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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
This was a stellar finish to an epic series. Fantastic!
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-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
Like I did for Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion earlier this month, I’ll do one consolidated review here for Endymion and The Rise of Endymion:
Endymion = 4 stars
The Rise of Endymion = 3 ½ stars (I’ll round up)
Let me be clear: I enjoyed these two books, and I’d rank the entirety of Dan Simmons’ Hyperion Cantos among my favorite science fiction series read.
But…
Neither of these two books reach the heights of the first two. Rise, in particular, suffered from some serious momentum death by exposition. Truly, short of the halfway mark, there’s an exchange that I—the reader—reacted to in a very uncharacteristic way:
There are some great ideas in these books. The scope of the series is epic. The action sequences continue to be top notch (the Raul vs. Rhadamanth Nemes was damn good).
But unlike Hyperion, which so effectively channeled The Canterbury Tales as a narrative device, I had some real issues with the storytelling in Rise. With each book in the series, I found it easier (even necessary) to put it down and take a break.
I’m definitely a big Dan Simmons fan. I had previously rated The Terror and Carrion Comfort as five-star reads. That’s four 5-star, one 4-star, and one 3-star ratings.
Endymion = 4 stars
The Rise of Endymion = 3 ½ stars (I’ll round up)
Let me be clear: I enjoyed these two books, and I’d rank the entirety of Dan Simmons’ Hyperion Cantos among my favorite science fiction series read.
But…
Neither of these two books reach the heights of the first two. Rise, in particular, suffered from some serious momentum death by exposition. Truly, short of the halfway mark, there’s an exchange that I—the reader—reacted to in a very uncharacteristic way:
(p. 320) “I’ll explain later,” said Aenea. Before her tale was done, this phrase would be used more than a few times."
Me: “OR… you know… don’t.”
There are some great ideas in these books. The scope of the series is epic. The action sequences continue to be top notch (the Raul vs. Rhadamanth Nemes was damn good).
But unlike Hyperion, which so effectively channeled The Canterbury Tales as a narrative device, I had some real issues with the storytelling in Rise. With each book in the series, I found it easier (even necessary) to put it down and take a break.
I’m definitely a big Dan Simmons fan. I had previously rated The Terror and Carrion Comfort as five-star reads. That’s four 5-star, one 4-star, and one 3-star ratings.
After reading Endymion I wavered as to whether to back it up with the concluding the series. On the one hand, so many other books to read! On the other hand, getting a conclusion (again)! On the gripping hand, I knew I had Issues with this book when I first read it, and I was worried...
Anyway, I did it. In fact, I stayed up rather late last night to finish it, because I really, really wanted to get to the end again.
Spoilers ahead for the first three books. Actually, spoilers for this book, too. What the hell.
Endymion concludes with Aenea, Raul and A. Bettik on Earth - somewhat miraculously - with Aenea giving mysterious hints about her and Raul's futures, and Raul being all confused (again). This final volume of the Cantos finally clears up most of the mysteries that have plagued it, especially about who Aenea is and what she's meant to be and do. Raul does some travelling alone, which is mostly filled with terror; he reunites with Aenea and has some non-terror time; then they travel together again, with bonus terror. Also, you know, the finally being adults together in the same place and time *waggles eyebrows*.
I do love this book. I do. But I have more problems with this volume than with any of the others.
1. It's bloated. There are some sections with extensive lists that really could, and should have been cut down. Also, gratuitous descriptions that could have been pared.
2. Sex scenes that are... well. They're not quite Bad Sex Awards prize-worthy, but they're not great.
I do not have a problem with the multiple conclusions. It makes sense, actually, since Raul has been writing a memoir and then we, the reader, finally catch up with his life and get to experience what comes next alongside him. That feels ok.
I think my big annoyance last time I read this was the time-travel aspect right at the end. This time, partly because I knew it was coming, it didn't trouble me. It does seem like a little bit of a cop-out, but it's neat and it works ok. And it's not like it completely changes things - Aenea is still dead, they all still have to carry on.
So. Overall, I do think this is one of my best-beloved SF series. Simmons creates great and believable characters, he does masterful world-building, he does clever things interrogating how humanity might interact with AI (which here really stands for Autonomous Intelligence, which I like) and how they might use androids and story-telling. He melds the evil of humanity (have I mentioned this is not an Alisa book? THIS IS NOT AN ALISA BOOK) with the glory and wonderful potential of humanity. It was worth re-reading.
Anyway, I did it. In fact, I stayed up rather late last night to finish it, because I really, really wanted to get to the end again.
Spoilers ahead for the first three books. Actually, spoilers for this book, too. What the hell.
Endymion concludes with Aenea, Raul and A. Bettik on Earth - somewhat miraculously - with Aenea giving mysterious hints about her and Raul's futures, and Raul being all confused (again). This final volume of the Cantos finally clears up most of the mysteries that have plagued it, especially about who Aenea is and what she's meant to be and do. Raul does some travelling alone, which is mostly filled with terror; he reunites with Aenea and has some non-terror time; then they travel together again, with bonus terror. Also, you know, the finally being adults together in the same place and time *waggles eyebrows*.
I do love this book. I do. But I have more problems with this volume than with any of the others.
1. It's bloated. There are some sections with extensive lists that really could, and should have been cut down. Also, gratuitous descriptions that could have been pared.
2. Sex scenes that are... well. They're not quite Bad Sex Awards prize-worthy, but they're not great.
Spoiler
3. The whole idea of using Aenea's blood as some sort of communion thing... made me very uncomfortable. Perhaps it's that I'm Christian and I'm offended/annoyed by the appropriation. Perhaps it's that the suggestion of her being a virus had been an aspect of the Pax/TechnoCore's propaganda that seemed just that, so to have it accepted and perpetuated by Aenea herself was jarring. Also, surely there are other ways of sharing nano machines? And if it has to be via blood, does it have to be in this parody of an important and immensely symbolic ritual, when Aenea herself keeps on insisting that she is no messiah, let alone a god?I do not have a problem with the multiple conclusions. It makes sense, actually, since Raul has been writing a memoir and then we, the reader, finally catch up with his life and get to experience what comes next alongside him. That feels ok.
Spoiler
I have no problem with Aenea dying. It was sad, for sure, and I don't doubt others have had legitimate problems with it and its outcomes: perhaps that it seems a way of redeeming the men via a woman's sacrifice, or that it was pointless - and they wouldn't be wrong, I just don't have the same reaction. I guess I can accept the idea of a willing sacrifice, especially when it has the (admittedly perhaps overblown) consequences that it does here.I think my big annoyance last time I read this was the time-travel aspect right at the end. This time, partly because I knew it was coming, it didn't trouble me. It does seem like a little bit of a cop-out, but it's neat and it works ok. And it's not like it completely changes things - Aenea is still dead, they all still have to carry on.
So. Overall, I do think this is one of my best-beloved SF series. Simmons creates great and believable characters, he does masterful world-building, he does clever things interrogating how humanity might interact with AI (which here really stands for Autonomous Intelligence, which I like) and how they might use androids and story-telling. He melds the evil of humanity (have I mentioned this is not an Alisa book? THIS IS NOT AN ALISA BOOK) with the glory and wonderful potential of humanity. It was worth re-reading.
slow-paced
Great series, but this last book feels a little drawn out.
As in the other books in this series, this story is unbelievably imaginative. This book in particular often managed to make long sections of philosophical musing engaging.
I do think the first act groaned on a bit, dwelling overlong on the scheming Pax characters I never found very interesting and couldn’t keep straight. I also thought, for all the unique mysticism in this series, the Nemes baddies were disappointingly one-dimensional, like villains out of a Marvel movie or something. It’s hard to square having an antagonist in this universe as compelling as the Shrike alongside these overpowered TechnoCore warriors that trash talk while they fight.
I was also distracted by the improbable number of references to 20th century western thought, as if nothing else of interest happened in the intervening millenium (or prior to). This is a recurring issue I had with this series.
I felt myself rolling my eyes at Raul a lot. He can be petulant and melodramatic, shaking his fist at the sky cuttlefish, getting upset the instant he doesn’t understand something. His defeat of the Nemes creature in a bare-knuckles fight was pretty unbelievable. And I never quite understand the chemistry between him and Aenea or what she sees in him (I felt the same way about the relationship between the god-adjacent Keats cybrid and the occasionally insufferable character Brawne Lamia).
Speaking of improbable relationships, the alliance between the Core and the Pax went on longer than seemed to make sense, the Core seeming to cow to the Pax at times (I.e. allowing Aenea to escape because one priest didn’t want to be attacked by the shrike on Tien-Shan) despite being overwhelmingly more powerful. The motivations of the Core were generally fuzzy to me; they are very selectively ruthless. They seemed to have no problem wiping out entire planets from space yet when Aenea, an existential threat to them, gets trapped on a planet that they have surrounded, they don’t even seem to consider doing so.
A few other plot issues: the cruciforms suddenly seem much less powerful in these last books of the series, unable to resurrect people unless someone is in a creche under ideal conditions, it seems. Yet the cruciform in Hyperion stayed glued to Duré while he was nailed to a Tesla tree for years?
Raul spent a few chapters in pain because he had kidney stones, which just seems like an oddly prosaic problem for a character in this universe…?
Ok, all that criticism aside, this story is a fitting conclusion to the Hyperion Cantos and its last act ties up so many questions and character arcs in a really lovely way (while still leaving room for some mystery surrounding the Lions and Tigers and Bears, the Shrike, and Rachel). The ending is bittersweet and heartfelt in a similar way as the ending of Fall of Hyperion. And the overall arc of the books, as well as the philosophizing of the characters, has something really interesting to say about multiculturalism and the tenacious directionality of evolution towards more life. I’m willing to forgive my plot and character quibbles because of just how delicately rendered this narrative universe is, and its sheer imagination.
I do think the first act groaned on a bit, dwelling overlong on the scheming Pax characters I never found very interesting and couldn’t keep straight. I also thought, for all the unique mysticism in this series, the Nemes baddies were disappointingly one-dimensional, like villains out of a Marvel movie or something. It’s hard to square having an antagonist in this universe as compelling as the Shrike alongside these overpowered TechnoCore warriors that trash talk while they fight.
I was also distracted by the improbable number of references to 20th century western thought, as if nothing else of interest happened in the intervening millenium (or prior to). This is a recurring issue I had with this series.
I felt myself rolling my eyes at Raul a lot. He can be petulant and melodramatic, shaking his fist at the sky cuttlefish, getting upset the instant he doesn’t understand something. His defeat of the Nemes creature in a bare-knuckles fight was pretty unbelievable. And I never quite understand the chemistry between him and Aenea or what she sees in him (I felt the same way about the relationship between the god-adjacent Keats cybrid and the occasionally insufferable character Brawne Lamia).
Speaking of improbable relationships, the alliance between the Core and the Pax went on longer than seemed to make sense, the Core seeming to cow to the Pax at times (I.e. allowing Aenea to escape because one priest didn’t want to be attacked by the shrike on Tien-Shan) despite being overwhelmingly more powerful. The motivations of the Core were generally fuzzy to me; they are very selectively ruthless. They seemed to have no problem wiping out entire planets from space yet when Aenea, an existential threat to them, gets trapped on a planet that they have surrounded, they don’t even seem to consider doing so.
A few other plot issues: the cruciforms suddenly seem much less powerful in these last books of the series, unable to resurrect people unless someone is in a creche under ideal conditions, it seems. Yet the cruciform in Hyperion stayed glued to Duré while he was nailed to a Tesla tree for years?
Raul spent a few chapters in pain because he had kidney stones, which just seems like an oddly prosaic problem for a character in this universe…?
Ok, all that criticism aside, this story is a fitting conclusion to the Hyperion Cantos and its last act ties up so many questions and character arcs in a really lovely way (while still leaving room for some mystery surrounding the Lions and Tigers and Bears, the Shrike, and Rachel). The ending is bittersweet and heartfelt in a similar way as the ending of Fall of Hyperion. And the overall arc of the books, as well as the philosophizing of the characters, has something really interesting to say about multiculturalism and the tenacious directionality of evolution towards more life. I’m willing to forgive my plot and character quibbles because of just how delicately rendered this narrative universe is, and its sheer imagination.
When he wrote the first book he didn't really have this ending in mind. The author struggles a lot to say that what I said was not true. Almost gave it 3 stars but gave it a 4 for the whole series
Meh..
I would give this three stars for the Ousters interactions but I really disliked the characters in this book. Compared to the other three books this is a weak ending that didn’t feel wholly necessary.
I would give this three stars for the Ousters interactions but I really disliked the characters in this book. Compared to the other three books this is a weak ending that didn’t feel wholly necessary.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No