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The third book in the Hyperion quadrilogy, Endymion has been panned by some fans of the first book.

It is true that some of what made Hyperion so unique is gone here. Arguably Hyperion’s most powerful characteristic was its mystery; the fact that, in addition to being beautiful and carrying a sense of meaning you couldn’t quite place, that beauty and meaning was accentuated by the fact that you couldn’t begin to explain many of the dazzling events that were happening. Like events in real life, they simply were. But they challenged our expectations of real life.

So the biggest factor making Endymion and The Fall of Hyperion weaker than the first book are the fact that they begin to explain those things. Things that awed and terrified in Hyperion seem considerably less awesome and terrifying when their origin and inner workings are explained.

And yet, Endymion is still a really fun ride that holds the promise that some brand new profound mysteries will blossom in the pages to come.

While Endymion does follow-up on the major plot elements of Hyperion, in many ways it feels like an entirely new saga – which seems to give Dan Simmons the freedom he needs to give us truly dazzling landscapes. While The Fall of Hyperion’s hands seemed a bit tied by the necessity of wrapping up loose ends from Hyperion, Endymion opens up a whole new set of adventures and, most importantly, mysteries.

The journey of Raul Endymion from young, fairly listless backwater settler to someone who is caught up in universe-changing events is a joy to read about. The new worlds are rich and colorful; while some feel contrived, some feel totally natural and yet utterly unique.

And with the freedom to innovate without being too tied to the people and places of Hyperion, Simmons seems to get his knack for heart-stopping prose back. The opening sentence of Endymion is one of the best I’ve ever read:

“You are reading this for the wrong reason.”

Our protagonist, Raul Endymion, then goes on to speculate as to why someone may wish to read is memoir; and alternately come to the conclusion of the only reason why they should.

Endymion continues Simmons’ tradition of homaging romantic poet John Keats and the Greek myths about which Keats so often wrote. Where Hyperion referred to a Keats poem about the overthrow of the old pantheon of titans by a new pantheon of gods, Endymion in myth and poetry is the humble human shepherd who becomes the lover of a goddess.

That’s as close as I will come to giving you spoilers.