The Book of Skulls

E201079

The Book of Skulls is a 1972 science fiction novel by Robert Silverberg that follows four college students who discover a desert cult promising immortality at the cost of ritual sacrifice.

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All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
The Book of Skulls canonical 2

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf novel
science fiction novel
author Robert Silverberg
awardNomination Hugo Award for Best Novel
Nebula Award for Best Novel
awardNominationYear 1972
1973
centralTheme death
friendship
guilt
identity
immortality
moral dilemma
ritual sacrifice
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
coverArtist Frank Kelly Freas
genre science fiction
speculative fiction
hasCharacter Eli
Ned
Oliver
Tim
hasCultFollowing yes
hasISBN 0-684-12569-4
language English
mediaType print
narrativeFocus four college students
narrativeTechnique alternating character perspectives
notableFor exploration of psychological and ethical consequences of immortality
pageCount 222
partOfMovement New Wave science fiction
plotElement discovery of a manuscript describing a desert brotherhood
initiation into a secret immortality cult
journey to an isolated desert monastery
one must be sacrificed by the others
one must commit suicide
requirement that two of the four must die
protagonistGroup four male college students
publicationYear 1972
publisher Charles Scribner's Sons
setting desert
structure multiple first-person viewpoints
theme philosophy of mortality
religion
secret societies
sexuality
timePeriodOfSetting 20th century

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Robert Silverberg notableWork The Book of Skulls
Silverberg notableWork The Book of Skulls
subject surface form: Robert Silverberg