DVDGUY1116

I was wondering if anybody on this board is a fan of Dan Simmons. He is my favorite author, I have read all his books, but I very rarely run into people that have read anything of his outside of the Hyperion Cantos. Specifically, I was wondering what people thought of his new book Illium? I am currently reading it but I don't know what to think about it yet as I haven't got a total grasp of what is going on. Hopefully that will change as I am only 100 pages into it.

Josh-da-man

Here.

Yeah, I've read the Hyperion/Endymion cycle and loved it.

Also a of Simmons' horror novels, such as "Song of Kali," "Summer of Night," and "Children of the Night."

Not so much a fan of his "mystery/thriller" books he's been pumping out lately.

"Ilium" is definitely on my to read list.

DVDGUY1116

I agree totally. I also love every horror and sci-fi book he has put out. His 3 short story/novella compilations are also really good with my favorite being Lovedeath. That book also holds my favorite novella of his, the Bram Stoker award winner, Dying in Bangkok. While I do like his mystery/thiller books I do not like them as much as his horror and sci-fi books. Regardless of what "genre" he is writing in I find his books to be highly literate...which is hard to find these days.

I am now further into Ilium and I have my grasp on it now and I am really starting to enjoy it.

RevLiver

I consider Summer of Night one of the best horror novels ever. I've read it twice, and it just creates such a perfect atmospheric mixture of dread and nostalgia. I would love to see it made into an HBO miniseries (a movie would be too short to do the material justice).

DVDGUY1116

If you liked Summer of Night you should check out it's Pseudo-sequel A Winter Haunting. A lot shorter but just as good. I think Summer of Night and A Winter Haunting were optioned for possible movies. The Hyperion Cantos, The Crook Factory, Darwins Blade, and Song of Kali have also been optioned. For more info check out www.dansimmons.com

Kevin M. Dean

Actually A Winter Haunting, Children of the Night and Fires of Eden all have at least one character connection to Summer of Night, while not actually being sequels.

DVDGUY1116

It's been so long since I read Fires of Eden I forgot about the character and the connection to Summer of Night. Thanks for reminding me...I guess I'll have to go read it again after I finish Ilium, which is incredible, to refresh my memory!

shrike

I'm a huge Simmons fan as you can tell by my username. Have read everything he has written so far except Ilium; which I hope to pick up soon. Have really enjoyed all his books but LOVE the Hyperion/Endymion series. He's one of those writers whose name on the cover is all it takes for me to buy his books. Don't even need to know what it's about first. I know with Simmons I will get a well told story with great characters whatever the genre may be.

Bean-si

The first 2 books in the 'Hyperion Cantos' were quite good. The other 2 could have been happily trimmed to 1

I loved 'Phases of Gravity', liked 'Song of Kali', 'Carrion Comfort' then read 'Lovedeath' and quite frankly the moralising tone therein just put me right off him.

Maybe I'll revisit some day...

Darren Garrison

Read most of his books, my favorites are the 4 Hyperion books and the collection Prayers to Broken Stones.

DVDGUY1116

I think it is interesting that Lovedeath turned you off to Simmons as Lovedeath turned me into an even bigger fan. Up until I read Lovedeath the only books of his I read were the 4 Hyperion novels. To each their own though.

Does anybody know why Dan Simmons has refused to do anymore books in the Hyperion series? I know he did the short story Orpahns of the Helix but outside of that he said he wouldn't go back to Hyperion. I think that the 4 Hyperion books themselves could use at least another book as not all of the questions were answered at the end of Rise. Not only that but after reading Rise I kinda got the feeling that there would be another one coming. So does anybody know the reason he won't go back to the series?

LolaRennt

I myself really like Dan Simmons a lot. I have been reading all his scifi/fantasy and horror novels, but have lost touch a little since. Which books of his should I read? I have not read the following books:

- Darwin's blade
- the crook factory
- fires of eden
- lovedeath
- hard freeze
- worlds enough & time
- illium

I did read Hardcase and A winter haunting recently, and was agreeably surprised by both.

In which order should I attack the above mentioned works?

Thanks,
LolaRennt.

DVDGUY1116

You should read all of the books mentioned above because they are all really good. If you want an order to read them in then look below. You can also consider this a recommendation of which ones I prefer over the others.

Ilium(it is his newest but it might also be his best. Right up there with the Hyperion Cantos. However, the book is soo complex it reads slower than his other books and there is still another half to go called Olympos.)
Fires of Eden
The Crook Factory
Darwin's Blade
Hard Freeze
Lovedeath(some of the most amazing short stoies I have ever read. The best two are Entropy's Bed at Midnight and Dying in Bangkok.)
Worlds Enough & Time(best story from this collection is Orphans of the Helix...which takes place in the Hyperion universe. Also, one story in this collection, I think it is the Ninth of Av, give a bit of backround info on one of the major groups of people in Ilium. It isn't connected to Ilium but the group is the same...or so I believe.)

Enjoy!

NCMojo

Could not disagree with you more.

Frankly, Fall of Hyperion is just not as good a book as Hyperion -- still better than most anything else out there, but a significant step down. I thought the whole Keats device was somewhat artifical and forced.

Both of the Endymion books were excellent -- edge of your seat thrillers, great characters, tremendous suspense. Hyperion is challenging, but the story of the Endymion books is just absolutely tremendous.

Getting back on topic -- yeah, I love Dan Simmons.

Deke Rivers

im 3/4 of the way through Hyperion. I have almost set it down and given up about three times since I started it. Im lost with the whole Core concept among other things

Jason Bovberg

I used to like Simmons. I still think Summer of Night is wonderful. I liked Children of the Night, too. Then, he quickly started to get full of himself. I went to a few appearances of his in Denver, and he was insufferable. At one signing, he read some high-falutin novella for an hour, while his audience was clearly uncomfortable and shifting. He's got this attitude, this lofty "literary" aspiration, that makes me want to bitch-slap him.

mgbfan

I'm something of a Simmons fan. The first two Hyperion novels are just fantastic. The third and fourth are merely okay. Summer of Night, again fantastic. Winter Haunting I won't go that far, but it was quite good. Children of the Night was more on a level with the second two Hyperion books. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't up to the bar Simmons set for himself, either.

Illium and Olympos were quite readable. Not classics in the way of Hyperion, but good.

Whoa - just realize how old this topic is. Oh well, I'll reply anyway.

Joe Molotov

I just started reading Hyperion a few days ago.

Abelkems

I have read a few of his. My favorite so far is Carrion Comfort.

LiquidSky

I've only read Summer of Night and loved it. I'll look into reading more of his books.

Deke Rivers

just finished Hyperion and to tell ya the truth i was very underwhelmed..not chomping at the bit enough to even see what happens in the 2nd book...

spainlinx0

Same here.

John Wielgosz

Sadly, that's what happens when you hang out with Harlan Ellison (see JMS, creator of 'Babylon 5' as another example).

I ADORE the Hyperion Cantos, and loved the Ilium/Olympos novels nearly as much, I'm planning on revisiting them in the fall, but I've had to divorce the art from the artist, as it's becoming clear that I wouldn't be considered worthy of basking in his literary genius.

He honestly is a fantastic writer, and I'll continue to read his novels, I just wish I could like the man behind them as well.

brainee

I was a huge fan of Dan Simmons when he was just starting. "Hyperion" is one of my all-time favorite stories: with the combination of epic world-building, imagination, literary style, and (most importantly) the ability to create characters and situations that moved me on an emotional level. True, "Fall" collapsed somewhat under its own weight, but still a worthy finish to the story. For several years, Simmons was in the class of authors whose work I would buy without hesitation just because his name was on the cover. Other books were good, but for me nothing reached the level of "Hyperion". "Summer of Night" was entertaining enough, but it seemed too much like a Stephen King pastiche for me to love it. "Carrion Comfort" was a bit bloated -- terrific short story though. I enjoyed the "Endymion" books -- again, they were entertaining enough, though it was a bit disappointing to see the Shrike reduced to aping "Terminator 2". Still, an enjoyable epic space opera. I really love his early book "Song of Kali". Not a typical horror story ... in fact, those going in expecting a King-like story would likely be disappointed. But that book really stuck with me, in the way it brought Calcutta to life, the surrealistic nightmarish atmosphere, and the shock ending. I kind of lost touch with him when he moved into the mystery genre -- I just didn't care for what I tried there. I haven't read "A Winter Haunting" or the latest sci-fi epic, so maybe I'll have to go back and give him another try.

mgbfan

I've heard people who didn't like it before, but I honestly never heard "underwhelmed" in regards to that book. Usually, it's just the opposite that people complain about.