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.
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
Dune is my pick. I’ve read both and I’ve gone back to dune time and time again but only read Hyperion the once. Just my personal preference. Both were amazing but for me dune had better reread value.
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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.
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.
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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.
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Dune over Hyperion all day. But you should really read A Deepness in the Sky. Everyone should.
Vinge’s other one, “A Fire Upon the Deep”, is also a fun thought experiment.
Any and all (including his short stories) Vinge’s works are well worth a read. He’s up there with David Brin IMHO. Do yourself a favour and read his Uplift series.
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. Just so you can participate in the buzz generated by the films, and have a greater appreciation of their adaptation attempt.
They did a great job on the first one imo. I saw the trailer for 2 while watching Oppenheimer and looks legit.
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??
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.
Hyperion is more meaningful. Dune is more of an epic.
I love both series from first to last book. Hyperion is a fun blend of genres and ideas, whereas Dune is epic fantasy in space. They are VERY different, but equally amazing.
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.
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Dune was great, GE was my favorite, but chapterhouse really felt like he went way around the bend.
I would say Dune first but give Hyperion a shot. I actually just finished the Hyperion cantos the other day and am still working through the 6th Dune book.
I personally think Hyperion has some cool ideas and concepts but just never really hit greatness for me.
To also mimic what others are saying Dune changes drastically after book 3 and 4 and Hyperion is basically separate stories split between books 1,2 and 3,4.
Dune all day any day
The 3 main books are chefs kiss but there is an extended universe.
Also look into the revelationspace books.
Book 4, God Emperor, is the best.
I hated it the first time. Struggled the second and third. Loved it every reread since
I loved Hyperion, I’m thinking about rereading it. The original Dune has been my favorite since I was 13 years old. I’m going to get flayed alive for saying this, but I honestly enjoyed most of the prequels his son and Kevin J. Anderson wrote.
