#39 Hyperion - Hugo winning science fiction by Dan Simmons

A band of pilgrims, each with their own agenda, journeys to Hyperion, a strange alien planet. Each hopes to confront the Shrike, a time travelling angel of death who haunts the world by popping in and out of existence and slaughtering most everyone it encounters. The legend is that one of each group of pilgrims is granted a wish and the rest are killed. Our group is the last pilgrimage to take the trek before war and a possible apocalypse changes the galaxy forever.

Simmons takes a nod from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, constructing the book from each character's self-told tale. Each segment dwells in its own genre; the soldier and private detective deliver action packed accounts while the poet ruminates on the craft of writing and the nature of the muse. The different stories, at first seem divergent from the plot, but each slowly paints a picture of Simmons's picture of a universe ruled by the Hegemony of Man. The end result is a sprawling tale which tackles faith, politics, family, science, art and love with equal fervor. Of course, this novel is only the beginning.