Rating: 
Summary: Stirred to the bone
Review: I finished reading Sacrament for the second time today.It seems that Clive Barker writes not just to tell a story,but to reach further out to touch the invisible fabric of something he senses ever so clearly.Yes,this story has very human characters,and within the cycle of the book they have human experiences.But as a whole,Barker knits them together in such a way as to point again and again to something undefinable,an absolute sense of spirit.It seems that he lives through his characters the same journey,the journey to wholeness,where they become one with this untouchable spirit.For me,the most inspired part of Clive's writing is the constant presence and acknowledgement of this placid spirituality just beyond our fingertips.These emotions that connect to them are supernatural,fitting in seamlessly with the flawless universes Barker creates.I dont mean to not talk about the book:Sacrament is a brilliant novel.But I was so stirred by the beauty of it,the poetry,and most of all the great clarity that Barker has in telling tales of this very real spiritual perimeter,that I forgot to outline the story and characters.No matter-the heart of this book has already been explained.
Rating:
Summary: This was the best "good read" I had last year!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. To the point that I would drop everything and read for about an hour at a time until I finished it. As for the subject of main guy being gay, if it had been any other way, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed the book as much. Talk about exploring worlds unknown! It was another fasinating journey for me. To explore how a gay man's life may be, and when you think about it, could you really imagine a straight buisness man or a redneck cowbay being as deep or sensitive? Not knocking that type of man either, but think about it. This is the first Clive Barker novel I have read. I thought I would check out some of his other novels and found them a little to grusome for my taste, but this one I could read over and over again. Differnt strokes... As for answers to my questions, I, personally, found them at the end of the book. In the last chapter. I don't know if others are just not reading carefully enough, or what, but they are there. One womans point of veiw, on Sacrament.
Rating: 
Summary: Back to his old tricks
Review: I thought this was going to be a different kind of Clive barker novel, not veering into the mystical worlds, but rather dealing with emotions and the human condition. Unfortunately, he falls back into familiar territory: parallel worlds, mythological beasts, sex and violence for entertainment¹s sake. The Books of Blood proved he was capable in the horror realm, The Great and Secret Show proved he could weave an intricate fantasy; now it's time to tackle the real world
Rating:
Summary: Barker answers the question: Why are we here?
Review: In books like Weaveworld and Imajica, Clive Barker created new a new mythology and reinvented the religious parable, respectively. Now, in his most ambitious and creatively daring book thus far, Barker departs from the tried and true
of the world of dark fantasy and delves deeper into the human
condition than he has previously explored. As admitted by the
author, Sacrament contains just enough autobiographical detail
to allow his readers further insight into his philosophies, which
this time around are far more reality-based and less abstract than
previous ventures. In telling the story of Will Rabjohns, a
famous wildlife photographer who has gained recognition through
capturing dark images of nature at its most disturbing and violent,
Barker relates a parable on the value of life, human and otherwise.
The antagonist of the story, Jacob Steep, is representative of
human nature at its most distructive. As a creature that has learned
to be a man by watching men, he carries the belief that man holds
dominion over beasts to the point that he has created a mission for himself
to destroy the last of every species of creature on the earth, to know God
by playing God. At the same time, Will Rabjohns personifies both the
good and bad in human nature: while he eventually discovers the value of all life and the connections involved in the cycles of birth,life,
and death, at the same time he experiences the same bloodlust
as Steep when he is young and it is this same type of lust for violence that drives him to the corners of the world to capture his photographic
images. Another, even deeper layer runs through the book as Will watches
friends and loved ones in his adopted home of San Francisco fall to the
twin curses of disease and excess.
Ultimately, Sacrament is a moving, intelligent, and deeply satisfying novel of hope, renewal, and enlightenment.
Rating:
Summary: THIS IS AN AMAZING BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Mr. Barker certainly knows how to please his readers. Even though this book doesn't fall much on the same genre like his other books, it is still one great book to read. The life of Will Rabjohns, the main character, is well elaborated in this book. You will learn what made into the man he is in the present time, by going back to his days when he was on his early teens and meeting two people, Jacob Steep and Rose McGee, who changed his life. I'm hoping this will be made into a movie soon. As for people who are still beginners to his works, you certainly will find him one of the best writers, if not the best of our days. JUST ENJOY AND SLEEP WELL AFTER READING A GOOD CLIVE BARKER BOOK
Rating: 
Summary: Its a good read... too bad about all the bigoted reviewers
Review: Not Barkers best....but Please people, hating a book because the main character happens to be gay...is so absurd..which by the way you find out in like the first three pages..If that offends you... flip through a book before you waste time reading it.. and then... keep your prejudice to yourself. Reveiwed by a heterosexual.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, with one bad flaw
Review: OK, first of all I do reccomend 'Sacrament'. It was a good book, and a good read, but it just had one thing about it that I hated. I am male, and the main character of this book is homosexial, which i REALLY didn't like. Some of the homosexialatiy goes into far too much detail, making me have to read as fast as possible to where it would end. I don't know if Clive Barker is homosexial, or if all his other books involve characters that are, but I would have given this a full five star rating had if the homosexiality wasn't involved. Other than that, this book had was very good; it had very good character development from Will as a young boy into a mature adult. I also liked how Will has to discover himself and what Jacob Steep and Rosa are throughout the book.
Rating:
Summary: Want to read it again
Review: One of Barker's best! His views on the ways and nature of the universe are more realistic and well thought out than those in the non-fiction sections!I want to read it again!
Rating:
Summary: Want to read it again
Review: One of Barker's best! His views on the ways and nature of the universe are more realistic and well thought out than those in the non-fiction sections! I want to read it again!
Rating:
Summary: excellent read, wierd criticisms
Review: Overall a very high nine, almost a ten in comparison with the other novels out there but not quite measuring up to Barker's earlier Weaverworld. But actually this books differs from Barker's earlier efforts and cannot really be compared. While it does not attempt anything close to Imajica, or even Weaverworld, Sacrament does very well with what it sets out to achieve: telling the story of a man in a modern wasteland. The supernatural element seems rather inappropriate, as if Barker tries to pander to his earlier fans, but still very readable. What I find very strange, is that people object to the homosexual content of this book. It is relatively easy to turn to the summary and find out that the protagonist happens to be gay, why the uproar? I actually found this books to be the least sexually graphic of all his books (with the obvious excepetion of Thief of Always). Always at the top of my recommendation list.
|
