Why Dan Simmons Is Essential Reading, Part 1 of 3: Overview

''The Terror'' blew my mind ... but then i discovered ''Hyperion'' and my brain exploded :)

I recently read Hyperion, and after the first story I just knew I’d be spending a lot more time Dan Simmons! I’m currently reading Song of Kali, and I’ve loved it. Might try Summer of Night or The Terror next. Thank you for your videos sir!

I loved "The Terror" but after skimming through "Flashback" I couldn't take him seriously anymore.. I know people will give me shtick for this, but yeah.

hahahaha, no
Hyperion Cantos is the most overrated body of fiction I've ever encountered, completely shits the bed past the first book and event hat first one isn't that exceptional

Woooooah. This is the first time I’ve seen a booktuber mention Jack Vance in a video! Can you make a video talking about his works in the future?

Great video, thank you for highlighting Simmons and his excellent work 👍 Could you please tell me what music is being used m the background for this video too?

Hyperion, fall of hyperion are the most prolific books I ever read. He takes you on the pilgrimage with them.
Martin silinus is always with me.

As wonderful as Dan Simmons is, he has nothing to do with my remembrance of Harlan Ellison! I read all of Ellison's work (except Gentleman Junkie) during my formative years and will fondly remember him for that ... and for titillating SF fandom of the '80s and '90s with his bratty behaviour. Thanks for another valuable video, LL!

Wasn't it Hyperion where the hardcover only had numbers on every other page which resulted in a page skipped which had to be sent out as an insert?

Been searching for months a particular type of writer, the writer i want to be and this is it. An extreamly versátile one.

Subscribed during this video and I feel like an idiot for not subscribing before. 🤷‍♂️

Summer of night gave me nightmares

I’m currently reading Carrion Comfort and am loving it so far. Great video with an overview of his works! I don’t think he gets enough credit.

Do Steven Erikson or Gene Wolfe next. I'd love one about Gene Wolfe

Came for the summary, stayed for the accidental ASMR.

Mr. Simmons has been my favorite contemporary writer of fiction for the past 25 years or thereabouts. Thank you very much for this trio of videos! Your channel is wonderful!

Hyperion and The fall of Hyperion are perhaps my favorite Sci-fi books to date (although that is by no means a long list; might use your videos in order to help fix that), so these videos are of particular interest to me by helping me know more about Simmons and his other works.
Keep up the good work, Bridger!

I think Simmons is wonderful. I'm no expert. I've only read 4 of his works. But I was impressed, especially by Hyperion and The Terror.
I have Carrion Comfort on my shelf, so that will be my next Simmons experience.
Thanks for a thoughtful and informative video.

Ardath Mahar.

Excellent quality videos! It's very enjoyable to listen. You should think about producing audiobooks:)) All the best from Poland!

I've devoured some of Dan Simmons's works, particularly The Terror, Drood, and Hyperion. Thank you for inspiring me to pick up some more of his novels!

Great video! I found your content enjoyable and educational, primarily due to your demeanor which impressed me! You mentioned Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's whose complete Sherlock Holmes was brilliant read for me and you pointed out his versatility, do you have any recommendations of other good works of his? Also, you mentioned enjoying historical fiction, what are your thoughts on Bernard Cornwell's books and if you enjoy them, any recommendations for a beginner, as Iam trying to get into that genre. All the best for your channel, looking forward to future content!

I just discovered Simmons and am currently knee-deep in "The Fall of Hyperion". So far, I am enjoying every single second so far, and will be exploring the rest of his works in the future. I can easily see, even two books in, why you and others consider his works essential reading.

Once again, I have to commend your commentary when describing authors and their works. You do very well to forward people into these author's worlds, critiquing without ranting, and lauding without it feeling like lip-service - all the while, still delivering the obvious passion you have for them.

I have Hyperion but have yet to start it. The series seems incredibly complex.

Hyperion was one of my top reads in 2022. I’m still undecided about continuing the Cantos, since there seems to be a lot of fervent opinion about how they do/do not improve upon the grandeur of that experience (case in point, Jonathan at WordsInTime praises the series above all others, while Jo Walton says that “the answers we do get are never as interesting as the questions asked”; perhaps your forthcoming video will help nudge me?). He’s definitely a first-rate author, and I plan to read more by him.

I’m curious if you’ll ever do one of these author spotlight videos for Wolfe or Powers (I seem to recall you mentioned them both in an earlier video). Wolfe has definitely been getting more traction on BookTube over the last year or so (at least partly thanks to Christopher Ruocchio, as far as I can discern) and I’ll be joining Philip Chase to discuss Book of the New Sun next month. I’ve only recently stumbled upon Powers, who seems to be largely ignored. I think you did a fine job highlighting GGK last year, and your recent work on Vinge and now Simmons suggests an interest in illuminating long-standing but often overlooked pillars.

As always, an enjoyable video. Someday, if I ever actually launch a channel, I hope we can discuss things more deeply :)

Looking forward to the sequel video - hope it's out soon! This has quickly become one of my favourite booktube channels.

I remember reading Hyperion in a hostel in Japan in 2018. The room was so cheap it had one of those motion-activated sensors to turn on the lights. I had to wave my hand every thirty seconds to keep reading but I honestly couldn't stop. Since then I've gone through about 15 or so Simmons novels.

here's some author suggestions : poul anderson, ursula k le guin, jack vance, and lloyd alexander, isaac asimov, arthur c clark, robert a heilein, william morris, and lord dunsany

awesome voice!!

Great timing because I recently wrote down a list of all the authors/books that I want to read this year, and Simmons' Hyperion was very high on the list, and I haven't read anything by him yet.

I'd argue I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is what Ellison's most known for, but now since reading The Hyperion Cantos I have even more to thank him for

The one book above all. Hyperion!

Frankly, Dan Simmons’s grocery list is probably more interesting than most people’s novels. I love him.

I`ve read Drood, The Terror, Hyperion and did`nt like any of them — i actually loathed Drood — he has some great ideas but found them overly long and boring and funnily enough i find Stephenson the same — i have no intention of reading any more of either author — taste is such an odd thing

Just finished Summer of Night and The Terror. I couldn’t believe it was the same author. I’m trying to decided which of his library to read next.

My absolute favorite author

First I must say that Simmons is one of my top favorite wirers. He is truly versatile, something for almost anybody. Like you said, I really like his hybrid fiction. Hard to choose but my favorite work of his, has to be The Terror. It combines 2 of my most loved genres, being horror and historical fiction. His writing was so vivid I had to put extra covers on, because I could feel the cold, brrrr. Also being a Canadian , I was really attracted to the story, because is is based on Canadian/British history . Plus I agree you will certainly get some excellent technical and historical info in a lot of his novels. I found this to be especially true in Abdominal, being about alpine mountain climbing. I do mot have a head for the heights, but if I did, this would be a good book to start with. I like to say excellent video very informative, gives me an idea of what books of his I have yet to read. As an aside I must say you have a great voice for videos and radio. looking forward to more of your presentation. Cheers

since everything has been done, all that's left is to be a stylist. the trick is to emulate many styles yet still be recognized for one's style.

As always, this video is so enjoyable and calming. I am so excited for part 2! I have been waiting SOO long for this one! Also love the graphs and other little editing touches. Thank you!

Shame about the Shrike, the Time Tombs and the Tree of Pain. Otherwise Hyperion was

Thanks to you I read his
other books after Tigana.

I definitely will be reading Hyperion this year and I'm sure it'll be a treat.

At a crowded upscale restaurant in Denver 15 years ago I found myself sharing space for dinner with Dan Simmons right there at the cozy lounge bar. Thanks to your video, I can now go to my grave with the happy knowledge that I’ve thus experienced one degree of separation from the incomparable Harlan Ellison! Oh, and Dan Simmons is lovely, too. Strange coincidence with this video, but just last week I bought five new novels by Dan to get me through the remaining Midwest winter — 12 inches of snow forecast for today, so my timing was fortunate for sure. Cheers!

Dan Simmons is a great author, and I need to read more of him. I have read yet Hyperion+fall of Hyperion, and Terror. The only thing what I don’t like, endings were so frustrating, especially in the Terror. The fall of Hyperion also have not answered the all questions from the first book.
Thank you for another great video about great author!

The Terror is my favorite Dan Simmons novel and if only the supernatural elements had been removed from it, it would be a perfect piece of historical fiction that would still be horrifying due to the situation the characters find themselves in. Still love it though.

This is a great introduction to an author. Cannot wait to see your book recommendations.

Great breakdown of Simmons. I heard Hyperion was being adapted by Warner Brothers. Hope it's true. Modern cinematics give it serious potential on the big screen. Excited for part 2!

Made me really excited to read Simmons now. I own Hyperion and Ilium/Olympos but haven't read them yet - going to have to bump them up higher in my TBR list.
Every time you put out a new video my TBR gets longer.

Such a great video as always

I can't wait for it to not be pre-dawn so I can give this a listen. Reading the Hyperion Cantos was a formative experience for me