Hyperion

In the far future, the Hegemony of Man links hundreds of planets through portals. On the eve of war with the Ousters, seven pilgrims set out for the Time Tombs on the planet Hyperion, home of the Shrike, a creature said to grant one pilgrim's wish. On the way, six tell their stories: Father Hoyt and the cruciform parasite, Colonel Kassad, the poet Martin Silenus, Professor Sol Weintraub, whose daughter Rachel grows younger every day, detective Brawne Lamia and the cybrid with Keats's mind, and the Consul. In the end, the Consul confesses he set off the device that opened the Tombs and freed the Shrike. The group walks on toward them, and the book ends before they arrive.

1. Behind the scenesThe Canterbury Tales in space

   The book borrows the structure of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales: a group of pilgrims travels together and each tells their own story along the way. There are seven pilgrims, but only six tell a tale.

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2. Behind the scenesA Hugo and a Locus right away

   Hyperion won both the Hugo and the Locus Award for best science fiction novel in 1990. Together with its sequel, it was also a finalist for the 1992 Arthur C. Clarke Award.

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3. ReferenceA story that came first

   The Consul's tale started out as a 1983 short story, "Remembering Siri." Simmons put it into the novel almost word for word six years later.

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4. SetupWatch for John Keats

   The poet John Keats is everywhere: Brawne Lamia's name comes from his fiancée Fanny Brawne and his poem Lamia. Her tale features a cybrid with Keats's personality. Keep that in mind.

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