"On the eve of disaster, seven citizens of the Hegemony set out on a pilgrimage to the planet Hyperion, where the fabled Time Tombs seem poised to reveal their secrets. But Hyperion is home to the Shrike, a lethal creature, part god and part killing machine, whose powers transcend the limits of space and time. The seven have been chosen by the Church of the Shrike to travel on what may be the last pilgrimage. And as they travel to their destination, where huge artifacts which have travelled back in time a million years are on the verge of opening, these travellers, like another fabled group of pilgrims, share their own stories..." [jacket blurb, UK trade pbk, 1990]

"The Hegemony of Man -- a thousand thousand worlds linked by a network of farcaster portals and high-tech gateways -- is under siege by Ousters, strange, half-human tribes mutated almost beyond recognition."

"The AIs -- Artificial Intelligences whose synthetic wisdom created and maintains the nets that bind the Hegemony -- have become a threat; it seems they have turned against the Hegemony and all mankind. And there is evidence that they have begun a project to create the Ultimate Intelligence -- to build, in short, God. God of Machines: the ultimate deus ex machina. His genesis may well mean man's annihilation."

"Something is drawing the Hegemony, the AIs, the Ousters, and indeed the entire universe, towards the Shrike and the Time Tombs from which it has arisen. In a moment the paths of man, machine and god will intersect. Nothing will ever be the same." [jacket blurb, UK pbk, 1991]

ENDYMION

Bantam Spectra, Paperback, $5.99/$7.99(Can), ISBN: 0-553-57294-6

Although the type above the title on the jacket cover declares this book is the sequel to Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, it is nothing of the sort. As Raul Endymion, the narrator of Dan Simmons' new novel, so aptly puts it: "You are reading this for the wrong reason...If you are reading this because you are a fan of the old poet's Cantos and are obsessed with curiosity about what happened next in the lives of the Hyperion pilgrims, you will be disappointed. I do not know what happened to most of them. They lived and died almost three centuries before I was born."

True to this beginning, Endymion does not take up where the "Hyperion books" left off. This is the story of Raul Endymion and a young girl, who may or may not be the messiah, named Aenea. The events which took place in Hyperion serve only as history: a prologue to the political and social tenor of Raul Endymion's world.

Having survived a rebellion by Artificial Intelligence computers, humans of this far future have rejected all the lessons, structures, and ideas of their past (a societal structure far more tolerant and liberal). Religion and politics have become familiar bedfellows, and the dominant religion is Catholicism. The Catholics have enlisted new members by gaining the secret to controlling a symbiotic organism from the planet of Hyperion: shaped like a cross, it provides its host with eternal life.

The Pax, a military and religious alliance which allows priests and nuns to become soldiers, is run by Pope Julius XIV. A man with ties to the events on Hyperion some three hundred years ago, he has many secrets of his own.

It was Pope Julius who introduced the majority of humans to the crucifix-shaped symbiote. And it is the Pope who helps engineer an attempt to obliterate the Ousters (highly evolved humans who live in zero gravity), and orchestrates a hunt for the child, Aenea. Those pursuing her -- Father Captain Desoya, Sergeant Gregorius, and Corporal Kee -- are told only that Aenea represents a danger to the Pax, and to humankind. She must be apprehended at all costs. They are given "Papal" authority to do and act as they please, as long as the child is captured.

An elderly man claiming to be the poet who wrote the "Hyperion Cantos," talks Raul Endymion (saved from wrongful execution on his home world of Hyperion) into helping Aenea escape the clutches of the Pax. Though she literally does most of the thinking and planning, and is the true protagonist of this novel, Raul is her designated hero/disciple/protector. He is something more than a Jay Gatsby, and less than a David Copperfield. This unlikely pair is joined by a blue-skinned Android, named A.Bettik, as they affect their escape. Just to keep things off balance, Simmons brings back the Shrike (a multi-armed, razor sharp metal machine, which is part monster, part avatar). There are other surprises in store for the reader as well.

Like everything Simmons writes, Endymion is filled with concerns faced by the entire human race: bigotry, religious intolerance, ecological destruction. It is also, like the "Hyperion books," written around the themes in the poem of the same title by John Keats. And Simmons is always at his best (as in "The Great Lover" and The Hollow Man) when using the themes and images of classic poetry as the foundation for thoughts about the fate of mankind. His singular talent allows him to take the metal of poetry, science, and philosophy, temper them into suspense-filled plots, and polish the entire package with memorable characters and beautiful prose. The result is always a novel (or short story) both highly entertaining and profoundly moving. Endymion is just that. In fact, this book is one of his most tightly plotted and fast-paced, allowing only short periods of time for the reader to catch his proverbial breath. After reading it, I found myself recalling a comment about Charles Dickens, by writer John Irving:

"He never pretended to be an explorer, discovering neglected evils. Nor was he so vain as to imagine that his love or his use of the language was particularly special; he could write very prettily when he wanted to but he never had so little to say that he thought the object of writing was pretty language...The broadest novelists never cared for that kind of original language...The larger, plainer things -- the things they are preoccupied with, their obsessions -- these will last: the story, the characters, the laughter and the tears."

With Endymion, Dan Simmons has written yet another book which is thought-provoking, moving, and unrelenting in its desire to entertain. Like the readers of Charles Dickens, I hungrily await the next installment from this modern master of narrative.

THE RISE OF ENDYMION

Bantam Books, Hardcover, $23.95/$32.95(Can), ISBN: 0-553-10652-X

With this final installment in the Hyperion/Endymion saga, Dan Simmons wraps up one of the most entertaining and enlightening series of books to grace the field of science fiction since the works of Isaac Asimov or Jack Vance. Yet, to term these books a series is to do them an injustice. Just the term series conjures up visions of endless strings of bland fantasy fiction or Star Trek novelizations. But the size, scope and seriousness of Simmons' far future story has been much greater than that – ever since it's inception in an elementary classroom some twenty or thirty years ago.

It was while working as a teacher of gifted children that Simmons, spurred on by his students, first conceived many of the characters and worlds which would come into play in his "Hyperion books." For a half hour each day, throughout a complete year of teaching, Simmons would recount the adventures of a sorcerer-ape, a neo-cat, and a centaur named Raul. Many of their adventures took place on the planet of Hyperion. It was, Simmons once said, "this epic fantasy that goes with the Shrike and all of these elements I've used in Hyperion." Apparently, the remnants from his long-lost oral tale were put to good use many years later when he began a book that would result in one the most popular, best-selling sagas in the science fiction genre. With only three genre-related novels (Hyperion, The Fall ofHyperion and Endymion) Simmons established himself as a major force in the circles of SF publishing. Hyperion won a Hugo and The Fall of Hyperion won a British SF Award. All three books became college campus favorites and continue to be reprinted more than once year (the paperback of Endymion, out in '96, has already been through five reprints). With themes based in classic literature (John Keats and Virgil) and enough action and adventure to fill a dozen blockbuster movies, Dan Simmons' "Hyperion books" almost single-handedly revived the sub-genre of space opera.

The conclusion of this series, The Rise of Endymion, answers any questions left open by the first three novels, delves deeper into the problems and questions posed by a church-run society, pays homage to Ray Bradbury, Jack Vance and Carl Sagan, picks up nicely where its companion volume (Endymion) left off, and still maintains a pell-mell pace of action. It's literally a show stopper.

Taking up where Endymion left off, this book starts out with the death and resurrection (brought about via the cruciform symbiote) of Pope Julius XIV. Re-christening himself Urban XVI, the Pope (like his namesake) declares it is time for a Holy Crusade to wipe out all non-believers (only Catholics, wearers of the cruciform, are spared). The Pope dispatches troops and ships to seek out and destroy the Ousters and any fringe elements of humans. He also orders the capture and/or death of a woman Messiah named Aenea, who has eluded his grasp for six years. Pope Urban XVI declares her a threat to humankind and the sanctity of the church. She must be eliminated. Carrying out his orders are legions of Pax soldiers and the cybernetic creatures Rhadamanth Nemes, Gyges and Briareus (names taken from classical mythology).

Standing between the Pope and his misguided forces are Raul Endymion (Aenea's disciple, protector and lover), A. Bettik (a mysterious blue Android who is more than he seems), and legions of believers on various planets. Eventually, even some of Aenea’s pursuers (Father Captain DeSoya, Sergeant Gregorious) come to realize she is not a force for evil. They help Aenea and Endymion complete the mission for which she was born. Like the hero of the Aneid, the classic epic poem, Aenea is caught between human feeling and the forces of fate, compelled to visit other lands (or worlds)and fulfill her destiny.

The middle of the book sets a deliberately slower pace for some Jack Vance-type world-building (there is a gas giant planet where enormous, transparent creatures which resemble squid float through the air; jungle planets and worlds of ice, snow and freezing weather; and a planet where only the mountain tops are inhabitable, because an acidic sea covers the entire world); and, too, there are some religious and philosophical musings that span a variety of beliefs. But mixed in among such ruminations and discoveries are scenes of space battles and genocidal violence as the Pax unleashes the full force of its military might. And from page 334 on, Simmons pulls out the stops again.

As usual, Simmons’ text is filled with many levels of thought; and the multi-layered plots are peopled with a rich cast of characters. Simmons pays homage to Grandmasters like Jack Vance (via a wild and varied world-hopping trip taken by Raul Endymion) and Ray Bradbury (one of the foodstuffs on Mars is the homegrown bradberry). And there are sly, humorous "throwaways" like Madrededios (a planet whose name translates to "mother of god") or the animal called a Zygoat (a bit of science humor). Simmons also manages to tie up any loose ends and answer all of the questions posed by the first three books (such as how the Shrike was created and what its ultimate purpose is) while introducing new puzzles like the mysterious beings known as the Others.

If you are an admirer of good science fiction, this series of books by Dan Simmons is a terrific example to hold up high when someone tries to vilify the genre. And if you are just introducing yourself to science fiction, the "Hyperion/Endymion" books are the perfect place to start. Like Baedekers to a magical world, these novels will guide the uninitiated to a universe of endless wonders. No matter what genre Dan Simmons chooses to write in, he brings to each book a level of craft and style unparalleled by any novelist working today. He is, without a doubt, one of the most important writers to emerge during the late twentieth century.