Been reading more lately, which is good. After starting one hard sci-fi book that didn’t really grip me (Blindsight by Peter Watts … meh), I put that book down and started Hyperion by Dan Simmons.
Really a phenomenal book. Obviously, it won a Hugo, so it should be good at something, but the writing was well crafted with different voices and characters. The overall story takes its time to develop, but it doesn’t bore the reader along the way.
Think of Hyperion as a Caterbury Tales in space. Every character represents some part of the world Simmons has developed, and their individual stories are engaging and creative. The characters were crude and graphic and heartbreaking when it fit.
A partial spoiler: the book ends with a “to be continued.” While there was a moment of frustration since I wanted the story to come to a resolution, the writing and structure of the book alone was worth the time and effort to get through the novel.
More of an “adult” oriented book, but other than the non-resolution at the end, I highly recommend the book.
Peace.