Moneta and the Shrike teach him to use time-altering abilities in combat. Kassad sees the Tree of Pain, a gigantic steel tree on which the Shrike impales its victims. There he is reunited with his lover Moneta. Kassad hijacks an Ouster shuttle and crashes it onto Hyperion. During a simulation battle, a mysterious woman saves Kassad and becomes his lover.

Part Two, The Soldier's Tale: 'The War Lovers' Ĭolonel Fedmahn Kassad's tale begins with a flashback to his days training in the FORCE military academy on Mars. The Bikura are destroyed with nuclear weapons, but not before Hoyt is infected with both Duré's cruciform and one of his own.

As Hoyt touches Duré, the cruciform falls from his body and allows him finally to die. For seven years, Father Duré had been continually electrocuted and resurrected. Hoyt reveals that Duré crucified himself to a tesla tree in a desperate attempt to rid himself of the cruciform. Severe pain prevents Duré from either cutting out the cruciform or leaving the Bikura his journal entries end. Duré encounters the Shrike and is infected with a cruciform. After death, the cruciform rebuilds the physical body and resurrects them. Duré deduces that the Bikura have been infected with cross-shaped parasites called cruciforms. He researches an isolated civilization known as the Bikura.

Paul Duré and Lenar Hoyt are Catholic priests. Part One, The Priest's Tale: 'The Man who Cried God' The pilgrims decide that they will each tell their tale of how they were chosen for the pilgrimage. On the eve of an Ouster invasion of Hyperion, a final pilgrimage to the Time Tombs has been organized. 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. Numerous 'Outback' planets have no farcasters and cannot be accessed without incurring significant time dilation. Modified humans known as Ousters live in space stations between stars and are engaged in conflict with the Hegemony. The Hegemony maintains an uneasy alliance with the TechnoCore, a civilization of AIs. 2732, the Hegemony of Man comprises hundreds of planets connected by farcaster portals. The next book in the series was The Fall of Hyperion, published in 1990. It follows a similar structure to The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. The plot of the novel features multiple time-lines and characters. The first book of his Hyperion Cantos series, it won the Hugo Award for best novel. Hyperion is a 1989 science fiction novel by American author Dan Simmons.

Hyperion cantos series