posted
So I read Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, and Endymion (by Dan Simmons) in quick succession last semester. Unfortunately, the library didn't have The Rise of Endymion, so I went ahead and read Ilium (no Olympos either). Well. A friend of mine lent me The Rise of Endymion Thursday and I read it yesterday and ... Wow.
First off, let me say that Dan Simmons is brilliant. I loved Ilium, and of course the Hyperion series. But The Rise of Endymion simply blew my socks off. That book took me through such a roller coaster ride of emotions, and it did it in a masterful way. I was sure I was going to be disappointed with the end, but I ended up loving it.
Ok, I'll stop dancing around the spoilers. I was so happy when Raul and Aenea finally got together, and then when she said she was married in those missing 2 years, it was like a punch in the stomach. I hated it, but also loved the way it was done. It felt real, not staged or heavy. I guess I identify with Raul quite a bit, and his reaction really struck a chord. I had a feeling that it would work out alright, and I think if I had stopped reading and thought about it I could have figured it out, but I also have read enough books which throw in painful emotional things just to jerk you around that I didn't trust my hope that it would end good. So that made it all that much sweeter when it did end up alright. Not only alright, but wonderfully alright.
I also liked the introduction of the characters from the Hyperion half of the series, and the role they played. They weren't a focus, but they weren't minimalized either. I liked Kassads question about the Shrike being based off of him. Also sort of rough emotionally. I always liked Kassad.
I thought the time travel aspect was well done too. It wasn't too confusing or loopy. I felt like I could accept it without too much intellectual quandaries.
And finally ... the whole Void Which Binds thing was cool. Just cool. I sort of felt like it was the same thing OSC used in the latter half of the Ender series, but, if I do say so myself, Simmons did it much better (sorry OSC!). I felt like I understood this Void Which Binds and how it was able to be used, and I didn't have a problem with it. I didn't feel like it was cheating. I think it was done subtly enough that it wasn't an in-your-face, now I can travel instantaneously and commune with the dead, look at me woohoo type deal. Aenea's explanations helped that quite a bit.
So, yes, I'm pretty stoked. That was an amazing book. It wasn't perfect. I thought he went a bit too much into descriptions I didn't need at times, and a few rare times Raul was a real idiot that I felt like I couldn't identify with, but ... dang it took me on a wild ride and I loved it. I think ... thought I hesitate to say it here ... this series is now my favorite sci-fi series. I need to reread Enders Game and The Worthing Saga (my current two favorite sci-fi books), but The Rise of Endymion might just manage to usurp their places. I haven't felt this good after reading a book in a long time. Well, I can't ever remember feeling this good. I just loved it.
Ok, I'll stop gushing now. Did anyone else love the series and especially the last book the way I did? Anyone hate it? Anyone have any recommendations based on what I've said I liked in here?
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I thought "Hyperion" and "Fall of Hyperion" rocked about as much as any series ever. "Endymion" and "Rise of Endymion" weren't quite so great as the 1st two, IMO.
Posts: 3354 | Registered: May 2005
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Simmons is one of my favorite authors too. I've really enjoyed everything I've read of his. He manages to write books which are very complex and deep, without getting bogged down or boring.
Posts: 3950 | Registered: Mar 2006
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Oh dear. Read it. Read the whole series. Just stick through it. I didn't enjoy the ending of the first either, but the ending of the second one makes up for it (IMO), and then ... well, I've already given my opinion of Rise of Endymion.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I really enjoyed the four Hyperion novels. My only real problem with them is:
*MINOR SPOILERS*
how the last 2 novels often re-wrote things from the first 2, and it would just be explained by Aenea saying, "that's just what Uncle Martin thought was true when he wrote the cantos, but actually..." It seemed like some lazy retconning by Simmons.
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