"Hyperion" by Dan Simmons

Hyperion was a recent choice by the Sci-Fi and Fantasy book club that I am a member of. I was pretty excited to dive into such an iconic (and now probably classic) Sci-Fi novel. I would caution readers right of the bat: Hyperion is the first installment in a tetralogy, and book 1 ends on a major cliffhanger. So unless you are prepared to commit to the series, I would not read this book. 

The novel mirrors the structure of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales - we have a group of pilgrims traveling to the time tombs, a mysterious place on a distant planet called Hyperion, and each chapter in the book represents a story of one of the pilgrims, and includes an account of their connection to Hyperion and the Shrike - a deadly creature inhabiting the area around the time tombs, and also the main figure worshipped by the Shrike cult.

Each story is different and I did enjoy most of them. Each story also reveals some new aspect about Hyperion and the Shrike. But overall, as I already mentioned, the book does not have a self-contained conclusion. This was a big disappointment for me. Even though I am glad I read this novel, it is far from being a favorite. It is too long and convoluted. The author just drops you in the middle of the story without proper explanation of any terminology. You basically learn about the world as you go along and sort of guess what various terms mean. I also think parts of it are quite dull and slow-moving. So overall, 3 out of 5 stars and now I need to decide whether I am curious enough to continue with book 2...