The Book Of Skulls | ||||||||
Robert Silverberg | ||||||||
Orion Millennium, 222 pages | ||||||||
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A review by Chris Donner
Yet despite this knowledge, people go through their lives working, creating, asserting
themselves, and somehow or another seeking to leave their imprint on this world. Religion,
science, medicine, technology -- these all offer some vague promise of immortality, and maybe it
is this promise that keeps the bulk of mankind moving forward and in some sense hopeful.
But what happens when the promise of immortality lies directly and clearly ahead, a path to be
followed absolutely or ignored forever? How would we respond if we knew we could live
forever, but that it would require absolute dedication, unfailing pursuit, regardless of the personal
costs? This question is addressed by Robert Silverberg in his classic novel, The Book Of Skulls,
reprinted in the SF Masterworks series by Millennium.
Having discovered an archaic text promising eternal life to those who are willing to pursue it,
four college boys -- Eli, Ned, Oliver, Timothy -- begin this pursuit of immortality in a kind of
Kerouac-like road trip across the country, driving fast, smoking cigarettes, having sex, and
generally discovering themselves. To a point.
But the trip is not driven by a sense of searching or unrest. Instead, its goal is clear. An
encampment deep in the Arizona desert, where the promise of eternal life glimmers like a
mirage, tantalizing but of uncertain solidity. And when they finally arrive, they begin to discover
things about themselves that make them wonder whether eternal life is really worth the cost.
What initially seems like a harmless lark quickly takes on more somber tones as it becomes clear
that the promised eternal life is not for all. Everything has its price, and even as they leave their
Ivy League haven on little more than a spring break road trip, these boys know that if they do
discover eternal life, it will only be for two of them. For the book clearly states that two must die
so that two may live. But to think about that too often would be crippling, in the same way that
thinking about death too often would cripple our enjoyment of this life.
These boys are not friends, and that is the remarkable thing about Silverberg's writing. There is
no sense that these four really belong together, no esprit de corps that keeps them
unified and constant. Instead, it is simply their curiosity, their desire to see something finished
once it has been begun that drives them. In other words, it is their common humanity that keeps
them together, despite their significant differences. And for all their differences, Silverberg
makes each of these boys richly human.
At the heart of it, The Book Of Skulls is a study of psychology, perhaps even sociology. The
boys are individuals, young men, but they are also types to some extent, and they are forced to
live (and risk death) together to achieve a common goal. The Book Of Skulls is a masterful
presentation of the differences that keep mankind always in flux, but also of the likenesses that
allow us to achieve our goals. Even when we want to live forever.
Chris Donner is a freelance writer and magazine editor living in Manhattan and working in Connecticut. He will read almost anything once, as it makes the train ride go faster. He is currently writing a screenplay, a novel, several short stories, a collection of poems, and a letter to his mother. The letter will probably be done first. |
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