We continue the never ending saga of The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons from 1997. We return with…more exposition! And special guest (and trauma buddy) Filip, from the Mind Duck Books podcast, who is in the anger stage of Hyperion Grief. Raul (rhymes with Tall) has arrived on a mountain planet that probably has a name but only one of us knows it (spoiler: it’s Sam). Due to time debt (and shenanigans) Aenea has aged up and that’s good news for Raul because he’s into her. But in a really gross way where he keeps referencing his paternal attitude towards her and how she used to be a child. Please stop, we’re begging you. Back on this mountain planet, they go to a big soirée with the Dalai Lama. Aenea is apparently smarter than him, because she’s smarter than everyone, but oh no! There’s also a lot of bad guys there partying too, and despite her best disguise (a veil) they recognize her and try to start some rumble snaps. Luckily, the Shrike is back in action! And by back in action we mean he shows up, says hi, and leaves. They somehow get out of there and have some more sex (oh, did we not mention that? They’re having sex now). And then mixed in, there’s lots of mountain planet time where we follow Raul around as he doesn’t learn anything Aenea is teaching her disciples, so therefore, we as readers still know nothing. Who needs to know the reasons or plot of a book? Not us. This absolutely infuriates Sam, like to the point that this is the part when Hyperion officially broke him. So join us this week for some much needed group therapy!

Special thanks to friend of the pod and honorary co-host Filip from Mind Duck Books for joining us on this thrilling journey! You can find Mind Duck Books on Twitter and Instagram, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Theme: Earning Happiness by John Bartmann.

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