I recently read Canticle for Liebowitz. It's definitely good. My recommendation is the Ender's Game saga, in particular the second book called Speaker for the Dead.
@@pothecary" enders game" is very good, far better then I expected. I heard you mention "Foundation", that is definitely a quality read." illium" is another great Simmons scifi work. The Terror is Dan Simmons other best work if you don't want to read scifi and want something great for winter.
Hyperion Cycle helped me to deal with my mother's death a decade ago, and last years my older brother. Dan Simmons made possible to conciliate Christianity and SyFy/Spacefaring, something deemed as impossible. Blessed be all Sapient Species who live in all Seas of Stars in all Universes.
The Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy by Tad Williams is absolutely incredible. As well as Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, if you’re into novel concepts, excellent character arcs, and complex world-building.
If you liked the Priest's tale the most (as I did), I would recommend checking out Perdido Street Station. It's quite weird, but it's the only thing I've read that comes close to the imagination and beauty and emotional reactions of Hyperion.
After watching this video I immediately downloaded the kindle version (I wish I didn't have to but there aren't any bookstores nearby) and read the priest's tale right away, and oh man what a wild story. Simmons definitely has a lot of experience with or did a lot of research on Catholicism. And you're right that it's very easy to read. The prose is evocative but fairly straightforward, and feels natural even when describing strange ships and worlds and beings. Scifi descriptions of setting and action usually feel contrived and stiff (to me), but that's not the case for Simmons. Very excited to finish.
Another scifi novel you might be interested in is Blindsight by Peter Watts. It's a first contact novel that delves into psychology and philosophy quite a bit (and religion, but the treatment of that material is pretty poor). I have a theory that it was probably inspired by a Gene Wolfe short story called Alien Stones.
I loved 4 of the tales so much. The other two didn’t really do it for me, but I guess that was bound to happen since all stories had vastly different genres.
i just finished the Fall of Hyperion today so i am on that youtube hyperion content binge because now i no longer can be spoiled (at least about the first 2 books) great video, this book is indeed amazing and more people should read it. i really wish for an amazing live action tv series adaptation. i want to see this story come alive on the screen. now that i think about it - it was probably my first serious sci fi read (not counting a couple of short stories i've read as a teenager), so it makes me curious about other great sci fi literature works
I'm sold! I'm gonna read it now. Thanks Dylan! I highly recommend Canticle for Lebowitz! It's so good and it is especially relevant for the times we live in today. Now you have to do something about the Suneater series by Christopher Rucchio. 😄
I'm not sure why I missed Hyperion until a month ago. I read it and loved it. I have The Fall of Hyperion but promised myself that I would finish the other 3 books that I am reading before I read book 2 of the series.
All four books in the series are fantastic and well worth reading. It's probably been more than twenty years for me and I still find myself thinking about these stories.
Took me some time to get into the book. The style wasn’t doing it for me. But as I continued then it started becoming more intriguing and I just started appreciating how you uncover the whole universe of Hyperion through the different stories. Now I love it
I don’t know if you’d be interested, but the author Shelby Foote has some great reads. Especially on the American Civil War. Great video, will keep this book in mind. Peace ✌🏻
I read Hyperion when it first came out and then the audiobook more recently, such an entertaining book, I wish it'd be turned into an anime or movie... I think there were a number of elements that came together in just the right amounts it was unfortunate that I didn't get the same feeling from the sequel Endymion, where the technical explanations of the Killer Shrike and reverse time flow didn't seem as compelling as when it was still a mystery
@@pothecary all four are good and I've reread them all many times, but Hyperion is something special. Fall is probably my least favorite though still wonderful , Endymion has the best opening of any scifi book I've ever read.
Hyperion ruined me for sci-fi for a long time, I found it difficult to find a story as well told. Such an amazing book series that I have read many times over.
Finished Rise of Endymion last month. An incredible journey I can't wait to take again. If you haven't read The Expanse series I highly recommend it. I'd also HIGHLY recommend The Dark Tower by Stephen King.
@@pothecary Going in I expected to enjoy the priests tale the most and as much as I enjoyed that tale (and how utterly bizarre and weird it was) I came to adore the tales of the poet, scholar and consul the most.
Thanks for the insights, I'll move it up on my to be read list. If you're in the mood for something hard to categorize and mysterious I'd recommend Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. If instead you're looking for fantasy that has won the Hugo award you could try her Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell novel. And i guess I'll add that I just finished Beast by Paul Kingsnorth and have no idea what to say about it or what to do with myself 🙂
If you're just now getting into sci-fi and Fantasy, you HAVE to give "The Book of the New Sun" series by Gene Wolfe a try. Some truly mind bending stuff with deep catholic theming.
Is it in support of it, or otherwise? As a rule, I try to stay as far as humanly possible from anything touched by Catholicism. Aside from the pickup line at school, that is…
@@agoogolofgeese there are no explicit mentions of the Catholic church, but it contains several themes, like redemption, relics, temptation, miracles, and it even has allusions to the book of revelation and the temptation of Christ in the wilderness.
I really enjoyed reading the 4 hyperion books (in Dutch) can"t remember exactly when I read them, 20 or 15 years ago still one of my favorite sci-fi also I did very much like Otherland by Tad Williams and Foundation by Asimov
Personally, I wouldn't say that they get bad: They evolve and constitute an enormous journey. At the very least, I'd strongly advise reading both Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion. By the time you finish Hyperion, I feel almost certain that you won't be able to resist reading Fall of Hyperion and that you won't be disappointed.
Thanks for the comment! To my knowledge he is not a Catholic, but his writing of the priest reveals a mind that is intimate with Catholicism, in my opinion :)
I listened to the first and second audiobooks before finishing this video, have since stared the 3rd book. I’d say I enjoyed the first the most followed closely by the second. The third is loosing me. Certainly draws a lot out of Catholicism but undoubtedly from an atheistic perspective. I’m sure the writer has some relationship to the Church but ultimately operates from a broken understanding of what being Catholic is like and how the Church operates. Makes me yearn for a good Catholic space novel
@@pothecary Will do. I have a pretty regimented reading schedule, but I moved some books around to fit this one. So I'll be reading it in March, first I gotta finish the Iliad, then the Vatican II docs, and then Hyperion.
This review is useless if you don't mention in CAPS that one should get the whole Hyperion Cantos (Hyperion + Fall of Hyperion) because the first book does not have an ending.
I take your point, but I disagree. The point of the video was not to review Hyperion, only to give viewers reasons to read it. If they enjoy it, then I trust they will seek out the sequel.
I really wanted to love this series but couldn't. The tale of the priest and the cruciform was incredible! The Canterbury Tales format usually interests me but this failed for several reasons. 80's Barbarella knock off told by the soldier immediately soured my experience and pulled me out of the rest of the book. The female character falling for the (i can't even recall because it was boring and cheesy) character was lame and dated. The poet with the mouth is cool, I swear a lot and found in him a kindred spirit, one who also cared little for the rest of the crew lol. Then there's the little daughter that ages backwards into Barbarella...fkn creepy, guys😬 I finished both 1 and 2 and barely recall what happened in terms of the Shrike, why and how this was all worth caring about. All that to say, I liked parts of it but it's ultimately too much a product of it's time. It lacks the timeless quality good fiction has and screams 80s hair metal and the cartoon Heavy Metal😅
Feel free to recommend a book you'd like me to read and (possibly) make a video about 😄🙏📖
Gene Wolfe... 😏
I recently read Canticle for Liebowitz. It's definitely good. My recommendation is the Ender's Game saga, in particular the second book called Speaker for the Dead.
He is ABSOLUTELY on my list. :)@@TheMacedonianGeneral
Thanks for the recommendation - I've added it to my list!@@daviddesalvo623
@@pothecary" enders game" is very good, far better then I expected. I heard you mention "Foundation", that is definitely a quality read." illium" is another great Simmons scifi work.
The Terror is Dan Simmons other best work if you don't want to read scifi and want something great for winter.
Hyperion Cycle helped me to deal with my mother's death a decade ago, and last years my older brother. Dan Simmons made possible to conciliate Christianity and SyFy/Spacefaring, something deemed as impossible. Blessed be all Sapient Species who live in all Seas of Stars in all Universes.
Reading HYPERION was one of the happy moments of my life. Thanks Dan
The Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy by Tad Williams is absolutely incredible. As well as Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, if you’re into novel concepts, excellent character arcs, and complex world-building.
And very well rooted in European Time of the Dreams. Zida'Ya and Sidhé were genius.
If you liked the Priest's tale the most (as I did), I would recommend checking out Perdido Street Station. It's quite weird, but it's the only thing I've read that comes close to the imagination and beauty and emotional reactions of Hyperion.
I will check it out, thanks for the recommendation!
After watching this video I immediately downloaded the kindle version (I wish I didn't have to but there aren't any bookstores nearby) and read the priest's tale right away, and oh man what a wild story. Simmons definitely has a lot of experience with or did a lot of research on Catholicism. And you're right that it's very easy to read. The prose is evocative but fairly straightforward, and feels natural even when describing strange ships and worlds and beings. Scifi descriptions of setting and action usually feel contrived and stiff (to me), but that's not the case for Simmons. Very excited to finish.
Another scifi novel you might be interested in is Blindsight by Peter Watts. It's a first contact novel that delves into psychology and philosophy quite a bit (and religion, but the treatment of that material is pretty poor). I have a theory that it was probably inspired by a Gene Wolfe short story called Alien Stones.
I loved 4 of the tales so much. The other two didn’t really do it for me, but I guess that was bound to happen since all stories had vastly different genres.
i just finished the Fall of Hyperion today so i am on that youtube hyperion content binge because now i no longer can be spoiled (at least about the first 2 books)
great video, this book is indeed amazing and more people should read it. i really wish for an amazing live action tv series adaptation. i want to see this story come alive on the screen.
now that i think about it - it was probably my first serious sci fi read (not counting a couple of short stories i've read as a teenager), so it makes me curious about other great sci fi literature works
I'm sold! I'm gonna read it now. Thanks Dylan!
I highly recommend Canticle for Lebowitz! It's so good and it is especially relevant for the times we live in today.
Now you have to do something about the Suneater series by Christopher Rucchio. 😄
Thank you brother! I will definitely read Canticle for Lebowitz the second I get a copy! And the Suneater series is very much on my radar ;)
I'm not sure why I missed Hyperion until a month ago. I read it and loved it. I have The Fall of Hyperion but promised myself that I would finish the other 3 books that I am reading before I read book 2 of the series.
All four books in the series are fantastic and well worth reading. It's probably been more than twenty years for me and I still find myself thinking about these stories.
I have just started this , I’m loving it so far.
Took me some time to get into the book. The style wasn’t doing it for me. But as I continued then it started becoming more intriguing and I just started appreciating how you uncover the whole universe of Hyperion through the different stories. Now I love it
I can relate completely! It took some time to warm up the engine, but once it gets going... wow.
@@pothecary finished it last week lol. Loved it and started fall of
Hyperion right away. Now I’m fully hooked
I don’t know if you’d be interested, but the author Shelby Foote has some great reads. Especially on the American Civil War. Great video, will keep this book in mind. Peace ✌🏻
Read Hyperion and the fall of Hyperion, starting Endymion. Great books!
I read Hyperion when it first came out and then the audiobook more recently, such an entertaining book, I wish it'd be turned into an anime or movie... I think there were a number of elements that came together in just the right amounts
it was unfortunate that I didn't get the same feeling from the sequel Endymion, where the technical explanations of the Killer Shrike and reverse time flow didn't seem as compelling as when it was still a mystery
The reading of the audiobook is top notch
I've only just started reading The Fall of Hyperion, so I'll try to suspend judgement for now. I am excited to read it though!
@@pothecary all four are good and I've reread them all many times, but Hyperion is something special. Fall is probably my least favorite though still wonderful , Endymion has the best opening of any scifi book I've ever read.
hopefully not a movie but a series
Hyperion ruined me for sci-fi for a long time, I found it difficult to find a story as well told. Such an amazing book series that I have read many times over.
Excellent video!!! I would be very interested in hearing your take on "The Fall of Hyperion"...
I'm currently reading it so I'll likely make a video about it when I'm done :)
Can't wait to read!
Awsome video man
Finished Rise of Endymion last month. An incredible journey I can't wait to take again.
If you haven't read The Expanse series I highly recommend it.
I'd also HIGHLY recommend The Dark Tower by Stephen King.
I read the dark tower books
I own the Expanse books but have not read them yet
good recommendations
Finished this on Friday evening. Loved it.
I'm happy to hear that! Which tale did you enjoy the most?
@@pothecary Going in I expected to enjoy the priests tale the most and as much as I enjoyed that tale (and how utterly bizarre and weird it was) I came to adore the tales of the poet, scholar and consul the most.
@@TheMacedonianGeneral The style of writing and prose of the poet's tale really was something special! The character leapt off the page :)
Thanks for the insights, I'll move it up on my to be read list. If you're in the mood for something hard to categorize and mysterious I'd recommend Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. If instead you're looking for fantasy that has won the Hugo award you could try her Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell novel.
And i guess I'll add that I just finished Beast by Paul Kingsnorth and have no idea what to say about it or what to do with myself 🙂
Reading Hyperion now! I'm even more hype!
Btw, what game was it that you showed? I looked for a link in your bio but didn't see it.
Hyperion cantos is amazing, there could be a whole movie made from each characters life story. The wordl building is amazing
If you're just now getting into sci-fi and Fantasy, you HAVE to give "The Book of the New Sun" series by Gene Wolfe a try. Some truly mind bending stuff with deep catholic theming.
Is it in support of it, or otherwise? As a rule, I try to stay as far as humanly possible from anything touched by Catholicism.
Aside from the pickup line at school, that is…
@@agoogolofgeese there are no explicit mentions of the Catholic church, but it contains several themes, like redemption, relics, temptation, miracles, and it even has allusions to the book of revelation and the temptation of Christ in the wilderness.
I really enjoyed reading the 4 hyperion books (in Dutch)
can"t remember exactly when I read them, 20 or 15 years ago
still one of my favorite sci-fi also I did very much like
Otherland by Tad Williams and Foundation by Asimov
got back into reading a couple of months ago. Putting this one on my list
It's worth it. Thanks for your comment!
The Scholar's Tale killed me.
Well I'm sold.
I want to read hyperion so bad, but I hear the sequels get bad. Where do u recommend I stop? At hyperion or fall of hyperion..
Personally, I wouldn't say that they get bad: They evolve and constitute an enormous journey. At the very least, I'd strongly advise reading both Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion. By the time you finish Hyperion, I feel almost certain that you won't be able to resist reading Fall of Hyperion and that you won't be disappointed.
Sorry if you mentioned, as I'm multi-tasking. There is a priest, but is the author Catholic, or what's his background? Thanks!
Thanks for the comment! To my knowledge he is not a Catholic, but his writing of the priest reveals a mind that is intimate with Catholicism, in my opinion :)
@@pothecary I downloaded the sample last night. Hopefully it's as good as it seems! :)
KWATZ!
I listened to the first and second audiobooks before finishing this video, have since stared the 3rd book. I’d say I enjoyed the first the most followed closely by the second. The third is loosing me. Certainly draws a lot out of Catholicism but undoubtedly from an atheistic perspective. I’m sure the writer has some relationship to the Church but ultimately operates from a broken understanding of what being Catholic is like and how the Church operates. Makes me yearn for a good Catholic space novel
I got the book!
Awesome! I'm curious to hear what you think, I'll keep an eye on this comment section if you do share any updates. :)
@@pothecary Will do. I have a pretty regimented reading schedule, but I moved some books around to fit this one. So I'll be reading it in March, first I gotta finish the Iliad, then the Vatican II docs, and then Hyperion.
where did you find this art?
I AI generated the art of each pilgrim and several Hyperion-esque landscapes :)
that's what I thought, but I just wanted to make sure. Clever.@@pothecary
This review is useless if you don't mention in CAPS that one should get the whole Hyperion Cantos (Hyperion + Fall of Hyperion) because the first book does not have an ending.
I take your point, but I disagree. The point of the video was not to review Hyperion, only to give viewers reasons to read it. If they enjoy it, then I trust they will seek out the sequel.
I really wanted to love this series but couldn't. The tale of the priest and the cruciform was incredible! The Canterbury Tales format usually interests me but this failed for several reasons. 80's Barbarella knock off told by the soldier immediately soured my experience and pulled me out of the rest of the book. The female character falling for the (i can't even recall because it was boring and cheesy) character was lame and dated. The poet with the mouth is cool, I swear a lot and found in him a kindred spirit, one who also cared little for the rest of the crew lol. Then there's the little daughter that ages backwards into Barbarella...fkn creepy, guys😬
I finished both 1 and 2 and barely recall what happened in terms of the Shrike, why and how this was all worth caring about. All that to say, I liked parts of it but it's ultimately too much a product of it's time. It lacks the timeless quality good fiction has and screams 80s hair metal and the cartoon Heavy Metal😅