Rise of Endymion

Rating:
Summary: a nail-biting...mind-expanding...show stopper.
Review: A rousing tale of adventure and romance, "The Rise of Endymion" takes time to occasionally pause and consider the deeper meaning of life and that elusive thing we humans call love. It's a nail-biting, heart-tugging, mind-expanding, good old-fashioned story-telling show stopper. The perfect capstone to a series that is already one of the finest in science fiction. With the "Hyperion/Endymion" sagas, Dan Simmons has bought himself a piece of literary immortality. (Copyright)1997, Des Moines Sunday Register

Rating:
Summary: Dan Simmons concludes brilliant space opera
Review: After you get into the first 50 pages of this book, you can't put it down. This book offers a very satisfying conclusion to a series I thought was finished with book 3. I was very saddened by the death of certain characters but the ending was upbeat and leaves room for future novels. My only question/complaint is how does the Shrike become more powerful than the Core entities. In book #3 I thought the Shrike was thoroughly outmatched. Anyway, A great read.

Rating:
Summary: Rise of Endymion - not perfect, but do we care?
Review: When I became aware that this latest volume in the Hyperion series was available, I had to have it - no waiting for the UK publication, or the paperback edition. It was enough that I could look forward to a resolution, or at least a progession, of the compelling themes of the Hyperion series. I suspect that my reaction was fairly typical of Hyperion junkies everywhere. In the end we get progression rather than resolution, as Simmons tells a story which is utterly absorbing in its own right, but leaves a number of threads from the previous volumes still hanging, and a few anomalies. The book even seems at times, dare I say, a little rushed, such that you get the feeling he might care to take another cut at it, and re-edit it in the future. But do we care about such imperfections? Admit it - we're all on edge, waiting for the next volume just as eagerly as we waited for this one. Nobody does it better.

Rating:
Summary: "more action and adventure than all three Star Wars movies"
Review: ''Mixing classical themes of John Keats' poetry with action-packed storytelling, Dan Simmons singlehandedly breathed new life into the subgenré known as space opera. With only three novels (''Hyperion,'' ''The Fall of Hyperion'' and ''Endymion''), he managed to become an important force in science fiction. Boasting more action and adventure than all three ''Star Wars'' movies combined, ''The Rise of Endymion'' is Simmons' conclusion to his far-future saga. A resurrected Pope Julius XIV has declared a Holy War on all nonbelievers. He has tagged Aenea, the new Messiah, as an abomination who must be captured. Raul Endymion, A. Bettik and a host of others join forces to save Aenea and defeat the Pax. Along the way, Simmons finds time to let his creations ruminate upon religion, godhood and the true nature of love (as did Keats). This book is a page-turning delight that (like all his novels) begs another read so one can savor the many wonders. And like Isaac Asimov's Foundation books, Simmons' Hyperion/Endymion saga will loom large in the genre for years to come. (copyright) 1997, San Antonio Express-News.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning!
Review: The most amazing combination of an eternal love story with events of cosmic significance. I barely made it through the last few chapters because I was crying so hard. And there were several times I had to put the book down to try to absorb an occurrence so intense I thought my would explode. And I wanted so badly to sit at Aenea's feet and drink of her communion wine.

Rating:
Summary: Good, if inconsistent, conclusion(?) to a brilliant series
Review: No one can accuse Dan Simmons of trying to take the easy way out. The Rise of Endymion is a book that I was not expecting after reading the first three. Fall of Endymion was a satisfying conclusion to the (then) trilogy. With the Rise Of Endymion, Simmons has endeavored to explain all the unanswerable questions that arose during the first three books. This is no small feat. Simmons pulls it off. Others have indicated excessive length and some inconsistencies with the preceding trilogy as detrimental, and I agree - this book could have benefitted greatly from some closer editing. However, consistency is not necessarily a mark of excellent fiction (look at Asimov's 'Foundation' series). There is, however, a fundamental difference between the first three books of this series, and The Rise of Endymion. In the initial trilogy, Simmons is asking important and relevant philosophical questions - does God exist? What form does God take? And who or what created God? The Rise of Endymion tries to answer these questions out-right, while still continuing the narrative-based exploration of these same questions. In this manner, The Rise of Endymion seems somewhat at odds with itself and the three books it follows. I do not know whether or not Simmons should have tried to answer the questions he raised. All in all, I still found Rise of Endymion a thoroughly engaging and exciting book. Simmons never lost his sense of universal scope, and his portrayal of a humanity on the brink of monumental and fundamental change was breath-taking. He has a tremendously powerful gift for graphic description which is vital to the success of this book. I rate this book an 8 only because I think of this series as a single entity. This book has the right pieces, just the wrong intention.

Rating:
Summary: Breath-taking
Review: A couple of years ago, I picked up "Hyperion" at random in a used bookstore. I am very glad I did. This has been one of the most imaginative and well-written series it has ever been my pleasure to read. "Rise of Endymion" is the perfect ending to this series. The breadth of this novel is staggering, with amazing plot twists and startling description of a universe yet to exist.And the end, oh the end of this book! I didn't see it coming. I found myself turning the last page in the wee hours of the morning, tears streaming down my face. Crying for because of the story and maybe a few tears for the end of this fantastic series. If Dan Simmons ever reads these reviews, I'd like to say thank you

Rating:
Summary: GREAT, with a touch of disappointment
Review: The last book ist the weakest of the four. It is great reading material, but it lacks the ultimate suspense and broad scenarios of the first two books and the speed and terror of the manhunt of the third. It is in a way a slow book. I just finished it. Too bad!

Rating:
Summary: Often thrilling, occasionally revisionist
Review: Dan Simmons can always be counted on to think big, and this latest book may be the biggest of all. However, I think he may have reached too far for the grand wrap-up. I still don't know why he didn't end this series with "Fall of Hyperion"; there were loose ends, but not that loose--besides, what's better than debating your interpretation of a book's ideas with someone else? Too much of this latest work has a "tacked on" feeling, often in real contradiction with ideas established in the first two books. The attempt to describe the Core and the Shrike in more technical detail was particularly awkward, and the Shrike seemed to possess Narrative Adaptation, with capabilites that were always just what the story needed them to be. This was a well-written book and certainly a fantastic read, but in the end I felt somewhat cheated.

Rating:
Summary: What a Ride!
Review: After 7+ years, the four book series comes to an end, but not without including just about everything a good space opera needs. Heroes, villains, suspense, love interest, pathos, plot twists, thrills, chills. And all the loose ends are finally tied. The book literally had me on the edge of my seat and engaged me to the exclusion of any possible distraction. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's probably the best of the series, certainly Hugo/Nebula material, and most likely the winner.