The Fall Of Hyperion [Import] [Hardcover]

Dan Simmons (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Headline; First Edition edition (1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074720344X
• ISBN-13: 978-0747203445
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (168 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,605,286 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dan Simmons was born in Peoria, Illinois, in 1948, and grew up in various cities and small towns in the Midwest, including Brimfield, Illinois, which was the source of his fictional "Elm Haven" in 1991's SUMMER OF NIGHT and 2002's A WINTER HAUNTING. Dan received a B.A. in English from Wabash College in 1970, winning a national Phi Beta Kappa Award during his senior year for excellence in fiction, journalism and art.
Dan received his Masters in Education from Washington University in St. Louis in 1971. He then worked in elementary education for 18 years -- 2 years in Missouri, 2 years in Buffalo, New York -- one year as a specially trained BOCES "resource teacher" and another as a sixth-grade teacher -- and 14 years in Colorado.

His last four years in teaching were spent creating, coordinating, and teaching in APEX, an extensive gifted/talented program serving 19 elementary schools and some 15,000 potential students. During his years of teaching, he won awards from the Colorado Education Association and was a finalist for the Colorado Teacher of the Year. He also worked as a national language-arts consultant, sharing his own "Writing Well" curriculum which he had created for his own classroom. Eleven and twelve-year-old students in Simmons' regular 6th-grade class averaged junior-year in high school writing ability according to annual standardized and holistic writing assessments. Whenever someone says "writing can't be taught," Dan begs to differ and has the track record to prove it. Since becoming a full-time writer, Dan likes to visit college writing classes, has taught in New Hampshire's Odyssey writing program for adults, and is considering hosting his own Windwalker Writers' Workshop.
Dan's first published story appeared on Feb. 15, 1982, the day his daughter, Jane Kathryn, was born. He's always attributed that coincidence to "helping in keeping things in perspective when it comes to the relative importance of writing and life."
Dan has been a full-time writer since 1987 and lives along the Front Range of Colorado -- in the same town where he taught for 14 years -- with his wife, Karen. He sometimes writes at Windwalker -- their mountain property and cabin at 8,400 feet of altitude at the base of the Continental Divide, just south of Rocky Mountain National Park. An 8-ft.-tall sculpture of the Shrike -- a thorned and frightening character from the four Hyperion/Endymion novels -- was sculpted by an ex-student and friend, Clee Richeson, and the sculpture now stands guard near the isolated cabin.
Dan is one of the few novelists whose work spans the genres of fantasy, science fiction, horror, suspense, historical fiction, noir crime fiction, and mainstream literary fiction . His books are published in 27 foreign counties as well as the U.S. and Canada.
Many of Dan's books and stories have been optioned for film, including SONG OF KALI, DROOD, THE CROOK FACTORY, and others. Some, such as the four HYPERION novels and single Hyperion-universe novella "Orphans of the Helix", and CARRION COMFORT have been purchased (the Hyperion books by Warner Brothers and Graham King Films, CARRION COMFORT by European filmmaker Casta Gavras's company) and are in pre-production. Director Scott Derrickson ("The Day the Earth Stood Stood Still") has been announced as the director for the Hyperion movie and Casta Gavras's son has been put at the helm of the French production of Carrion Comfort. Current discussions for other possible options include THE TERROR. Dan's hardboiled Joe Kurtz novels are currently being looked as the basis for a possible cable TV series.
In 1995, Dan's alma mater, Wabash College, awarded him an honorary doctorate for his contributions in education and writing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The ending of the two-book series was excellent., October 6, 1998

By 

dsrussell "greyhater" (Corona, CA. United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Fall of Hyperion (Mass Market Paperback)

Dan Simmon's `The Fall of Hyperion' is not a sequel, but rather the second half of the unfinished story, `Hyperion'. While `Hyperion' was unique in its six wonderful tales as told by six people on a pilgrimage, `The Fall of Hyperion' is more conventional, but is a real page-turner.

`The Fall of Hyperion' explains what happens to our travelers and delves into the purpose of the Shrike. It also expands greatly on the fairly thin plot exposed in `Hyperion'. Most readers should enjoy this well-conceived and engrossing end to the story. Together, `Hyperion' and `The Fall of Hyperion' rank up there with the best science fiction has to offer and I give it 9 out of 10, or a five star ranking. However, because the reader is required (unknowingly) to purchase both books, I give each book 8 out of 10 and a four star rating.

Those who have forsaken `The Fall of Hyperion' because it requires another purchase, are missing a rewarding experience. Those who have not yet read the Hyperion series are in for a treat. It is worth every penny of the two-book purchase price.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get this book now., March 9, 2006

By 

HH "Sci-Fi Junkie" (SF, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hyperion Omnibus (GollanczF.) (Paperback)

I'll spare you the synopsis. I was first skeptical of the odd looking cover and the interest in learning about the Seven Pilgrims, but Dan Simmons writes with breath-taking ferocity. The Hyperion series is the horrifying, wonderous, enchanting obsessive-stay-up-all-night to read thriller that I had been looking for, for years. The storyline unfolds in so many satisfying ways, the truth is always a chapter away. Hyperion's world is as rich as any other I've ever encountered. It is Asimov's Foundation with the kiddie gloves off. It's like the first 2 books of Dune before it gets weird with Leto II. ( You know what I mean) But I shall dare say this.

Hyperion is better.

Way better.

It is beautiful, brutal, incredible, satisfying and deserving of every sci-fi fan's adoration. It was amazing enough for me that I'm actually here writing a review imploring you to not only buy this book, but buy it NEW so that Dan Simmons can get rewarded with your hard earned money. Or you can be a miser and say to hell with Dan Simmons. Whatever the case, just buy this book. (It has the first two "Hyperion" and "Fall of Hyperion".) And pick up Endymion and The Rise of Endymion while you're at it. Now!!!! (Click)

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The First Book Set 'Em Up, January 18, 2000

By 

WolfDaddy - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fall of Hyperion (Mass Market Paperback)

And this book knocks 'em over. I love reading stories in which "everything you know is wrong". Simmons takes the characters and events recounted in "Hyperion" and swallows them whole in a tale that had me scraping my brains off the back wall. The introduction of M. Severn and Meina Gladstone makes for two of the more fascinating and deep characters I think I've ever read. The former is a cipher, reflecting the events taking place hundreds of light-years away (those of "Hyperion") and interpreting them through a dead poet's thoughts. The other is a master politician, leader of a Hegemony that encompasses more billions of souls than almost is comprehensible. The sacrifices they both make to save themselves save humanity itself, but at a terrible price.

Some sections of the book are slow (I found the myriad battles with the Shrike tedious) the majority of the tale is fast moving, incredibly rich and believable, and astounding in its plot and details. This book and its predecessor are simply two of the finest works of literature in any genre, and are utterly entertaining.

I've handed copies of the "Hyperion" books over to probably 20 friends over the last 8-9 years, and had never had any of them returned to me. I don't care ... these books are *that* good.