Where King eschews supernatural in favor of a straight-up tale of boys becoming men, Silverberg leaves just enough of the supernatural on the edges to allow the reader to decide themselves the true underpinnings of the Book of Skulls. The framework of the plot is quite similar to that of Stephen King’s coming of age masterpiece, The Body, the inspiration for the film Stand By Me. This isn’t a straight-up fantasy, nor does it explicitly fall into horror, and has many elements in common with a thriller. As we learn more about each of these young men, they flourish beyond the mold initially set by Silverberg. Ned is the homosexual, Timothy is the rich kid, and Oliver is the smart jock. Eli is the studious young Jew who discovered the manuscript, which spurred their journey. Each of their stories segues into the other very smoothly and their narrative voices are unique. This is just one area where Silverberg’s skills should be highly commended – in managing to capture four distinct voices for Eli, Timothy, Ned, and Oliver. Silverberg uses a very interesting device to tell his story, which really drives the pace of the narrative very well – first person narrative from each of the four protagonists. Even though the book was written over thirty years ago, a lot of what these young men experience, and how they tell their story can just as easily fit into today’s time. Robert Silverberg uses this premise to explore the depths of young men’s passions and fears in his classic novel, The Book of Skulls. Paperback, February 2006 (original publication 1972)įour young men travel across the United States in search of immortality promised in an ancient text.

Dubbelleven by Robert Silverberg