Hyperion

It's difficult to summarize or even explain why this book is so great, so I'm not going to go into painstaking detail, but instead just gush.

I expected very little from a book that I've heard people say is fantastic, but the cover and premise sounds hilarious and ridiculous, like a lot of dime store scifi novels that you see laying around. The reality here is that Dan Simmons is a truly fantastic writer who made something very special in Hyperion.

It has a lot of stuff that will appeal to hardcore scifi fans while making sure to have the story remain human enough to appeal to a broader audience. The Shrike is a fantastic take on the unrelenting evil, remaining mysterious throughout the tales we hear.