Hyperion Cantos

:Hyperion (book) redirects here. For Hyperion by Friedrich Hölderlin, see Hyperion (Hölderlin).

Related Topics:
Hyperion (book) - Friedrich Hölderlin - Hyperion (Hölderlin)

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The Hyperion Cantos is a tetralogy of science fiction novels by Dan Simmons. The books are:

Related Topics:
Tetralogy - Science fiction - Novels - Dan Simmons

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• Hyperion (1989)
• The Fall of Hyperion (1990)
• Endymion (1996)
• The Rise of Endymion (1997)

The Cantos is one of the more well-known epic science fiction series to be written in the past two decades. Set in the far future, and focusing more on plot and story development than technical detail, it falls into the soft science fiction category, and could be described as space opera. The first half of the series is generally considered to be stronger, and Hyperion is widely viewed as the best of the four novels; it received the Hugo Award for best novel in 1990. The Fall of Hyperion was nominated for the Nebula Award for best novel in 1990.

Related Topics:
Soft science fiction - Space opera - Hugo Award - Best novel - 1990 - Nebula Award - Best novel

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The first two novels were originally submitted to the publisher as a single large manuscript, but due to its extreme length, it was decided to split the story in half. Thus, the story in Hyperion ends rather abruptly, with many mysteries left unresolved; The Fall of Hyperion answers some of those questions and provides an ending. The second two novels take place three hundred years later in the chronology of the story, and contain an almost entirely-new cast of characters, although the events of the earlier novels provide important background.

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Publisher - Manuscript

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Much of the appeal of the series stems from its infusion with references and allusions to the poetry of John Keats, a famous English Romantic poet of the 19th century. The title of the first novel, "Hyperion", is taken from one of Keats's poems, the unfinished epic Hyperion. Similarly, the title of the third novel, "Endymion", is taken from a Keats poem of the same name. Quotes from actual Keats poems and the fictional Cantos are interspersed throughout the novels -- a device that was also used by Tolkien to flesh out prose. Simmons goes so far as to have an artificial replication of John Keats, called a "cybrid", play a major role in the series.

Related Topics:
Allusions - Poetry - John Keats - English - Romantic - 19th century - Hyperion - Hyperion - Endymion - Tolkien - Prose

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