The novel “Hyperion” by Dan Simmons was published for the first time in 1989. It’s the first book of the Hyperion Cantos. It won the Hugo and Locus awards as the best science fiction novel of the year.

On the planet Hyperion the Time Tombs are about to open up and no one knows what the Shrike might do. It’s a creature that lives near them and kills the pilgrims who go there. The Church of The Shrike has decided to send to the planet seven more pilgrims selected in collaboration with the Hegemony.

In the course of the interstellar journey, the pilgrims tell their stories. They reveal the reasons that led each of them to risk their lives to go to Hyperion. They also reveal the connections of various types they have with the planet Hyperion, the Time Tombs and in some cases even with the Ousters, the descendants of the colonists who developed their own civilization separate from the Hegemony.