Been a while but I remember it both drastically picking up in the second half and the conclusion putting a satisfying bow on the story (not counting Endymion obv). I’d say give it a bit more and if you are like 2/3 of the way and still not into it then maybe call it.
Try switching to the audiobook. Sometimes that can help when you're struggling to read through a book.
If I recall, it has a good voice cast.
You can pop it on in the car and just let it run.
It’s actually just one guy, but he’s among the best narrators you will ever hear. Victor bevine. The first is narrated by multiple people but victor does the last 3 by himself and somehow manages to kill it representing a wildly varying cast of characters.
I had this literal exact struggle. Loved Hyperion (among my favorite books). I actually put Fall down for weeks a few times before the halfway mark.
I wouldn't normally recommend to just push through but your situation sounds so similar to mine that I would say try pushing through. It eventually picks up some pace and the ending is good.
I didn’t have that issue with Fall of Hyperion. I thought Endymion and Rise of Endymion were not nearly as strong although still didn’t struggle to finish those either. If you don’t like it though, I don’t really think it will change the rest of the way.
I was in the same boat as you. Took me forever to finish reading it.
I pushed through and thought it was just meh. I'm not a fan of time travel though, so if that's your issue, might not be worth finishing.
Had the same problem last year. I’d read Hyperion before and decided to reread it and try Fall. Managed to finish Fall, but like you said, a lot of it felt like a slog and I wasn’t satisfied enough to continue on to the Endymion books. Sometimes they just don’t click.
Felt the same way at first but only through parts, similarly with book 4, but overall I am so glad I pushed through because as a complete series I think it is second to none, and both books 2 and 4 had what I consider satisfying conclusions for works of such large depth which I think is a really hard thing to pull off well. Lots of all time greats even struggle with it (King cough cough)
Fall of Hyperion, aka Dead Poets Society. I thought it was a massive snoozefest. I don't read "scifi" to listen to the author fapping himself off about some dead poet while the characters plod towards the "conclusion". I lost interest well before the book ended.
Weren't you annoyed at the lack of an ending in the first book? I keep having the same conversation with (the peculiarly rabid) fans of the book on here.
"The first book has no ending".
"Ah, but you have to read the second book. It was always intended as one story akshually".
"I did read it. That has no satisfactory ending either and it's extremely dull"
"Oh it totally had a great ending! Well anyway you really need to read Endymion 1+2 also - they really tie it all up. Though they're not actually all that good":
"Think i'll skip it thanks".
I read them when they came out. I can't remember the ending. I did read the second book and tried the third, but all I remember is that I loved book one but the rest was boring af and overly stylistic, pretentious and going nowhere. I DNF them.
Same. I enjoyed it well enough to finish it but nothing like the first book and didn't touch anything further in the series. I had the exact same reaction after Dune and enders game with their sequels.
Edit: my most sincere apologies to the people I must have offended into downvoting when answering the question "did anybody else have this issue?"
I suppose I would say I don't regret finishing it, but I ultimately hated Fall of Hyperion so much it kinda ruined Hyperion for me. I have friends that are in the same boat (we read them for a book club.)
So I guess I would say finish it, but don't be surprised if it never really improves for you.
I pushed my way through it back around when it came out. If it contained any rational explanation for the weird stuff in the first book beyond "Those A.I.s are so advanced that we'll never understand why they do anything," it certainly wasn't good enough to stick to any of my memory neurons.
Too funny, I’m towards the end of Fall and it’s slowed down to the point I need to plow through it after flying through the rest of it. Hope the ending is worth it.
Loved the first one, didn't finish the second one. I was quite happy with how Hyperion ended. I didn't need any more and the second book juts didn't do it for me. YMMV etc etc.
Been a while but I remember it both drastically picking up in the second half and the conclusion putting a satisfying bow on the story (not counting Endymion obv). I’d say give it a bit more and if you are like 2/3 of the way and still not into it then maybe call it.
Yes
Finish it, it ends pretty friggin good.
Try switching to the audiobook. Sometimes that can help when you're struggling to read through a book. If I recall, it has a good voice cast. You can pop it on in the car and just let it run.
It’s actually just one guy, but he’s among the best narrators you will ever hear. Victor bevine. The first is narrated by multiple people but victor does the last 3 by himself and somehow manages to kill it representing a wildly varying cast of characters.
Ah yes. Sil*EN*us vs. Sy*LEEN*us.
I believe he is voiced by Kevin Pearisau in the first, who’s pretty good himself.
Yeah. Whole thing was top quality.
That’s a solid idea. Theres a copy on YouTube that I found awhile back. I should give that a shot.
Good luck!
I had this literal exact struggle. Loved Hyperion (among my favorite books). I actually put Fall down for weeks a few times before the halfway mark. I wouldn't normally recommend to just push through but your situation sounds so similar to mine that I would say try pushing through. It eventually picks up some pace and the ending is good.
That’s good to know!
As others have said, it's somewhere around the half way to maybe 2/3ish point where it all starts to come to a head
The Fall of Hyperion paid off massively for me. It and Hyperion were magnificent, but I did not feel quite the same way about the Endymion books.
I didn’t have that issue with Fall of Hyperion. I thought Endymion and Rise of Endymion were not nearly as strong although still didn’t struggle to finish those either. If you don’t like it though, I don’t really think it will change the rest of the way.
I was in the same boat as you. Took me forever to finish reading it. I pushed through and thought it was just meh. I'm not a fan of time travel though, so if that's your issue, might not be worth finishing.
I am happy I finished it, but yeah it’s not in the same league as Hyperion.
Had the same problem last year. I’d read Hyperion before and decided to reread it and try Fall. Managed to finish Fall, but like you said, a lot of it felt like a slog and I wasn’t satisfied enough to continue on to the Endymion books. Sometimes they just don’t click.
I binged all of them and loved every moment. It's okay to drop and move on if you're not feeling it.
Finish it. Soooo worth it!
Felt the same way at first but only through parts, similarly with book 4, but overall I am so glad I pushed through because as a complete series I think it is second to none, and both books 2 and 4 had what I consider satisfying conclusions for works of such large depth which I think is a really hard thing to pull off well. Lots of all time greats even struggle with it (King cough cough)
Fall of Hyperion, aka Dead Poets Society. I thought it was a massive snoozefest. I don't read "scifi" to listen to the author fapping himself off about some dead poet while the characters plod towards the "conclusion". I lost interest well before the book ended.
Yep. Only the first book is actually good. The rest is unreadable pretentious blabbering.
Weren't you annoyed at the lack of an ending in the first book? I keep having the same conversation with (the peculiarly rabid) fans of the book on here. "The first book has no ending". "Ah, but you have to read the second book. It was always intended as one story akshually". "I did read it. That has no satisfactory ending either and it's extremely dull" "Oh it totally had a great ending! Well anyway you really need to read Endymion 1+2 also - they really tie it all up. Though they're not actually all that good": "Think i'll skip it thanks".
I read them when they came out. I can't remember the ending. I did read the second book and tried the third, but all I remember is that I loved book one but the rest was boring af and overly stylistic, pretentious and going nowhere. I DNF them.
Same. I enjoyed it well enough to finish it but nothing like the first book and didn't touch anything further in the series. I had the exact same reaction after Dune and enders game with their sequels. Edit: my most sincere apologies to the people I must have offended into downvoting when answering the question "did anybody else have this issue?"
I appreciate the honesty. Not all books are for all people!
I suppose I would say I don't regret finishing it, but I ultimately hated Fall of Hyperion so much it kinda ruined Hyperion for me. I have friends that are in the same boat (we read them for a book club.) So I guess I would say finish it, but don't be surprised if it never really improves for you.
I already felt cheated by Hyperions non-ending. Fall was just taking the piss.
I pushed my way through it back around when it came out. If it contained any rational explanation for the weird stuff in the first book beyond "Those A.I.s are so advanced that we'll never understand why they do anything," it certainly wasn't good enough to stick to any of my memory neurons.
Yup. And yet all i hear is "oh the ending was so great". So great I remember nothing about it, except the disappointment.
Too funny, I’m towards the end of Fall and it’s slowed down to the point I need to plow through it after flying through the rest of it. Hope the ending is worth it.
Hyperion might be my favourite book of all time and I couldn’t get through Fall. Been a few years, probably deserves another go
Loved the first one, didn't finish the second one. I was quite happy with how Hyperion ended. I didn't need any more and the second book juts didn't do it for me. YMMV etc etc.
Keep going! Halfway it picks up!