Rise of Endymion

Wow. Rise of Endymion is not a great conclusion to the series, although we enjoyed its rather literal title. After reading the entirety of the series, it becomes quite clear that the first book was really the only great work, combining different genres and ideas in a novel that never quite received a great sequel. The Fall of Hyperion is not a bad novel, but one can see how its flaws were inherited by Rise of Endymion. But Rise of Endymion takes the worst elements of that previous novel, such as the overwrought plot, and adds even more unnecessary length and plot developments that ruin the greater mysteries (such as the Shrike). 

Rise of Endymion quickly becomes a chore to read, introducing some characters of potential interest to drop them from the narrative while expanding into some excessive and unnecessary escapades or episodes of Raul traveling via the Void Which Binds to help Aenea spread the "communion" which will finally topple the power of the Church (Pax Empire). Don't get us wrong, we enjoyed certain chapters of the novel, and appreciate the attempt at trying to wrap up a series juggling multiple concepts drawing from Keats, Muir, religion, and how humanity can evolve across the galaxy. We even appreciated Albedo and some aspects of the explanation for the origin of the Core and the Ousters (finally, we learn more about the latter). Yet, the Shrike's character and the recycling of various characters from the original Hyperion Shrike Pilgrimage did not quite work for us. 

But one applauds Simmons for not pursuing the obvious type of space opera with long chapters of epic space battles between the Pax's Gideon-Drive archangels and the Ousters. The series has always demanded more of its readers, although working on multiple levels for those who know nothing of Keats, Teilhard de Chardin, Muir, Church history, AI, or the science fiction canon which inspired the galactic civilization of Hyperion. Unfortunately, some of the decisions made by the author weaken in this overly complex plot and the new characters are simply not as captivating as those in the first two novels. With the literary conceits of the first novel and its genre-bending, the reader could lose oneself in the various genres and homages of the author. Rise of Endymion is the direct sequel to Endymion, and Books 3 and 4 are rather conventional. At least Book 3 was not needlessly long and worked as a more cohesive narrative. Thus, the Cantos makes for a very uneven series. One is probably better off only reading the first two novels. Like Asimov's later Foundation works, the additions do not bring much to the table while failing to develop more interesting threads.