Endymion

"My first impression was, hey this is kind of pedophilic. And throughout the story there are some things that happen between Raul, 28, and Anaea, 12, like when they swim naked in a pool, or discuss how they'll take showers together in the future, or have sparks of romance cuddling half-naked under a blanket. And future Raul reflecting on how some day he would bang her, but she's just a child now. After these, I'm starting to wonder if the author is a pedophile. It ends with future Anaea saying how when she was 12 she was in love with him and kisses him while he's unconscious. <br/><br/>For other aspects of the book, Simmons is overall a good author. He writes prose well. However, he's a little too "I just read a history book about this and now I'm incorporating it into my own stuff." I do like the way he weaves in poetry, especially the John Keats stuff. The subtle references to other SF like H.G. Wells, Dune, and The Terminator movies is fun. <br/><br/>On the other hand, Raul is obnoxiously skilled and knowledgeable about everything he encounters. And it drags on an on. I'm not sure if I'll finish the series, which is a lot coming from someone who read all of the Twilight books. I generally hate religious, especially Christian, themes, and Messiah stories are such an uninteresting trope. I also don't like any of the characters, so that's kind of a problem. And then there was that dumb thing about the Core being behind it all again. Makes me think of how Star Wars 7-9 are just worse retellings of 4-6 but with a girl. Yeah, I'd like to have read the last book in this series, but I don't really want to read it. I didn't really want to read this one."