In 1989, Hyperion burst onto the Science Fiction field to torrents of praise and stellar reviews. Hyperion captured the imagination of countless readers with the tale of a universe filled with such creations as the Core, the Shrike, the Time Tombs, farcasters, and the Hegemony. Dan Simmons offered readers a second journey to his universe with The Fall of Hyperion. The demand for more stories lead to Endymion; a tale of what happened after the Fall.

Now, The Rise of Endymion completes the tale. Endymion introduced us to Raul Endymion, a Hyperion native who is inextricably linked to Aenea, a young girl who, it would seem, is the new messiah, destined to overthrow the Pax. The Rise of Endymion continues that story as it follows Aenea as she comes of age.

Dan Simmons is a busy writer in this tale. If you haven't read at least Endymion, much of the novel will just be confusing. But, for those that have read the other Hyperion novels, there are many, many mysteries to uncover and loose ends to tie up. What is the Shrike? What role does it play? Who or what stole Earth? What is the AI Core up to? Why has it allied with the Pax Church? How does Raul end up in a Schrodinger box? And on, and on...

However, the tale is much more complex than the last five minutes of a Murder, She Wrote episode and Simmons keeps the reader enthralled the entire way.

This is not a novel for first timers. Go back, pick up Hyperion along with the other two novels and, when you are good and steeped in the lore of Hyperion, come back and give this one a read.

For those who have already read (or re-read) the first three, pick this one up. It moves faster than the Shrike and it offers as many new mysteries as it does answers along the way, but the conclusion is well worth the journey.

Wayne MacLaurin is a regular SF Site reviewer. More of his opinions are available on our Book Reviews pages.