RIP Dan Simmons

News has broken that science fiction author Dan Simmons, best known for his Hyperion Cantos series, has passed away at the age of 77.

Born in Illinois in 1948, Simmons did not break into writing fiction until he was already in his thirties, having instead worked as an elementary school teacher. He credits Harlan Ellison's mentorship with getting him into writing workshops and programmes. He published his first short story, "The River Styx Runs Upstream," in 1982, and another, "Remembering Siri," in 1983. This story is notable as being the first set in his Hyperion setting. Another 1983 story, "Carrion Comfort," inspired his horror novel of the same name.

Despite his reputation as a major science fiction author, Simmons actually broke through as a horror author with his first two novels, Song of Kali (1985) and Carrion Comfort (1989). He attracted critical attention and approval from Stephen King, and won the World Fantasy Award for Song of Kali, with Carrion Comfort picking up a Bram Stoker Award, Locus Award and British Fantasy Award.

In 1989 Simmons also published his first major science fiction work and also his best-known single novel, Hyperion. An SF take on The Canterbury Tales, the book forms a series of narratives told by travellers on their way to confront a mysterious alien entity known as the Shrike. The sequel/continuation (Simmons would occasionally suggest the two books had been written as one ultra-long novel, split in half for practical reasons and a major shift in formal), The Fall of Hyperion (1990), won a British Science Fiction Association Award. The two books were retrofitted as a duology called The Hyperion Cantos and published in omnibus under that title in 1990. After detouring into other settings, Simmons would return to the same universe for Endymion (1996) and The Rise of Endymion (1997), which were not quite as well-received, but still solid. Simmons got to experience the joys of Hollywood development hell, with Hyperion optioned for both film and television multiple times (most recently by actor-producer-director Bradley Cooper, a big fan of Simmons) but never quite making it.

Simmons would continue to write in other settings. The five-volume Seasons of Horror series was published intermittently from 1991 to 2002, and was followed by the Joe Kurtz trilogy (2001-03), which saw him move into contemporary detective fiction. Phases of Gravity (1989) and The Hollow Man (1992) were science fiction, whilst The Crook Factory (1999) was a historical thriller. His next major work was the Ilium duology, consisting of Ilium (2003) and Olympos (2005).

Simmons entered a new phase of his career with arguably his second-best-known novel, though perhaps better-known to a more general audience. The Terror (2007) expertly merged elements of historical and speculative fiction into an engrossing account of the infamous Franklin Expedition. It was adapted as a TV series in by AMC in 2018. Drood (2008) tackled the mystery around Charles Dickens's final novel. Black Hills (2010) attracted less interest, and Simmons experienced significant opprobrium for his 2011 novel Flashback, which some commentators regarded as Islamophobic. Simmons noted the novel was an expansion of a earlier short story in which the antagonists are instead Ronald Reagan-influenced capitalists, which attracted no criticism at the time, though commentators also pointed out his long, post-9/11 history of political commentary on the issue over the previous decade. Despite criticisms, the book sold well and was optioned for television. Simmons rallied to deliver the novels The Abominable (2013) and The Fifth Heart (2015). His final completed novel, Omega Canyon, was due for publication last year but was delayed for unspecified reasons.

At his best, Dan Simmons could be an atmospheric writer, skilled in character, setting and story. His novels could trend long, sometimes to tremendous effect (in his Hyperion Cantos duology and The Terror), but sometimes invoking filler. But he was a restless author, always happy to explore new ideas and new genres rather than resting on his laurels and bashing off a dozen, easy Hyperion sequels. Bradley Cooper, Stephen King and Guillermo Del Toro were major fans, Harlan Ellison regarded him as a protege and George R.R. Martin published him in anthologies.

Dan Simmons passed away today from complications resulting from a stroke. He is survived by his wife Karen and daughter Jane, two grandchildren and his brother. With Hyperion and The Terror, he achieved the rare feat of writing two genre novels which crossed over into mainstream awareness and praise, which is no small achievement.

Warner Brothers picks up HYPERION movie with Bradley Cooper producing

Warner Brothers has put the Dan Simmons SF novel Hyperion into development as a feature film, with Bradley Cooper helming the project for his own production company as executive producer. So far, Cooper has not committed to starring in the project.

Originally published in 1989, Hyperion is an SF novel inspired by Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Set in the 28th Century with a war brewing between the Hegemony of Man and the Ousters, a nomadic race of humans living in arkships, seven individuals are summoned to the remote world of Hyperion. Hyperion is infamously home to the Shrike, a godlike entity who roams the planet, killing people for unknown reasons or hanging their still-living forms on a giant mechanical tree. The seven pilgrims each relate their story and interest in the Shrike on their journey. The story continues in The Fall of Hyperion (1990), Endymion (1996) and The Rise of Endymion (1997), though the latter two novels are generally considered inferior to the first two. 

Bradley Cooper has long been a fan of the novel, having planned to direct it himself in 2011 before developing it with SyFy as a mini-series in 2015. Cooper's commitment to the project in 2011, when he was best-known for the Hangover series of comedy films, felt somewhat random. However, since then he has expanded his repertoire by writing, directing and starring in the acclaimed remake of A Star is Born (2018) and producing Joker (2019), considerably enhancing his Hollywood credentials.

For their part, Warner Brothers might have been intrigued by the novel's blanket critical acclaim since release, its well-realised SF universe and its three sequels giving it serious franchise potential, whilst its unusual structure and artistic credibility might make it a fitting thematic follow-up to their Dune project with Denis Villeneuve (the second part of which was greenlit last week).

The film hasn't been fully greenlit yet, though, with Warner Brothers now searching for a director to bring the project to the screen; intriguingly, Cooper hasn't chosen it as the follow-up to A Star is Born, perhaps preferring someone with greater vfx experience.

Bradley Cooper's HYPERION adaption now a mini-series at SyFy

Four years ago, Bradley Cooper was reportedly interested in directing a movie based on Dan Simmons's Hyperion Cantos novels. The project disappeared into development hell and many people assumed that was that.

However, Cooper, now a much more well-known actor thanks to roles in movies such as American Sniper, has used his newfound starpower to get Hyperion back on track. The project has also - thankfully - transformed into a TV series. Itamar Moses, a writer on Boardwalk Empire, will write and produce the series with Cooper on board as executive producer (it is unclear if Cooper will also direct some episodes).

The Hyperion Cantos is set in the distant future and relates the journey of seven pilgrims to the planet Hyperion, where they must confront the enigmatic creature known as the Shrike to uncover the secrets of the "Time Tombs", which are threatening to open and trigger a devastating war.

It is unclear if this will be a one-off mini-series based on just Hyperion itself, or will include the sequel The Fall of Hyperion in some manner. Dan Simmons also wrote two further novels in the series, Endymion and The Rise of Endymion, set 275 years after the events of the first two books.

Wertzone Classics: Hyperion by Dan Simmons

Few books come as universally-applauded in the genre as this one. It was getting to the point where people seemed to be questioning my fitness to blog about SF since I hadn't read Hyperion, so I thought it was time to take the plunge. For those likewise ignorant of the book, Hyperion is the first in a four-volume sequence known as The Hyperion Cantos, consisting of Hyperion (1989), The Fall of Hyperion (1990), Endymion (1996) and The Rise of Endymion (1997). The sequence is heavily influenced by both the poetry of John Keats and the work of Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales is the clear structural inspiration behind the first novel.


The 28th Century. A war is brewing between the Hegemony of Man and the Ousters, a race of 'barbaric' humans living in arkships drifting in the depths of space. As the war drums sound, seven individuals are summoned to the remote frontier world of Hyperion by the Church of the Shrike, the godlike entity who roams that world killing people for unknown reasons or hanging their still-living forms on its giant mechanical tree. As the seven pilgrims journey through space to Hyperion, then on a gruelling ground journey across the planet even as the Hegemony and Ousters do battle in orbit, they tell each other the tale of how they came to this place and the reason for their interest in Hyperion and the Shrike.

It's a pretty straightforward structure, and indeed the book comes across as a collection of linked short stories with a prominent framing sequence. What is unusual is that Simmons varies his style slightly between each story, so the Priest's Tale is a mystery (albeit a mystery enlightened by electricity-spewing trees); the Soldier's Tale is a war story; the Poet's Tale is one of hubris; the Scholar's Tale is an almost heartbreaking tragedy; the Detective's Tale is a thriller; and the Consul's Tale is a romance told across decades. Simmons' writing skills here are extraordinary, with some stunning imagery and moments of emotional intensity transmitted through clear-cut but often evocative prose. Each story is a contained narrative in itself, but also contributes to the whole.

Hyperion (*****) is simply unmissable for anyone interested in the genre. It is available from Gollancz in the UK, either by itself, as part of the Future Classics range or in an omnibus with its immediate sequel, The Fall of Hyperion. It is also available in the USA from Bantam Spectra.