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adzy_b 's review for:
The Rise of Endymion
by Dan Simmons
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.