--- product_id: 2333373 title: "Hyperion: A Novel" price: "NZ$5" currency: NZD in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.nz/products/2333373-hyperion-a-novel store_origin: NZ region: New Zealand --- # Hyperion: A Novel **Price:** NZ$5 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Hyperion: A Novel - **How much does it cost?** NZ$5 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.nz](https://www.desertcart.nz/products/2333373-hyperion-a-novel) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Hyperion: A Novel [Simmons, Dan] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Hyperion: A Novel Review: Perfectenschlag -Dwight - Hyperion is phenomenal! The writing is so eloquent that it was actually shocking to believe that this was written in 1989, it felt like this had easily been written and released this year because nothing felt dated about the story, the characters or really anything involved with the storyline. It’s described as The Canterbury Tales in space, though I’ve never read The Canterbury Tales, I can’t exactly say that. What I can say is that this was truly something unique to me, as I’ve not really experienced a type of story telling like this where it felt like six different novellas tied into one large story. After reading this I can truly say that Simmons is a master of the science fiction genre by writing such a masterful tale that had me reading every chance that I got and frothing over his beautiful writing style. Hyperion’s setting of a 29th century world has such an intricate plot with a very rich and detailed universe where humanity has colonized numerous planets. One of my favorite things is spotting references, and Simmons has a lot of them placed within the story, at one point I would say “oh this reminds me of this” and then Simmons would point that out later letting you know that’s why it’s similar, part of that is using historical themes such as Greek and Biblical Hebrew to help tell a part of the story. Hyperion has a perfect pacing that never felt sluggish or too fast moving at any point and if you’re looking for a story that is much more character driven than plot, as the focus is on learning about the characters, this is definitely the story to read. Within each story, Simmons does a great job of weaving in action and drama with stories of political power, familial love, religion and fate. What intrigues me the most is that while the story of the characters is happening, a war is underway with the Ousters, that could destroy Hyperion. “Words bend our thinking to infinite paths of self-delusion, and the fact that we spend most of our mental lives in brain mansions built of words means that we lack the objectivity necessary to see the terrible distortion of reality which language brings.” The story follows six pilgrims and their expedition to Hyperion, my worry with how this story was told is that I could end up not liking one or more of these stories within, but that was not the case, each story is well established and thought provoking while also being dark and tragic to their own extents and always leading back to one thing, the Shrike, a terrifying creature that is sent back in time. The differences in the style of each story is what made this so unique, one story felt somewhat like Westworld or Ready Player 1, one was a bit more comedic, another one felt like a nod to Isaac Asimov’s iRobot, while another had a Benjamin Button, 50 First Dates quality about it to give multiple parallels to how different each one of these characters are. Simmons attention to focus on these characters that are deeply complex and so very flawed is what makes this stand out the most, on top of that there is the mysterious Shrike creature that is sent back in time, a creature that is described almost like Galactus the world eater, but with a more sinister xenomorph look to it. With everything that’s been revealed about the characters, there’s still quite a bit of mystery still left to figure out in the rest of the series and its sequel since the story ends on a bit of cliffhanger with the group reaching their destination as all their stories have now been told. I’m not a big fan of cliffhangers, but this series is old enough that all books are available, so there’s no reason for panic. Another thing I’m always leery about is multiple narrators, because if one is bad, it can put a damper on the story, but again, this was not an issue because all five narrators, Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, Jay Snyder & Victor Bevine were terrific. They made this story even better with superior performances that got me in my feels and had my spine tingling from theme sheer terror that they felt, this was perfect in every way imaginable. As Dwight would say, perfectenschlag. Review: Fear the Shrike! - Hyperion by Dan Simmons is the first book in the Hyperion Cantos series and folks, its a good one! I've always been looking for a good sci-fi book that deals with some type of mythical creature and whatnot. So when I read the description of Hyperion and the Shrike, I was sold. It also helped that I've seen this series posted on many "must read" lists online. Like many reviews have stated, this first book in the series serves nothing more than an "introductory" of the characters. Basically, each character has their own story to tell and when one is done, a small break back to reality is given until the next story is told. Think of it as several novella's. Either way, I think it's a pretty good way to start off the series. It gives the readers a good chance to get familiar with the major characters. Whether you think each story is interesting or not, well, that's obviously a different thing altogether. The book does start off a bit slow but after reading the first story of the characters, I knew I was in for something special if all the other stories followed suit. The common ground is that each character's story has something to do with the character's pilgrimage to the world of Hyperion where they will eventually meet with the legendary Shrike creature. Father Hoyt - I absolutely loved his story. It was mysterious and haunting at the same time. It gives the readers a first glimpse of the Shrike. Kassad - His story gives the readers a taste of the powers the Shrike wields along with how dangerous they can be. Martin - One of my least favorite stories to read although it did have some funny moments here and there. As with every group, there has to be one guy that seems to piss everyone off and in Hyperion, it's Martin. Sol - I'm sure his story will be a fan favorite for many readers. It's sad to read what happened but does give us another glimpse to the mysterious ways of the Shrike's power. Brawne - Her tale involves the most action. Also, it does take some patience to read through during the later part as it requires quite a bit of imagination from the reader. The Consul - Definitely a very weird story at first but pans out nicely towards the end. I appreciate the author spending a lot of time giving details of the world around the characters. I do have to admit though that there were many times throughout the book where the author would use a "technological or sci-fi" term without explaining the details or giving a explanation. The only way of knowing what that term means is to hope that the author uses it more than once and piecing the context in which it was used to predict the definition. It's definitely not bad enough to the point where it would drive one crazy though. The world the author builds is your standard affair of stuff where Old Earth is no more but instead hundreds and thousands of planets are now inhabitable. Travelling via farcaster portals to different planets definitely gives this book the "sci-fi" feel. Some readers didn't like the cliff hanger ending but I felt it ended exactly as I thought it would. In fact, I wouldn't even consider it a cliff hanger at all. A cliff hanger to me would be if a major character in the story was shot by a mysterious person and it ended right there. With Hyperion, I believe the choice is up to the readers on whether they want to continue with the series or not based on the ending. If they chose not to continue, I think the author did enough to close out the stories of the characters so that the readers don't feel cheated with having to purchase the next book in the series to find out what happens next. If they choose to continue, which I consider myself in this category, then I'm sure the next book will continue right where this one ended. The Shrike legend will definitely continue! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #986,811 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #5 in Space Operas #35 in Science Fiction Adventures #354 in Epic Fantasy (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 28,874 Reviews | ## Images ![Hyperion: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91V0S0qjKwL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Perfectenschlag -Dwight *by M***Y on January 29, 2025* Hyperion is phenomenal! The writing is so eloquent that it was actually shocking to believe that this was written in 1989, it felt like this had easily been written and released this year because nothing felt dated about the story, the characters or really anything involved with the storyline. It’s described as The Canterbury Tales in space, though I’ve never read The Canterbury Tales, I can’t exactly say that. What I can say is that this was truly something unique to me, as I’ve not really experienced a type of story telling like this where it felt like six different novellas tied into one large story. After reading this I can truly say that Simmons is a master of the science fiction genre by writing such a masterful tale that had me reading every chance that I got and frothing over his beautiful writing style. Hyperion’s setting of a 29th century world has such an intricate plot with a very rich and detailed universe where humanity has colonized numerous planets. One of my favorite things is spotting references, and Simmons has a lot of them placed within the story, at one point I would say “oh this reminds me of this” and then Simmons would point that out later letting you know that’s why it’s similar, part of that is using historical themes such as Greek and Biblical Hebrew to help tell a part of the story. Hyperion has a perfect pacing that never felt sluggish or too fast moving at any point and if you’re looking for a story that is much more character driven than plot, as the focus is on learning about the characters, this is definitely the story to read. Within each story, Simmons does a great job of weaving in action and drama with stories of political power, familial love, religion and fate. What intrigues me the most is that while the story of the characters is happening, a war is underway with the Ousters, that could destroy Hyperion. “Words bend our thinking to infinite paths of self-delusion, and the fact that we spend most of our mental lives in brain mansions built of words means that we lack the objectivity necessary to see the terrible distortion of reality which language brings.” The story follows six pilgrims and their expedition to Hyperion, my worry with how this story was told is that I could end up not liking one or more of these stories within, but that was not the case, each story is well established and thought provoking while also being dark and tragic to their own extents and always leading back to one thing, the Shrike, a terrifying creature that is sent back in time. The differences in the style of each story is what made this so unique, one story felt somewhat like Westworld or Ready Player 1, one was a bit more comedic, another one felt like a nod to Isaac Asimov’s iRobot, while another had a Benjamin Button, 50 First Dates quality about it to give multiple parallels to how different each one of these characters are. Simmons attention to focus on these characters that are deeply complex and so very flawed is what makes this stand out the most, on top of that there is the mysterious Shrike creature that is sent back in time, a creature that is described almost like Galactus the world eater, but with a more sinister xenomorph look to it. With everything that’s been revealed about the characters, there’s still quite a bit of mystery still left to figure out in the rest of the series and its sequel since the story ends on a bit of cliffhanger with the group reaching their destination as all their stories have now been told. I’m not a big fan of cliffhangers, but this series is old enough that all books are available, so there’s no reason for panic. Another thing I’m always leery about is multiple narrators, because if one is bad, it can put a damper on the story, but again, this was not an issue because all five narrators, Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, Jay Snyder & Victor Bevine were terrific. They made this story even better with superior performances that got me in my feels and had my spine tingling from theme sheer terror that they felt, this was perfect in every way imaginable. As Dwight would say, perfectenschlag. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fear the Shrike! *by S***N on May 26, 2014* Hyperion by Dan Simmons is the first book in the Hyperion Cantos series and folks, its a good one! I've always been looking for a good sci-fi book that deals with some type of mythical creature and whatnot. So when I read the description of Hyperion and the Shrike, I was sold. It also helped that I've seen this series posted on many "must read" lists online. Like many reviews have stated, this first book in the series serves nothing more than an "introductory" of the characters. Basically, each character has their own story to tell and when one is done, a small break back to reality is given until the next story is told. Think of it as several novella's. Either way, I think it's a pretty good way to start off the series. It gives the readers a good chance to get familiar with the major characters. Whether you think each story is interesting or not, well, that's obviously a different thing altogether. The book does start off a bit slow but after reading the first story of the characters, I knew I was in for something special if all the other stories followed suit. The common ground is that each character's story has something to do with the character's pilgrimage to the world of Hyperion where they will eventually meet with the legendary Shrike creature. Father Hoyt - I absolutely loved his story. It was mysterious and haunting at the same time. It gives the readers a first glimpse of the Shrike. Kassad - His story gives the readers a taste of the powers the Shrike wields along with how dangerous they can be. Martin - One of my least favorite stories to read although it did have some funny moments here and there. As with every group, there has to be one guy that seems to piss everyone off and in Hyperion, it's Martin. Sol - I'm sure his story will be a fan favorite for many readers. It's sad to read what happened but does give us another glimpse to the mysterious ways of the Shrike's power. Brawne - Her tale involves the most action. Also, it does take some patience to read through during the later part as it requires quite a bit of imagination from the reader. The Consul - Definitely a very weird story at first but pans out nicely towards the end. I appreciate the author spending a lot of time giving details of the world around the characters. I do have to admit though that there were many times throughout the book where the author would use a "technological or sci-fi" term without explaining the details or giving a explanation. The only way of knowing what that term means is to hope that the author uses it more than once and piecing the context in which it was used to predict the definition. It's definitely not bad enough to the point where it would drive one crazy though. The world the author builds is your standard affair of stuff where Old Earth is no more but instead hundreds and thousands of planets are now inhabitable. Travelling via farcaster portals to different planets definitely gives this book the "sci-fi" feel. Some readers didn't like the cliff hanger ending but I felt it ended exactly as I thought it would. In fact, I wouldn't even consider it a cliff hanger at all. A cliff hanger to me would be if a major character in the story was shot by a mysterious person and it ended right there. With Hyperion, I believe the choice is up to the readers on whether they want to continue with the series or not based on the ending. If they chose not to continue, I think the author did enough to close out the stories of the characters so that the readers don't feel cheated with having to purchase the next book in the series to find out what happens next. If they choose to continue, which I consider myself in this category, then I'm sure the next book will continue right where this one ended. The Shrike legend will definitely continue! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Canterbury Tales. In Space. *by C***9 on August 23, 2019* Hyperion tells the story of a vast intergalactic society through the series of seemingly random POVs- Much like the Canterbury Tales. The scope of the book is vast, and each POV incredibly unique. ------------------------ The book is so varied, with topics that i would never connect to each other, that i like to guess/assume/joke that this book came around as a dare. You see, i bet the author and a buddy were sitting around drinking... and boasting. Author: I can write about anything, and it will sell. Friend: Ha! Keep telling yourself that. Author: Im serious, come on, give me an idea. Anything. Friend: Hmm... Ok. You know how i love the poet Keats? So i want you to write a book about Keats. BUT! It has to be Sci-Fi, and in interstellar space. Author: Well...that's interesting...hmm... Friend: And, you have to include a real life account of the battle of Agincourt. And there has to be immortal androgynous humans. And electric/tesla trees. And an inter-dimensional death entity. AND. AND. DINOSAURS. REAL LIFE DINOSAURS. Author: Hold my beer. ------------------------ A Catholic Priest, a Jew, a drunk poet, and a military Colonel walk into a bar... sounds like the start of a bad joke- But these characters, along with a detective, a mysterious EcoFriendly-Templar, and a Consul/Planetary-Governor form a expeditionary group to make contact with the Shrike, and investigate time capsules. At best, only one of them will survive, and history shows that none are likely to... and yet all seven go willingly. The story begins with the Consul, abit of a recluse, who is the only living person on a wilderness planet dominated by reptiles. The story beginning/prologue is perfect and not one to rush read. A descriptive painting, it describes an extremely vivid picture that not only sets the tone for the rest of the novel but gives a ton of subtle hints about our POV character. The novel quickly pivots and gives short stories for each character. These stories are interesting in themselves and serve as both characterization and as clues to the mystery of the Shrike. While it is a totally different genre, there are interesting parallels to Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None"- and "The Canterbury Tales" both in setup and execution. Positives: + POV/Characters. Each POV reads completely unique versus the one before it. Not only does each character act different, but the writing in each section changes to perfectly match the current POV character. + Plots. Each plot is unique, some even floored me. For example, Sol's story? Wow. + Storyline. The story isn't linear, but more a series of random snapshots. Have you ever seen one of those image mosaic compilations from Mars/Ceres/Pluto etc, where a number of pictures are joined together to show a whole? Think of each of these frames being revealed one by one. That is how this book is structured. While completely unique in there own right, each story also reveals one frame of the whole. As the reader progresses through the book, more and more connections are made, and when finished, the picture/mosaic/storyline is awesome. Negatives: - Bit of a cliffhanger at the end. - The structure of two of the plots. The Catholic Priest's plot is from a series of journals, which makes it distant and hard to connect with. The Consul's jumps around and isn't linear, which is a bit confusing. Neutral: +/- The reader is thrown into the story, and has to learn on the fly, because of this there are alot of terms etc which the reader has to infer. +/- Mature themes. Sex, gratuitous violence, etc. +/- Religious references. ## Frequently Bought Together - Hyperion: A Novel - The Fall of Hyperion: A Novel (Hyperion Cantos, 2) - Children of Time (Children of Time, 1) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.nz/products/2333373-hyperion-a-novel](https://www.desertcart.nz/products/2333373-hyperion-a-novel) --- *Product available on Desertcart New Zealand* *Store origin: NZ* *Last updated: 2026-04-23*