I've been enjoying Hyperion so far, but not as much as Ilium. I think that one of my problems is that the Hyperion universe is just not quite as interesting. Nothing has yet proved itself to be as much of a mindfreak as Trojans on Mars or robots who dissect Proust. This is a somewhat more standard sci-fi 'verse: a unified consortium of planets (the Hegemony) with a possibly diabolical central government, which, shades of Firefly, may be merely a huge corporation. The central figure is called the CEO, after all.
The non-Hegemony planets are like the Outer Rim in Star Wars: dangerous, somewhat uncivilized and connected to the Hegemony mainly through trade. Oh, and the Hegemony planets are linked by farcasters, which seem to be your standard-issue portals. The Hegemony's military is called FORCE, a weird combination of stormtroopers, Navy SEALS and Japanese Samurai. FORCE combats various threats throughout the universe (including the occasional Islamic uprising; a recurring Simmons theme), but their main enemy is the Reavers--I mean, the Ousters, who are really tall, with prehensile limbs and an affinity for zero-g. The Ousters don't seem to be aliens; I think they're probably more like Ilium's post-humans: ordinary humans who have evolved while on the fringes of space. It isn't really clear what the Ousters want, but they can apparently fire guns with their feet, so it can't be good.
The world of Hyperion has only just become a Hegemony planet (or maybe it still isn't, I'm not sure) and it's quickly falling apart due to a war between FORCE, the Ousters and a monster called the Shrike. The Shrike--who is basically Sauron from the prologue of The Fellowship of the Ring, but spikier--is the central figure in a barbaric religion that almost certainly features some kind of human sacrifice. The Shrike can slow down time and then kill at his/her/its own pace, maybe do some speed-of-light shoplifting while he/she/it is at it. The Shrike is usually found among the Time Tombs, weird structures that move backward in time and hold important secrets that cannot fall into the hands or feet of the Ousters.
The problem with all this is that I'm not that engaged yet.
It's not like I'm not impressed with all the world-building, which is really something. It's that I'd rather have a couple of interesting characters than a really creative technology or long description of a battle where I don't understand what's at stake. The Canterbury Tales frame story is a great idea, but I don't feel like I'm learning all that much about the characters, who have all stayed strictly one-dimensional. Father Hoyt's story isn't even about him; all we know about him is that he's been infected with a cruciform (long story: just think evil starfish that sticks to you) and doesn't feel too good. Kassad had more of an arc, and I certainly find his strength and badass-ery appealing, and I feel bad that the woman of his dreams is a metallic monster that's trying to goad him into starting Armageddon, but he still doesn't really pop much as a character.
Martin Silenus is at least kind of fun, a space-age Holden Caulfield with a flair for bizarre statements. I don't know how much he'll develop, but, knowing Simmons, he'll probably be the character with the Key To Everything. The Consul has been set up as our protagonist, yet has failed to do much of anything protagonist-y. I'm sure there's a painful secret in his past that he's drowning with alcohol, probably involving his missing son. I can't say I really care about him, though.
But then Dan Simmons has never been the world's greatest character writer (although he did a superb job with Wilkie Collins and Dickens in Drood). The appeal of his novels lie more in his unabashedly nutty plotting and go-for-broke concepts. Once the story gets cooking and the plot twists start coming, I'm sure I'll be riveted.
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