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You want to recommend a piece of sci-fi 64 to a friend, but you know that if you do, you'll have to include the disclaimer 65 that the author's politics are diametrically opposed to your own, and you find 66 them downright objectionable. You truly love the book, and you think your 67 friend will love it too, but you wonder if you even want to bother with the 68 whole rigamarole the disclaimer requires. 69 70 The best way I can describe Dan Simmons, who [48]died last month at age 77, is 71 as someone who got driven crazy by watching too much Fox News after September 72 11th. Not one but two of his future-set novels feature as major plot points a 73 Global Islamic Caliphate. One of those, Flashback, is basically [49]one long 74 rant about how the American left would ruin the world if they gained power. Not 75 that Simmons didn't have some taste issues before—Song of Kali, his World 76 Fantasy Award–winning first novel, has some moments that read decades later as 77 stunningly racist—but late-career Simmons was at times totally unredeemable. 78 79 This is a shame, because his best work belongs with the greats of fantasy, 80 horror, and sci-fi. Summer of Night is a tighter, more satisfying version of 81 Stephen King's It. Carrion Comfort is a brick-sized epic about psychic vampires 82 that reads as breezily as a trade paperback. The Terror, which inspired the 83 well-regarded show, is for its first three-quarters a brilliant and 84 non-supernatural speculative take on a real doomed Arctic expedition. 85 86 Simmons played around with metafiction in ways that, if they didn't always 87 work, were always interesting. His Ilium and Olympos feature a batshit conceit: 88 What if future humans turned themselves into the literal Greek Gods and moved 89 to Mars and reenacted the Iliad and resurrected scholars from our time to 90 document it? And also there are robots from Jupiter, and Shakespeare's Caliban 91 is real. Drood is a historical thriller featuring Charles Dickens's 92 madness-inducing obsession with one of his characters, who may or may not be 93 real. The Fifth Heart puts Henry James and Sherlock Holmes together to solve a 94 mystery in Washington, D.C. It's often very silly, but whatever can be said of 95 Simmons, he committed to the bit. 96 97 All that stuff (besides The Terror, which I truly love) might be an acquired 98 taste for non-genre fans. Which brings us to the entire purpose of this blog: 99 me telling you to read [50]Hyperion, and then you coming back later and saying 100 thank you. 101 102 Hyperion does not hide its inspirations. Quotes from Keats, whose poem fragment 103 lends the book its name, litter its chapters. Jack Vance and Pierre Teilhard de 104 Chardin are referenced by name. The entire book is one large frame story, the 105 individual tales of seven pilgrims, a Canterbury Tales of the Ekumen. It is the 106 obvious work of a voracious, small-c catholic reader, bringing disparate 107 sources and philosophies to bear on the big questions of love, death, and 108 redemption. 109 110 Our seven are seeking the mysterious Shrike, a menacing, quasi-organic creature 111 who is said to grant one wish to pilgrims, but also oversees the Tree of Pain, 112 on which it impales its victims for an eternity of hell. Each character gets 113 their own turn in the spotlight, sharing their past and explaining what they 114 will wish for. A Catholic priest of a dying religion who must suffer unknowable 115 pain to prevent a resurrection. A faith-questioning Jewish professor seeking a 116 cure for his daughter, who is inexorably aging backward. A politician who is 117 willing to destroy humankind in an act of ecoterrorism, or perhaps just 118 personal revenge. A soldier in love, trying to prevent a war. A poet looking to 119 complete his life's work, who believes the Shrike is his ultimate muse. Each 120 tale stands by itself as an exploration and celebration of some aspect of 121 humanity. Despite the sci-fi setting, Hyperion is at root an imaginative, 122 sympathetic portrait of people, and should speak to any reader. 123 124 The book ends just as our pilgrims reach the Shrike. The Fall of Hyperion 125 completes their story, and then two Endymion books extend its themes and some 126 of its characters into the wider universe. I think you can live without the 127 last two, though I enjoyed them. And I think there's no reason for me to advise 128 on the second one, because once you've read Hyperion you'll demand the direct 129 sequel. It's a genuine achievement in sci-fi, using one of language's oldest 130 literary structures to push the boundaries of what the genre can say about what 131 it means to be human. It was always bound to long outlive its author. 132 133 Recommended 134 135 [51]Arts And Culture 136 [52] 137 138 Don DeLillo’s Funniest Novel Is A 1980 Hockey Sex Romp He Won’t Acknowledge 139 140 [53]102Comments 141 [54]Pete Segall 142 March 4, 2026 143 [55]A collage featuring three of the different paperback covers for "Cleo 144 Birdwell"'s 1980 novel Amazons. 145 [56]Subscribe to skip adsAdvertisement 146 147 If you liked this blog, please share it! Your referrals help Defector reach new 148 readers, and those new readers always get a few free blogs before encountering 149 our paywall. 150 151 • [57]Share on Bluesky 152 • [58]Share on Reddit 153 • [59]Share on WhatsApp 154 • [60]Share on Email 155 156 [61][hea] 157 [62]Barry Petchesky 158 [63]@barryp.bsky.social 159 160 Deputy Editor 161 162 Read More: 163 164 • [64]Books, 165 • [65]dan simmons, 166 • [66]hyperion, 167 • [67]Obits, 168 • [68]sci-fi 169 170 Stay in touch 171 172 Sign up for our free newsletter 173 174 [69][ ]Email 175 Sign up 176 More from Defector 177 178 [71]MLB 179 [72] 180 181 Even At The World Baseball Classic, The Mariners Cannot Escape Themselves 182 183 [73]21Comments 184 [74][ima] 185 [75]Kathryn Xu 186 March 10, 2026 187 [76]Randy Arozarena #56 of the Mexico in action during the 2026 World Baseball 188 Classic game between Mexico and the United States. 189 [77]NBA 190 [78] 191 192 The Atlanta Hawks’ Magic City Night Was Too Misunderstood To Live 193 194 [79]33Comments 195 [80][ima] 196 [81]Israel Daramola 197 March 10, 2026 198 [82][GettyImages-1707906347] 199 [83]NBA 200 [84] 201 202 My Coworkers Browbeat Me Into Drinking James Harden’s Wine 203 204 [85]34Comments 205 [86][rat] 206 [87]Ray Ratto 207 March 10, 2026 208 [88]James Harden of the LA Clippers carries his brand name wine J-Harden 209 Cabernet Sauvignon and shoe package as he arrives ahead of their NBA game 210 against the Toronto Raptors. 211 [89]Funbag 212 [90] 213 214 The Kindness Of Familiar Faces 215 216 [91]239Comments 217 [92][dre] 218 [93]Drew Magary 219 March 10, 2026 220 [94]Commuters waiting for a train 221 [95]Chefector 222 [96] 223 224 If Cool The Pan Be, A Lousy Breakfast For Thee 225 226 [97]117Comments 227 [98][IMG] 228 [99]Albert Burneko 229 March 10, 2026 230 [100]Stainless steel pan 231 [101]College Basketball 232 [102] 233 234 Madison Booker’s Game Punishes The Tryhard Defender 235 236 [103]5Comments 237 [104][201] 238 [105]Maitreyi Anantharaman 239 March 10, 2026 240 [106]Madison Booker #35 of the Texas Longhorns shoots over Destiney McPhaul #2 241 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the first half at Moody Center on 242 February 22, 2026 in Austin, Texas. 243 [107]See all posts 244 [108]Subscribe to skip adsAdvertisementClose 245 [110]Defector home 246 [111]Defector home 247 248 This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. 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