Shrike: Quite possibly. Simmons seems to have a thing for horror (q.v. Song of Kali), which was prominent in Hyperion, but not so much in Fall, Endymion, or Rise.

Canerbury Tales: It was standard reading in my high school's advanced senior English classes, which I didn't take because I took something lame like calculus instead. I kind of regret missing it, but not enough to actually read it today.