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The Rise of Endymion
(Hyperion Cantos #4)
by
The magnificent conclusion to one of the greatest science fiction sagas of our time
The time of reckoning has arrived. As a final genocidal Crusade threatens to enslave humanity forever, a new messiah has come of age. She is Aenea and she has undergone a strange apprenticeship to those known as the Others. Now her protector, Raul Endymion, one-time shepherd and convicted mu ...more
The time of reckoning has arrived. As a final genocidal Crusade threatens to enslave humanity forever, a new messiah has come of age. She is Aenea and she has undergone a strange apprenticeship to those known as the Others. Now her protector, Raul Endymion, one-time shepherd and convicted mu ...more
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Kindle Edition, 722 pages
Published
January 12th 2011
by Spectra
(first published 1997)
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Start your review of The Rise of Endymion (Hyperion Cantos, #4)
I survived!
As I’ve reported in my previous reviews of this series there were times where it seemed as if my gray matter was going to be permanently fried by this epic sci-fi story. I finally got through to the end with most of my marbles still in the bag they came in.
It’s almost impossible to give a summary of this without spoiling the previous book so I’ll just say that Aenea and Raul Endymion continue their interstellar journey to fulfill her ultimate destiny as the powerful forces of a corrup ...more
As I’ve reported in my previous reviews of this series there were times where it seemed as if my gray matter was going to be permanently fried by this epic sci-fi story. I finally got through to the end with most of my marbles still in the bag they came in.
It’s almost impossible to give a summary of this without spoiling the previous book so I’ll just say that Aenea and Raul Endymion continue their interstellar journey to fulfill her ultimate destiny as the powerful forces of a corrup ...more
In a galaxy far, far away, (the Large Magellanic Cloud, 160,000 light years from Sol) and over 1,000 years in the future, there lived two fugitives devoted lovers, Raul Endymion of Hyperion and the new messiah Aenea, a product of human and nonhuman parents. The strange thing is they reside on Old Earth somehow our planet has been poached there by AI, artificial intelligence ( some are immensely evil). Still the couple is happy a quiet, peaceful existence after a titanic struggle for survival, bu
...more
The scene where Corporal Bassin Kee is undergoing torture at the hands of the Grand Inquisitor , who uses a machine that simulates "crushed testicles" and "hot wire behind right eye" in the victim's brain ... that's a good approximation of the experience I had reading this book. There's Dan Simmons sitting at his desk, finger poised over a computer keyboard. In the place of letters, each key has a different literary torture: "moldy info dump forced down throat", "insufferable protagonist buzzes
...more
THE RISE OF ENDYMION is the fourth and final volume of Dan Simmons' Hyperion saga and the conclusion of the storyline begun in ENDYMION. I only plodded through that book because I wanted to reach the end, and with THE RISE OF ENDYMION even that motivation almost dried up.
The problems are legion. The book is overlong, with huge sections that just serve no legitimate purpose, such as Raul's time in the Temple Hanging in Air. Simmons' extends his work as much as he can to give it an "epic" feel, bu ...more
The problems are legion. The book is overlong, with huge sections that just serve no legitimate purpose, such as Raul's time in the Temple Hanging in Air. Simmons' extends his work as much as he can to give it an "epic" feel, bu ...more
Aye on the shores of darkness there is light,
And precipices show untrodden green;
There is a budding morrow in midnight;
There's a triple sight in blindness keen...
I don't think I'll be able to review this one properly, and as it's the fourth and last book, I hardly think I'll be able to influence anyone to read the series or not either way.
So all I have to say is that I've really enjoyed this journey Dan Simmons has allowed me to go on, in the countless worlds of his Hyperion Cantos. This book ha ...more
And precipices show untrodden green;
There is a budding morrow in midnight;
There's a triple sight in blindness keen...
I don't think I'll be able to review this one properly, and as it's the fourth and last book, I hardly think I'll be able to influence anyone to read the series or not either way.
So all I have to say is that I've really enjoyed this journey Dan Simmons has allowed me to go on, in the countless worlds of his Hyperion Cantos. This book ha ...more
This book could have been half the length and I would have been thrilled.
Too much philosophizing. Too much useless description, too much exposition of the "science" behind why the characters were able to do what they did. The plot "twist," if it was meant to be one, was pretty damned obvious immediately.
Again, de Soya was much more compelling than any of the major characters, and he's relegated to an even less important role in this book. SO DISAPPOINTING. He may be one of my favorite characters ...more
Too much philosophizing. Too much useless description, too much exposition of the "science" behind why the characters were able to do what they did. The plot "twist," if it was meant to be one, was pretty damned obvious immediately.
Again, de Soya was much more compelling than any of the major characters, and he's relegated to an even less important role in this book. SO DISAPPOINTING. He may be one of my favorite characters ...more
After four years on Old Earth, Raul Endymion resumes the voyage on the river Tethys to find the Consul's ship. Meanwhile, Aenea leaves Old Earth behind to find her destiny. In addition to hunting for the One Who Teaches, The Pax launches a Crusade to wipe out the Ouster menace once and for all. Will Aenea fulfill her destiny and end the Pax's reign once and for all?
I have to admit, I was skeptical for the first half of this book. It wasn't urination-inducing good like the first two and I actuall ...more
I have to admit, I was skeptical for the first half of this book. It wasn't urination-inducing good like the first two and I actuall ...more
This review is for both Endymion, book 3 in the Hyperion Cantos tetrology and Rise of Endymion, which is book 4. If you have not read Books 1 and 2, take a look at my review here first. I was a big fan of Books 1 and 2, but I'm split right down the middle on Books 3 and 4. Book 3 was a thrilling sci fi adventure ride, but Book 4 drove me up a wall. Different kind of ride. The following review probably won't make much sense, or be worth reading, unless you are familiar with Books 1 and 2 or my pr ...more
The Rise of Endymion is the fourth and last of the full-length Hyperion Cantos novels by Dan Simmons. It is a well-written, exciting, thought-provoking, and wistful conclusion to one of my favorite series. As I finished reading it, memories of watching The Wizard of Oz for the first time on my grandmother's 15" RCA television, the kind set into a wooden cabinet, ran through my mind. Little Mr. Windup Bird, so sad that he couldn't jump into the television and go on an adventure with Dorothy, Toto
...more
Finally I have finished the entire Hyperion Cantos, the series than began with the all-time sci-fi classic Hyperion, almost concluded in The Fall of Hyperion, launched a second arc in Endymion and ends here with The Rise of Endymion.
These last two books read more like a duology than the third and fourth installations of a series. The Cantos is often discussed in PrintSF, my sci-fi books discussions online community. The second half of the series tend to be quite polarizing. Some people love it, ...more
These last two books read more like a duology than the third and fourth installations of a series. The Cantos is often discussed in PrintSF, my sci-fi books discussions online community. The second half of the series tend to be quite polarizing. Some people love it, ...more
Holy shitballs. I'm finally done with this book. With this series!
So this shit right here is exactly why I read science fiction. It’s got EVERYTHING YOU COULD POSSIBLY WANT. Well, these last two books have been lacking the humor of the first two, mostly because the foul-mouthed poet Martin Silenus was relegated to a background role, but he was there a little bit at the beginning of the last book and the beginning and end of this one, so there was a little bit of humor there. But seriously EVERY ...more
So this shit right here is exactly why I read science fiction. It’s got EVERYTHING YOU COULD POSSIBLY WANT. Well, these last two books have been lacking the humor of the first two, mostly because the foul-mouthed poet Martin Silenus was relegated to a background role, but he was there a little bit at the beginning of the last book and the beginning and end of this one, so there was a little bit of humor there. But seriously EVERY ...more
I hate this book. I hate the narrator. I hate the main character.
Hyperion I enjoyed. And for the rest of the series, the story, the characters, the drama-- everything just... declined.
When I read Hyperion, I had real investment in the characters-- making it through their quest alive (or not, but that's also a testament to how fantastic the story and character development were-- I had strong opinions about all of them), finding resolution, etc. By The Rise of Endymion, most of those characters ...more
Hyperion I enjoyed. And for the rest of the series, the story, the characters, the drama-- everything just... declined.
When I read Hyperion, I had real investment in the characters-- making it through their quest alive (or not, but that's also a testament to how fantastic the story and character development were-- I had strong opinions about all of them), finding resolution, etc. By The Rise of Endymion, most of those characters ...more
Simmons dropped the ball on this one. He contradicts himself where he’s not blatantly spamming retcons in an attempt to steer his narrative onto a logical course before it concludes. He kills the wonderful momentum he’s built about halfway through the book by indulging himself in an orgy of mountain-climbing minutiae and introducing sixty fucking new characters who have a questionable reason for existing and contribution to the plot. He wraps up loose ends and provides explanations that are, if
...more
This proved to be a satisfying conclusion to the Endymion duology and the Hyperion Cantos series as a whole. The quality of the series remained consistent throughout and Dan Simmons did a fantastic job of wrapping up all the ongoing story arcs and mysteries.
Much like the first Endymion book this one mainly focused on telling the tale of Raul Endymion and his lover, the new Messiah, Aenea as they sought to expose the corruption of the Pax Church and to fight against the corruption of the Void Th ...more
Much like the first Endymion book this one mainly focused on telling the tale of Raul Endymion and his lover, the new Messiah, Aenea as they sought to expose the corruption of the Pax Church and to fight against the corruption of the Void Th ...more
Very disappointed with the conclusion of the series. Halfway through the book I paused and checked to make sure I wasn't reading Twilight. The evolution into a love story was forced and I felt absolutely none of the chemistry and undying love and loyalty that was supposed to have grown between Raul and Aenea. On top of that, her repeated response of "I'll explain later" to a lot of the plot-hole seeming sections were never actually explained! The sex scenes were unnecessary and just seemed like
...more
Choose again.
A wonderful conclusion to a universe-wide saga, dealing with vast themes. The nature of mortality/immortality, the nature of religion, the necessity of freedom of choice, the joy of evolution. Really big stuff that it's difficult to talk about.
I read a lot and I don't often cry, but I cried often during the closing chapters of this novel. After four books, I've become attached to these characters, this universe. But I preferred that to all the panic induced by time spent in the Temp ...more
A wonderful conclusion to a universe-wide saga, dealing with vast themes. The nature of mortality/immortality, the nature of religion, the necessity of freedom of choice, the joy of evolution. Really big stuff that it's difficult to talk about.
I read a lot and I don't often cry, but I cried often during the closing chapters of this novel. After four books, I've become attached to these characters, this universe. But I preferred that to all the panic induced by time spent in the Temp ...more
6.0 stars. On my list of All Time Favorites (along with the other three books of the Hyperion Cantos). In my opinion, along with the Dune series, the Hyperion Cantos is the best SF space opera series ever written and Dan Simmons is one of the best writers working today. Hyperion is a recognized classic in SF, but I believe that the other three books in the Cantos, The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion and this novel are equally superb and I think readers are really missing out if they stop at the first
...more
At first I simply disliked this book. It was retconning it's own canon and ruining the mythos it has in the name of some cheapened extension of the tale. The mysteries and unknowable nature of The Core, the shrike and the history of its characters are abandoned in the name of some hack-kneed messiah tale that fails as both romance and science fiction. It's overly long, riddled with psuedo-philisophical stupidity, and just when you hope it will redeem itself it shits the bed and leaves you no lon
...more
Not sure how to rate this one. Combined with the previous book in the series it was one of the longest, slowest, least eventful reads of my life. If I hadn't loved the first 2 books so much I would have gladly cut and run. With that being said I've found that the books in this series are the type of book that grow in my estimation after I've finished reading them. Some books I read are fast-paced and enjoyable but when trying to think of things to talk about in a review a few weeks later I find
...more
Nov 19, 2019
Gabi
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
locus_winners,
hugo_nominees
Finished!
An emotional and epic end to one of the best SF-series of all time (any top 10 SF list that is missing the Cantos is of no interest to me). Yet it stumbled over its own greatness in the end. Since the bar was set so incredibly high with the first Hyperion books I was expecting an ending that would blow me away - which it didn't.
The narration started good and instantly pulled me back into the flow with the very personal voyage of Endymion set against a space church plot invoking a galact ...more
An emotional and epic end to one of the best SF-series of all time (any top 10 SF list that is missing the Cantos is of no interest to me). Yet it stumbled over its own greatness in the end. Since the bar was set so incredibly high with the first Hyperion books I was expecting an ending that would blow me away - which it didn't.
The narration started good and instantly pulled me back into the flow with the very personal voyage of Endymion set against a space church plot invoking a galact ...more
If you’re reading this book review to decide whether or not to read Rise of Endymion / Endymion, put this in your compiler and smoke it:
IF you have not read Dan Simmons’ Hyperion, go here.
ELSE IF you have not read Endymion, go here.
ELSE IF you have read Endymion AND you didn’t like it, don’t read Rise of Endymion
ELSE IF you have read Endymion AND you did like it, do read Rise of Endymion
ELSE:
Basically, Rise of Endymion is much the same as Endymion, flawed but good, with the unfortunate addition ...more
IF you have not read Dan Simmons’ Hyperion, go here.
ELSE IF you have not read Endymion, go here.
ELSE IF you have read Endymion AND you didn’t like it, don’t read Rise of Endymion
ELSE IF you have read Endymion AND you did like it, do read Rise of Endymion
ELSE:
Basically, Rise of Endymion is much the same as Endymion, flawed but good, with the unfortunate addition ...more
Boy does this book disappear up its own butthole halfway through. I've always said, if there's one thing I love its pages and pages worth of metaphysical explanation of imaginary science fiction macguffins that in case you were wondering, do not actually exist, and therefore lack any sort of educational value which the reader might obtain from a similarly dry lecture on a real scientific subject. Anyway.
This book starts out as a travelogue (and the places are even more otherworldly and evocative ...more
This book starts out as a travelogue (and the places are even more otherworldly and evocative ...more
I did not like this book. Simmons did with it what he did with fall of Hyperion. We spend entirely too much time focused on characters we don't care about (Cardinal Mustafa, for example -- it was Meina Gladstone (view spoiler) in Fall). Rise gets way too explainy, and not actiony enough. The fact that Aenea is an architect doesn't help. Are you ready for chapters full of descriptions of imaginary worlds that serve no purpose but to satisfy Simmons' world-building wanker
...more
This review is firstly for Endymion & Rise of Endymion as one unit as I read then. And secondly for the Hyperion Cantos.
My heart is a little broken, a little golden gleaming happy. I have finished this, what might well be the best science fiction series I have ever read. And I do not say this lightly.
The more I think about it, the more I fall in love with what Dan Simmons did. He touched so many topics that I hold close to my heart. Painted scenes of such epic magnificence, that they are burned ...more
My heart is a little broken, a little golden gleaming happy. I have finished this, what might well be the best science fiction series I have ever read. And I do not say this lightly.
The more I think about it, the more I fall in love with what Dan Simmons did. He touched so many topics that I hold close to my heart. Painted scenes of such epic magnificence, that they are burned ...more
It was inevitable. Hyperion was just too damn good not to bite the bullet and read the last installment and get full closure on what everything means. So, at the end of it all, was it all worth it?
Well, all questions are answered, but no, not really. This was just way too much reading and time invested.
But, I do wish I could erase all memories of the first Hyperion novel and read it over again. It really was spectacular.
Well, all questions are answered, but no, not really. This was just way too much reading and time invested.
But, I do wish I could erase all memories of the first Hyperion novel and read it over again. It really was spectacular.
Notes:
I'll be honest. I thought 2/3 of the book was a snorefest but the other 1/3 of it was amazing! Of the four books in the series, this was the worst one to listen to in audio format. Things that would not have been jarring or irritating to read were annoying to hear.
Ah, that feeling of wanting to know more about certain elements and knowing that I'll never get the satisfaction. ;) That's ok. The Hyperion Cantos is one of the best space operas I've read. I'm glad that I finally got to the en ...more
I'll be honest. I thought 2/3 of the book was a snorefest but the other 1/3 of it was amazing! Of the four books in the series, this was the worst one to listen to in audio format. Things that would not have been jarring or irritating to read were annoying to hear.
Ah, that feeling of wanting to know more about certain elements and knowing that I'll never get the satisfaction. ;) That's ok. The Hyperion Cantos is one of the best space operas I've read. I'm glad that I finally got to the en ...more
Dan Simmons’s novels are complex, abstract, and intricately woven in both form and style. His capstone novel for the Hyperion cantos, The Rise of Endymion, is no exception to this. Like its predecessor Endymion, The Rise of Endymion follows Raul Endymion, Aenea, and A. Bettik as they support Aenea in completing her mysterious mission. Despite his writing prowess, Dan Simmons has two problems: first, he is far too verbose in some areas and too scant in others. Second, his endings are often crude
...more
I put off reading Endymion/Rise of for a long time (like several years) because a lot of people I knew seemed not to think much of them and I already wasn't quite as impressed with Fall of Hyperion as the Chaucerian original. If anything the events in this book are a huge payoff for what I remember as the sort of abstract and confusing bits of Fall of... and in a way having that huge time span in my own reading parallels nicely the elegant way in which Simmons manages this incredibly densely plo
...more
The closing volume of the Hyperion series had a huge emotional impact on me. By now, I cared about the new characters, whose fates at the end of the series are serious and sometimes difficult to read. Simmons also brings his ideas to full fruition and posits some interesting observations about humanity and our place in the Universe. This is thoughtful, adventurous fiction. I will return to it for the rest of my life.
At the age of 19, I know that I will never read another novel like The Rise of Endymion.
I cannot express how much I enjoyed this book. I have experienced nearly every emotion possible whilst reading it. I have to say that I even cried on more than one occasion. These books have connected with me like nothing else has, or ever will.
As I have said in my other reviews of the previous books in the Cantos, the characters are one of the many highlights. Each character has their own personality, and ...more
I cannot express how much I enjoyed this book. I have experienced nearly every emotion possible whilst reading it. I have to say that I even cried on more than one occasion. These books have connected with me like nothing else has, or ever will.
As I have said in my other reviews of the previous books in the Cantos, the characters are one of the many highlights. Each character has their own personality, and ...more
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Dan Simmons grew up in various cities and small towns in the Midwest, including Brimfield, Illinois, which was the source of his fictional "Elm Haven" in 1991's SUMMER OF NIGHT and 2002's A WINTER HAUNTING. Dan received a B.A. in English from Wabash College in 1970, winning a national Phi Beta Kappa Award during his senior year for excellence in fiction, journalism and art.
Dan received his Master ...more
Dan received his Master ...more
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Hyperion Cantos
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