The concusion to the series that established Dan Simmons as a major figure in world SF in the 1990s Critical acclaim and bestselling sales The bestselling success of ILIUM has brought a whole new audience to Dan Simmons
Dan Simmons won the World Fantasy Award for his first novel, SONG OF KALI, which was 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. He lives in the United States.Previous titles include:Endymion;Hyperion;The Fall of Hyperion;Ilium;The Song of Kali.
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.)
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
