The Fall of Hyperion

The Fall of Hyperion suffers from the same issues of many other sequels -- answering questions is often less interesting than asking them, and resolving mysteries is often less interesting than letting them remain mysterious.

In The Fall of Hyperion we do get a resolution to the pilgrim's stories, although like the previous book, it's on a bit of a cliffhanger.

While Hyperion employed the conceit of each pilgrim telling their story to pass the time, in the style of Chaucer, this novel's conceit is that the pilgrim's experiences are relayed through the not-quite-dreams of another character, which is less engaging.

We also get a significant look at the Big Picture in the universe of the novel, which is interesting from a world-building perspective, but again less than perfect. Some of the actions of the antagonists seem a little too-clever-by-half, as well, sounding more like they have plot armor rather than actual decision making. (Some of this can be handwaved in-universe, but it's still weak, IMO)

Overall, this is a solid read, but not quite what Hyperion was.

The Stars My Destination

One of the problems with older science fiction novels is how dated some of their assumptions about the future can be. In the big picture here, Bester misses feminism. In the smaller, he misses tattoo removal. Getting past those points, this is a fantastic classic novel that's been hailed as one of the forerunners of cyberpunk.

Bester's protagonist is Gully Foyle, who in one of the anticipations of the cyberpunk movement, is not a savory character. He's introduced as a mediocre worker, who after being stranded in space, decides to take revenge on the ship that failed to pick him up, rather than the crew of the ship. He has to have this explained to him by someone he meets in prison. He's also an unrepentant killer, a rapist, and a manipulative bastard. It's nice to have an antihero in a novel written in the 50s -- it would be too easy to have the protagonist be a big, bouncing Boy Scout, working to overthrow a corrupt system. But this isn't a corrupt system -- it's not a pleasant one, but it;s not a dystopia or a tyranny.

One of the conceits The Stars My Destination is that teleportation has been discovered, within limits -- it's not a technological breakthrough, but rather unlocking part of the human mind/subconscious to will oneself hundreds of miles (a theme similar to Bester's other classic novel, The Demolished Man, in which telepathy is unlocked in a like manner). However, although humanity has spread to outer space, teleportation is only possible on a planet, and only if the destination (and departure point) are well known to the individual. So the very rich keep themselves isolated in labyrinthine mansions, prisons are kept dark to prevent prisoners becoming familiar with the area, etc. Large corporations controlled by families have massive influence, and new social structure -- one man huffily insists "There are thousands of Presteigns. All are addressed as 'Mister'. But I am Presteign of Presteign, head of house and sept, first of the family, chieftain of the clan. I am addressed as 'Presteign'. Not 'Mister Presteign'. Presteign."

There is a lot to like about The Stars My Destination, but by far the worst part about it is the dialogue -- it's very clunky, and the characterization often isn't too much better. Some of this can be chalked up to not having the freedom to address sexual issues or themes the way later sci-fi writers would be able to, but the majority has to fall on Bester. Luckily, the novel is strong enough to be exemplary even with these flaws. Recommended without reservation.

Hyperion

Dan Simmons' Hyperion is highly acclaimed, and it's easy to see why -- it takes the structure of the Canterbury Tales and sets it IN SPACE. There's more to it than that, of course; one of the traits that Hyperion shares with other great science fiction is that it seamlessly integrates the reader into a vastly different world (a different universe, really) than the one we're used to, without using characters to deliver exposition dumps. We hear of the monstrous Shrike obliquely at first, then again and again, and even by the end of the novel, we're still not sure what it is entirely. We do get a chapter towards the end that is mainly an exposition dump (in the form of a character's journal), but due to it's relatively (relativistically?) unique structure, I don't mind.

Having several narrators (one of whom we are informed at the beginning of the novel is a spy) allows different voices, motivations, and for us to guess on reliability and the accuracy of the tales

Although Hyperion is the first in a series of four, it's entirely possible to read as a standalone novel, there are a few issues and mysteries set up there will have to be answered in subsequent sequels (the nature and motivations of the Shrike, of some political players, the mysterious disappearance of one character, and the resolution of some of the plot). It even has a satisfying and appropriate ending.

Highly recommended.