Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
15th out of 17 books
—
102 voters
Sacrament
by
Clive Barker
A boy has an encounter with a man who causes extinctions of other species, so he grows up to be a man who documents (and thus appeals for a halt to) those extinctions. This dark fantasy tale is unlike Clive Barker's other recent ones: it is more tightly plotted, and more of this world. In a sequence of well-executed stories within stories (comparable to Russian dolls), Bar...more
Paperback
Published
by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
(first published July 1st 1995)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
Clive Barker is one of our finest living writers; far more than a mere genre horror writer, he imbues his novels with a tangible sense of soul, as well as candid, often unnerving explorations of our darker impulses, fears, and passions. Forbidden sexuality, the quest for immortality, corruption of the soul and damnation are just a few of the themes that often haunt his work and in SACRAMENT, all of these themes are on display in what is arguably his most personal and lyrical novel to date.
Will R...more
Will R...more
A dark tale that skates around the ideas and principals of extinction, both individual and as an entire species. The storyline finds itself placed both in the gay bars of San Francisco and the rather different atmosphere of the Yorkshire Dales. The novel blends dark fantasy with a sprinkling of the exotic and erotic. The base of the story skirts between the physical world of mankind and the haunting and surreal world of the magical and fantastic. The book opens the doors to many questions for th...more
SlashReaders: Alright so the excerpt doesn't really tell you much about this book. I actually found this one thoroughly fascinating if a bit confusing at points but once you get into it curiosity definitely drives you on to figure out exactly what is going on. And the story between the main character and his past lover is extremely touching. There are a couple of wonderful scenes in this book that are just... and no I'm not talking about sex scenes. Mmm... And I'm not going to ruin any more of t...more
This is very different to Barker's more well known novels. I'm sure he would be hurt to know I didn't enjoy it as much as others as I believe it is still well written but the melancholy that I associate with it tells me that he is writing from the heart more than writing from his imagination (that I enjoy).
Plot ***Spoilers***
"It is set in Yorkshire in England, in San Francisco, and in Hudson Bay in Canada. It is about a wildlife photographer who devotes his photographs to making accounts of spec...more
Plot ***Spoilers***
"It is set in Yorkshire in England, in San Francisco, and in Hudson Bay in Canada. It is about a wildlife photographer who devotes his photographs to making accounts of spec...more
Jan 25, 2013
Tonya
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction-novels,
fantasy
I find myself mostly ambivalent regarding this novel. It didn't keep my interest long. It rarely entertained me.
Will Rabjohns is a photographer that specializes in animals and even more specifically the death of endangered animals. While he's out on a shoot Will is mauled by a polar bear and winds up in a coma where we, as his audience, are treated to the chronicle of Will's young teen years. After the death of his brother and the family moving to a new town Will meets Jacob Steep and Rosa McGe...more
Will Rabjohns is a photographer that specializes in animals and even more specifically the death of endangered animals. While he's out on a shoot Will is mauled by a polar bear and winds up in a coma where we, as his audience, are treated to the chronicle of Will's young teen years. After the death of his brother and the family moving to a new town Will meets Jacob Steep and Rosa McGe...more
Even though it is well written and explores themes like extinction of species, the sadness of killing off bloodlines because of homosexuality and the uselessness of immortality, the plot is convoluted and sometimes Barker suffers from the redundancy that plagues writers like his peer, S. King.
I LOVE that Barker explores dreams within dreams logic: he compares it to Russian dolls. Sometimes the protagonist dreams of the past, relives events, becomes a part of someone else's consciousness while he...more
I LOVE that Barker explores dreams within dreams logic: he compares it to Russian dolls. Sometimes the protagonist dreams of the past, relives events, becomes a part of someone else's consciousness while he...more
Will Rabjohns is a wildlife photographer, drawn to the dark side of the natural world where it is forced to survive amongst humans. For he is haunted by his past, when as a boy, suffering neglect from his parents when his brother died, he met two mysterious, cruel and powerful people. Once again, he must confront what he and they did, reliving his past mistakes and rectifying them while he still can...saving not only himself but every living creature on the planet.
Like all Barker's books, this i...more
Like all Barker's books, this i...more
What's creepy is that I was lying in bed trying to remember something other than the sense that I'd read this book -- all I could remember was a female and maybe animals -- and then the next day I was organizing old photos and found a picture I'd taken of my room in middle school, and this book lying on the bed. SCORE.
I’ll start this by saying that I am aware that Clive Barker is not strictly a horror author. I’m sure it’s been somewhat frustrating to him over his career to have carried this label years after writing his last true piece of horror fiction, Cabal, in 1988 (a case could be made, however, for Cold Heart Canyon [2001:] or Mister B. Gone [2008:], being horror). But his style of fantasy, even his children’s novels such The Thief of Always (1992) and the Abarat series (2002 and 2004), are so dark, an...more
Whatever his flaws may be, there is no arguing the fact that Clive Barker is a visually stunning author. The scenes that he evokes in his writing will remain with one for years and linger long after any recollection of the plot has faded. I say this because I read this book on vacation over a decade ago. I remember devouring it, but I do not remember too much about the plot. I do however immediately recall lush scenes in a forest, a terrifying visual of a polar bear, a bedroom in San Francisco,...more
May 05, 2011
Missy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
magical-realism-and-urban-fantasy
Really fantastic read. Barker proves once again how effortlessly he handles urban fantasy. I'm a big fan of his work and writing style and the types of characters he writes, and I felt like this book fully delivered on everything a fan would expect of him. I'm actually shocked now when I think of how little I'd heard about this book. That's one of the reasons I picked it up, because it seems to be the one Barker novel that no one talks about. But it's just as good, if not better, than the ones t...more
This is another supernatural novel by Clive Barker. The novel is about a homosexual (Yes. That is an important part of the novel.) photographer who had an encounter with two very odd people in his youth. After being mauled by a Polar Bear, the author's youthful encounter becomes important to him.
The plot was interesting, but not fantastic or amazing by any means. It was a standard read, but I would really hope for more from this author. I also felt his necessity to be descriptive of some of the...more
The plot was interesting, but not fantastic or amazing by any means. It was a standard read, but I would really hope for more from this author. I also felt his necessity to be descriptive of some of the...more
This Barker book was much more grounded in reality than many of the others I've read. It's the story of a man who was touched by something in his youth that shapes his future, and his eventual confrontation with that entity later in life. Every time I read Clive Barker I'm reminded of what an incredible writer he is, he conveys complex emotions with ease. If he had chosen to write more for the masses I have no doubt he'd be a bestseller, but I for one am glad he didn't. Much like John Irving wen...more
Odd that I haven't read a Clive Barker novel in years. This book reminded me why I used to read him on a regular basis. I believe I need to rekindle my reading affair with him again. If I wasn't eating, sleeping or writing, I was reading this book.
Let's just say I sat there weeping for the last 40 pages. Just the quiet "hey, why is my sight blurry" situation. A major plot reveal was given to the reader long before the end but I didn't pick up on the clues. There were actually a few of them.
Haun...more
Let's just say I sat there weeping for the last 40 pages. Just the quiet "hey, why is my sight blurry" situation. A major plot reveal was given to the reader long before the end but I didn't pick up on the clues. There were actually a few of them.
Haun...more
Tranquilli, non è un romanzo a sfondo ecologista. E nemmeno un romanzo sulla comunità gay di San Francisco nel momento del brutale risveglio dal sogno degli anni Ottanta. Barker è spiazzante, anche per questo lo adoro. Il suo grande tema è quello dell'identità. Inteso in senso archetipico, junghiano. L'incertezza sull'identità è fonte di orrore puro e allo stesso tempo di esaltazione maniacale, un po' come nel disturbo bipolare della personalità. Orribile ed eccitante scoprire che non si è chi s...more
Enjoying it immensely! Though it can't be confused with a true analysis of "the gay life" , Clive, an avowed and renowned homosexual, seems to speak "twistedly autobiographically" from Will's perspective about "the life" protractedly, almost delivering the supernatural element as a "side" . Though I am "straight" , I think I have a better idea of how gays are "wired" from the work , subtracting of course the necessary hyperbole Clive is forced to use to depict forms of evil (both foreign AND dom...more
Barker always amazes me, because I think he's highly underrated. The prose is always so tight, and so effortlessly good (you don't feel him reaching, and therefor never trip over it). But what really impressed me about this book was the pacing: it's a longer one, and I've read books numbering this page count or less that dragged, or rushed over some things and lingered on others. But Barker knows just when to pull you away, to move on to something new to keep your interest at the same peaked lev...more
Clive Barker's Sacrament is a puzzle box, a mystery that begs to be solved. This novel stands apart in Barker's arsenal. It exudes a personal, contemplative aura. It cannot truly be considered horror or even fantasy. It might more accurately be regarded as something akin to magical realism. Those less-than-hardy readers who avoid books that contain blood and gore can read this book without fear of getting wet.
Sacrament is a thinking person's novel. It is a novel that examines the past and forete...more
Sacrament is a thinking person's novel. It is a novel that examines the past and forete...more
What is sad is that this book was read way back in seventh grade. It was my first encounter with homosexuality. I was hooked. I must have read this book eight times. The spine broke, the covers were well worn and it was a much loved book. I do have to admit that the interest for me came in the pairing of Will and Patrick. I really could have cared less about the other characters. Overall though, this book was a eye-opener for a small town girl that needed to be pushed out of the confines of her...more
Sacrament is a very good book. It was not a dissapointment at all, however, I did not like this as other Barker novels but still it was a good story. Its about a gay photographer who has been knocked into a coma by a bear and starts having dreams of his childhood. He recallects parts of his childhood when he meets a man named jocob that changed his life forever. After he awakes, he feels the need to find this man. This book is a story about coming to grips with your past and how it made you who...more
Clive Barker is a terrific author. I loved The Hellbound Heart, and the Books of Blood series. However, Sacrament, falls short. Barker is a very original author, and Sacrament is no exception, but at the same time this novel doesn't seem to go anywhere. I read the synopsis for this book, and it immediately roped me in. It seemed very interesting and different from his previous works. The book starts off promising but then it completely goes downhill. At times I was confused as to what was going...more
Sep 03, 2011
William Johnson
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2011,
since-joining-goodreads
Barker is a man of not only many talents but many genres. Sacrament is perhaps is most genre-bending as it mixes horror, fantasy, straight-drama, modern romance, and philosophy into the mix.
And while the book is rather slow, due to its very Barker-like approach to storytelling (loooong introductions, wide ranging narrative that adheres to its own chronology, complex mythology that is only explained later, if at all), it is one of his best written books.
It certainly isn't a classic but I gather...more
And while the book is rather slow, due to its very Barker-like approach to storytelling (loooong introductions, wide ranging narrative that adheres to its own chronology, complex mythology that is only explained later, if at all), it is one of his best written books.
It certainly isn't a classic but I gather...more
The reader is introduced to Will Rabjohns, a photographer of soon to be extinct species. He has his deal of fame, an Englishman living in San Francisco and a gay.
After we take a look at the average day of the main character, Will falls into a coma. This acts as a way for Barker to shift our attention to Will's childhood. The reader goes over the major events that made Will into who he is now and builds the basis for the rest of the book. At the same time, it's uncertain how the book's present in...more
After we take a look at the average day of the main character, Will falls into a coma. This acts as a way for Barker to shift our attention to Will's childhood. The reader goes over the major events that made Will into who he is now and builds the basis for the rest of the book. At the same time, it's uncertain how the book's present in...more
This book generally isn't a Barker fan favorite -- I remember discussing it online shortly after I read it years ago & being surprised at some of the disappointment expressed -- but, along with Galilee made a lasting impression on me -- I loved loved loved the premise & also the way Barker mingles nitty-gritty contemporary realism with a kind of fantasy that may include but also goes beyond horror...I could not put this book down & remained fascinated throughout. I also knew that the...more
Clive Barker once again wrote about a world so real, so much like our own - then it took a turn left and 'strange' elements started to creep in. Still it all stays so realistic, so true to what we know as reality, it fits in seamlessly, which makes his stories so believable.
We follow Will from his present back into his past, then keep following his story and the story of people he met - all intertwined, nesting inside each other like Russian Dolls.
Right now, I feel whatever else I write here wo...more
We follow Will from his present back into his past, then keep following his story and the story of people he met - all intertwined, nesting inside each other like Russian Dolls.
Right now, I feel whatever else I write here wo...more
Clive is one of my favorite authors, and it's been quite a while since I've read him. Throughout half of Sacrament it wasn't the story or characters that drove me on, it was Barker's voice. He's one of those guys whose novels come across as easily as if he were across the table from me telling a story.
Having said that, it's not the best I've read from him. Many critics have called Sacrament "the novel Barker had to write". This because the lead character is gay, and the story revolves around his...more
Having said that, it's not the best I've read from him. Many critics have called Sacrament "the novel Barker had to write". This because the lead character is gay, and the story revolves around his...more
2 likes · like · see review
At first I didn't get into it very much, but by the end I was staying up all hours of the night to see what would come next. I tend to enjoy epic fantasy more than "low" fantasy, but the way Barker mixed the real human struggles of his characters with a fantastic reality just under the surface of it all gripped me as I never expected. This book also has its deep moments, where it gets you thinking about life and the meaning of it all. For me it was truly breathtaking, an excellent read!
If I could give 3 and half stars, that's what I would do. It was a pretty dang good read, just about 50 to 75 pgs too long. It's a tad dated, but visits an era in San Fran much further from the present that I realized. I also enjoyed its deep humanity, something that Clive Barker has always had in his writing but more so in this novel because it helped him publicly come out (back before Ellen and when doing so was a big, career-altering deal).
Clive Barker at his best. Although known for horror novels, this can be seen mostly as a coming of age story. The protagonist and antagonist(s) are surprisingly deep and I firmly believe even veteran readers will be surprised as to what exactly the forces at work are and be delighted by the twists and unexpected shadowy corners the plot finds itself in. Highly recommended.
I bought this book at a Clive Barker book signing that I attended with my brother in 1996. I was lucky enough to get it signed and meet the author. I finally just decided to read it in 2009!
Like all Barker books, it was a wild ride. But it will always be extra special to me for the memories of the experience purchasing it. (Hey Eric... Everybody Poops!)
Like all Barker books, it was a wild ride. But it will always be extra special to me for the memories of the experience purchasing it. (Hey Eric... Everybody Poops!)
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What's The Name o...: One word title "S..." man & woman combine into one [s] | 3 | 49 | Apr 21, 2013 12:53pm | |
| Contemporary Brit...: Sacrament | 2 | 5 | Feb 23, 2013 11:21pm |
Clive Barker was born in Liverpool, England, the son of Joan Rubie (née Revill), a painter and school welfare officer, and Leonard Barker, a personnel director for an industrial relations firm. Educated at Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank High School, he studied English and Philosophy at Liverpool University and his picture now hangs in the entrance hallway to the Philosophy Department. It...more
More about Clive Barker...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“I am a man, and men are animals who tell stories. This is a gift from God, who spoke our species into being, but left the end of our story untold. That mystery is troubling to us. How could it be otherwise? Without the final part, we think, how are we to make sense of all that went before: which is to say, our lives?
So we make stories of our own, in fevered and envious imitation of our Maker, hoping that we'll tell, by chance, what God left untold. And finishing our tale, come to understand why we were born.”
—
4 people liked it
So we make stories of our own, in fevered and envious imitation of our Maker, hoping that we'll tell, by chance, what God left untold. And finishing our tale, come to understand why we were born.”
“There was little comfort, this voice inside him said, in discovering a mystery at the wellspring of his life so banal his unremarkable mind could readily fathom it. Better, perhaps, to die in doubt, knowing there was some revelation still unfound, than to pursue and possess such a wretched certainty.”
—
4 people liked it
More quotes…
I first read this back in ... (recalling?) the late 1990's, and I read it in a hasty fashion. I had other plans and...more
Nov 28, 2012 04:35am