The finale for the Hyperion Cantos is in many ways, both disappointing and satisfying. It is disappointing because Simmons often merely references things that are more intriguing than what he often sticks in describing in far more detail than is necessary and leaves many threads, that are barely answered. But, he also manages to construct an ending, that is satisfying despite the story falling knee-deep into metaphysical musing of the Void that Binds and love being the greatest source of energy in the universe.
Raul Endymion is still imprisoned in the Schrödringer jail, waiting for the quantum chance to kill him. He is writing his recollections of his time with Aena, the one who Teaches. The child he was tasked the protect and to whom he later fell in love as she grew to be an adult.
For years, Rauls watched over Aena, when they were at Old Earth, somewhere far outside the Milkyway. She was learning architecture there, taught by a cybrid creation constructed by the Tiger, Lions and Bears. She wasn't alone, as there were several other humans who also became her first disciples, the first to carry her cruciform killing virus to the old Web Worlds.
Pax has begun its war against the Ousters in earnest. Father Captain de Soya is given a new Archangel type ship that allows instantaneous travel from system to system. With a fleet of fast ships, the Pax hopes to snuff out the Ousters they see as a threat to humanity and God. But as de Soya witnesses the destruction of helpless Ouster children, he mutinies and steals the ship for himself in order to place a peg in the war machine of Pax.
When the time finally comes for Aena and Raul to depart Earth, she sends her protector to fetch the councils ship from where they left it to repair itself. Aena herself is going to leave with her disciples to spread her teachings to make humanity ready for the fall of Pax and the coming revelation of the opening of the Void that Binds.
After a grueling journey, Raul finally meets Aena again. As he ended up travelling with time debt, Aena is now a grown-up, in her 20s, working in the Buddhist planet of T'ien Shan. There the two finally become lovers, but this is also the part of the book that drags the worst. Rauls trip to the plant already had some unnecessary clutter, it mostly being a travel catalogue through different worlds, which felt like an unnecessary retread to the previous book. In T'ien Shan Simmons gets stuck in describing minute things in unnecessary detail and throwing around names with no real significance to the actual story. It is at places almost unbearable to read.
The story does kick in a higher gear when the Pax and Nemes creatures arrive to capture Aena. This is also the point, where we learn that she is capable of freecasting through space the same fashion Shrike can move through time itself. Another important thing we've learned is, that the cruciform allowing the resurrection is a parasite manufactured by the Core and it works by ripping energy directly from the Void, damaging it in the process. The Core never has learned how to properly use the Void, as they lack the empathetic capacity to truly access it.
The travelers end up at Ouster space tree construct, a huge tree structure in space, upheld by the Ergs. This gargantuan structure is something the Ousters have built with the help of the Templars, who still are around with their three ships. A big surprise is the presence of familiar faces from the first two books, Het Masteen and Colonel Kassad. Both brought there through time to meet their true destinies to join Aeana in her travels. Then there's also Rachel, the daughter of Sol and the future and past lover of Kassad, whom he knew as Moneta.
With a new crew, their journey continues in the Templar three ship. Before they escape, the Pax attacks the space tree construct. This is, however, the final leg of the trip, as Aena freecasts through space to spread her disciples to different worlds before Aena, Raul and de Soya go to Pacem to confront Pax. There Aena is captured and Raul is imprisoned in Schröderings cube jail.
As Raul has taken the communion of Aenas blood, he knows she has died, tortured by the Pax and the Core. But her death is also translated through the Void That Binds to everyone and the treachery of the Pax and Core is revealed to the entire universe. This, however, Raul learns only after he manages to learn how to freecast out from his prison by tapping the Void That Binds.
In his 13 month imprisonment, the world has changed. Billions of people have taken the communion and the Pax has retreated off from Pacem, leaving it for people like de Soya, who want to rebuild Catholicism into something better than what it had become. People of the old Hegemony are now in direct contact with each other through the Void, some have even mastered the freecasting.
There are more, things that might be predictable, but I'll stop there before I spoil the whole ending.
I started this review by stating that this final chapter of the book is both satisfying and disappointing. The biggest problem I had with it is, that it is a massive tale, that is omitting the telling of some of the more interesting things only referenced in the story while it is too heavily focusing on minute details. And Raul is a rather unimpressive narrator, mostly existing to be a punching bag while other people around him seem more capable. There is a tone of blandness about him, that just doesn't latch well.
Simmons is also clearly in love dwelling in philosophical and religious musings. This would be fine, but towards the end, Aena's skills become a deus ex machina device as does the whole notion of the Void That Binds. The notions about human evolution and the role of the use of technology in it are intriguing though. The Ousters shed some light on the idea of how far beyond humanity humans might get if biomechanical augmentation would start in earnest. And, really, the point of view of the Pax, despite being perverted by the Core, seems something that would happen when "normal" humans would witness the oddity of what Ousters have become with their bioengineered bodies.
I do find The Rise of Endymion a satisfying conclusion. Simmons is a great writer and there often is poetic beauty about his text, which makes up for its at times unnecessary clutter. This wasn't the end I was thinking after the first two books, the 3rd already was a huge departure on what had come before, but it isn't a travesty either. At the same notion, I can clearly see why the two latter books in the Hyperion Cantos are not as liked as the first two. You could even say, the two final books take a turn into a bit silly.
If you've already started the Hyperion series, I do think this is well worth the read. Then again, you can get away by not reading the two latter books, as I felt the cycle of the first two books is more than satisfying enough.
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