The Rise of Endymion

This completes the four books of the Hyperion Cantos, well worth the reading. Dan Simmons is a skilled and talented author. This series, an epic story, is more literary than most science fiction works, with an intricately woven web of detail and intrigue. The four books are different, though the second and fourth are the most similar to one another of the four. The reading of the first does not foretell the style of the second, and likewise the reading of the third, Endymion, does not foretell the pattern of this, the fourth. I felt that the third was the most fun to read. This, The Rise of Endymion, finally brings it all together, wraps up all the loose ends with a satisfying ending.

I admit to getting impatient with the arcane detail of the pomp of the Catholic liturgy, and the endless odd names of places and minor characters, but it is a great tale nevertheless. While Endymion, the preceeding book in the series is a good stand-alone read, this fourth volume of the Cantos finishes the story begun with Hyperion, the first in the series of four, and a new reader should definitely begin with Hyperion.

An aside: The Shrike, a central entity in the first two books is present in the third and fourth, but really plays only a minor role, and I must say that I guessed who was the father of M. Aenea's child almost right away.