The Book of Skulls
Encyclopedia
The Book of Skulls is a science fiction
novel
by Robert Silverberg
, which was first published in 1972. It was nominated for the Nebula Award in 1972, and both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1973.
desert, whose members have the power to bestow immortality
on those who complete their bizarre initiation
rite. The boys travel to the monastery, where they are accepted as a "Receptacle," and told that for each group of four who agree to undergo the ritual, two must die in order for the others to succeed - one must sacrifice himself, and the other must be sacrificed.
The narrative switches back and forth between the viewpoints of the four students as each confronts his personal demons on the way to completing the ritual. Ned, who is openly homosexual, must face his guilt over the tragic aftermath of one of his affairs; Eli, the gifted (but socially inept) young man who discovered the manuscript, makes a confession that could destroy his academic career; Timothy, star athlete and prodigal son of a wealthy family, confronts a terrible sin from his past involving his younger sister; and Oliver, the farm kid from the wrong side of the tracks, comes face to face with his own true innermost nature.
The Book of Skulls has been republished as part of the series SF Masterworks
.
found the novel well-crafted but unsatisfying, saying of the viewpoint characters that "none [were] particularly likeable, interesting, or convincing."
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg is an American author, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple nominee of the Hugo Award and a winner of the Nebula Award.-Early years:...
, which was first published in 1972. It was nominated for the Nebula Award in 1972, and both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1973.
Synopsis
The plot concerns four college students who discover a manuscript, The Book of Skulls, dealing with an order of monks living in a monastery in the ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
desert, whose members have the power to bestow immortality
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
on those who complete their bizarre initiation
Initiation
Initiation is a rite of passage ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components...
rite. The boys travel to the monastery, where they are accepted as a "Receptacle," and told that for each group of four who agree to undergo the ritual, two must die in order for the others to succeed - one must sacrifice himself, and the other must be sacrificed.
The narrative switches back and forth between the viewpoints of the four students as each confronts his personal demons on the way to completing the ritual. Ned, who is openly homosexual, must face his guilt over the tragic aftermath of one of his affairs; Eli, the gifted (but socially inept) young man who discovered the manuscript, makes a confession that could destroy his academic career; Timothy, star athlete and prodigal son of a wealthy family, confronts a terrible sin from his past involving his younger sister; and Oliver, the farm kid from the wrong side of the tracks, comes face to face with his own true innermost nature.
The Book of Skulls has been republished as part of the series SF Masterworks
SF Masterworks
SF Masterworks is a series of science fiction books started by Millennium and currently published by Gollancz ....
.
Reception
Baird SearlesBaird Searles
William Baird Searles was a science fiction author and critic. He was best known for his long running review columns for the magazines Asimov's , Amazing, and Fantasy & Science Fiction . He also did occasional reviews for other publications, including The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and The...
found the novel well-crafted but unsatisfying, saying of the viewpoint characters that "none [were] particularly likeable, interesting, or convincing."
Motion Picture
The 2006 paperback edition claims that the novel is "Soon to be made into a major motion picture." While there has been speculation on various film-related websites, plans for production seem to have halted.External links
- The Book of Skulls at Worlds Without End