num_pages: 433
description: 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 it is more tightly plotted, and more of this world. In a sequence of well-executed stories within stories (comparable to Russian dolls), Barker unfolds a compelling examination of what it means to be human, to be a man, and to be a gay man--on a planet where aging, disease, and death bring "the passing of things, of days and beasts and men he'd loved." A satisfying long novel packed with vivid images, memorable characters, and a melancholy mood that reaches for hope.
language: English
title: Sacrament
titlecomplete: Sacrament
genres: Fantasy, LGBT, Gay, Queer, Novels, Fiction, Supernatural, Mystery, Dark Fantasy, Horror
ratings_count: 5232
awards: awardedAt: 852105600000
name: Locus Award
category: Best Horror / Dark Fantasy Novel, awardedAt: 852105600000
name: Lambda Literary Award
category: Science Fiction/Fantasy, awardedAt: 852105600000
name: British Fantasy Award
category: Best Novel
publisher: HarperCollins Publishers