Sacrament by Clive Barker

[gilda_elise]

Sacrament is a novel unlike any that Clive Barker has written. Neither horror nor fantasy, though partaking of both, this masterful work plunges far deeper and soars even higher.

It is the story of Will Rabjohns, perhaps the most famous wildlife photographer in the world, who has made his reputation chronicling the fates of endangered species, including his own. For even as Will rises to the pinnacle of his career, he is witnessing his own world the close-knit San Francisco community that has nurtured and liberated him ravaged by AIDS.

Then an almost mystical encounter with a bear in the Arctic leaves Will all but dead. In the depths of his coma, he revisits the wildernesses of his youth in England and relives the terrifying encounter that created him, both as an artist and a man.

Part horror (a very small part,) part fantasy, part environmental plea, it follows the evolution of Will Rabjohns from not very likable boy to a man searching for who knows what. He certainly doesn’t. But what happened to him that created most of the evolution, that sets the course of his life, is what makes up the major part of the book. It jumps smoothly from boyhood to adulthood and back, so that we learn who he is, why he is, and what he can become.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I do have an issue with its ending. The buildup to that ending is strong, but then we’re given a flat and too pat solution to it all. Then it veers in the other direction, as we’re left with a last puzzle. What could have been a neat ending to his journey is muddled by a metaphysical encounter that sets the story off on an unnecessary tangent.




Mount TBR 2016 Book Links

Links are to more information regarding each book, not to the review.

1. Alexander's Lovers
2. The Border
3. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
4. Green Darkness
5. The Return of the Wolf to Yellowstone
6. Rise to Rebellion
7. Return to Sodom and Gomorrah
8. Through a Glass Darkly
9. Lisey's Story
10. The Man He Became
11. The Handmaid's Tale
12. The Great Warming
13. Sacrament

Comments

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

Sacrament sounds like another very interesting read. Thanks for the introduction!

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

It really was, even if I wasn't particularly taken with the ending. And you're very welcome. :-)

[caffyolay.livejournal.com]

Hmm... sounds a bit intriguing. I think the only Clive Barker I've read is the young adult one about Abarat. I forget the exact title. It was ok... different... but I didn't feel enthused to rush out and get more by him, though I imagine the YA title is probably not typical of his work.

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

I didn't even know he wrote YA. He doesn't seem the type, though why I think that, I don't know, lol. The book's premise is quite intriguing, and kept me interested, no matter that I didn't care for the ending. It wasn't terrible, far from that. I suppose I was just expecting something else.

[caffyolay.livejournal.com]

I just checked on Fatastic Fiction as I was starting to wonder if I'd got the right author. *g* Yes, I have, the series is called 'Abarat', it's 3 books long and is for YAs.

I also wanted to thank you for my LJ virtual birthday gift. Very kind of you... I had a super day and got some nice books as gifts. Always a plus. :-)

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

I'm not big on YA, but it's interesting to know that Barker has written in it.

You're very welcome. :-) And books are always the best of gifts!