Sol Weintraub's Tale
A father carrying his backward-aging daughter toward a sacrifice he cannot refuse.
Sol Weintraub is a Jewish professor on the pilgrimage to the Time Tombs with his infant daughter Rachel. Twenty years before the events of the novel, his adult daughter Rachel had become an archaeologist and gone to Hyperion. While mapping one of the Tombs, the Shrike appeared, and Rachel contracted a disease that causes her to age backwards. Weintraub wrestles for years with dreams in which he is ordered to go to Hyperion and sacrifice Rachel in a replay of the Binding of Isaac. He decides to become a pilgrim and to implore the Shrike for a cure.
Quick Facts
- Character
- Sol Weintraub
- Role
- Pilgrim
- First appears
- Hyperion (1989)
Reader's Guide
Sol Weintraub is one of the seven pilgrims journeying to the Time Tombs. He carries his infant daughter Rachel, who is aging backwards due to a disease contracted from the Shrike twenty years earlier. His tale, "The River Lethe's Taste Is Bitter," recounts how Rachel became an archaeologist, went to Hyperion, and was stricken by the Shrike. Weintraub's recurring dreams command him to sacrifice Rachel in a replay of the Binding of Isaac. He decides to become a pilgrim and implore the Shrike for a cure. After his tale, the group sees the Templar treeship destroyed by Ousters. The ship's captain, Het Masteen, does not react and retires to his room without speaking. In the morning, Masteen is missing and his room is found full of blood, despite a watch kept all night.
More in Chronicles & Pilgrimage Arcs
Elsewhere in Hyperion Cantos
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced