Recently I finished Asimov’s Foundation universe and now I want to try something from other authors. Two series I’m most interested in are Dune and Hyperion but I’m not sure which one to read first. Any recommendations?
Edit: I decided to go with Hyperion first and after that I will read Dune. Thank you all for commenting.
Dune over Hyperion all day. But you should really read A Deepness in the Sky. Everyone should.
For my money, Dune is by far the better book. But I’d personally stop reading after about the 4th one in the series max (might even stop at 3). They don’t hold up well after that I don’t think.
You have a problem with high-kicking sex priestesses and homophobia??
deleted by creator
But if dune is too dense then Hyperion is even worse, no?
Hyperion is a bit uneven, but I wouldn’t call it dense. It’s deliberately exploring different literary genres, some more successfully than others, but I’d never call it difficult reading. Dune can be a real slog at time and there are parts when I’m not even clear who’s saying what.
deleted by creator
Well, I was referring to the book Hyperion rather than the whole series. I actually wouldn’t necessarily recommend any of the sequels to Hyperion. They are fine, but forgettable and as hard as they try, they just don’t recapture the big ideas of the first.
So for me it’s Hyperion > Dune, but probably Dune Chronicles > Hyperion Cantos overall, especially in terms of ideas because I never warmed to Herbert’s style.
deleted by creator
To add to this, Dune is a really slow start. It takes a minute to get to the good parts, but it’s worth the wait.
Hyperion, then Dune. Hyperion is really awesome but its gonna pale in comparison to Dune, IMO
I agree with this. They are two entirely different kinds of books, but anything pales in comparison to the Dune series.
Dune is different. There is nothing else like it. Maybe the closest I’ve found to it is the Book of the New Sun series but I have to take those even slower than I did Dune because they are DENSE
Read the first book of each series and see how you feel about them. No need to commit to the whole series until you’re sure you like one. Both are great in their own way. But it is worth noting that Dune gets really different after the first book and books 3 and 4 of Hyperion are like a whole different story. You might consider reading the first book of Dune, then Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion. Then see about the rest.
Hell. Books 4 & 5 of Dune are pretty much an entirely different story. I couldn’t bring myself to finish 5 or even start 6. The first three books were legendary though.
Dune. And it’s not even close.
Dune, but both are excellent.
Here are some of my subjective rankings:
Foundation is the front runner of “Epic” sci-fi, by far. It’s relatively easy to follow. Some of the individual stories are memorable, and a few are less memorable when compared to the others. Foundation is my favourite sci-fi series of all time.
Dune is epic when compared to any series apart from Foundation. The earlier books are more memorable, but the later books are still excellent. I prefer the more nuanced political plots in Dune compared to Foundation.
Hyperion is more about some top-tier stories that spill over in to epicness. Some of these stories are more memorable to me than the individual stories in Foundation and Dune. Political intrigue is developed later and isn’t as central to the overall plots.
Whichever you pick you win.
That is a very hard question.
Hyperion first, because it’s nice and will give you momentum.
Dune is beautiful, but dense, and especially later it starts sapping energy, in fact quit after God-Emperor, the last 2 don’t have that much to offer.
Can‘t comment on Dune, but the Hyperion Cantos starts awesome, becomes a bit dull later and then has a surprisingly emotional ending in Fall of Endymion.
They both so good but have different vibes. If you want aliens and tech and the Zerg- Hyperion. If you want worms and sand and magic and ancient dynasties go dune. You can go wrong with either!
Dune. Hyperion was really cringey, I didn’t even finish it.
Hyperion is one of my favorite books. It’s uneven, but very good. I’ve read the whole series and after the first one they are fine, but nothing to write home about. You can easily stop after the first book if you want something else.
Dune’s complete series is worthwhile, but I don’t really care for Herbert’s writing style. The universe is very rich and the series explores some of the great ideas in science fiction, but it’s like an RPG sourcebook masquerading as a novel to my tastes.
I like books that are RPG sourcebooks masquerading as novels.
I always felt Dune was boring and overrated. Hyperion I loved though.
Heresy!
Haha I know it’s an unpopular opinion. But I read all the books as a kid waiting for a payoff that just never seemed to come for me.
FWIW I just read the first book and while I found the world interesting I got tired of the book jerking the main character off so much.
Dune. Just so you can participate in the buzz generated by the films, and have a greater appreciation of their adaptation attempt.
Both of these are premium examples of book series that start out amazing and then start cicling the drain in book two. Add in “Ender’s Game” for the trifecta.
I expect downvotes.
You’re right, but Hyperion’s sequels are better than either Dune’s or Ender’s Game’s.
Also, see Kevin J. Anderson for a dude who’s made an entire career out of pooping in other people’s sand boxes.
Southern Reach trilogy would be my example. That and Forever War have the worse sci-fi sequels of all time.
