You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
A satisfying end to the epic serie, with a fun surprise at the end.
This is one of those series of books that draws you in hard and right with the narration, story, intriguing and characters. The author did a superb job investing time and energy and emotion and life into the whole story. Easily one of the best fictions I've ever read.
A more or less satisfying end to a ridiculously convoluted and complicated series. Most of the loose ends got tied up, which astounds me, because there were a lot of them.
man this was a journey. i’ll try to split this between my thoughts on just book 4 and on the series overall.
just book 4: this i think was better than endymion. especially once you get to the last third. the first half was just a continuation of raul putting himself in pain travelling through farcasters + catholic inner turmoil on de soya’s end. but the last third was so much more reminiscent of the first two books. such beautiful insightful world building and themes and etc. as much as i dislike raul as a protagonist and as much as i felt upset in principle by his relationship with aenea, i do have to admit certain aspects did make a beautiful story. a. bettik was the best character in these latter two books and it really sucks that we only would get him in raul’s point of view. raul’s pov is endlessly frustrating because he’s just so dense and self-centered. anyway. it’s really hard to write this review of such a long and detailed book without thinking for hours about it but i just wanna get this review down hahaha.
series overall: i do still think this is one of the best series I’ve ever read. i recommend without reservation the first two books, and with reservation the last two. the clean divide makes it easy to just read the first two and not continue on, but in the end, i do think it was worth it to continue on. i don’t think the ending is the most satisfying in terms of questions answered or things explained about the world, but i do find myself very satisfied to have read it and not have more to read. this series was my second full-blown non-YA sci fi series, and I started it at a very dark time in my life, and i think it’ll always be very special to me. i’ll probably add onto this review later but if you take nothing else away, READ HYPERION AND THE FALL OF HYPERION and if you really enjoyed that and have some patience, read endymion and the rise of endymion as well.
EDIT: i gotta give this 3 stars not 4 actually because it still doesn’t compare to book 2, which got 4 stars. just thinking of all those long-winded setting descriptions that i skimmed through…man. also aenea could’ve been such a better character. it’s such a shame because so much of what made books 1 and 2 great were the unique, diverse set of characters. but in 3 and 4, we are so limited by the POVs of raul and even de soya. i just dgaf about raul’s inner life. and de soya was okay but it got repetitive.
EDIT again: im actually pretty torn. i am glad i finished the series just because i have an incessant need to see things to a conclusion, but i can’t deny that reviews saying that the last two books really take away from the wonder of the first two are also right. this isn’t just a fan simmons problem. this is a larger issue in sci fi and fantasy in general. authors use every ounce of their creativity to come up with these vibrant characters and worlds but lack the time, skill, or effort to follow through and create satisfying answers to the previous questions. and so i do think oftentimes less is more, some things are better left unsaid. i don’t know if book 3 and 4 “ruined” 1 and 2 for me, but i think they do take away from the beautiful “unknowable” element, which is honestly what attracted me to the series and made me love it so much in the first place. more as my thoughts develop…
just book 4: this i think was better than endymion. especially once you get to the last third. the first half was just a continuation of raul putting himself in pain travelling through farcasters + catholic inner turmoil on de soya’s end. but the last third was so much more reminiscent of the first two books. such beautiful insightful world building and themes and etc. as much as i dislike raul as a protagonist and as much as i felt upset in principle by his relationship with aenea, i do have to admit certain aspects did make a beautiful story. a. bettik was the best character in these latter two books and it really sucks that we only would get him in raul’s point of view. raul’s pov is endlessly frustrating because he’s just so dense and self-centered. anyway. it’s really hard to write this review of such a long and detailed book without thinking for hours about it but i just wanna get this review down hahaha.
series overall: i do still think this is one of the best series I’ve ever read. i recommend without reservation the first two books, and with reservation the last two. the clean divide makes it easy to just read the first two and not continue on, but in the end, i do think it was worth it to continue on. i don’t think the ending is the most satisfying in terms of questions answered or things explained about the world, but i do find myself very satisfied to have read it and not have more to read. this series was my second full-blown non-YA sci fi series, and I started it at a very dark time in my life, and i think it’ll always be very special to me. i’ll probably add onto this review later but if you take nothing else away, READ HYPERION AND THE FALL OF HYPERION and if you really enjoyed that and have some patience, read endymion and the rise of endymion as well.
EDIT: i gotta give this 3 stars not 4 actually because it still doesn’t compare to book 2, which got 4 stars. just thinking of all those long-winded setting descriptions that i skimmed through…man. also aenea could’ve been such a better character. it’s such a shame because so much of what made books 1 and 2 great were the unique, diverse set of characters. but in 3 and 4, we are so limited by the POVs of raul and even de soya. i just dgaf about raul’s inner life. and de soya was okay but it got repetitive.
EDIT again: im actually pretty torn. i am glad i finished the series just because i have an incessant need to see things to a conclusion, but i can’t deny that reviews saying that the last two books really take away from the wonder of the first two are also right. this isn’t just a fan simmons problem. this is a larger issue in sci fi and fantasy in general. authors use every ounce of their creativity to come up with these vibrant characters and worlds but lack the time, skill, or effort to follow through and create satisfying answers to the previous questions. and so i do think oftentimes less is more, some things are better left unsaid. i don’t know if book 3 and 4 “ruined” 1 and 2 for me, but i think they do take away from the beautiful “unknowable” element, which is honestly what attracted me to the series and made me love it so much in the first place. more as my thoughts develop…
adventurous
challenging
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Skimmed book. Book three was a slog and book 4 was longer. Bad case of worldbuilder's syndrome and deeply problematic romantic relationship.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Genocide, Violence, War
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
There are really (!) boring parts in this book. The closure to all the open questions make it absolutely worth the read. Overall it's a great read and I'm really glad they finished the series like this. I'm torn between a 3 and 4 star rating. I found some of the 'mystery to be explained later' story mechanics especially irritating in this part of the Cantos.
Honestly, don't waste your time. The adventure aspects of the book aren't too bad. The story just keeps growing and expanding until it's over the top ridiculous. The characters insist that they are non spiritual then proceed to have god powers. It was a very long and utterly disappointing end to the Hyperion universe. I recommend you just read Hyperion and end there.
Finally, I have to say that Dan Simmons creeps me out with this book. I was really hoping my fears were unfounded but unfortunately it turned into everything I feared. He writes in a child being groomed by the hero and then has them married by the end of it. He adds in all sorts of justifications and twists the story to make it "ok" but it is all just gross. Raul even goes so far as to call her "kiddo" throughout the book, even after she's an adult and their relationship becomes sexual, showing that the character continues to think of her as the child he saved. No excuse for this pedo writing. Yuck.
Finally, I have to say that Dan Simmons creeps me out with this book. I was really hoping my fears were unfounded but unfortunately it turned into everything I feared. He writes in a child being groomed by the hero and then has them married by the end of it. He adds in all sorts of justifications and twists the story to make it "ok" but it is all just gross. Raul even goes so far as to call her "kiddo" throughout the book, even after she's an adult and their relationship becomes sexual, showing that the character continues to think of her as the child he saved. No excuse for this pedo writing. Yuck.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes