Rating: 
Summary: S.O.S.D.D.
Review: More of the same stuff from Dan Simmons. Which is not entirely a bad thing, for a writer of his caliber. Pretty good space opera, reasonably interesting characters. The only thing that really grated on my nerves is the hatred Simmons seems to have for Catholics (and Christianity in general.) It comes through in the story and you can tell these are really *his* prejudices, as opposed to the ideas of his characters. I am not a huge Simmons fan, but this book will probably please them. Other than the bigotry (which runs through the whole series, I am sorry to say), I enjoyed it pretty much. Especially getting all those loose ends tied up... :)
Rating: 
Summary: A great finale to a great series
Review: Dan Simmons has managed to write a great ending to the most wonderful series in SF, bringing all the threads together and providing answers to all our questions. One more thing, Dan, should you ever read this: have you forgotton that Aenea was a vegetarian?
Rating:
Summary: Great end to a beautiful story
Review: After I've got a tip from a colleague to read read the first book Hyperion I've read all four in one breath. The Hyperion saga pictures a terryfing and beautiful future and is of the same level of the Dune and Foundation series (or even better). The speed of the storyline was chosen well. The Rise of Endymion is a good end to the Hyperion saga for it clarifies most of the event of the earlier books. I am looking forward to an new serie. A great compliment to the Dutch translator! Le Jub 1998
Rating:
Summary: Dan Simmons is the best thing going.
Review: There are certain writers who peak your interests and keep drawing you back for more. Dan Simmons has done this repeatedly for me and I'm all the better for it. In particular the Hyperion series, quite possibly is the greatest epic in science fiction. The Rise of Endymion is a grand exclamation point to the series. Tying up all the loose themes lying around from the first three books, Simmons paints a startling picture of a time in the not too distant future with beautiful word pictures and flowing dialogue. I recommend this series to everyone and they brush it off as "sci-fi". This isn't sci-fi, this is fiction at its' finest. Being an English Major in college I particularily love the way Simmons ties in other works in literature to this series: Keats' poetry, The Canterbury Tales, The Bible, the dime store detective novel, etc. My friends all said they were left wanting more, but I disagree. Simmons ends where it should've ended with one of the most bittersweet endings ever. Recommend this book to everyone. By the way, did anyone notice how this novel and Endymion tied in with Phases of Gravity, or am I crazy?
Rating:
Summary: A Beginning to an End of a Beginning
Review: My girlfriend looked at the cover and said "I don't like books about monsters." My reply was, "That's not a monster, that's the Shrike." Just as I had completed the evolution of my perception of the characters, the stories come to an end and I am left wanting... A book, a series could not be better written in my view for the average joe wanting to dissolve into the futures that await. I am left fulfilled with the story I have read, my only hunger that which only understanding can grant... A fitting end to a beautiful saga. Ship, we can go home now...
Rating:
Summary: Ultimately heartbreaking conclusion to a great series...
Review: A truly great story! Unlike many other readers, I tend to go into a book with few expectations about its direction. This is Mr Simmons book, thus his direction.
The story of Raul & Aenea is heartbreaking, even at the end. I can't help wondering what their final goodbye was like after 1 year, 11 months, 1 week and 6 hours...
I would like to sit in on some of their conversations in that time. If only to revisit old friends. Thanks to Dan Simmons!
Rating:
Summary: Matched by few
Review: After spending a few days reading _Rise of Endymion_, I finished the book in one final, six push that kept me up until 5 a.m. -- and my only regret was that it wasn't hundreds of pages longer. The Hyperion Cantos is one of the very best sci-fi series I've ever read, on par with the Book of the New Sun and even better, in my opinion, than the Foundation series. I don't think I've ever put finished the final book in a series and headed straight to my bookshelf to find the first book again. _Rise_ is different in tone from the first three books, much as each of those three was different from the rest, but it succeeds in what it has to do, wrapping up the loose ends and bringing the journey begun thousands of pages earlier to a suitable close. Looking back on itI'm not surprised I liked this book -- after all, I'd been waiting eagerly for it for months -- but I _am_ surprised that what really caught me was the love story. I've read that some reviewers either didn't buy it or thought it out of place in the series. I thought it fit well with (and was maybe even necessary given) the overall theme of the book and Simmons makes the characters' love come through clearly. Even though we knew that Raul survived, the fate of Aenea and their love kept me turning the pages just as much as the events unfolding around them did. I rarely get emotionally attached to characters in books I read, but I found myself reading the final chapter again and again (at 5 a.m., remember!), both out of joy for characters and because I didn't want this book -- and this series -- to end.
Rating:
Summary: A classic end to a classic series
Review: After the slightly shaky start to the book, Simmons gets back into the flow of the disturbingly good Hyperion Cantos, with a subtle blend of fantasy, sci-fi and horror. Seasoned Simmons' readers will be glad that all the former elements are there: the Pax, the TechnoCore, the Shrike, the 'Nemes-thing' and slap-bang in the middle, two frail humans and an andriod who've got 'to do what a Messiah's got to do'. i.e. save the destiny of mankind, break the diabolical machine conspiracy and re-introduce a universal policy of love, peace and harmony. A word of warning however, you really need to have read the whole Hyperion Cantos before you can get the full benefit from this one and younger readers might find parts of the book a little disturbing. In conclusion, a brilliantly written and masterfully crafted book delivered with Simmons' usual empathy, subtlety and panache. A true classic in every sense of the word. Put it this way, I was so impressed I changed my web-name!
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: Dan Simmons has held me captive with his Hyperion series for years. I have become so personally involved with the characters that it was hard to believe they are "mortal". The whole series is compelling. Read them all.
Rating: 
Summary: breathtaking but questions remain...
Review: For those who have read the 3 previous Cantos-series books, you have to read The Rise of Endymion, of course. All--or almost--the questions raised in the previous books are answered here, even if sometimes too much artificially to my judgement. But the book is great, a sequel would be much appreciated, even though Dan Simmons said he was done with the Cantos space-opera...
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