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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
This book was one heck of a slog. I adored Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, but found the Endymion books a challenge to get through.
Dan Simmons clearly loves the universe so much that he wanted to pack in as many details as possible, but the book is worse for that. It reminded me of the bloated prose in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but if Tolkien was even more sentimental about the characters.
Dan Simmons clearly loves the universe so much that he wanted to pack in as many details as possible, but the book is worse for that. It reminded me of the bloated prose in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but if Tolkien was even more sentimental about the characters.
At one stage, I pondered giving this 3 stars – the heroine gets a bit preachy at points, for pages and pages on end. At another stage, thought over a 5 star rating, just for the way Simmons draws together so many of the threads from all four Hyperion books into a satisfying conclusion. In the end, I went with 4 stars, and here's why:
This was very mature storytelling. You can't help but wonder, as you read, if Simmons will lose his grip on the immense gravity of the universe he has created, its dozens of plot strands, its weighty themes. Yet he never does. Sure, some developments are predictable. That's true of most books. Other developments, though, are seeds planted early in 'Endymion' that come to fruition in interesting ways.
The author (as I've noted in previous 'Hyperion' series reviews) has a gift for language and vivid description. He takes it too far sometimes, and scenes which don't need to drag on do as a result. That costs the book a star. That, and the reappearance of various legacy characters, which despite the 'nice-to-see-you-again' vibes, comes off as a ham-fisted manoeuvre. But if you've enjoyed the three previous 'Hyperion' books, you won't let that one less star get you down.
This was very mature storytelling. You can't help but wonder, as you read, if Simmons will lose his grip on the immense gravity of the universe he has created, its dozens of plot strands, its weighty themes. Yet he never does. Sure, some developments are predictable. That's true of most books. Other developments, though, are seeds planted early in 'Endymion' that come to fruition in interesting ways.
The author (as I've noted in previous 'Hyperion' series reviews) has a gift for language and vivid description. He takes it too far sometimes, and scenes which don't need to drag on do as a result. That costs the book a star. That, and the reappearance of various legacy characters, which despite the 'nice-to-see-you-again' vibes, comes off as a ham-fisted manoeuvre. But if you've enjoyed the three previous 'Hyperion' books, you won't let that one less star get you down.
It's rare to have a sci-fi series with as much literary depth as the Hyperon Cantos. Books 1 &2 set the stage, but the payoff comes in books 3-4 with the epic travels of some unlikely (and sometimes unwilling) heroes. Read the series while backpacking around Mt. Rainier... was glad to have so much uninterrupted time to read, as I devoured all four books. No spoilers in this review, just know this isn't a quick light read.
Not as good as Hyperion, but a satisfying conclusion to the series.
DNF. Lost me at the description of every single mountain on a particular planet, which was when I realized how little had happened in the last 1.5 novels of this series.
Quite enjoyed this conclusion. Somewhat predictable at the very end, but still good.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love this series for the concepts it explores, and I find a lot of the big messages to be especially relevant and interesting in a world/time where “AI” is the biggest buzzword and is a strong focus of the next iteration of technology development. I also find the imagined reality of something beyond our current understanding providing a new basis for a society to be truly fascinating and inspiring.
The writing itself in this book was slow and at times challenging., with large swaths of explanatory text or dialogue and pseudo-“techno babble” to use a term from the Star Trek fanbase. This book also took a somewhat intense approach with some of the actual content (graphical, brutal) but it was OK for me.
Ultimately the series was capped off well with this installment, and the adventure that started in the prior book with the new characters had a satisfying ending. Even characters from the first duology got nice reprisals here.
Love the series and am going to miss it.
The writing itself in this book was slow and at times challenging., with large swaths of explanatory text or dialogue and pseudo-“techno babble” to use a term from the Star Trek fanbase. This book also took a somewhat intense approach with some of the actual content (graphical, brutal) but it was OK for me.
Ultimately the series was capped off well with this installment, and the adventure that started in the prior book with the new characters had a satisfying ending. Even characters from the first duology got nice reprisals here.
Love the series and am going to miss it.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Based on the reviews, I thought that this book might not be great, but I at least expected it to be on par with book 3, Endymion. Unfortunately, it is far worse than that.
I would say what the plot of this book is, but I'm not completely sure. I know that ultimately it's about Aenea's journey as messiah to break the shackles of the Pax and their almost weaponization of the Cruciform. That's the gist of it. However, there are so many side quests that are done for seemingly no other reason than to try to expand the universe for the reader. They serve no actual purpose to the plot.
Speaking of no purpose to the plot, there are surprise reveals for some of the characters that mean absolutely nothing. It feels like they were put in just for shock value, and that's it. I didn't feel anything for them, and they didn't feel earned at all.
For the characters, once again the best character in the series is just a bit part, and that's Captain de Soya. He (and the Shrike) has easily been the most complex and relatable character, but he hardly shows up. Instead, the main focus is of course Raul and Aenea and their relationship. It's been said several times before how creepy their romance is, and I completely agree. It's bad enough that he started as her protector when she was 12, and now they are lovers. What makes it so much worse is he constantly calls her "kiddo" and refers to her as "my friend" interchangeably with "my love." To top it all off, he says one of the creepiest things I've ever read in a book:
"I could not stop looking at her face, her eyes. I was afraid that if I touched her bare skin again, visible voltage would leap between us. I remembered that electric shock whenever we had touched when she was a kid." WTF is this?!?! No. Just no.
This series gave me similar feelings to the Acts of Caine series. Much like Heroes Die, the first two books of Hyperion Cantos are some of the best sci-fi I've ever read. But, much like Acts of Caine, the fourth and final book absolutely jumps the shark and is a complete mess. If I was to recommend this to anyone, I would say to stop after the second book. It's a complete story after that, and while the third book isn't bad, it's not worth reading when the conclusion is this.
I would say what the plot of this book is, but I'm not completely sure. I know that ultimately it's about Aenea's journey as messiah to break the shackles of the Pax and their almost weaponization of the Cruciform. That's the gist of it. However, there are so many side quests that are done for seemingly no other reason than to try to expand the universe for the reader. They serve no actual purpose to the plot.
Speaking of no purpose to the plot, there are surprise reveals for some of the characters that mean absolutely nothing. It feels like they were put in just for shock value, and that's it. I didn't feel anything for them, and they didn't feel earned at all.
For the characters, once again the best character in the series is just a bit part, and that's Captain de Soya. He (and the Shrike) has easily been the most complex and relatable character, but he hardly shows up. Instead, the main focus is of course Raul and Aenea and their relationship. It's been said several times before how creepy their romance is, and I completely agree. It's bad enough that he started as her protector when she was 12, and now they are lovers. What makes it so much worse is he constantly calls her "kiddo" and refers to her as "my friend" interchangeably with "my love." To top it all off, he says one of the creepiest things I've ever read in a book:
"I could not stop looking at her face, her eyes. I was afraid that if I touched her bare skin again, visible voltage would leap between us. I remembered that electric shock whenever we had touched when she was a kid." WTF is this?!?! No. Just no.
This series gave me similar feelings to the Acts of Caine series. Much like Heroes Die, the first two books of Hyperion Cantos are some of the best sci-fi I've ever read. But, much like Acts of Caine, the fourth and final book absolutely jumps the shark and is a complete mess. If I was to recommend this to anyone, I would say to stop after the second book. It's a complete story after that, and while the third book isn't bad, it's not worth reading when the conclusion is this.
Wow! This was a great finish to the Hyperion Cantos series. I had no idea what was going to happen until the end. There were some slow parts that took a bit of effort to get through, but it's worth it. I still am not a big fan of Raul...I really wanted to like him, but he is such a petulant, somewhat stupid character. Sometimes it took him too long to figure something out, which was frustrating for me, as I had often guessed what would happen or had better guesses than he had. Which is why he's a character I still kind of don't care for. However, this was great and I loved reading this series!
This was a stellar finish to an epic series. Fantastic!