Endymion

Endymion takes place 274 years after The Fall of Hyperion and yet Martin Silenus is still alive, thanks to life extension treatments called Poulsens. In truth, I was kind of glad to see the old bastard. As soon as the nameless character started using profanity I knew the old poet was back! But, let me start from the beginning. Raul Endymion is the first character we meet in Endymion. He is a hunting guide framed for, and convicted of, the murder of a wealthy client. After a ridiculous trial he is ultimately sentenced (read: framed) to die. Only he does not die. He has been "saved" from execution in order to do Martin Silenus a favor. Well, more than a few favors:

1. Save this one child, Aenea, from the Swiss Guard and the Pax


2. Keep Aenea

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1. safe until she becomes old enough to be The One Who Teaches


2. Find Earth and bring it back (back from where, I don't know)


3. Stop the TechnoCore from its activities


4. Convince the Ousters to give Martin real immortality and not this life support crap


5. Destroy the Pax and put an end to the Church's power


6. Stop the Shrike...ah, the Shrike is back!

At the same time Raul is attempting to complete his honeydew list, the resurrection of Father Captain de Soya is also playing out. His story isn't half as interesting as Raul's, but he's also after the future One Who Teaches so their stories run parallel to one another and intersect from time to time. A real cat and mouse thriller, only it's hard to determine who is the real mouse and who is the cat. And, if I thought all the dying and resurrection in Fall of Hyperion was crazy, that's nothing compared to how many times Father Captain de Soya is "reborn." Don't worry. You get used to it. show less

Many fans of Dan Simmons's Hyperion series were not enamored of this more separate entity within the saga. It does not detract, however, from what a fun thrill-ride this book truly is. You need not have read the first two books to enjoy this one, and in fact, it might be better if you haven't. Simmons incorporated the more fun elements of the previous books, weaving them into this grand and tremendously entertaining adventure of science fiction. The Worldweb and the mysterious Shrike creature add excitement to an already great story.

Almost 300 years have passed since The Fall, and Earth apparently, but not conclusively, no longer exists. The Worldweb and the Shrike creature are around, yet the only thing standing between complete show more control of everything by the military arm of the Catholic Church, PAX, is an 11 year old girl named Aenea, and Raul Endymion. Aenea is the future leader of all, and Raul Endymion has been chosen to keep her from harm. Using Farcaster portals as gateways to other worlds, in order to elude their somewhat reluctant pursuer, Father DeSoya, they find an ally in A. Bettik, a blue android.

The chase is exciting, moving at breakneck speed. The mysterious and deadly Shrike creature adds an unknown element for the three. The questions pondered and ruminated on are thought-provoking, engaging the mind of the reader as their heart enjoys the adventure, the outcome of which is constantly in doubt. As the connection between Raul and Aenea grows stronger, so does the reader's need to know that outcome. Doom for all mankind looms like a dark storm over everything in this grand adventure tale. It is a book easy to get lost in, a breathtaking tale of a fantastical future that can only be found in books.

You read something like this slowly, savoring it, because you know it is part of a series and, therefor, probably without a conclusive ending. Whether a science fiction reader or not, if you enjoy getting lost in another world, this is a good book for you. Sort of a stand-alone book within the series, it is just flat fun to read, and highly recommended. show less

It must be 25 years or so since I read Simmons' 'Hyperion' novels, and this is a sequel which has languished on my shelves for far too long. I was a little intimidated by the passage of time and was concerned that my memory of the first two novels would be insufficient to see me through this novel. I needn't have worried: although things would have been better if I'd not long read 'Hyperion'/'The Fall of Hyperion', Simmons painlessly fills in the details the returning reader needs. In this, he is helped by setting this story nearly 300 years after the action of the first two books.

The Time Tombs on Hyperion have opened again, and Aenea, daughter of two of the characters from the first books, has emerged. And so has the Shrike, the show more inimical God of Pain - and it seems to be protecting Aenea. Raul Endymion, an ordinary man from Hyperion, has been engaged to protect Aenea by Martin Silenus, the aged poet from the earlier books. Meanwhile, after the fall of the TechnoCore, the AI that ran the farcasters, the network of matter transmitters that made Galactic society possible, the Catholic Church has re-established and greatly increased its power and influence. The Vatican sends Father Captain Federico de Soya on a mission to retrieve Aenea, because the Pope - also a character from the first novels, resurrected by the cruciform parasites that confer immortality - believes Aenea to be connected to the TechnoCore, and considers her to be a threat. Much space operatic whizzing about in various forms of transport ensues.

Just dismissing this book as an interstellar chase story does it no justice, though. The first two 'Hyperion' books were notable for their extreme Baroque settings, their well-realised world-building, and strong characterisation. This book carries that on. The settings are exotic but realistically drawn, and there is a good sense of the passage of time since our own day, though the characters do seem better informed about the Twentieth Century than we are about, say, the Tenth (representing an equivalent passage of time).Endymion is Everyman; Aenea is a bit more of a problem, as Endymion is telling the story in retrospect, and we are led to understand that Aenea - who is supposedly 11 at the time of the events in this novel - will later become Raul Endymion's lover. This makes for some slightly difficult situations as Endymion and Aenea are thrown together in various situations. Simmons writes about Endymion's feelings for Aenea in a sensual way, but never erotically; though it has to be said that he writes Aenea as displaying more maturity than any 11-year-old I've ever encountered. (Whether this may be due to her parentage, or her sojourn in the Time Tombs, is never mentioned and is one of the things I'd want to look out for if I re-read the earlier novels.)

Their pursuer, Father Captain de Soya, is more clearly drawn. Allocated a platoon of Swiss Guards, de Soya and his three comrades build an effective relationship and we come to know them well. As Vatican politics turns into conspiracy, de Soya begins to question his motivations and actions, but never his faith. I find it no coincidence that early on during de Soya's briefing, he fleetingly meets a priest by the name of Father Brown; and certainly, de Soya combines the humanity and the calculating mind of Chesterton's detective priest.

There is a range of supporting characters who are sympathetically drawn; we find ourselves caring for them. There is also action, some of it gruesome; and humour. The final book in the quartet, 'The Rise of Endymion', is not too far down the To Be Read pile; I shall look foward to it. show less

This follow-up to the Hyperion novels is strange: a travelogue that almost completely lacks any kind of narrative urgency. Raul Endymion, the child prophet Aenea (daughter of two characters from the original books), and A. Bettik (a minor character from the original books) travel via raft through portals taking them from world to world. The book starts well, but once the journey begins, the story quickly becomes dull and repetitive because there is no story, nothing at stake for these characters.

I was far more interested in the Jesuit priest pursuing them, a military commander conflicted between his duty and his morality, as he stumbles upon a conspiracy in the church. Simmons does such a good job with him that you want him to capture show more Aenea and company, and his plotline also has characters with actual personalities and more tension and complication. It's a weird imbalance. show less

Getting ready to read the 4th and last book of Hyperion cantos, and I'm already feeling sad it will be the last one.
This book is righteous, amazing and imaginative beyond imagining. I fall in love with the characters--especially A. Bettik, the Android, Father Glaucus, and especially Aenea. I began to suspect the Catholic Church before it was admitted in the book--probably because I used to be a Catholic, and I know how that pseudo-holy mumbo jumbo works. The ones spouting the most God-stuff are often the very ones that sold their souls, and are trying hard to convince everyone how holy they are.
Dan Simmons is something else--certainly an incredibly talented writer. I wish I didn't know that he likes to hunt. Non-human animals.

For anyone who has NOT read the first two books of the Hyperion “Cantos”, self referencing Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, STOP HERE.

It’s not that i will give spoilers here, instead that you are doing yourself an injustice by continuing. Go pick up the first book and read it. This is one of those thought changing sci-fi series.

you will start thinking about its congruence with reality: start seeing the tech it describes in modern life (albeit in nearly unrecognizable forms). you will scan the news and see articles that will remind you of the story. Some people start spreading the viral thought of tattoos… thanks a lot Mongo..

For the genre, it has a lack of balance, spanning horror, sci-fi, fantasy, tech, erotica, and religious show more theory. This lack of balance makes it ACCESSIBLE, something nearly all sci-fi authors wish for. They want the ability to reach more than the core crowd of fan boys/girls and aficionados. Simmons does this with a silver tongue.

The remainder of this will not make sense to the n00b reader.

Endymion takes place nearly 300 years after The Fall.

The Shrike pilgrims of the first two novels are the stuff of legends, the legacy they left behind equally so. The newly formed PAX, a militaristic extension of the rekindled Catholic church, has taken up the reins of the galaxy. The Ousters are fighting for ground (or space as it were). The Farcaster network is dead, remnants of the highest pinnacle of human existence.

As with the original half of the series, this story is also told in a retrospective form. While circling a planet in a egg shaped prison cell, Endymion is logging his tale into a journal. No room for movement, any moment death could take him as his own breathing may be misconstrued as an “escape attempt” filling his 6 meter by 3 meter prison with cyanide.

Endymion, named after the Hyperion city of his ancestors, is given a list of achievements he must complete. Beginning with the nigh impossible collection of Brawn Lamia’s (as of yet unknown to us readers) daughter. Her 14 year old (yes, i did say 300 years later) daughter is referenced in The Fall by the second Keats cybrid as the “One who Teaches”. Endymion must endgame this (long and not written out here) laundry list of tasks with the saving of humanity by assisting this child, half human,the other half human with an essence of AI soul (do Artificial Intelligences have souls?).

Like anything in a Dan Simmons book is ever that easy :) show less

It seems that Dan Simmons decided to take a break, exhale and allow the reader to collect themselves. In this third volume to the HYPERION series we find ourselves in more action, adventure and simple SCI FI…that is compared to the first two novels which utterly melted our brains. By scaling down the brain drain ENDYMION allows the reader to relax and just enjoy the happenings. The story takes place a considerable time after the first two books. Now. With that being said it is to take nothing away from the book itself. It is well written, a little comical and our characters are allowed to show themselves to the reader regarding their development. Good addition to the series. The book does get a little long in the tooth though. What we show more have is a cosmic goose chase across the galaxy along with a mish mash of following ethics wrapped around morals encased in personal wants all pushed up against rollicking adventure on a grand scale. show less