The Rise of Endymion (A Bantam Spectre book) (Hardcover)

The Rise Of Endymion is both of these but it is the emotional grip it takes on you that is most unusual. At one point the impact of one of the revelations on me was so strong that I felt as if I had been slapped, and had to put the book down for a while to recover.

The final 'twist' is signposted so much that I guessed it about 300 pages in advance but the cleverness of the writing is such that this in no way diminshes the power the text has over you. Like the previous reviewer my first inclination on finishing it is to go back to the beginning of the Hyperion Cantos and read it all over again, but more slowly.

This is the best series I have ever read, far better than Dune, Foundation or any of the usual suspects always trotted out as comparisons when a book like this is published. Read it and enjoy - but don't think that you can remain unaffected by it!

First and foremost this is a love story and if you relate to the characters you've had it - you are in for a rollercoaster ride (if not - are you alive?). Yes, the ending is signposted in outline from a long way out, but it still does not prepare you when you get there. Since finishing the book, I re-read the final chapters several times and it haunted me for several days afterward. At best bittersweet, at worst horrific. I can't imagine another book in the series or setting - it could only be monochrome in comparison to this.

The book does suffer from the criticisms mentioned by other reviewers - overly long in places, overturning previous 'facts' as lies. It does not detract from the overall impact.

The last time a book caught me like this was reading Raymond Feist/Janny Wurts' Servant of the Empire nearly 15 years ago. I'll warn you in advance, its not as good as this.

I pity the author of the next book I read, the bar has been set impossibly high.

Though it's not essential that you read Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion first, I'd recommend that the first two books are read before reading the Endymion series. So many details are linked and fulfilled in the second series that I can't help thinking that you'd miss out on the full impact of the Cantos if you didn't read it all.

The story has left a big imprint on me, it has an ending of very mixed emotions and isn't exactly the denoument you'd really expect. To me, a good book always leaves a mark, and the Hyperion series leaves a real bruise. It's very good.

I have only one criticism and it only applies to this volume - it's overly long. I skipped great chunks of prose and some episodes that are entirely superfluous to the many plots. There is a whole section in the middle of the book that is extremely tiresome and totally needless. Perhaps a greater use of editorial license was required. That said, the book is a great experience. Dan Simmons has created a rich view of the future and populated it with diverse civilisations and technologies, but built it all round an ancient core - the Catholic church.

Definitely worth a read, whether you are a SciFi fan or not.