Rise of Endymion

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully done
Review: I would hug Simmons to congratulate him for writing such a fine masterpiece. It was all around just a wonderful conclusion to the Hyperion series. Simmons took my imagination to new heights, just like a true storyteller should.

Rating:
Summary: Finally, a SF series that ends as strongly as it begins!
Review: "Rise of Endymion" is easily the strongest book in the series for Dan Simmons. There are flaws, to be sure, but he takes on themes that no other SF writer even gets close to in a mature, even philosophical way. This whole series is well worth the read if only for getting to the last book.

Rating:
Summary: Do you want to go to an Amazing Universe?
Review: I've read The Rise of Endymion twice and I still can't believe the Saga is over. The Universe of Hyperion is full of Philosophy, Action, Life ( love an pain ), Science-Fiction, War, Power, travels across the Time and marvellous and terrifying Worlds to visit, Own Spirit, Poetry, and a lot of interesant reflections. Althought this book is slower than Hyperion or The Fall, we can go and explore better the minds of the characters. As in the first two books the relation between God and men or the role of the poet in the world were only some of the shades which, in my opinion, made atractive the story, the Evolution was the main nuance that impregnate this work; also the idea of Love and the Love to the Life are presents in this wonderful book. Characters are well developed, above all Federico De Soya. In this web you can read different opinions about the book. Ones says that it is a bore, that is not a real SF because there is not a lot of action or whatever. Well, you can be disagree with much of the ideas that there are in the story. You can hate the characters, you can hate the End. But you have to read it. For those which don't have an open mind, for those which only expect of a SF book star-ships, black holes and happy ends, ok, this is not a book for you. Better watch Star Wars and be happy. But if you want to enrich your Spirit, if you don't like easy and linar stories but ones which make you think, reflect on thosand details and "suffer" for understand them all, plase let yourself dip into this wonderful amalgam of ideas, sensations and inexhaustible imagination which is the whole Hyperion Saga, which ends in this Rise of Endymion.

Rating:
Summary: east of eden meets bladerunner
Review: i've been a fan of the hyperion series since its inception but have not been able to read its concluding volume until recently. the storyline was as easy to pick up as riding a bicycle after a prolonged absence. in rise of endymion, dan simmons creates scences of empathy and pathos that had been present in hyperion but missing in fall of hyperion and endymion. i would describe the book as an amalgam of east of eden and bladerunner. i will not soon forget this novel and highly recommend it anyone with the ability to read.

Rating:
Summary: Too Long By (almost) Half
Review: This last volume of the Hyperion saga has some very nice ideas, and interesting descriptions of where the action takes place. However, it is too long by at least 200-250 of its 700-plus pages. This excessive length detracts from the impact of the main storyline, which would have been strong enough itself to propel a shorter novel into the realm of the best that recent science fiction has to offer.

Rating:
Summary: I hated to love this book
Review: Depending on which page you asked, I would have told you that I was either hating or loving Rise of Endymion. I loved the characters, I could get into them totally. Even the messianic plotline was pretty good, and tied in elements from the other three books nicely.

But the narrative pained me! Not only switching back and forth from first to third person, but feeling obliged to explain why that happened...leaping from past to present and god knows what other tense. <shudder> And the horrible mechanics of the time travel! Lord have mercy on us all.

The messiah story, the time travel, the resurrection of dead characters, all reminded me of Heinlein (not to mention it's been a long time since I got to read 4 books with common characters, yay!). I liked Aenea and Raul better than most of what Heinlein gave me. I thought they were more realistic. But honestly, Heinlein handled the whole messiah plot (particularly the ending, hello Stranger in a Strange Land?) and the timetravel (anything with Lazarus Long) much better.

Rating:
Summary: More satisfying than Endymion but still with its weak points
Review: This book is in general more satisfying than Endymion. There is a more complex plot, newly described worlds, a very touching story. Simmons maintains his ability to describe things in excusite detail albeit not as literally. I find though a few shortfalls: There are inconsistencies with the first 2 books in terms of the revelations of the AI in-fighting. It seems that Simmons had different things in mind when he was writing the first 2 books. Also the pseudo-scientific properties of Aenea's blood are a bit silly to read if you happen to be a biologist (like in the other story by Simmons, Children of the Night). I think that Simmons should consult a biologist before introducing such ideas in his novels. Also the story is a bit too melodramatic at points.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent.
Review: A wonderful end to the series. Science fiction with a human touch, which some purists might not appreciate, but for the average sci-fi reader a welcome change. Who cares about the philosophy? The characters were well-developed.. and the end was moving.

Rating:
Summary: insipid crap
Review: Hyperion was very good, and sometimes great, and the Fall of Hyperion was a decent follow-up, so I was expecting good things when I bought Endymion and Rise of Endymion. Unfortunately, I was dissapointed. The Rise of Endymion, in particular, is terrible. We are forced to read about Aenea's insipid philosophy/metaphysics, which holds that love is the driving force of the universe. Please. Simmons actually managed to raise some interesting points in his first books, but here he has obviously stretched himself too far. Aenea's message is touchy-feely New Age nonsense that bears no relation to actual philosophy. Simmon's mistreatment of Zen Buddhism borders on the criminal. Others have recommended that you pretend that this series ends after the first two books. I agree. Ignore Endymion and its sequel.

Rating:
Summary: A five-star masterpiece, we need new chapters of the saga
Review: "And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make" (The End, The Beatles). Simply put this is the most terrific action-and-love drama I ever read. I was really upset by the emotional strength of the love between Aenea and Raoul, and literally wept for her tragic conclusion. The powerful universe Mr Simmons has painted is stunning. I can't believe it's all over, there MUST be a way of saving her life and continue the saga.