Rise of Endymion: The Epic Conclusion of the Hyperion Cantos series

Rise of Endymion masterfully weaves together all the events from the earlier Hyperion sequence and Endymion. It plunges us deep into a strikingly different galactic milieu. Here, a revitalized Catholic Church holds sway, engaged in an epic struggle for supremacy. Pitted against it are the genetically modified Ousters, super-powerful AIs with enigmatic agendas, and a young girl named Aenea, who might just be the Messiah of a new era, along with her companion Raul Endymion.

Aenea is the offspring of the human woman Brawne Lamia and a cybrid named John Keats. She preaches a new religion that enables people to connect to the Void that Binds, which was severed from humanity at the end of Hyperion. This directly opposes the Catholic Church's Pax galactic empire, which is centered around the cruciform, granting unlimited resurrections to all church members who embrace it.

The story is vast and intricate, essentially the second half of the narrative begun in Endymion. It presents a fully-developed plot that meticulously extrapolates the consequences of the previous books and continues the underlying struggle and mystery involving the Core, AIs, humans, and Ousters. While I found it rather sluggish in many parts, especially when it became mired in various religious discussions, and there were far too many long-winded explanations by characters to clarify the story events, which would have been better integrated into the narrative itself. Nevertheless, one will undoubtedly gain a deeper understanding of the extensive machinations of the various players in this epic conflict, and most questions will be answered. There is, of course, an abundance of action and elaborate set-pieces. However, in my opinion, the book could have benefited from more rigorous editing and still would have been an impressive conclusion to one of the most ambitious SF epics of the past few decades.

This review is for Endymion & Rise of Endymion as one unit, as that's how I read them. And it's also for the Hyperion Cantos. My heart is a bit broken, yet also a little golden gleaming happy. I've finished this, which might very well be the best science fiction series I've ever read. And I don't say this lightly. The more I think about it, the more I fall in love with what Dan Simmons did. He touched on so many topics that are dear to my heart. He painted scenes of such epic magnificence that they're burned into my mind's eye. Dan Simmons is, I think, a very well-rounded man. He delves into so many philosophical and theological ideas, and they're not trivialized or made cheesy. He doesn't force his view on you, but it forms the backbone of the story. I don't have the intelligence or wisdom to dissect his message here. But it touched me deeply. It's the only thing I've read since Erikson's The Malazan Book of the Fallen that has gotten so deeply under my skin and had such a deeply positive message. This is space opera done right. The time-scale is long and complex, and since time is a malleable element in his world, there are characters from way back and far forward who pop in and out of the story. His cultures, like The Hegemony in Hyperion and the Catholic Pax in Endymion, are rich and wonderfully flawed. There's deep intrigue and a wonderfully twisted plot that was obviously planned out before the first book was written. He's an incredibly accomplished writer, able to adapt his style to the character's voice. This is very clear from the first book, where you have at least 6 different viewpoints (ala Canterbury Tales). In the Endymion cycle, it's mostly the voice of Raul Endymion himself. But the other voices are distinctly different from his, and their core values come through in every word. I could go on and on, but that would be time you could spend reading this jewel of Science Fiction. Do it.

I will never get over the perfection of Hyperion Cantos.

It is truly a literary masterpiece that has left me completely obsessed.

I find myself speechless in the face of its beauty and complexity.

The story weaves together multiple plotlines and characters in a way that is both confusing and yet utterly captivating.

Each turn of the page reveals new layers of depth and meaning, leaving me constantly on the edge of my seat.

But above all, it is the emotions that this series evokes within me that are truly profound.

I am moved to tears by the struggles and triumphs of the characters, their hopes and dreams, and the sacrifices they make.

Mild spoilers follow.

I was extremely disappointed by the conclusion of the series. There was hardly any of the adventure that had made Endymion so enjoyable. Instead, there was a significantly greater amount of the metaphysical mumbo-jumbo that had detracted from Fall. And the soul that the book possessed was merely a pale imitation of the depth that had made Hyperion truly great.

I do appreciate what Simmons was attempting to do, and he is indeed a phenomenal writer. However, this installment falls short. Raul devolves into a simple-minded plot device. Aenea's transformation from a childish and uncertain messiah into a resigned pawn of fate is, at its core, worthy of reflection. But instead, after slogging through all the empty philosophical discussions and the rather perplexing relationship with the simple-minded Raul, the reader simply stops caring. Even worse, the author of Hyperion should have been able to explore deeply into the pain of the bittersweet reunion at the novel's end. Instead, we are left with the rather empty platitude of living in the moment.

My favorite quote: "Pain is an interesting and off-putting thing. Few if any things in life concentrate our attention so completely and terribly, and few things are more boring to listen to or read about."