The Rise of Endymion
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

The latest episode (following last year's Endymion) of Simmons' Foundation-like saga of the far future tells of the struggle for dominance between humanity and its siblings, one of which is a highly evolved race with artificial intelligence and another of which has experimented upon its own DNA until it is no longer quite human. What might be called classical humankind is under the rule of a newly established, dominant Catholic Church, which undertakes to exterminate one of its rivals, the Ousters, and also seeks the girl Aenea, part-human and part-machine and a messiah for whom the adventurer Endymion is guardian. But Endymion and Aenea part as their destinies begin to fulfill themselves, and before they meet again, Endymion leaps through time portals from world to world. These worlds, including a gas giant with jellyfishlike lifeforms in its upper atmosphere and an ice kingdom carved among mountain peaks, are brilliantly realized. Thus Simmons pushes his vast entertainment along unfalteringly. --John Mort

Is the adolescent girl Aenea actually the new messiah? What is the real nature of that enigmatic killing machine, the Shrike? What are the renegade TechnoCore's true plans for humanity and the galaxy? What destiny will Raul Endymion find among the stars? All the questions are finally answered in this concluding fourth volume of Simmons's award-winning Hyperion saga (Endymion, etc.). The resurgence of the dying Catholic Church after it discovers how to resurrect the dead turns out to have even more significance than its leaders realize. The technological miracle of faster-than-light travel is shown to have a dark side that could destroy the universe. And nothing is what it seems to be. Because his plotting has been so complex in the previous Hyperion books and because his cast of characters has grown so large, Simmons is forced to devote considerable space simply to recounting and explicating past events. Also problematic is Aenea's explanation of her messianic purpose. Her few concrete initiatives, including stopping certain misuses of technology and instituting political and religious freedom across the galaxy, seem plausible. Her larger message, however‘an argument for the existence of love as a physical component of the universe on a par with electromagnetism and gravity‘never gains substance. Simmons veers from plot summary and vague philosophy to some well-crafted action sequences. Readers of the preceding Hyperion novels will want to find out how everything turns out, but this volume does not stand steady on its own. Author tour. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Another (maybe final?) installment in Simmons's massive far- future odyssey (Endymion, 1996, etc.). The Pax of the Church has formed an unholy alliance with the TechnoCore of artificial intelligences. In return for the cruciform parasites that offer personal immortality, the Pax declares holy war on the peaceful Ousters, whom the Core considers a threat. Meanwhile, on distant Earth, the hybrid girl Aenea--who can perceive parts of the future- -prepares to outwit both the Pax and the Core. Aenea's champion and lover, Raul Endymion, protected by the fearsome robot Shrike, enters the defunct forecaster network to locate his ship, while Aenea shares her blood with her growing band of followers: The blood drives out cruciforms and also allows everyone to develop the empathy necessary to commune with the Void Which Binds, a sort of virtual-space shared consciousness that confers both understanding and super-powers. The Core, being hyperparasites, cannot develop this empathy. Finally, Aenea must suffer a dreadful martyrdom in order to spread her message throughout the human universe, whereupon the Pax collapses. As hypercomplicated as ever, though with less story and more explanations and padding; still, Simmons's scope is truly staggering, his inventiveness continues to impress, and the narrative offers something for everyone--at least some of the time.

The latest episode (following last year's Endymion) of Simmons' Foundation-like saga of the far future tells of the struggle for dominance between humanity and its siblings, one of which is a highly evolved race with artificial intelligence and another of which has experimented upon its own DNA until it is no longer quite human. What might be called classical humankind is under the rule of a newly established, dominant Catholic Church, which undertakes to exterminate one of its rivals, the Ousters, and also seeks the girl Aenea, part-human and part-machine and a messiah for whom the adventurer Endymion is guardian. But Endymion and Aenea part as their destinies begin to fulfill themselves, and before they meet again, Endymion leaps through time portals from world to world. These worlds, including a gas giant with jellyfishlike lifeforms in its upper atmosphere and an ice kingdom carved among mountain peaks, are brilliantly realized. Thus Simmons pushes his vast entertainment along unfalteringly. ((Reviewed Aug. 1997)) Copyright 2000 Booklist Reviews

Is the adolescent girl Aenea actually the new messiah? What is the real nature of that enigmatic killing machine, the Shrike? What are the renegade TechnoCore's true plans for humanity and the galaxy? What destiny will Raul Endymion find among the stars? All the questions are finally answered in this concluding fourth volume of Simmons's award-winning Hyperion saga (Endymion, etc.). The resurgence of the dying Catholic Church after it discovers how to resurrect the dead turns out to have even more significance than its leaders realize. The technological miracle of faster-than-light travel is shown to have a dark side that could destroy the universe. And nothing is what it seems to be. Because his plotting has been so complex in the previous Hyperion books and because his cast of characters has grown so large, Simmons is forced to devote considerable space simply to recounting and explicating past events. Also problematic is Aenea's explanation of her messianic purpose. Her few concrete initiatives, including stopping certain misuses of technology and instituting political and religious freedom across the galaxy, seem plausible. Her larger message, however an argument for the existence of love as a physical component of the universe on a par with electromagnetism and never gains substance. Simmons veers from plot summary and vague philosophy to some well-crafted action sequences. Readers of the preceding Hyperion novels will want to find out how everything turns out, but this volume does not stand steady on its own. Author tour. (Aug.) Copyright 1998 Publishers Weekly Reviews