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kerry_handscomb 's review for:
The Rise of Endymion
by Dan Simmons
The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons, published in 1997, is last volume of The Hyperion Cantos tetrology. I have a love-hate relationship with the book.
Simmons offers many cultural and spiritual references—the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, Byron's poetry, Catholicism and the theology of Theilard de Chardin, various schools of Buddhism and their scriptures, and so on. I would usually enjoy these references, though I found Simmons discussion to be a bit shallow and perhaps at the level of Batman explaining to Robin. As with the earlier books in the series, The Rise of Endymion read to me like a comic-book story. Simmons is on stronger grounds with the way the whole series explains its coming into being within itself as the completion of The Hyperion Cantos: its self-referential nature is clever and interesting.
I felt the vicious destructiveness and corruption of the Pax was overdone. I prefer not to read about maiming, torture, and genocide. On the other hand, the humanity of some of the characters was appealing.
The story in this last volume is complex and sprawling. I suppose it does all come together in the end, but somehow it felt like two or three novels mashed together.
I liked the continued contrast in this novel between the Ouster philosophy and way of life and that of the Pax/Hegemony. The Ousters will spread and adapt to different circumstances, making alliances with different lifeforms; in contrast, the Pax/Hegemony does not adapt to new ways of being and destroys the non-human.
There is much to like and much to dislike about The Rise of Endymion and the series as a whole. However, I’ve read enough by Dan Simmons for now. Simmons is very good at what he does, but I prefer a different style of science fiction.
Simmons offers many cultural and spiritual references—the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, Byron's poetry, Catholicism and the theology of Theilard de Chardin, various schools of Buddhism and their scriptures, and so on. I would usually enjoy these references, though I found Simmons discussion to be a bit shallow and perhaps at the level of Batman explaining to Robin. As with the earlier books in the series, The Rise of Endymion read to me like a comic-book story. Simmons is on stronger grounds with the way the whole series explains its coming into being within itself as the completion of The Hyperion Cantos: its self-referential nature is clever and interesting.
I felt the vicious destructiveness and corruption of the Pax was overdone. I prefer not to read about maiming, torture, and genocide. On the other hand, the humanity of some of the characters was appealing.
The story in this last volume is complex and sprawling. I suppose it does all come together in the end, but somehow it felt like two or three novels mashed together.
I liked the continued contrast in this novel between the Ouster philosophy and way of life and that of the Pax/Hegemony. The Ousters will spread and adapt to different circumstances, making alliances with different lifeforms; in contrast, the Pax/Hegemony does not adapt to new ways of being and destroys the non-human.
There is much to like and much to dislike about The Rise of Endymion and the series as a whole. However, I’ve read enough by Dan Simmons for now. Simmons is very good at what he does, but I prefer a different style of science fiction.