I felt the same way about Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Went in not knowing or caring when it was written and some themes felt played out, but realizing it was 1989 cast it in a totally different light for me. Weird how that works.
The first Hyperion book was great, Canterbury Tales in Space is a great concept and well done. The full series, I think Simmons couldn't really find a good satisfying ending.
I read it (the full 4 book series) as a teen prior to 2000. Very different experience! One of my favorite reads of all time.
Man i was so disappointed by hyperion. felt like they didn't really go anywhere satisfying with the premise
I felt similarly - it was like "here's a series of disconnected vignettes that don't really go anywhere or add up to anything; enjoy" - but I didn't, especially. I wondered for a long time if there was something about the novel I just wasn't understanding, which would make it make sense, but eventually I decided what I was missing is that some people are totally fine with a series of disconnected vignettes that don't really go anywhere, so long as they enjoy the writing along the way.
You described my journey with the book exactly! glad to know i wasn't the only one