[.ca] The Fall of Hyperion (ISBN 0553288202)

From Amazon.com:
The stunning continuation of the epic adventure begun in Hyperion. On the world of Hyperion the mysterious Time Tombs are opening. And the secrets they contain mean that nothing--nothing anywhere in the universe--will ever be the same.

Part 2 of 2 ... the only thing is you have to buy two books:
Read Hyperion first, there is no other way to begin this roller coaster ride through time and space. Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion will lead you to one of the most unexpected conclusions I have ever read (at least after book two).

Intrigue at a grand scale!:
After reading this book I understood that the stories of the pilgrims of the first part, "Hyperion", work as a clever device to reveal to the reader the magnificent and intriguing universe that Simmons has created for this series. If you finished the first book with a feeling of disconnection between the stories, like I did, this is the part where all is blended together. The different patches are stitched together and the whole plot is laid before your eyes in all its complexity. The scope of the story suddenly expands and it deals now with nothing less than the surviving of the human race. Difficult decisions affecting the destinies of entire worlds have to be made by leaders on the basis of insufficient and unreliable information. War rages. What is the role of the planet Hyperion and the shrike on this grand scale drama? Who can you trust? The story offers some very interesting and not so obvious twists at the end. It has a sense of closure, but not all the issues are resolved. Actually, I think that the main issue is merely postponed to a time deep in the future of which we are offered only glimpses. At times the story is difficult to follow because the pilgrims are split. Then we follow one of them for a while, and when something extremely important seems to be about to happen... we shift to another pilgrim or subplot and start accumulating tension again. This format has the advantage, though, that it adds some suspense, and I liked it. I assume that if you are considering reading this book is because you have read the first one. Go ahead! It will answer some of the many questions you must have. In case you have not read the first part, I do not think this second part is a stand-alone book; you need the background of "Hyperion".

it's not over:
This is a must read for anyone who appreciates both fine literature and Science Fiction. No cowboys in space here... Well maybe a little... God, Monster, killer time traveling robot or all of the above... Every one should familiarize them selves with the Shrike! Read the first two books and you'll be locked in.

My 100-word book review:
Galaxy-spanning human civilisation the Hegemony is in crisis, facing immanent war with the nomadic Ousters over remote planet Hyperion. Behind the scenes, meanwhile, the very fabric of the Hegemony, the communications grid that allows instantaneous travel between the stars, is under threat. The Fall of Hyperion is science fiction on a heroic scale, yet is also intricate and tapestry-like, a complex narrative with many interwoven strands. This fine, imaginatively written novel is not so much a sequel as it is an immediate continuation of Hyperion, so I highly recommend acquiring both books and reading them straightaway one after the other!

A great way to finish what Hyperion started:
After I finished reading "Hyperion", it took me a while before I picked up this sequel. I'll admit that I didn't quite know what to think about the story. However, as time passed, I came to appreciate the rich imagery, plot intricacy, and beautiful writing that Simmons employed in the book, and I decided to give this second book a try. I think I ended up reading it in a single weekend. The world that Simmons began to create in the first novel is expanded and enriched, drawing the reader further into its intricacies, and we see the characters introduced previously in increasing depth as they continue their pilgrimage to the Shrike and the Time Tombs. You could easily to go so far as to say that this is really the second half of the story that began in "Hyperion". If you were intrigued by the first book, or even if you were only mildly interested, go ahead and take the time to read the second half of the story. You'll probably be hooked, and if not, you'll at least have the satisfaction of having read the whole story, rather than just an abruptly terminated beginning.