Notes on 'Endymion' (1996) by Dan Simmons
Endymion is the third novel in Dan Simmons’ Hyperion Cantos series (1989-1997), which collectively represent a high point in postmodern space opera with its playful, self-conscious style and appropriation of past literary genres. Set 274 years after the events of Hyperion (1989), the interstellar civilisation of the Hegemony of Man has been replaced by the administrative body of the Pax, enforced by the Roman Catholic Church. Together with Bruce Sterling, Iain M. Banks and David Zindell, Simmons belongs to the generation of critically acclaimed sf writers who from the mid-1980s onwards brought space opera back on the map. Endymion came second place for the the Locus Best SF Novel award (1997).