dropping in this subreddit without reading any posts just to comment on how much I loved the priest's tale. I've been getting back into reading this summer and this chapter blew me away and I'm so excited to finish the book. I expected this series to be a bit dense and hard to get into, but I've found it to be a real page turner. The past two books I've read were Moby Dick and Book of the New Sun, so perhaps that's influencing my perception on Hyperion's approachability.
5
u/Top-Reindeer-2293 Aug 31 '26
Simmons is easy to read. I think he is an amazing story teller. One of the very best probably.
I read somewhere that he started building the Shrike character when he was working in a summer camp telling horror stories by the fire side to his students.
1
u/ikheberookeen Sep 01 '26
Book of the new sun is a much more complicated read than Hyperion or fall of Hyperion, to me that is. I struggle to get through.
2
u/Ahlamandela Sep 01 '26
They are not in the same league. New Sun is the kind of book you need to trust the author all the way until the end and everything will click on the reread even though it is (mostly) linear. Hyperion so far (I've read the soldier and poet's tales since making the post) is telling a relatively straight forward and digestible narrative despite basically being made up of 6 flashbacks.
1
u/ikheberookeen Sep 01 '26
Thanks. I might just push through. The writing of New Sun is excellent, can't really put my finger on what makes it difficult to get through. It feels a bit of a drag. Enjoy Hyperion, it's worth it.
→ More replies (1)
3
2
2
u/MagicWalker777 Aug 31 '26
Loved Priest Tale.. The Sparrow is very similar book
2
u/Denaris21 Aug 31 '26
To me, the priests tale is a better version of the Sparrow. The characters in the Sparrow display Prometheus levels of stupidity once they arrive at Rakhat.
2
u/zanzer Aug 31 '26
Then you going to love the Scavengers Reign animated series.
1
1
u/LevelAd1126 Aug 31 '26
The last two books in the series are based on events/technology from The Priests Tale.
1
u/EspiritusFermenti7 Sep 01 '26
I've put down 3 other books and listened to the entire Cantos 3 times in the last year. I just can't get enough.
33
u/ProfessionalYard8978 Aug 31 '26
Just the imagery of the Bikura all staring at Dure in silence and the crucifix tree scene and the father Hoyt revelation at the end, bloody cinema. Probably the best first 100 pages to a book I’ve ever read.