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"Events are fluid. The future is like smoke from a burning forrest, waiting for the wind of specific events and personal courage to blow the sparks and embers of reality this way or that."

Initial Thoughts

Even though I'm not a die hard sci-fi fan, I'll say without reservation that Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos series has been one of the most significant reading experiences of my life. Without doubt one of the best collection of books I've ever read. The first book blew me away like an atomic bomb and the second one captured my imagination like few other books as it developed into an all out intergalactic space opera of epic, and I do mean epic, scale. I really fell in love with these books and the universe created within. I mean I liked them a lot, I'm far too macho for the "L" word!

Simmons then gave me a whole new Hyperion story in Endymion, a sprawling interplanetary adventure, set over two hundred years after the original. The way Simmons is able to blend the two narratives into a cohesive whole was certainly impressive. Although it didn't quite hit the unbelievably high standards set by the first duology it was a damn fine book nonetheless and a hard act for the final installment...The Rise of Endymion...to follow.

The Story

Quick recap...in Endymion I was introduced to Raul Endymion, a Hyperion native who is sent on a mission by Martin Silenus to save and protect Aenea, a six year old girl, from the Pax and overthrow them in the process. Turns out Aenea is all set to be the new Messiah so no surprise the ultra religious maniacs would want to put a swift end to her young life.

This installment picks up pretty much where Endymion left off, with Raul and Aenea recovering from that brutal attack from the Pax and making best use of their free time and learning a trade..
In this instance architecture. It's not long before Raul is sent on a perilous solo mission to retrieve the spaceship that they previously ditched on an unknown planet.

In the meantime a new pope has been elected. Actually the old pope has been resurrected and reinstated and he has a whole new direction for the Church in the all out destruction of the Ouster race. In the background there's a deal going on with the Technocore of artificial intelligence. But you know what they say about making deals with the devil.

It's not long before my personal favourite Captain de Soya is given a reprieve and put back in command of the pursuit of Aenea. But after the close of the last novel who knows where his loyalties lie. It all looks set for a scintillating climax.



The Writing

As an author Dan Simmons has a lot of strengths. He has a phenomenal imagination and is a real wordsmith, which go hand-in-hand in bringing this amazingly realised universe to life. He fleshes this out with history, culture and religion. The level of detail is astonishing. But that's where I had a few problems in this one.

Even if I'm a huge fan of an author I'll be brutally honest and there was a good section of Endymion where I was bored due to the insane amount of exposition. During the section where the group visit the Buddhist world of T'ien Shan Simmons treats us to a geography lesson that goes way over the top in every little aspect of the location, adding absolute zip to the plot. I don't care enough about what those mountains look like to spend a full chapter reading about them! And don't get me started on the endless amounts of character names he threw at me, who weren't remotely fleshed out. I started to feel bogged down as the narrative began to feel clunky.

Then there's the romance that takes place during this section. I'm not someone who looks for romance in a novel and it was starting to get fairly cringe worthy. Every scene involving Raul and Aenea ending with "and then they had sex again." Or something along those lines. Give me a break!

But then the author shifts back into some very well-crafted action sequences which he definitely excels at. Exciting, tense and well executed, they really did have me right on the edge of my toilet seat. Joking of course, I'm not a complete neanderthal. But certainly not joking about the quality of these scenes and Simmons is one of the best in the business when it comes to this. So it's certainly far from all negative and I'd say the positives definitely outweigh them.

"There are no ghosts, my love. Death is final. The soul is that ineffable combination of memory and personality which we carry through life...when life departs, the soul also does. Except for what we leave in the memory of those who loved us."

The Characters

I'm just going to come out and say it, the lead character of Raul Endymion is a lackluster choice for lead protagonist. Other than his undying love for Aenea, he really doesn't have a lot going on for him. He did come across as pedestrian for a large part of this novel and annoyingly stupid at others. This quote just about sums him up - "Raul Endymion was slow and thick-witted, usually the last to understand anything."

Aenea on the other hand was an interesting character, vibrant and full of energy and life and almost made up for the lack of character in her partner. But too much of her story was mapped out and there wasn't any deviation from it or even an attempt to. She is overly confident in how things will work out and this did kill a lot of interest for me as I could work out how things were going to end.

And there's a load of supporting characters, all from T'ien Shan, that start to blend together. Even if I'd been keeping notes I'd have been struggling to tell them apart. And then my favourite character from the last book Father De Soya takes more of a back seat in this one. He was overtaken in this one by Rhadamanth Nemes a badass assassin from the mysterious Technocore, who likes nothing better than tearing little messiahs to pieces. A frightening character who added maximum tension to every seen she was in.


Rhadamanth Nemes

And I can't finish without mentioning the Shrike. Still one of the greatest antagonists to ever appear in a story. Is he really an antagonist? Well you're going to find out. Again, every scene featuring this interdimensional killing machine is just dynamite.

Final Thoughts

Look, I know I've just come across as pretty negative on this book. But it's because I expect the best from this series. And out of its seven hundred pages about five hundred pages are really, really good. It's just that one particular section that went on for nearly two hundred bloody pages had me ready to rip the book up. Here you go Dan Simmons, I've edited it for you! But it doesn't prevent it from being a good read overall, even a very good one. Just not mind-blowingly brilliant like the last three.

The ending itself was gripping and tense, although did feel a bit rushed after that slog through Buddaworld. There I go being negative again. But I have finished the Hyperion Cantos and it was an amazing journey. Perhaps the best one I've ever experienced in book format or any other. I love this series! And if you took these four books as a whole they are an absolute epic masterpiece.

If you've finished the other three volumes you would be absolutely bonkers not to read this one as well and finish the saga. But just as a warning, if you haven't gathered by now, if you're thinking of kicking things off with this book it is certainly not a standalone and won't make much sense. So one hundred percent read the other ones, particularly the first as that's the pick of the bunch.

Let's get this straight, the world building and imagination in this book alone elevates it above most other books. Enough to earn it four stars. But I'm old fashioned in my tastes when it comes to a good story. I want great characters and I don't want to be bored reading it...at all! So a fours' all it's getting.

Always a shame to finish on a low but sometimes that's life for you sweethearts. And if I just look at the positives with this book and series overall then it puts a huge smile on my face. So do the right thing and read this series. Well at least the first two books.

And thanks for reading my review...cheers!