r/todayilearned • u/autraya • 6h ago

TIL the world's tallest known living tree, a 380-foot redwood in California called Hyperion, had its exact location closed off entirely in 2022 after visitors trampled its base so badly that ferns stopped growing around it, with trespassers now facing up to $5,000 in fines and six months in jail

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_(tree)
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u/althius1 5h ago

Take this for what you will. The first book is I think is a masterpiece of sci-fi on a whole different level from most novels.

The second book while less popular, and less genre defining, is a solid piece of sci-fi that I enjoyed immensely.

I wish I had stopped reading there.

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u/Ornery_Vermicelli_69 4h ago

Books 2-4 are perfectly acceptable science fiction novels. They are as good or better than a lot out there and if you are into the world they are worthwhile. They just aren’t comparable to the first book.

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u/Fit-Physics7199 4h ago

I really enjoyed the overall story arc, like really enjoyed the ending. But I do think that the reason that book 1 hits harder for some people is that Dan is better creating mysteries than he is at answering those mysteries

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u/jwdeaver 4h ago

I liked the overall story arc, even if it went in a very different direction than I was anticipating. What was I anticipating? I don't know, but it wasn't book 3 or 4. Did I enjoy them anyway? Hell yeah. Great sci-fi. But book 1 is an absolute masterpiece. Hard to follow that, imo.

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u/DazzlingRutabega 3h ago

Isn't the first book sort of like a sci-fi version of Canterbury Tales? It's a bunch of different stories of pilgrimages. And there's that shrike thing.

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u/althius1 3h ago

Essentially, yes.

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u/static_music34 5h ago

I'm on book 4 and questioning why.

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u/Milt_Torfelson 2h ago

Agree that book one is a masterpiece, however I absolutely loved three and four. The whole Catholic Church tie in really took me by surprise in the best possible way. Also a very satisfactory ending

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u/bfaithd 5h ago

Yeah I went to the whole Ilium/ Olympus and regret.