Rise of Endymion, The by Dan Simmons

(The Hyperion Cantos, Book 4)With this book, Simmons ties up all the loose ends from the previous three books (HYPERION, FALL OF HYPERION, and ENDYMION), but, at the same time, leaves the reader wondering, "What happens next?" I, personally, wonder what life has in store for Raul Endymion after his adventures in these last two books. Will his life be peaceful? Will he play an important part in humanity's future? Hopefully, Simmons will let us wonder...it seems more appropriate than having him spell it out for us. We finally get to see Aenea confront the Pax in this book. It's not a clash of arms and men, but, rather, a contest of wills. I'd like to give my take on this final confrontation, but it would ruin it for those who have not read it. Suffice it to say, it took guts on Simmons' part to do it this way, but, in the end, I'd have to say that I was very satisfied. As with the first three books, Simmons' characters are beautifully vivid and their interactions with each other are realistic and a joy to read. My one disappointment with the book was the lack of action compared to the previous book. There was more soul searching and philosophizing in this book. We see a lot of Aenea proselytizing to the masses, trying to enlighten them in regards to the corruption of the Pax and its detrimental effects to humanity. One thing I thoroughly enjoyed was the expanded role of the Core in this book as compared to the previous one (or at least one facet of the Core). All in all, I think this book was a very satisfying conclusion to the entire series. It brought to a close the adventures started with seven Shrike pilgrims almost three hundred years ago. Beautifully done!