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The Rise of Endymion

Dan Simmons

1997 · 709 pages · Science fiction

adventurous moodmoderate paceheavy and literary toneresolved and happy ending

How it reads

The Rise of Endymion is science fiction (space opera, specifically), and its dominant mood is adventurous. It's driven by momentum, discovery and getting into trouble. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in an invented world, in the future, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are faith, power and politics and survival. In weight it's heavy and literary — denser, more serious, and more demanding of you.

It's a later book in a series — you'll usually want to start earlier. The ending resolves happily. At 709 pages it's a real commitment. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.

Pick it up if…

  • you're in the mood for something adventurous
  • you want something to chew on
  • you like disappearing into an invented world

Maybe not if…

  • you need something cosy or melancholy
  • you want something you can finish this weekend

All 15 dimensions

Author gender
male
Author experience
prolific veteran
Setting: place
fictional world
Setting: time
future
Mood / feeling
adventurous
Pace
moderate
Tone / weight
heavy and literary
Length
long
Narrative style
third person, several viewpoints
Publication era
modern classic
Popularity
well known
Series vs standalone
later in a series
Ending style
resolved and happy

What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.

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