Endymion (Hyperion)

After reading the Hyperion series I was hoping that this novel would hit me with the same amazing stories that I found in its predecessor. I was wrong. This was a really slow, jaunty novel and all of the Roman Catholics in Space jargon just bogged me down. Not enough about the mysteries of the Shrike or the pilgrims and their final fates. The addition of a cyborg super-killer was also really goofy...she was like a Terminator unit...in space. Not to give any spoilers but I was really disappointed with this novel.

Some places in the story tended to move too slowly. It did keep my attention however if you had not read the previous stories in the series this one would not make sense. The concepts of technology overriding religion and humanity is a new idea, but I could relate the idea with the world we currently live in.

Keeps you reading and interested all the way through, but is more of an adventure book, lacking some of the thematic depth of the first two. I suspect (hope) that's just setting up for a deeper exploration of themes in the fourth book.

While I loved the first two Hyperion books, Endymion seems to be off to a slow start. It gets better as the story progresses, however, I wouldn't recommend this book unless you're really into Dan Simmons Hyperion universe - which thankfully, I am :).

I thought this was a great continuation to the Hyperion stories. It is no longer based on the Pilgrimage, but uses elements of the previous two books in the plot. However, most of the characters are completely different and the type of quest is very different. If you like Simmon's writing in general, you will likely enjoy this book. I wouldn't say it's quite as captivating as the first two books, but it is still worth reading if you know to expect a difference in the story style and complete change of characters.

This series by Dan Simmons just keeps getting better and better. By book three he has established a premiss of worlds created, destroyed, and reborn again along with a rich history of characters who come and go through the story with real purpose and who propel us forward, backwards, and sideways in time. Swirling around and through a desperately and sweetly complicated story are dueling concepts of religion vs science, human vs cybrid, fate vs destiny, and love vs honor. Themes reminiscent of those in The Wizard of Oz are mixed with the best from The Odyssey and result in an epic " buddy" story that you can't put down.
This is the best of the series so far. With masterful storytelling and characterization, Simmons creates a drama where the reader understands and befriends the priest, child, hunter, cybrid, drunken poet, spaceship and yeti. Doesn't get much better than that.

A long journey with less character development thqn the first two books. Religious themes also disappoint as the author backs further away from considering all of the world's perceptions of Deity and retreats to a single branch of the Aramaic faiths. The Vatican has never been and is unlikely to ever be at the core of humanity's diverse faiths. The goal that concludes this epic journey also falls short of the original story, and the author offers nothing to justify his choice of the heroine's mentor.

The first two books of the Hyperion Cantos were absolutely superb. They were surprising, deep, creative, epic, mysterious, and mind-expanding. Endymion, for me, cannot be described by any of those superlatives. It felt more like a run-of-the-mill fantasy travel/adventure story than what precedes it in the Hyperion Cantos. In reading it, I found myself slogging through one "Endymion goes to planet ___" adventure after another, replete with (repeated) catalogs of Endymion's (long) inventory lists and boring minor side adventures and tasks that he undertook along the way. It felt more like I was reading a series of short stories written by other, less passionate authors.

There were occasional vague nods to the major arc of the storyline from the prior two novels, but there just wasn't enough meat in there to keep me interested, or even to keep my appetite piqued. I will read the fourth novel just in case it reconnects with the magic from the first two, but it will be a while before I do that because I need to recharge my excitement after reading Endymion.

This is a wonderful continuation of the themes from the Hyperion books by this author. It take a little effort to get into the time shift but once you do get it the entire series begins to fall into place. It's really does not make much sense if you haven't read "Hyperion" and "Fall of Hyperion" before starting this. A smashing good yarn!

Just finished the Hyperion Cantos and The Rise of Endymion for the second or pehaps the 3rd time. I read it the first time it was originally published and now went thru it again on my Kindle. I knew I liked it the first time but I think I may have enjoyed it this time even more. The worlds and characters grabbed me from the beginning and held me strapped to the seat all the way thru. Definitley in my top 10 Sf/fantasy series and that says a lot as I'm a voracious reader and I think I'm quite picky in my favorites. Highly recommend this book and the Cantos series.