Victoria BC science fiction book club discussion

Discussion of chapter 4

I started this chapter last night and finished it today. I couldn't put it down

I recall my first thoughts of Weintraub: I assumed that since he was old and had an infant daughter, he must be some kind of creepy old guy who had a child with some young woman.

This chapter was very emotional. At this point, Sol is the most sympathetic character in my opinion. His reason for going to Hyperion is not for himself, unlike Hoyt (to end his pain), Kassad (to kill the Shrike), or Silenus (whose reasons I never understood. to finish his poetry?).

I can't imagine how difficult it would be to watch your daughter regress from a young woman back to an infant. I don't have any personal experience with Alzheimers, but I imagine it would be similar, with the added grief that it's your child.

That poor man when he got the call about Sarai's death. It would be so difficult to cope when your daughter asks where she is every morning.

It seems clear to me that it's the Shrike talking to Sol in his dreams. Do you think the Shrike is also involved in his inner dialogues?

How do we know the details of what happened to Rachel under the Sphinx? She was alone and didn't remember it. I found that a bit confusing.

Once again we get that theme of religion, this time Judaism.

Those are the thoughts I have so far. I might have more later...

I thoroughly enjoyed this chapter. It was well written and completely captivating.

I had a strong emotional response to Rachel's condition and what Sol and Sarai had to go through. It's incredibly sad and I can't imagine what it would feel like from a parent's perspective. It reminded me of Memento or 50 First Dates, with the added bit that Rachel was not only losing long-term memories, she was physically de-aging.

I loved the reference to "Methuselah syndrome" which I immediately recognized from Blade Runner. It turns out this is not a real disorder, so Simmons was definitely referencing the film. It's clear Simmons has taken ideas from many past works of science fiction, and I appreciate that he gives them a nod with such references.

Sol and Rachel having similar dreams - fascinating. Definitely the work of the Shrike, though why is it asking for Sol to sacrifice Rachel? His inner dialogue comparing his situation to that of Abraham was interesting. Sol's struggle with a religion based on someone willing to sacrifice their son for god is a very valid point.

The more we discover about the time tides and anti-entropic fields, the more I think the Shrike is from the (distant?) future. Ironic how an archaeological expedition was actually studying buildings from the future.

From the character stories we have seen so far, Sol has the most noble reasons for going to Hyperion. After all he has gone through, I hope he can save Rachel in the end. Though it may be at the cost of his own life.

Good point about how do we know Rachel's sphinx story, Sam. I didn't catch that, but yeah how do we know what happened to her?

I loved the reveal that Sarai was having dreams too. I wonder why they were different from Sol's. Did the Shrike send a different message? Were they influenced by their own subconscious mind/thoughts? Were they both supposed to fulfill different purposes or missions?

I thought it was a cute sci-fi ("spaaaace") interpretation of a Jewish name, to have it Sol instead of Saul.