Hyperion

Hyperion is a Hugo Award-winning 1989 science fiction novel by American writer Dan Simmons. It is the first book of his Hyperion Cantos, and is the only book in it to extensively employ the literary device of the frame story (although arguably The Fall of Hyperion also uses it, but to a lesser extent). The plot of the novel is highly complex, featuring multiple time-lines and characters whose behavior changes dramatically.

Mankind stands on the brink of Armageddon as a consequence of imminent warfare with the Ousters, post-humans genetically altered to live in deep space. Humanity's deliverance may rest with seven pilgrims whose unique experiences offer understanding of the unsolved riddles of the Time Tombs, located on the planet Hyperion. The unthinking hubris of man resulted in the death of the home-world (Earth), and this arrogant philosophy was carried forth to the stars, only to meet the wrath of a god (The Shrike).