The Book Of Skulls (Sf Masterworks 23)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
From 1967 to 1972, Robert Silverberg had a burst of extraordinary creativity during which he wrote most of his finest novels. The Book of Skulls (1972) is one of these. Following the cryptic manuscript which provides the title, four young men cross America in search of a forgotten Shangri-La in the cactus-ridden desert north of Phoenix, Arizona--a monastery whose adepts hold the keys of immortality and supposedly follow a tradition handed down since Atlantis.
Candidates for eternal life must present themselves at the "Skullhouse" as a foursome. The brothers are happy to provide training in their secrets (including tantric sex)--but there's a price. The Ninth Mystery in the Book of Skulls states: "Two of thee we undertake to admit to our fold. Two must go into darkness". One of those four college students must willingly commit suicide. One is fated to be murdered by his own friends.
The narrative shuttles between their viewpoints, each distinct and sharply characterised. Rich, handsome, upper-class Timothy doesn't believe in immortality and is just going along with the gag. Eli the Jewish intellectual believes passionately. Ned, who is openly gay, has his own agenda involving Oliver, a Midwestern farm boy with tortured depths who says the Skullhouse is his only hope. Each in turn undergoes an ordeal of dreadful self-knowledge, after which the impossible choice of who wins and who loses seems natural, even inevitable.
Though only marginally SF, The Book of Skulls is a fine, scarifying novel of character. Unforgettable. --David Langford
Book Description
A finely crafted account of four friends¿ quest for immortality
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Four college friends - so not exactly real friends - travel to the Arizona desert in search of a semi-mythical retreat of the ancients, there to partake in a ritual which might grant them immortality, according to an ancient book. As they leave New York and travel across America the ritual looms larger and larger, and rivalries and secrets surface. For only two of them can live forever, and for that to happen, the other two must die.
A compelling narrative and an ingenious high-concept are matched by some great writing from Silverberg, and the book is still a real page-turner. And some parts - such as the part where Jewish nebbish Eli talks of the ideological failings of the post-war generation - are very well written. But the sexism that runs through the book tips over more than once into actual misogyny, culminating in the role of women in the immortality ritual (faceless, nameless women are provided for initiates to have sex with, and no more). Stuff like this preserves the book in aspic in the worst excesses of the early 1970s, where free love has turned into male fantasy and "Women's Lib" is a frightening, alien world that threaten the sanctity of all-male adventures such as this one. As such, despite the book's intellectual aspirations, it's almost impossible to take it seriously.
A compelling narrative and an ingenious high-concept are matched by some great writing from Silverberg, and the book is still a real page-turner. And some parts - such as the part where Jewish nebbish Eli talks of the ideological failings of the post-war generation - are very well written. But the sexism that runs through the book tips over more than once into actual misogyny, culminating in the role of women in the immortality ritual (faceless, nameless women are provided for initiates to have sex with, and no more). Stuff like this preserves the book in aspic in the worst excesses of the early 1970s, where free love has turned into male fantasy and "Women's Lib" is a frightening, alien world that threaten the sanctity of all-male adventures such as this one. As such, despite the book's intellectual aspirations, it's almost impossible to take it seriously.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Four frat boys depart on a quest for immortality based on some old manuscript about a skull-worshipping cult: now, can we expect anything worthwhile from a premise so sophomoric? We can if it is Robert Silverberg writing, evidently.
With the right balance of wit, erudition, humour, and earnestness, Silverberg pulls it off. The House of Skulls exists: that is made plausible enough. And a proper dose of irony prevents this immortal-life-and-death mystery, with its Aztec and ancient symbology and mumbo jumbo, from ever veering into ridicule. Anyway, The Book of Skulls, though classified as science fiction, is actually a piece of social and private commentary. The point is in the relationship between the four students: an East Coast wasp scion, the overachieving son of poor Kansas farmers, a young Jewish New York philologist, and a flippant, gay, aspiring poet. Silverberg's desert classic is both extremely funny and penetrating, written with brio and truthfully told - and the trick of having all four main protagonists as narrators works especially well.
More than that, The Book of Skulls does not shrink from broader subjects: friendship, trust, mortality, atonement. In this sense, it belongs to a 1960s and 70s sci-fi tradition prepared to take on big themes. Think Stranger in a Strange Land, or some of Philip K Dick's novels. This is a metaphysical work. And it has a refreshing vitality, an optimism one fails to find in nowadays equivalents. It dares to be about something, unlike the shrivelled dystopias being churned out by more current authors, the meagre servings that are McCarthy's The Road, say. The Book of Skulls is not quite on a par with Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz, but almost.
With the right balance of wit, erudition, humour, and earnestness, Silverberg pulls it off. The House of Skulls exists: that is made plausible enough. And a proper dose of irony prevents this immortal-life-and-death mystery, with its Aztec and ancient symbology and mumbo jumbo, from ever veering into ridicule. Anyway, The Book of Skulls, though classified as science fiction, is actually a piece of social and private commentary. The point is in the relationship between the four students: an East Coast wasp scion, the overachieving son of poor Kansas farmers, a young Jewish New York philologist, and a flippant, gay, aspiring poet. Silverberg's desert classic is both extremely funny and penetrating, written with brio and truthfully told - and the trick of having all four main protagonists as narrators works especially well.
More than that, The Book of Skulls does not shrink from broader subjects: friendship, trust, mortality, atonement. In this sense, it belongs to a 1960s and 70s sci-fi tradition prepared to take on big themes. Think Stranger in a Strange Land, or some of Philip K Dick's novels. This is a metaphysical work. And it has a refreshing vitality, an optimism one fails to find in nowadays equivalents. It dares to be about something, unlike the shrivelled dystopias being churned out by more current authors, the meagre servings that are McCarthy's The Road, say. The Book of Skulls is not quite on a par with Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz, but almost.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It's a pity this was released in the "SF Masterworks" series, as this has absolutely nothing to do with science fiction. SF freaks might be disappointed if they expect something else.
Still, this is an amazing novel. Not much happens, so this isn't for you if you are looking for an all-out adventure novel. It's an introspective story about the search for immortality, and the price people are willing to pay for it. It's also a novel about hope, morals and regrets. You get right into the minds of the four characters. Great stuff.
Still, this is an amazing novel. Not much happens, so this isn't for you if you are looking for an all-out adventure novel. It's an introspective story about the search for immortality, and the price people are willing to pay for it. It's also a novel about hope, morals and regrets. You get right into the minds of the four characters. Great stuff.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Well-written and cool.
This book follows the journey of four college students seeking immortality. The narrative switches between the point of view of each of the boys seamlessly. Read more
Published 19 months ago by HeecheeRendezvous
Genuinely scary
This book is genuinely scary and very different from other sci-fi novels, almost a horror story. The ending, whilst a little disappointing, leaves one wanting to know more...
Published on 4 Dec 2009 by Sherlock
This IS Science Fiction. Good Science Fiction, at that.
If your definition of "Science Fiction" means far-fetched, yet oddly familiar heroism involving space travel (pointless), robots (dull), or extra-terrestrial invaders... Read more
Published on 24 Jun 2009 by Behan
Sex and skulduggery
I like Silverbergs's work, and have read a number of his books, so it's somewhat disappointing that this one left me strangely unmoved. Read more
Published on 31 May 2009 by sft
Borderline SF at best... but...
Despite the fact that one could justifiably argue that is borderline SF, it is undoubtedly one of Silverberg's best works, and one which works on various levels. Read more
Published on 30 Sep 2008 by Rod Williams
Very original and memorably written, but not sci-fi
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Published on 6 Aug 2008 by Mr. M. J. A. Parsons
Witty, entertaining, but not SciFi
R. Silverberg's book is NOT a Sci-Fi book, but the story of 4 students travelling to a far-away place in order to gain immortality. Read more
Published on 11 Jan 2008 by Rupf Peter
SF Masterwork? I think not.
I've occasionally been puzzled by some of the inclusions (and, indeed, omissions) from the so-called SF masterwork series. How this one made it in just baffles me. Read more
Published on 18 Aug 2007 by C. A. Gallagher
Recommended
Despite the title page, this book is neither of two things - SF or horror. It is though an excellent read that manages to be a convincing narrative of a very strange journey.
Published on 7 Aug 2007 by Kath
Very enjoyable!!
The Book of Skulls is not your typical SF book and one wonders why it was included in the Masterworks series. Read more
Published on 15 Feb 2006 by A. Morley
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