Customer Reviews

The Rise of Endymion (Hyperion Series)

5 star:		(144)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

Start with an appreciation of what Simmons is trying to do in this fourth book in the Hyperion Cantos:

- He is finishing the story of a messiah-like heroine who has known from the day she was born the exact, gruesome manner, date and time of her death.

- He is using - with full credit - the ideas of Tielhard de Chardin and John Keats and others, ideas and even writers of whom the majority of his readers are mostly unaware.

- He is advocating the powers of humanity, and especially the power of love, over the powers of technology. In a science fiction novel.

- He has chosen as one theme crucifixion: individual's crucifixion by the Shrike, humanity's crucifixion by the cruciform parasite, and Aenea's horrifying death. Crucifixion is at the heart of the West's most prominent religion.

- Like any writer of a series, he is constrained by the myriad loose ends from the three earlier books.

Simmons meets all of these challenges. He writes a suspenseful, emotionally engaging novel that takes all of these ideas and constraints and deals with them fairly, consistently and pretty completely.

Not many writers have the wit and courage to attempt these ideas; only a fraction of those who have the wit and courage also have the talent to bring it off. Simmons not only makes the attempt; he mostly succeeds.

The criticisms and negative reviews, it seems to me, stem from those who don't understand this is a novel of ideas, and those who give little credit to the breadth of what Simmons is trying to do. Aenea's final months and messy death is nothing less than a technologically rationalized replay of Christ's, recast and rethought in very impressive ways. Raul's rebirth is Saul's re-birth, isn't it?

No, this isn't a sword and fur jockstrap story, or yet another "coming of age with a light saber" Hero's journey. This is a book that welcomes and rewards a thinking reader. I wish there were more examples in the genre.

Well conceived, brilliantly written. Highly recommended.

Have you ever experienced something so beautiful that you cried because of it? Read some novel that you became so immersed in that, after completing it, you felt lonely, even among friends, because you missed the characters so much? That experience was this story for me. I know a lot of people saw this as a story, a fictitious novel, but I saw it as something so much more. As a novel, it has its flaws (I suppose, upon reading other reviews on this site, although they were completely irrelevant for me) but as a STORY and a moving experience, it is nearly unparalleled. If you've read the Hyperion books and haven't read this (and its predecessor) then you absolutely must. If you haven't read the Hyperion books (which are masterpieces in their own right) then you must. These last two installments might not be as well-written (I still think they are) but they are absolutely breathtaking in their profound insight as to the importance of Love in the universe and how completely it can be felt and experienced. If you don't fall in love with Aenea during the reading of this story, then you musn't truly grasp the soul of it. This four-book series may be one of the most moving, heartfelt, well-written compilations that I've ever come across.

This is one of the most powerful books I have ever read. It seems silly to say that about an SF novel -- but this book has affected me like only one other -- Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak. I cried my way through the last 50 pages and after I put it down I couldn't sleep for hours. Mr Simmons' writing is so powerful, so poignant that the characters of Raul and Aenea have been burned into my literary memory forever. A teacher of mine once said that any book -- and life itself -- can be experienced at many levels of consciousness. The author has managed to encapsulate all of the incredible sadness, joy and beauty of being human into this book. The last 200 pages or so (from Chapter 25) is a prediction of where we are headed as a species, I believe, an expanded consciousness where every human is in effortless contact with every other. Mr. Simmons weaves a possible future based on the inherent power of LIFE -- not technology. He has conceived of a future -- correctly I believe -- where beings understand and use their true power. His handling of time is just brilliant and the ending is so poignant that I still get a lump in my throat thinking about it. One of the reviewers of this book said that it was predictable in some spots -- and I agree, having guessed the ending a few hundred pages from the end -- but it is a tribute to Dan Simmons that it made no difference. I was tugged along by the power of the story and I forgot all about my guesswork until the last sentence. I am sure that most people will find this review an over-reaction -- but I am understating the full range of my emotions as I write this. If any of you who read this have been so powerfully affected by this book and would like to share your thoughts, please e-mail me at kmaclean@ic.net.

Anyone who read Hyperion feels compelled to read all of the books in the series. The first book was one of the most creative and fascinating SF books I have ever read. Unfortunately, by the time you reach the finale, things have changed. The thick-headed, dim-witted hero, Raul, can be quite tiresome. He is nothing, however, compared to the messiah, Aenea. She spends the entire book brooding and depressed. The reader is promised that her emotions will be explained later. An explanation comes at the end, but it is much too late for me. The author, through Aenea, seems to insist that we listen to his philosophies on love, religion and technology. The scenes with Aenea teaching (there are many)quickly become tiresome. The two stars I give are for the authors wonderful efforts leading up to this conclusion. He is obviously a gifted writer, he just needs to know when to say when.

Simply put, the Hyperion cantos is THE best sci-fi series I have read. And I've read a bunch. RoE is, like the other three books in the series (but perhaps not so much Endymion, which seemed like a huge build up to RoE) a masterpiece. I could really feel the love between Aenea and Raul, and somehow, despite the little voice in my head that kept saying, "This should be corny! This should be too sappy!" I never found it to be so. Simmons really makes you care about the characters, and when he writes in the first person (much of the novel is set in that viewpoint), you feel the emotion all the more. RoE is the only book EVER that has made me actually cry at the end. Aenea's fate is truly tragic and the reader can't help but feel sorry for Raul. But the characters are not stereotypical, they are not hackneyed, they are human and right, and that is what makes this book (and series) genius. This is my second reading, and I really felt that I had to write something about it. Maybe I just really get into the books I read, but the emotion at the end left me dazed for days--and from the other reader reviews I've read, I'm not alone. This book and the Hyperion series should be on everyone's shelf.

"The Rise of Endymion", the fourth and final novel in the "Hyperion Saga", concludes the adventures of Aenea and Raul Endymion five years following the former novel. As the earlier narratives, a first person perspective with brilliant descriptions brings the breathtaking pursuit to an enjoyable end.

The beautifully laced story conveys spectacular combat and future evolutionary ideas mixed with a tender love story. Interesting revelations regarding the origins of the Shrike and the regenerative cruciform along with Aenea's enigmatic powers will surprise most readers. The blending storylines from the earlier novels especially fascinated me.

The primary motivations behind political and religious organizations, which developed in a highly advanced computer space age, can be difficult to understand. A detailed map of the significant terrains would have been useful.

I highly recommend this series to any fan of the science fiction genre.

Thank you.

M. Simmons' finale to the Hyperion saga is
staggering in scope, and I am astounded
with his ability to pull off such an enormously
complicated plot without sacrificing
character development or emotional clarity.
Both the "Fall of Hyperion" and "Endymion"
come close to 'Rise' in complexity, but not since
the landmark "Hyperion" have I read
such beautifully rendered characters, so easy
to identify with. Many writers give you
heroes to cheer, but how many times does your
skin crawl when you realize you're empathizing
with the 'villians?'

The only hesitation I have with rating this effort
a ten is that too many of the pivitol moments
of the plot can be predicted early in the book,
which takes away from the suspense. Specifically,
the baby's father, the identity of the observer,
the template for the Shrike, and Aenea's fate.
Nit-picking aside, this is one of the most
powerful series-concluding novels I have ever read.

I find it difficult to imagine there will be many
novels released this year so deserving
of a Hugo nomination.

I expect to be pushed beyond the boundaries of my imagination, when I delve into the realm of science fiction. This book and its series do not dissapoint; with its varying genres and characters, and its mix of themes; religious, poetic, historical, architectural, and scientific.The first novel in the series is my favourite. Hyperion, with its elaborate journey and 5 pilgrams varied,Shrike pilgrams, introduce us to a universe like nothing before. I particularly, enjoyed the last 2 novels' parody of a Universe controlled by a contaminated Catholic church. Thought provoking and I have to say, still quite believable. However, certain bits tend to be lenghthy and 'mushy' and the contrasting militaristic bits too violent.
And overall good read. Worth a second time.

Once again, like Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, I am writing a joint review for Endymion and The Rise of Endymion as the two books comprise the totality of one story (I have seen some complain about this, but put the two books together and decide if you want to hold that while reading it!).

With Endymion and The Rise of Endymion, Dan Simmons has written a brilliant adventure tale that brings to conclusion the story begun in Hyperion. These two books are more than just another chapter in the universe; they are the next evolution in the story of humans, TechnoCore (AIs) and Lions and Tigers and Bears. Where Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion is a methodical, multi-viewpoint story of how humanity and the Hegemony had arrived at the point of being slaves to the TechnoCore, Endymion and The Rise of Endymion is an adventurous story about the savior of humanity from outside forces and itself.

Nearly 300 years after The Fall, the Catholic Church has risen from obscurity to control the Pax, the new empire of humanity that has slowly widened its grip on the former worlds of the Hegemony as well as waged war against the Ousters. Like the Hegemony, the Pax and church have made a deal with the devil (the TechnoCore), but secretly as most people think the TechnoCore destroyed or in hiding after The Fall. The cruciform has become the sacrament of immortality as administered by the church and is now the defining difference between the believes and followers of the church and Pax and the rest of humanity. This church, like its last incarnation in the previous Dark Ages (for the time after The Fall was a new Dark Age), this church has the same instruments of control such as the Holy Inquisition and the reward of your immortal soul.

Enter Raul Endymion, a non-christian hunting guide on Hyperion. After killing an off-world hunter, who is a dignitary of the Pax, for killing his dog and nearly killing him, Endymion is sentenced to death by firing squad. But, Raul has a guardian angel that secretly saves him from his fate: Martin Silenus. In exchange for his life, Silenus enlists Endymion to rescue and then protect Aenea, the daughter of Brawne Lamia, who will be exiting the Time Tombs in a few days as a 12 year old.

But, this task will not be easy, as the Church and Pax - whose Pope is Lenar Hoyt - know she is coming and they consider her an enemy of the state. Enter Father Captain De Soya, who is charged with the capture of Aenea at the Time Tombs.

With the help of a Magic Carpet, thus begins the adventures of Raul Endymion, his charge Aenea - the One Who Teaches - and their traveling companion, the Android Bettik as they travel from world to world via the thought dead farcasters of the River Tethys in search of Earth, the answers to humanity's future, and the destruction of the Pax and TechnoCore; All while being pursued by Father Captain De Soya and an even larger threat directly from the TechnoCore itself. Along the way, they will discover new friends, new worlds, and new love (no, Raul is not a pedophile!), and what the church and TechnoCore are planning for humanity.

Come along on this amazing adventure of discovery and redemption, and watch as a Mesiah-to-be grow up and as a new hero is born.

>>>>>>><<<<<<<

A Guide to my Book Rating System:

1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.

After the dismal third installation of the series, I was a bit concerned, however impelled to read on. I'm very glad I did, because this final book is a celebration of everything that made the first two so great. It answers questions left untouched earlier (like, what in heavens is the Shrike?), and deepens your understanding of the universe that Simmons has painted. You will be surprised at what you learn -- maybe even uncomfortable (I was... the discussions of the Void Which Binds are profoundly creepy) -- and you will finally come to love the characters which bored you to tears in the previous book.

A sci-fi series is a dangerous thing for a reader. It is very easy to fall in love with the world you've been visiting. And it is very easy for the author to ruin the whole thing in the closing move (I still wish I'd left the final Dune novel on the shelf... the last chapter all but ruins the whole damn series). But Simmons comes through like a champ, with a fitting, surprising, and flat-out wonderful finale. Please, with all your might, fight the urge to "peek" at the last page. As much as I loved the series, I did not expect to have the last sentence make me cry -- but I did. Yeah, I'm a goof.

Read this book. Now.

Go!