Book Bearings
Hyperion
Book 1 of Hyperion Cantos
- 481 pages · about 8 hours
- First published 1989
- 26 editions
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1 About this book
In the 29th century, the Hegemony of Man comprises hundreds of planets connected by farcaster portals. The Hegemony maintains an uneasy alliance with the TechnoCore, a civilisation of AIs. Modified humans known as Ousters live in space stations between stars and are engaged in conflict with the Hegemony.
Numerous "Outback" planets have no farcasters and cannot be accessed without incurring significant time dilation. One of these planets is Hyperion, home to structures known as the Time Tombs, which are moving backwards in time and guarded by a legendary creature known as the Shrike. On the eve of an Ouster invasion of Hyperion, a final pilgrimage to the Time Tombs has been organized. The pilgrims decide that they will each tell their tale of how they were chosen for the pilgrimage.
- Science fiction
- Interplanetary voyages
- Fantasy
- Extraterrestrial beings
- Pilgrims and pilgrimages
- Drama
- Future life
- Life on other planets
2 What to expect
A science-fiction novel set in the 29th century, in which a group of pilgrims travels to the Time Tombs on the planet Hyperion to face a legendary creature called the Shrike. Like The Canterbury Tales, it is built around a frame story in which each pilgrim tells their own tale, and the tales vary widely, from war story to detective tale. It is dense and demanding, with violence and some horror, and the story continues in The Fall of Hyperion.
Good for readers who want: space opera, a pilgrimage with many stories, and ideas-driven science fiction.
3 About Dan Simmons
Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
4 More by Dan Simmons
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