Hyperion
On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all. On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope—and a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.
The Fall Of Hyperion
In the stunning continuation of the epic adventure begun in Hyperion, Simmons returns us to a far future resplendent with drama and invention. On the world of Hyperion, the mysterious Time Tombs are opening. And the secrets they contain mean that nothing–nothing anywhere in the universe–will ever be the same.
Endymion
Two hundred and seventy-four years after the fall of the WorldWeb in Fall of Hyperion, Raul 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, Raul 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. Raul’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.
My thoughts
(Disclaimer – I do not feel qualified to write a review on this series which does it justice. Quite frankly, I’m not clever enough!)
The Hyperion Cantos series is absolutely mind blowing!
I’m going to be thinking about this series for a long time as I ponder all four books and continue to piece things together that weren’t spelled out but instead were left to us to figure out. And there are layers upon layers upon layers of brilliant complexities to work through. This series has given my gray matter a workout like no other series I have ever read.
Half a point deducted for the final book only because the descriptions, no matter how beautiful and vivid and brilliant, slowed down the story at times. I gave the other three books in the series a very solid 5 stars each, and the series as a whole is a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read!
Unquestionably!
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