-
The Fall of Hyperion
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 21 hrs and 45 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Endymion
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 23 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here, Simmons returns to this richly imagined world of technological achievement, excitement, wonder and fear. Endymion is a story about love and memory, triumph and terror - an instant candidate for the field's highest honors.
-
-
A fine Part II of the Hyperion Cantos
- By David on 09-06-12
By: Dan Simmons
-
Altered Carbon
- By: Richard K. Morgan
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 17 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the 25th century, humankind has spread throughout the galaxy, monitored by the watchful eye of the U.N. While divisions in race, religion, and class still exist, advances in technology have redefined life itself. Now, assuming one can afford the expensive procedure, a person's consciousness can be stored in a cortical stack at the base of the brain and easily downloaded into a new body (or "sleeve") making death nothing more than a minor blip on a screen.
-
-
If you like the show then skip this.
- By Charles Joshua Bain on 10-27-19
-
Children of Time
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Mel Hudson
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed stand-alone novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Who will inherit this new Earth? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden.
-
-
Couldn't finish what should have been an amazing read
- By HannahBeth on 08-09-19
-
The Three-Body Problem
- By: Cixin Liu
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion.
-
-
Harder Science Fiction Than I Could Handle
- By Jeff Koeppen on 06-06-20
By: Cixin Liu
-
Ilium
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
- Length: 29 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the towering heights of Olympos Mons on Mars, the mighty Zeus and his immortal family of gods, goddesses, and demigods look down upon a momentous battle, observing - and often influencing - the legendary exploits of Paris, Achilles, Hector, Odysseus, and the clashing armies of Greece and Troy. Thomas Hockenberry, former 21st-century professor and Iliad scholar, watches as well. It is Hockenberry's duty to observe and report on the Trojan War's progress to the so-called deities who saw fit to return him from the dead.
-
-
big ol' meh
- By Julia on 11-10-17
By: Dan Simmons
-
The Way of Kings
- The Stormlight Archive, Book 1
- By: Brandon Sanderson
- Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer
- Length: 45 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter. It has been centuries since the fall of the 10 consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor.
-
-
Great Story!! Cons: slow start & poor narration
- By Monica on 01-17-17
-
Endymion
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 23 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here, Simmons returns to this richly imagined world of technological achievement, excitement, wonder and fear. Endymion is a story about love and memory, triumph and terror - an instant candidate for the field's highest honors.
-
-
A fine Part II of the Hyperion Cantos
- By David on 09-06-12
By: Dan Simmons
-
Altered Carbon
- By: Richard K. Morgan
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 17 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the 25th century, humankind has spread throughout the galaxy, monitored by the watchful eye of the U.N. While divisions in race, religion, and class still exist, advances in technology have redefined life itself. Now, assuming one can afford the expensive procedure, a person's consciousness can be stored in a cortical stack at the base of the brain and easily downloaded into a new body (or "sleeve") making death nothing more than a minor blip on a screen.
-
-
If you like the show then skip this.
- By Charles Joshua Bain on 10-27-19
-
Children of Time
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Mel Hudson
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed stand-alone novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Who will inherit this new Earth? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden.
-
-
Couldn't finish what should have been an amazing read
- By HannahBeth on 08-09-19
-
The Three-Body Problem
- By: Cixin Liu
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion.
-
-
Harder Science Fiction Than I Could Handle
- By Jeff Koeppen on 06-06-20
By: Cixin Liu
-
Ilium
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
- Length: 29 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the towering heights of Olympos Mons on Mars, the mighty Zeus and his immortal family of gods, goddesses, and demigods look down upon a momentous battle, observing - and often influencing - the legendary exploits of Paris, Achilles, Hector, Odysseus, and the clashing armies of Greece and Troy. Thomas Hockenberry, former 21st-century professor and Iliad scholar, watches as well. It is Hockenberry's duty to observe and report on the Trojan War's progress to the so-called deities who saw fit to return him from the dead.
-
-
big ol' meh
- By Julia on 11-10-17
By: Dan Simmons
-
The Way of Kings
- The Stormlight Archive, Book 1
- By: Brandon Sanderson
- Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer
- Length: 45 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter. It has been centuries since the fall of the 10 consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor.
-
-
Great Story!! Cons: slow start & poor narration
- By Monica on 01-17-17
-
The Shadow of the Torturer
- The Book of the New Sun, Book 1
- By: Gene Wolfe
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Shadow of the Torturer is the first volume in the four-volume epic, the tale of a young Severian, an apprentice to the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession - showing mercy towards his victim.
Gene Wolfe's "The Book of the New Sun" is one of speculative fiction's most-honored series. In a 1998 poll, Locus Magazine rated the series behind only "The Lord of the Rings" and The Hobbit as the greatest fantasy work of all time.
-
-
"All of you are torturers, one way or another"
- By Jefferson on 10-21-12
By: Gene Wolfe
-
The Name of the Wind
- Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 1
- By: Patrick Rothfuss
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 27 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man's search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend.
-
-
This is why I joined Audible!
- By customer on 02-14-20
By: Patrick Rothfuss
-
Gardens of the Moon
- The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1
- By: Steven Erikson
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 26 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with the formidable Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.
-
-
A Good Story Told Very Badly
- By Brandon M. Salazar on 03-29-19
By: Steven Erikson
-
A Wizard of Earthsea
- The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Rob Inglis
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Sparrowhawk casts a spell that saves his village from destruction at the hands of the invading Kargs, Ogion, the Mage of Re Albi, encourages the boy to apprentice himself in the art of wizardry. So, at the age of 13, the boy receives his true name - Ged - and gives himself over to the gentle tutelage of the Master Ogion. But impatient with the slowness of his studies and infatuated with glory, Ged embarks for the Island of Roke, where the highest arts of wizardry are taught.
-
-
A little gem, excellently narrated.
- By Marjorie on 05-14-12
-
The Black Company
- Chronicles of The Black Company, Book 1
- By: Glen Cook
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some feel the Lady, newly risen from centuries in thrall, stands between humankind and evil. Some feel she is evil itself. The hardbitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must, burying their doubts with their dead - until the prophesy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more. There must be a way for the Black Company to find her....
-
-
Hard Boiled Morally Ambiguous Epic Fantasy
- By Jefferson on 03-18-11
By: Glen Cook
-
All Systems Red
- By: Martha Wells
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 3 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All Systems Red is the tense first science fiction adventure novella in Martha Wells' series The Murderbot Diaries. For fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series, or Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self-discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans.
-
-
Good...but...
- By Steve on 07-20-18
By: Martha Wells
-
The Final Empire
- Mistborn Book 1
- By: Brandon Sanderson
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 24 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison.
-
-
Prepare for sleepless nights
- By tercia on 10-21-18
-
Iron Gold
- By: Pierce Brown
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds, John Curless, Julian Elfer, and others
- Length: 23 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ten years after the events of Morning Star, Darrow and the Rising are battling the remaining Gold loyalist forces and are closer than ever to abolishing the color-coded caste system of Society for good. But new foes will emerge from the shadows to threaten the imperfect victory Darrow and his friends have earned. Pierce Brown expands the size and scope of his impressive Red Rising universe with new characters, enemies, and conflicts among the stars.
-
-
Should have stopped at 3..
- By Christopher Breaux on 10-07-18
By: Pierce Brown
-
Dune
- By: Frank Herbert
- Narrated by: Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy, Euan Morton, and others
- Length: 21 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Maud'dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.
-
-
This classic deserves better
- By Matthew Salvo on 07-01-21
By: Frank Herbert
-
The Collapsing Empire
- The Interdependency, Book 1
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.
-
-
Not a Complete Story, Not Scalzi’s Best
- By R.A. on 11-20-18
By: John Scalzi
-
Ender's Game
- Special 20th Anniversary Edition
- By: Orson Scott Card
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, Harlan Ellison, Gabrielle de Cuir
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why we think it’s a great listen: It’s easy to say that when it comes to sci-fi you either love it or you hate it. But with Ender’s Game, it seems to be you either love it or you love it.... The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Enter Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, the result of decades of genetic experimentation.
-
-
The Enderverse
- By Joe on 06-13-05
By: Orson Scott Card
-
Foundation (Apple Series Tie-in Edition)
- By: Isaac Asimov
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For 12,000 years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future - to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save humankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire - both scientists and scholars - and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.
-
-
Changed the version back
- By chip worden on 09-24-21
By: Isaac Asimov
Publisher's Summary
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.
Critic Reviews
"State of the art science fiction...A landmark novel." (Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine)
Featured Article: 12 of the Best Sci-Fi Series in Audio
From the furthest reaches of space to the microbiology of pandemics and gene manipulation, to the future implications of technology for societies similar to our own, science fiction is a fascinating genre that offers listeners a wide variety of ways to access its themes. In looking for the best sci-fi audiobook series, it can be difficult to know where to start due to the genre's sheer number of iterations and variations. But what these series have in common is an acute devotion to telling a good story, as well as fully building out the worlds therein. The writing is enhanced by the creative and impassioned narration.
More from the same
Narrator
What listeners say about The Fall of Hyperion
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Celeste M
- 03-09-14
I loved Hyperion, but...
Hyperion was solid sci fi. Well, a bit corny and odd in spots, but mostly inventive, engaging, and thoroughly fun. I even enjoyed the ending, which seems a love-it-or-hate-it kind of thing.
I was excited to see what was going to happen in The Fall of Hyperion - the second chapter of the wild world of the Shrike!
As the story progressed, my anticipation was replaced with mild disappointment. The story lines muddled together in a complicated baroque jumble. Towards the middle of the book, I kept thinking that I'd accidentally rewound the story, but it was just that the author kept saying the same thing over and over. Plus, although I'm a fan of metafiction and allusions to classic literature, this book's heavy handed eruditism felt embarrassingly self conscious. Wasn't sure I cared about the characters anymore. Things just kept happening to them, and they didn't seem actively engaged in their future, so neither was I.
20 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Darwin8u
- 06-15-12
Hyperion is FALLEN, am I too to fall?
Am I to leave this haven of my rest,
This cradle of my glory, this soft clime,
This calm luxuriance of blissful light,
These crystalline pavilions, and pure fanes,
Of all my lucent empire?
It is hard to restrain myself and not be overly poetic in my response to this SF masterpiece. This second novel in Simmons' Hyperion Cantos dances between magic and good old fashioned Hard SF. It isn't that I don't have critical issues with the novel. Please, Simmons, please find another way to describe the sky/heavens that doesn't involve Lapis lazuli. However, not many novelests have the skill to allude to epic poetry while dealing with issues like pain, death, time, God, gods, poetry, empathy. Simmons not only kept these threads alive, but wove them beautifully and tied them all off. Just for THAT this novel deserves five stars.
For me the Hyperion novels are on the same level as Lord of the Rings, Dune, the Foundation trilogy, the Book Of The New Sun, etc. Definitely worth the time and effort. Bevine does a great job narrating the second book. I think it made sense to switch from multiple narrators in Hyperion to a single narrator in the Fall of Hyperion (seems to me to fit with the change of narrative structure Simmons intended). Enjoy.
57 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- T. Mcpherson
- 04-10-09
Excellent story, Excellent Narration.
I couldn't be happier with this purchase. I reviewed Hyperion immediately after I finished it because it left me very excited about this series. I decided to wait until I finished the remaining 3 books before reviewing any of them individually. It is not very often that you come across a story that is so promising and I was afraid that the remaing books in the series would fall flat, or even worse, tank completely. I am very relieved to say that this is not the case at all. Simmons continues to weave a fantasic world in this second book and it leaves you hungry for more. The narration truly is excellent. After the first book, there was a slight transition in getting used to hearing a single narrator rather than a full cast, but Victor Bevine is definitely the correct choice for this project. As I listen to more and more audiobooks, I'm beginning to realize that narrators fall into roughly three categories. Class "C" would be the ones who are terrible and should not be allowed anywhere near a microphone. Class "B" are the ones who do a competent job, but don't really stand out or excell at their craft. And the class "A" narrators who provide truly excellent performances and who display an abundance of talent. Bevine is definitely a class "A" in every way. With audiobooks, when you have the combo of a good book helmed by an outstanding narrator, it just doesn't get much better than that.
25 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Trex
- 05-26-13
If I'd wanted hours of rattling poetry . . .
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
Hours upon hours of rattling poetry to get to the end of the story that was only pretty good. I did want to know what happened in the end but I'm not sure it was worth the effort.
23 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- OldDog
- 01-13-10
Necessary after You Enjoyed Hyperion
Single narrator this time, but excellent. When he goes over-the-top (rarely), it's where my inner voice would have as well while reading.
This, simply put, is Part II of a novel that wouldn't fit in one jacket. Again [See my review of Hyperion if you wish.] I've enjoyed the pace of this being read aloud immensely.
17 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Robert
- 03-08-11
This will spoil you for anything less
I don't write separate reviews for books in a series. Especially here, where Hyperion has been called the prologue to the Fall of Hyperion (FoH), it's been intimated that the former cannot stand on its own and I agree. Some have compared and contrasted the two connoting that there is perhaps a lack of cohesion and that they are very dissimilar. To that end, I disagree. The "prologue" smoothly transitions into the main body of the work and feels completely natural. Taken together, the two seem very much a part of a cohesive whole.
I was skeptical that the stellar cast of narrators of Hyperion could be equaled by a single actor, albeit Victor Bevine in FoH. Mr. Bevine was phenomenal and I never, at any point in the listening, felt like the work was diminished.
It is good that I have listened to this author later in life. Having been brought up reading the classics of all genre of literature, it is often difficult to appreciate lesser works after having experienced the masters. Dan Simmons is a master when compared to authors of any genre. I have heard Simmons compared to Dickens. Truly in his development of characters, the comparison seems a fair one. It would be hard to compare the plot of this work to that of any other.
Often fraught with and characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtapositions, the work is almost too much to be believed. But somehow Simmons makes it all believable for some time in the future. Unlike some classic, older SciFi which seemed futuristic when it was written but then later became seemingly dated, this piece is fresh, modern or hopefully even timeless. There's religion, technology, philosophy, excitement, a great deal of love and caring among seven pilgrim strangers and funny, now that I think about it, only one real villain in a world that is more vast than I can even imagine. This is truly a magnum opus in every sense of the word.
44 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Shawn
- 04-09-13
Interesting sequel, very different story
This sequel has a different structure than Hyperion. While sacrifice, pain and tests of torture are common in the Hyperion Cantos novels, this one more closely follows two people in a narrative of the events since the last book.
This one feels more civilization spanning and more big picture than the first book, which was more personal, as required by it's structure.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Olaf
- 10-24-13
couldn't finish it
My introduction to Dan Simmons' books was Endymion. Apparently, the third book in the cycle, pretty good in my humble opinion, so imagine the excitement about three more books in the series that will keep me entertained for weeks.
If your patience can handle it, the author's imagination is wild and command of the language is impeccable. On the other hand, I listened to the Hyperion and if the ending had been anything but the cliffhanger it was, I would have stopped there. But I had to find out what would happen to the pilgrims, so I bought this one.
The book is long - I would have lost patience and skimmed through it if it was the printed copy. Infinite amount of details and monotonous descriptions that don't add anything to the story nor to the characters... Switching narration speed to x1.5 helped for awhile but I'm in the middle of the second part and I just can't go on...
I don't usually write such negative reviews but I'm upset enough to do so, despite a high overall rating for the book. Maybe it will stop someone with similar taste from unnecessary aggravation.
40 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ronald Albury
- 02-09-15
Okay book - but I'm stopping the series
Whereas the first book in the series had boring gaps due to development of some unlikable boring characters - I think this book got carried away with mysticism. Now, I enjoy some mysticism blended into a good story, but not when it is 'in your face' like a blinking neon sign.
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sandrine
- 10-24-13
A very long fall
What did you like best about The Fall of Hyperion? What did you like least?
I was just curious on how the epic tale of Hyperion was going to be continued. I listened through it and I found it just a little bit too long. The story does however develop nicely and a new things come up just like in a good series.
Any additional comments?
I'll need a little break before listening to the next book. ;o)
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Thomas
- 08-11-11
Great!
On the book...
The fall of Hyperion is well named, with each new calamity coming after the last. I've just finished all four audiobooks, so I can't remember the exact details of this one - but I really liked them all!
On narration...
I didn't really think much of the narrator - it sounded like English wasn't his first language maybe. He pronounced every single word - like 'to' and 'a' - fully, which - when you actually hear it done - is quite strange. He occasionally made little errors in pronunciation - saying the 'chasm' with a soft 'ch' sound - which is a bit weird - or maybe he just did the whole thing in one take without bothering to fix the error. He also pronounced 'Aargh' exactly as it is written, with a clear 'r' and then a hard 'g' sound on the end. No-one really says that when they scream - that's just obvious - again - weird. The thing I disliked the most though was his inability to portray anything other than a small range of emotions. Whenever he took on a woman's voice - there was one set tone - and any emotion - such as anger - was not portrayed at all - it was always just 'the soft woman tone'. The range of accents for the different characters was good - just a bit more attention to tone and emotion was needed.
36 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Keith Rogers
- 01-30-11
Great book
Great book, and well read, but it is a shame that they didn't continue with the full cast recording from Hyperion
36 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Cubano343
- 03-29-18
Great book but ditch the music
Excellent book, really gripping in parts and a sensitive continuation of the characters' fates as they prepare to meet the shrike.
The narration is hit and miss, with some passages moving me to tears but others sounding like he's turned the page and realised he should have intoned the first part of the sentence differently. This makes for a patchy experience.
Also, music fades in from time to time, without any apparent logic and to deleterious effect. It sounds cheesy and it takes the listener away from the world in which they were immersed. So seriously guys, remaster this and ditch the music.
13 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kindle Customer
- 09-04-17
Makes me remember why I loved the first book
I enjoyed the Fall of Hyperion, just not as much as I enjoyed Hyperion. A lot of the elements that really made the previous book for me, the mysteries and the cast of different narrators for different characters, aren't in this book. It's still solid, I enjoyed the new characters and different viewpoints the book offered, but as the story went on it felt like the mysteries set up in the first book were just a lot more compelling without answers.
Out of the original cast I'm glad Victor Bevine was chosen to narrate. While he wasn't my favorite from the previous book there's a certain quality to his voice that I really enjoy. I've read reviews that call him monotone and dull and honestly those kind of reviews do make me hesitant about a book. I'd advise anyone unsure about him to listen to the audio sample in full if they're worried, I personally loved his performance and maybe you will too.
Overall it's a worthy successor to Hyperion. The original book remains one of my favorite audio books but this sequel is a solid and engaging follow up. Less a fall from Hyperion and more a very slight decline. I know that's a terrible joke, I just wanted to use it.
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Peter
- 12-02-09
More great writing
Brilliant sequel to Hyperion. Continues pretty well where the last one left off and reveals what happens at the Shrike 'Time Tombs' to the pilgrims. Superb characterisations by both the author and the narrator make this a great listening experience that has some amazing sci-fi concepts embedded in a truly rivetting story. I will definitely be investing in the two "Endymion" sequels. Highly recommended to people who enjoy intelligent Sci-fi.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Srjane
- 01-18-18
Confusing
Firstly, this is a really complicated sci fi story. I’m not sure if I missed a few explanations but I had to let go a lot of the scientific detail. It’s hard to look back on an audible book for repeat info, especially one of this size.
One suggestion for the orator would be to have longer breaks between each point of view or scene. Often I didn’t know who or where I was as each paragraph seems to run on like a sentence.
The plot is complicated too with many characters and Ai tricks. But I particularly liked the Rachel and her dad story. Not quite sure what happened to her but I suppose it may be the focus for another book?
I think this book may be better enjoyed in its print form but well done for the depth of characters and plot lines.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Richard
- 11-06-19
repetative
Really enjoyed book one. This however is a repetative, pretentious drawn out piece of crap. Really annoyed I wasted a credit on it. Perhaps if I grow a beard, polo neck sweater and start smoking weed, I may get it.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Mr. M. Bleck
- 03-21-18
Hegemony fights back
I preferred the pace of revelation of wonderment and awe better in the first book but this one packs a huge amount of crazy good stuff in its second half. Can’t wait for book 3.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Tom
- 11-19-09
Brilliant
Not much to add to other reviewers except that excellent doesn't begin to describe this book. But read "Hyperion" first as this book follows on right from the end of it. Narration was faultless too. What a great book. Strongly recommended.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Mr I S Walters
- 04-14-18
Compared to Hyperion
Hyperion had many players voices, this has one ( however talented) which is a shame as you tend to identify with the original voices. Other audio Sci-Fi books have extensive music and effects this has none. The story however is compelling. If you listened to Hyperion this listen is essential.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Rainer
- 09-09-15
Great follow-up to the first book.
I won't go into the story or anything like that, but I will review the Audio book instead.
This is an immediate continuation of the story from the first book, which ended on a cliff-hanger.
The reader did a great job. The first thing I noticed was that he pronounced some words slightly different to the readers in the first book. Most notably, Lusus. I think the pronunciation in the second book was correct.
The other thing I noticed was the stark difference in the way Silenus talked. Not in a bad way, but I never got used to it. I think I preferred the reader from the first book for Martin.
The shifting narrative from first-person to 3rd person worked well.
The only weird thing I found is that occasionally throughout the book all of the sudden music would just start playing in the background for no apparent reason. Weird.
Anyway, I don't need to recommend this book, if you read the first, then you'll probably read the second. If you enjoyed Hyperion, then you'll enjoy The Fall of Hyperion.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Steven
- 02-05-17
Well done, but I enjoyed the first a bit more.
The problem is that I feel like you need to have read John Keets's work to truly enjoy this book. The story from the first book is so well done, and this one glosses over a bit too much of what I would have actually like to have seen. Some things from the book are abandoned or left abstract like why the pilgrims went on the journey in the first place. Still, there are so many threads that nicely got tied together and I did enjoy it.
Probably my biggest complaint is that I wanted the book to hurry up and tie up loose ends and I wasn't actually enjoying it. Still love dan Simmons though.
Also disappointed that there's only one narrator, but it makes sense and he did a fine enough job.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 04-30-22
Really good
This is a worthwhile sequel to Hyperion. If you like the first this does a good job expanding the story.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 03-09-22
really worth continuing the series
if you've got this far you will have read book one of the cantos, first of all this one is not a dramatic reading, which at first is a little jarring but soon makes sense given the different style of the work. I wouldn't say it was as good as book one but that's only because it has resolutions where as the first is mostly horror, resolutions are always a mixed bag but they are needed. I very much enjoyed both the reader and the story and look forward to the next in the Hyperion cantos
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Chris
- 01-10-22
Okay
I found this kind of difficult to follow. There are a lot of characters each with their own story lines. I really only started this book to see what happens with Sol and Rachel. Seems to me like it was a whole lot of people taking turns saying 'hegemony'. The first book was better.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- M. Owens
- 11-14-21
Good original story
Overall, I am enjoying this series. Original characters and world building.
The negatives for me is the patriarchal aspects - women are often sexualised and are in the minority. Other minorities are virtually absent. The only references to the past are all male poets or artists. Also, the foregrounding of religion as force for good is laughable.
Still, I'm enjoying it enough to read the next book.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Aiden
- 03-22-21
Just as intriguing as Hyperion with twice the acti
Rich world building and dynamic elements of this story give all the alien vastness of a sci-fi with a carefully crafted narrative that demands attention from the reader and every last citizen of the explored in-book universe and the perfect pairing to the first Hyperion story.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kaz
- 01-21-21
Great story, so why only 4 stars?
I did love this book and initially was going to give it 5 stars. The creativity is fantastic, the tipping on of every stand superlative, but ...
For my tastes, there was a little too much literary argumentation, philosophical mish mash, which felt a bit like self-indulgence; spouting off to a captive audience. I get that some of it was necessary to give the right mood and flavour, but for me, it was overdone.
And still, I would recommend this to anyone who loves space opera and I fully intend to go on to the third in the trilogy.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Antony Stein
- 01-14-21
Hard to explain how great this book is...
Words, tones, paintings in the mind. A truly tactile and wonderful experience. Sumptuous. Brilliant.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Aleksandar
- 10-08-20
Absolutely brilliant
This has to be one of the best sci fi books I’ve ever listened to. This and the first book.
Everything was great.
Just buy it. Then listen. You won’t be able to put it down