Hyperion

I've finished this. 5/5 I don't think I fully understood every bit of it but it was all so beautifully constructed and crafted, every chapter was so distinct from the others and so compelling in their own rights. I've seen books being marvelous with world-building, or character development, but never really quite both at once and this one really did that so well. This book definitely demands rereads. I also liked that it had some really good female characterisation for a book published in the late 80s.

There were a few minor flaws here and there, like the writing could've been a little less flowery and descriptive, but that's also probably my own modern sensibilities talking. I also found Siri's story a bit anticlimactic, it somehow wasn't as compelling to me as everyone else's stories, but the Consul's second part really tied everything together. Some general thoughts of the ending: I really liked that we had a Fellowship moment at the end with the pilgrims being united for one moment in the damn book, and that's *after* they find out who the spy is too. I can't say I completely understand the Consul's motivation yet though but thats mainly cos the politics is so complex that I haven't quite wrapped my head around it yet. I couldn't really choose which one was my fave chapter - they were all really interesting and brought something new and thought provoking to the table.

I'm very glad I read this and would absolutely need to read the next one, also because I can't imagine how they would structure the next one now that we already know the pilgrims' backstories.