Hyperion is one of my favorite books. It's uneven, but very good. I've read the whole series and after the first one they are fine, but nothing to write home about. You can easily stop after the first book if you want something else.

Dune's complete series is worthwhile, but I don't really care for Herbert's writing style. The universe is very rich and the series explores some of the great ideas in science fiction, but it's like an RPG sourcebook masquerading as a novel to my tastes.