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Book Reviews of The Rise of Endymion (Hyperion, Bk 4)

The Rise of Endymion (Hyperion, Bk 4)
The Rise of Endymion - Hyperion, Bk 4
Author: Dan Simmons
ISBN-13: 9780553572988
ISBN-10: 0553572989
Publication Date: 1998
Pages: 720
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 71

4 stars, based on 71 ratings
Publisher: Spectra
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

9 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The Rise of Endymion (Hyperion, Bk 4) on + 9 more book reviews
Well written science fiction.
reviewed The Rise of Endymion (Hyperion, Bk 4) on + 15 more book reviews
not quite as strong as the first two Hyperion books, but those are classics. still very original and fun.
Judyh avatar reviewed The Rise of Endymion (Hyperion, Bk 4) on + 229 more book reviews
This is the 4th and final book in the Hyperion series. Overall it's a very rich and creative series.
reviewed The Rise of Endymion (Hyperion, Bk 4) on + 30 more book reviews
The fourth and final book in the Hyperion series.
reviewed The Rise of Endymion (Hyperion, Bk 4) on + 25 more book reviews
This was (sadly) the last book of the Hyperion saga. Although there was a rather drastic trasition between books 2 and 3, the second too books were a magnificient adventure in and of themselves! Honestly, if you read Endymion, I am not sure how you couldn't be thirsting to read this!
reviewed The Rise of Endymion (Hyperion, Bk 4) on
This is the fourth in the "Hyperion" series, and a good finale. Dan Simmons ties up all of the loose ends left dangling in the three previous books (Hyperion, the Fall of Hyperion, and Endymion). The tale carried through the series is often tragic, but at the same time uplifting. Humanity can be stupid, narrow-minded, and petty, but at the same time can be beautiful, loving, and caring. Dan uses these traits and many more to build a tale that is very well-written. The amount of cultural background used in this last book alone is daunting, but at the same time may spark an interest to "learn more about that".

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and the series. My only advice: read the series in the proper order.
reviewed The Rise of Endymion (Hyperion, Bk 4) on + 41 more book reviews
I could not put it down
Doodledog avatar reviewed The Rise of Endymion (Hyperion, Bk 4) on
This is a continuation of the Hyperion series. If you liked it you should read it through the finish. Dan Simmons is a wonderful writer and the series is epic.
jeffp avatar reviewed The Rise of Endymion (Hyperion, Bk 4) on + 201 more book reviews
Well, I'm done with the Hyperion series now, and I'm glad.

The Rise Of Endymion wraps up the Hyperion books for good, or so I hope. It's not that it's a bad book, but it could have been so much better.

Slow to the point of plodding at times, we're told about character development rather than seeing it, and quite a few things are very predictable.

I've called this book "OK" purely because if you've gotten through the first three in the series you'll probably want to read this one to learn the bits of the ending that you don't already know. That said, it's not all that well written.

A major problem that inhabits all four volumes is that Simmons lets his imagination run way ahead of what he's already written. He created a particular universe in Hyperion, changed a couple of the fundamentals in The Fall Of Hyperion, changed a lot of the fundamentals in Endymion, and a few more in The Rise Of Endymion. Effectively he's rewriting the rules of the game - his laws of physics and rules of behavior - on the fly. Changing even one rule like that in the middle of a series is difficult to do well. Your readers tend to lose their willing suspension of disbelief when you pull that stunt. Simmons does it so many times you just start to give up. There are no touchstones you can return to here.

In summary, I think the original Hyperion is a pretty good book, but it has no ending, and the three that follow it get progressively less well written. It's a shame, really. Hyperion has such promise.