It's a bit surprising to me that the author of one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time dies and he gets about 15 comments on the Slashdot post. I guess if he had had more than a million book sales, then he would have been better known.
Worth noting that many (myself included) won't read /. over the weekend. Personally, I only am on /. during workdays as something to do in between real work tasks, and I imagine there's a decent number of posters that are like me in that regard.
I only read Hyperion two or three years ago. It was a very heady book, but well written and I was appreciative of the recommendation (I think I even got it from a different /. thread). RIP.