Martin Silenus's Tale

Lore & Background

Silenus was the child of a rich aristocratic family on Earth until a black hole destroyed the planet. Brain damage suffered on a 100-year voyage to a distant world cost him most of his ability to use language, and he was put to work as a laborer. After he recovered speech and writing he began the Hyperion Cantos; parts of it were published as a poem called the Dying Earth, and with later books it made him a multi-billionaire. He then joined Sad King Billy, an aristocrat who moved to Hyperion to found a kingdom of artists. There Silenus came to believe the Shrike was his muse; Billy burned the Cantos manuscript and was taken away by the Shrike. Kept alive by life-extending treatments, Silenus has waited centuries to return to Hyperion and finish the poem.

Did You Know?

• The Hyperion Cantos is an epic poem written by the character Martin Silenus covering in verse form the events of the first two books.
• Martin Silenus is the character who rescues Raul Endymion from a death sentence and asks him to perform a series of extraordinarily difficult tasks in Endymion.
• The Shrike is described as composed of razorwire, thorns, blades, and cutting edges, with fingers like scalpels and long, curved toe blades.