I think the Hyperion cantos would be a single book rather than 4, or a closely joined 2-part novel/sequel, if not for market forces demanding books in the <700-

I think the Hyperion cantos would be a single book rather than 4, or a closely joined 2-part novel/sequel, if not for market forces demanding books in the <700-800 page range for popular consumption. There are series that are loosely connected, and then there are series that are practically a single work, like the LotR trilogy. The Hyperion cantos is similar to LotR that way. It sounds like you heard the Endymion pair are rubbish and avoided reading them. Wherever you heard that, they're not. Look at the ratings on goodreads[1], for instance. You're talking about them as if the Endymion volumes fell off a cliff like Vinge did with Children of the Sky[2]. Not so. The amazon ratings distribution for Endymion is a bit lackluster compared to the other volumes, but still nothing that could be called "rubbish". [1] https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=hyperion https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=hyperi... [2] https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=zones+of+thought https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=zones+...