The Sword and Laser discussion

I didn't use "couched" correctly but the title's alliterative, so it stays.

We know Simmons is playing with the Canterbury Tales and Keats, but the prologue utilizes some other classical notes, as well.

The first sentence has the Consul playing Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp Minor (and it's neat to hear what it sounds like, if, like me, you were unfamiliar - it adds a lot) on a pre-historic planet filled with dinosaurs.

Later he mentions listening to Wagner's Flight of the Valkyries during a thunderstorm.

Obviously these elements set a mood, but what else is Simmons doing? What's it mean to us as readers to have this contrast of the very old (classical music, dinosaurs, trees - albeit trees that fly through space) with the very new?

Writers and artists have always done that for inspiration. If you look at literature such as Ulysses, you'll see that. It's common in contemporary literature, too, such as in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, 1Q84, and House of Leaves.

I've always enjoyed when authors reference other authors in their books. They're like literature nerd Easter eggs and it looks as though this book is full of them. Part of what keeps me picking this book up isn't just the amazing story but to see what else may be hidden between the lines of each page.

The Series of Unfortunate Events can be read on two basic levels:

1) As children's books starring three resourceful and determined orphans trying to survive in a world where all adults are either well-meaning but incompetent, or charming but thoroughly secretive or corrupt;
2) As an extended literary Easter Egg hunt for broadly-read adults.

Simmons seems to be bending the Sci-Fi genre back upon itself. Placing the characters in a setting so far in the future that it effectively becomes fantasy. Although I'm enjoying this I wonder what do Sci-Fi purists think? Are they comfortable with this space opera so* far?

Yes, it's kind of the same idea as producing operas or Shakespeare with trappings from other time periods - the total contrast prompts the audience to think of the setting as a kind of timeless or symbolic backdrop for the drama of the characters, more than a representation of something that could be a real place and time.

I have to throw in that I'm more than half-convinced that the opening scene is inspired by Walt Disney's Fantasia. There's a section with scenes of dinosaurs set to Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, which has a fight in a storm. It's on YouTube, the storm starts at about 4:42.

It might be an Easter egg as well, referencing A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury, but that would be a bit of a tenuous connection.

POSSIBILITY ONE:
The references evoke the nostalgia which the far-flung human Web of Simmons' future have for the culture of Old Earth. As Martin Silenus complains, spread among the stars, separated by distance and time, would make it impossible for any movement in fashion, art, or literature on one planet to really spread out and influence the entirety of humanity. Effectively, there is no more monoculture under such conditions.

So what would people do? Where would they find the commonality which culture is supposed to help us find with our fellow humans? Only by referencing the last time and place in which humans were all bound together, i.e., back on Old Earth. Playing Rachmaninoff or reading Keats would be like a reminder that, disparate though they may be now, at least at one time humanity shared some common ground.

POSSIBILITY TWO:
The consul's piano playing, or Silenus' recitations, even Lamia's campy pseudo-noir Dashiel Hammet riff, are cognates to the way in which people in times of trouble have always appropriated past cultures as a way of lending weight or authority to their perspectives. The Web is threatened by Ouster invaders, society has become morally bankrupt, revolution and interstellar war are looming, so people look to the past in order to feel secure. Compare this to the way Keats (and other 19th century authors) constantly brought up Roman ruins, Grecian urns, et. al., in their work in an attempt to hearken back to days of yore, back when Everything Made Sense. Of course, for Keats, et. al., that those ruins were, in fact, ruined, also reminded them that no culture can last forever. C.F. Percy Shelley's "Ozymandius": sic transit gloria mundi.

You could also consider it to be an escalation of the media blurring effect. Think about how life exists in the here and now, how many channels extended cable has with how many shows. Think of how many different ways you can read/listen/watch the kajillions of new books/songs/movies/games/etc.

Now multiply this by a very large number (both in terms of years and people) and now the amount of media one person can absorb in their (even extended) lifetime is a fraction of a fraction of a percent of what's available and bombarding them on a daily basis. At that point of unbelievable saturation, it's conceivable that the only facets which can remain truly memorable and timeless are those that are beyond ancient.

Sticking with music examples and bringing it back to present day, simply examine various music groups from the 90s. Now, I understand pop music by its very nature is somewhat transitory, but how relevant is Britney Spears these days when compared to Justin Beiber?

Well, a quick google news search certainly provides a clear indication of how they're now seen, but throw in Mozart as well and you find almost as much (though it's actually much more about the music itself than the culture and fame surrounding the figures).

Interesting to think about.

I think that Simmons may also be trying to legitimize (for lack of a better word) science fiction. Hyperion was written in the 80s, when sf was still genre fiction and the province of social maladapts (according to society at large). I believe part of Simmons' goal by including literary and classical references is to try and wedge Hyperion into a greater literary tradition (as well as a clear indication he expects his audience to be educated).

By calling upon the work of Keats, Chaucer, etc., he's declaring that his work is just as worthy and as 'literary' as theirs. This isn't an escapist novel to be read by disaffected teenagers - this is a meaningful, valuable book.

I don't mind the concept of adding literary Easter eggs, but I didn't find it working for me in Hyperion. The future technologies would create a futuristic world for me and then the constant reference to people and places that are old in our present time kept pulling me back out.

This book strikes me as an English major trying to write scifi and having little respect for either English lit or science fiction. Simmons has yet to convince me that his world has anything at all to do with the future. Or in fact any sort of credible world. But on to Ch. 2.

Was he an English major?

"...and having little respect for either English lit or science fiction...."

I would like some clarification here. How is Simmons 'disrespecting' literature...or that sub-genre of literature called sci-fi?

I listened to Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp Minor while reading the prologue, it definitely set up a sullen and foreboding mood.

The Ride of the Valkyries was an interesting choice for me. In the opera, the song is played as the Valkyries gather to carry the fallen warriors to Valhalla. In Hyperion we have the Consul preparing to ride off and meet up with the pilgrims on Yggdrasil (another Norse reference) before departing to Hyperion. I've only read the prologue thus far so I have no idea how that may or may not be expanded upon later, but I still thought it was an interesting connection.

I just downloaded the Odyssey onto my Kobo Vox; I suspect that a futuristic society would be able to keep the work of Keats alive. The references made me feel even more connected to the characters - despite the oddness of their situation, we have a shared cultural past - I, too, have read Keats and listened to Rachmaninoff.

According to Wikipedia, Simmons has a B.A. in English and a Master's in Education.

Throughout the prologue and the first chapter of this book there's a lot of stark juxtaposition between the futuristic 28th century setting of the book with space ships and interstellar travel and the like and then these almost archaic 19th century trappings, the Rachmaninov and Wagner, a number of the literary references and to a lesser extent some of the costume choices in the first chapter.

I think Simmons' reason for doing this is to give us, as readers, something to relate to. In a world with farcasters and treeships and time-debts, it's good to have something familiar to hold on to. A lot of people have heard Ride of the Valkyries, if not as part of Wagner's opera, then as music in the countless films, TV shows and advertisements that have used it. Pretty much everyone has seen a piano or has heard of Keats or Shakespeare. I think these little touches of the familiar are Simmons' attempt to give us a tether to his world.

Plus, I really think he just likes the 19th century.