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Hyperion by Dan Simmons

...one of the best sci-fi books ever...
It's fairly long, but very hard to put down. Lots of fun issues to discuss. I could write a long and varied list, but I think I'll let you all discover for yourselves. The warning is: this is the first of a four book series. OK, more like 2 books and 2 books. But if your taste is at all like mine, you will want to get the second book too (The Fall of Hyperion) so you can continue straight through. The first book is intriguing, the second is satisfying.

Website quote:
A richly woven tapestry of mystery, suspense, bizarre events and intertwined life histories. Like opening a multi-wrapped package layer by layer, the story slowly fills in parts of the strange picture. But as we learn more, the mystery only deepens. It's an over-used cliche to say a book is hard to stop reading; but, this one definitely fits in that category. In fact, we rate it in the top 20 of all time best SF/fantasy books. Beneath the mind-stretching events and fascinating characters, an intriguing literary symbolism gives the story more depth. A reborn John Keats wrestles with the bigger, behind-the-scenes forces while his poetry influences everything from the names on Hyperion to the "key mystery of our age physical and poetic".

Host: Mary Krasovec
Date: February 26, 2004
Location: [directions] 38 Bigelow St. #4 (Central Square), Cambridge, MA
Food Theme:
I figure there were roughly 6-7 meals mentioned in the book, roughly one a story. So everyone choose one and we'll see what we end up with!
For example, Brawne and Johnny have what could be a really bad TV dinner when hiding out in the hive. They also eat at a few Cantonese restaurants, which sounds much tastier. Or, there's a carnival type thing on the floating island planet in the Consul's story. There's also desserts on the treeship, sandwiches on the mind wagon thingy. And of course, lots of red wine and whisky and even beer. (There's more alcohol than food in this book!)
I've read it 3 times now, so if you need help with ideas, I'll try to remember more!

Attendance and Menu

Name	Type	What	Meat?
Mary Krasovec	Main	Stir-Fry and Salad	Tofu and Shrimp
Erica Hatch	Main	Portobella Mushrooms Sandwiches	Vegetarian
Alison Smith	Appetizer	Dips/Spreads and Pita/Tortilla Chips	Vegetarian
Tracy Hammond	Drink	Wine	Alcohol
Christine Alvarado	Dessert	"Flying Saucer" Cakes	Vegetarian
Mike Oltmans	Drink	Whisky and Wine	Alcohol
Elise Riordan	Main	Fancy Rice Dish	Vegetarian
Mike Bosse	Drink	Wine	Alcohol

Email the dish you plan to bring to seadogs-dish@ai.mit.edu.