The Endymion Omnibus: Endymion, The Rise of Endymion (Gollancz S.F.) [Paperback]

"Shot through with a mother lode of character, heart and intelligence worthy of the best of Ray Bradbury. A treat for those who like their war movies cynical, their creature features plausible and their SF human and approachable." (Steve White DREAMWATCH )

"Builds the tension to a crescendo.. Quite a read." (MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS )

The triumphant concluding novels to the Hyperion Quartet, together in one volume for the first time. ENDYMION Two hundred and seventy-four years after the fall of the WorldWeb in Fall of Hyperion, Raoul Endymion is sent on a quest. Retrieving Aenea from the Sphinx before the Church troops reach her is only the beginning. With help from a blue-skinned android named A. Bettik, Raoul and Aenea travel the river Tethys, pursued by Father Captain Frederico DeSoya, an influential warrior-priest and his troops. The shrike continues to make enigmatic appearances, and while many questions were raised in Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion, still more are raised here. Raoul's quest will continue. THE RISE OF ENDYMION The time of reckoning has arrived. As a final genocidal Crusade threatens to enslave humanity forever, a new messiah has come of age. She is Aenea and she has undergone a strange apprenticeship to those known as the Others. Now her protector, Raul Endymion, one-time shepherd and convicted murderer, must help her deliver her startling message to her growing army of disciples. But first they must embark on a final spectacular mission to discover the underlying meaning of the universe itself. They have been followed on their journey by the mysterious Shrike--monster, angel, killing machine--who is about to reveal the long-held secret of its origin and purpose. And on the planet of Hyperion, where the story first began, the final revelation will be delivered--an apocalyptic message that unlocks the secrets of existence and the fate of humankind in the galaxy.

Dan Simmons won the World Fantasy Award for his first novel, SONG OF KALI,. inspired by his travels in India. In the 1990s he rewrote the SF rulebook with his Hyperion Cantos quartet. He has also written thrillers. Alongside his writing he maintains a career as a college lecturer in English Literature in the USA.