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Books : Science Fiction & Fantasy : Authors, A-Z : S : Silverberg, Robert
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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
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For Legend, acclaimed writer and editor Robert Silverberg gathered together 11 of the finest writers in fantasy to contribute to a collection of short novels. Each of the writers was asked to write a new story based on one of his or her most famous series, and the results are wonderful. From Stephen King's opening piece set in his popular Gunslinger universe to Robert Jordan's early look at his famed Wheel of Time saga, each of these stories is exceptionally well written and universally well told. The authors here include King, Jordan, and Silverberg himself, as well as Terry and Lyn Pratchett, Terry Goodkind, Orson Scott Card, Ursula K Le Guin, Tad Williams, George RR Martin, Anne McCaffrey and Raymond E Feist. This is not only a great book in and of itself, but it's also a perfect way for fantasy fans to find new novels and authorsto add to their "to-read" lists. --Craig E Engler
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![Stochastic Man ([Gollancz SF])](/media/img/no-image.jpg)
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