Come with me now, dear reader, on an adventure most splendid—a journey through the stars to find books that capture the same wondrous magic as Dan Simmons’ Hyperion. Just as Peter might search for the second star to the right, so too shall we seek tales of wonder, terror, and magnificent imagination.
If Hyperion has stolen your heart with its Canterbury-style pilgrims, its fearsome Shrike, and its galaxies vast and strange, then you shall find much to love in these extraordinary volumes.
Dune by Frank Herbert
Here is a tale as grand and sweeping as anything one might dream. Upon the desert world of Arrakis—where water is more precious than gold and monstrous sandworms rule the dunes—young Paul Atreides must discover his destiny.
Much like Hyperion, this magnificent story weaves together religion, prophecy, and the very fate of civilizations. The world-building is so deliciously intricate, so wonderfully realized, that readers find themselves quite lost in its amber sands. Herbert was terribly clever, you see, for he crafted not merely a story but an entire universe of political intrigue and ecological wonder.
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
Oh, what a thrilling romp through the solar system awaits! When the ice-hauling ship Canterbury meets its doom, the surviving crew aboard the gunship Rocinante stumble upon a conspiracy that threatens all of humanity.
The authors (for there are secretly two of them, working together most cunningly) have created a lived-in future where Earth, Mars, and the Asteroid Belt eye each other with suspicion and fear. Like Hyperion, it tells its tale through wonderfully distinct perspectives—including a world-weary detective named Miller who would make any reader’s heart ache.
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
Now here is something rather extraordinary! In Vinge’s magnificent universe, the very laws of physics change depending on where in the galaxy one travels. Near the core, intelligence dims; at the edges, godlike Powers arise and fall.
When an ancient evil awakens, hope rests upon two human children stranded among the Tines—aliens who form group minds from wolf-like creatures. This won the Hugo Award, and deservedly so, for it combines vast cosmic scope with intimate character drama in the most delightful fashion.
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
William Mandella is drafted to fight aliens called Taurans in a war spanning centuries. Due to the peculiarities of relativistic travel, each time he returns home, decades or centuries have passed on Earth while mere months passed for him.
This Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award winner explores war’s senselessness with devastating poignancy. Like the “Soldier’s Tale” in Hyperion, it examines what combat does to the human soul—and what happens when soldiers can never truly return home. Haldeman drew from his own Vietnam experiences, making it achingly real.
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
The great mathematician Hari Seldon has developed psychohistory—a science that predicts the behavior of vast populations. He foresees that the Galactic Empire, which has endured twelve thousand years, shall fall into thirty millennia of barbarism.
But clever Seldon has a plan! By establishing the Foundation on a remote planet, he hopes to reduce the dark ages to a mere thousand years. Like Hyperion, this classic ponders humanity’s place in cosmic history and the great cycles of civilization. It won the Hugo Award for Best All-Time Series—quite the accomplishment!
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
A lone human envoy named Genly Ai travels to the frozen world of Gethen, where the inhabitants possess no fixed gender. What follows is a profound meditation on identity, loyalty, and what truly makes us human.
Le Guin wrote with such grace and wisdom that one cannot help but be transformed. This Hugo and Nebula Award winner challenged readers to imagine a world utterly unlike our own, much as Hyperion challenges us to contemplate time, sacrifice, and love across impossible distances.
Shadow & Claw by Gene Wolfe
A million years hence, when our sun grows old and red, young Severian—an apprentice torturer, of all things—is exiled from his guild for showing mercy. Armed with his great sword Terminus Est, he wanders through a world both wondrous and terrifying.
Gene Wolfe was perhaps the most literary of science fiction writers, hiding layers upon layers of meaning beneath his deceptively simple prose. Like Hyperion, this masterpiece rewards careful reading and rereading. The religious symbolism runs deep, and Severian’s journey mirrors pilgrimages both ancient and eternal.
Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
In the far future, humanity has built a galactic empire that would make Rome weep with envy. Hadrian Marlowe, the narrator, tells us from the very first page that he has destroyed a sun and killed billions—yet we cannot help but follow his tale.
This magnificent space opera blends gladiatorial combat, alien contact, and Byzantine politics into something utterly compelling. James S.A. Corey called it “epic science fiction at its most genuinely epic.” Like Hyperion, it uses a frame narrative to devastating effect.
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
In this Hugo Award-winning masterpiece, monks of the Order of Leibowitz preserve knowledge through a second dark age following nuclear war. The novel spans nearly two thousand years across three sections, watching civilization rise, flourish, and threaten itself once more.
Miller drew upon his own traumatic experiences bombing a monastery during World War II. The result is something rather like the “Priest’s Tale” from Hyperion—profoundly spiritual science fiction that examines humanity’s relationship with knowledge, faith, and our eternal capacity for both creation and destruction.
The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
During China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space—and receives an answer. An alien civilization on a dying world learns of Earth’s existence, and nothing shall ever be the same.
Liu Cixin crafts hard science fiction of breathtaking scope, from particle physics to cosmic sociology. This Hugo Award winner introduces concepts that will quite boggle your mind. Like Hyperion, it examines first contact through multiple perspectives and asks what humanity would truly do when faced with existential threats.
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
On the planet Arbre, mathematician-monks live in “concents” sealed away from the outside world, contemplating the nature of reality itself. When alien ships appear in orbit, young Fraa Erasmas must venture forth into a world he barely understands.
Stephenson has essentially rewritten the entire history of philosophy and mathematics for an alien world—a feat of imagination that rivals anything in Hyperion. At 900 pages, this Locus Award winner demands commitment, but rewards it with ideas that will haunt your thoughts for years.
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
On the planet Resurgam, archaeologist Dan Sylveste investigates why the ancient Amarantin civilization was destroyed precisely when they achieved spaceflight. His quest will lead him to terrible truths about the galaxy.
Reynolds, a former European Space Agency scientist, writes hard science fiction with a gothic sensibility. His answer to the Fermi Paradox is deliciously chilling. Like Hyperion, this novel weaves together multiple storylines across decades, building toward revelations both magnificent and terrifying.
The Night’s Dawn Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton
In the 27th century, humanity has spread across the stars using artificial wormholes. Then the dead begin returning to possess the living, and one of them happens to be Al Capone.
This trilogy spans over 3,000 pages of absolutely bonkers space opera, featuring sentient starships, genetically modified telepaths, and a zombie apocalypse on a galactic scale. Hamilton’s ambition matches Simmons’ own, creating a universe so vast and detailed that one could lose oneself for weeks.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Ryland Grace awakens aboard a spacecraft with no memory of who he is or why he’s there. Slowly, he pieces together that Earth is dying—and he may be humanity’s only hope. Then he discovers he’s not alone.
Oh, the friendship Grace forms! It is quite possibly the most heartwarming relationship in all of science fiction, and I shall say nothing more lest I spoil the wonder. This Goodreads Choice Award winner proves that even in the darkest circumstances, cooperation and kindness may save us all.
Startide Rising by David Brin
The starship Streaker, crewed by uplifted dolphins, humans, and one chimpanzee, has discovered something magnificent—the derelict fleet of the Progenitors, the first race to seed intelligence throughout the galaxy. Now every alien faction wants what they’ve found.
This Hugo and Nebula Award winner explores consciousness, loyalty, and what it means to be “uplifted” to sentience. Like Hyperion, it tells its tale through wonderfully varied perspectives—including dolphins who communicate in haiku! Brin’s imagination is boundless and his heart is true.
Where to Begin Your Journey
If you loved Hyperion’s literary structure and philosophical depth, begin with Shadow & Claw or A Canticle for Leibowitz.
If you crave more space opera adventure, try Leviathan Wakes or Empire of Silence.
If the cosmic scope took your breath away, venture into A Fire Upon the Deep or The Three-Body Problem.
And if the Shrike’s terror still haunts your dreams, well—Revelation Space has monsters of its own waiting for you.
Each of these books carries something of that Hyperion magic—that sense of wonder, of vastness, of stories told around a fire while the universe wheels overhead. They are second stars to the right, every one, and they shall carry you straight on till morning.
Happy reading, dear adventurer. The stars await.
