The Rise of Endymion - Dan Simmons

It's my final review of 2009! Fittingly, it is the last book of a series that I just finished reading on New Year's Eve! The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons closes out the Hyperion Cantos has a very satisfying end. I have to admit that this book was much harder to get through than the first three books of the series because it was much more descriptive and verbose than the previous three books. Simmons does write in intricate detail what things looked like and Raul's experiences while 'casting. It got a little bit tedious to read and I ended up putting the book down for about a month because I was tired of reading about Raul's adventures in the sky. Little did I know that if I had just pressed on for about another 20 pages, the book picked up the pace.

For all you fans of the first three books, you will understand the Void Which Binds, Aenea's purpose, farcasting/freecasting, the Technocore, and any other questions that may be lingering. I really felt that if you only wanted to read Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion that it was sufficient to just read those two. After reading The Rise of Endymion I feel like I have a better understanding of the inner workings of the Core and The Void Which Binds. It was a beautifully written book with characters that I cared a great deal about. In the limited time I have read science fiction, it is my favorite series. It was masterfully written despite the sometimes overly descriptive writing. I do feel like Simmons could have shortened the book by 100-200 pages and it would have been fantastic, but I am still quite satisfied with the book overall. I also liked that the end of the book was a true ending without any questions left over. I highly recommend it for any fans of science fiction or even those that like space opera films like Star Wars or Star Trek.

I am so excited to continue reviewing books and start my 2010 challenges! It has been so much fun to become a member of the book blogging community. I hope everyone has a great last night of 2009 and Happy New Year to you all!

+1 Vote up Vote down

Rome · 652 weeks ago

Great review. I only really pressed on because I loved the series so much. The ending really saved the book, otherwise I wouldve been pretty dissapointed overall.

1 reply · active 652 weeks ago

+2 Vote up Vote down

A Little Bookish 83p · 652 weeks ago

I felt the same way. When they were flying through the air (or possibly sliding down something...it's been awhile) for pages and pages, I got a little irritated. I think a good 100 pages could have been cut out of the book and it would have been really good. I still like the series overall and really enjoyed the book. I'm glad you pressed on! It was worth it for me.

Definetely could've been trimmed. The parts where he was talking about all the religions and geography on tien shan...terrible. The ending was very emotional though, and really got to me. Very bittersweet.

By the way, have you read the short story "orphans of the helix"? It's a short story followup, pretty good.

Also, Simmons just announced he's releasing 5 novellas as well:
http://forum.dansimmons.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads...

Yeah, I know, I was a bit obsessed for a couple days there after the ending of this book (which is how I found your review).

4 replies · active 651 weeks ago

Oh that's great! I definitely will check those out. It's been several years since I read the book. I haven't read any other Dan Simmons since and have been wanting to read more of his stuff.

I'm actually a little embarrassed of this review. It's one of my earlier reviews before I really knew how to write them. I'm still not that confident when I write reviews and rarely blog anymore!

What other sci-fi would you recommend? I need to give some more a try.

0 Vote up Vote down

I havent read any other Dan Simmons either. I've heard some pretty varying reviews, so I'm just not all that interested. His range is pretty impressive though: most of his books are not sci-fi.

The review was OK. Perhaps not as technically good as your later reviews, but I actually prefer reviews like this, where people state their personal reaction to the story rather than a point-by-point breakdown of the parts of the story.

I dont need much sci-fi...however I would highly recommend "Ender's Game" if you havent read it yet.

A Little Bookish 83p · 651 weeks ago

I love Ender's Game. Speaker for the Dead was even better. I'm wondering if I should try some Philip K. Dick or maybe give Iain M. Banks another try. I'd also like to read some Octavia Butler at some point. Have you read her before? If so, do you like her books?

Rome · 651 weeks ago

I havent read any PKD, though I've heard good things. I havent heard of the other authors, but they look really interesting. I'm pretty hesitant to jump into an author that writes long series without hearing that it's good. I tend to get attached to the characters and finish the series even if I dont enjoy it all that much, so I want to avoid that :)

I agree about Speaker for the Dead. Awesome book! I read the next two as well, which I thought were pretty crappy. Maybe someday I'll venture into the rest of the Ender series.

A Little Bookish

About Me

I'm a BD and IndieBound Affiliate

Where to Find Me

2013 Books

Grab My Button

Blog Archive

Thanks for visiting!