Sign for the Sacred [Paperback]

Storm Constantine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2001

Lucien is a vibrancer of the Church of Ixmarity, dedicated since childhood to an enslaved life of religious dance. . . until he meets Jeopardy. Cleo is a child-bride of a poisoner, until one of Jeopardy's offspring is brought to her home for disposal and she falls in love with both the child and his father. . . Jeopardy. Delilah is orphaned when a berserker named Trajan attacks and kills everyone in her village. She is the only one who is immune to the plague that Trajan carries, and promises to watch over him as he returns to the sanctuary. . . of Jeopardy.

Dauntless Javelot is a chivalrous knight of Ixmarity on his last campaign. . . until he joins Cleo on her journey to seek Jeopardy. Lord Pliance is a courtly vampire who accompanies the pilgrims in the hopes for a cure. . . from Jeopardy. And as they all seek the elusive Jeopardy, they are haunted by a ruthless adversary. Wilfish Implexion is an ecclesiarch in the Church of Ixmarity. Threatened by the power of the pagan Jeopardites, he will use any means possible to kill their prophet. . . Jeopardy!

And what of Resenence Jeopardy himself? Is he all that he seems? What is the secret of his charismatic power. . . and what will he decide to do with it?

This is the first U.S. edition of Sign for the Sacred, and includes a new introduction by the author. Also included is the original first draft of the beginning of the novel, when it was called "Prophet Dancer," as well as the first four chapters of an aborted sequel titled "Death by Sweetness."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...her best book yet. [Constantine] offers plenty of divine decadence--poisoners, sacred/erotic dancers, strange curses and compulsions." -- Faren Miller, Locus

"This book is exquisite." --Vector

Product Details

• Paperback: 566 pages
• Publisher: Stark House Press; First Stark House Press Edition edition (December 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966784839
• ISBN-13: 978-0966784831
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,442,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Subtle, rich, rewarding, March 16, 2008

By 

Anastasia (Staten Island, NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Sign for the Sacred (Paperback)

If you thought Calenthe was a fascinating character, wait till you meet Resenence Jeopardy! A mad charismatic prophet, heretic wanted by the church, leader of a new cult sweeping the land, seemingly able to make anyone love him. The story follows 3 people, all obsessed with him for different reasons and their quests to find him. (They do!) It takes about 100 pages to get to the point - when Lucien meets Resenence where you say, "I am not putting this book down today."

This is a subtle, rich, rewarding book. So much to think about here, especially on the power of the cult of personality, the elusiveness of obsession. This is exactly the kind of a book I want to read when I reach for the bookshelf. Storm Constantine had such fun with names here. Aside from Resenence Jeopardy, we have Cleo Sinister (one of the main storylines, a child-bride of a poisoner), Delilah (2nd storyline, a young girl who tames a cursed, plague-carrying, murderous madman), and more.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite Storm's novels, January 8, 2005

By 

Br111 - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Sign for the Sacred (Paperback)

This is my favorite Storm's novel (along with "Calenture" and "Wraeththu", though). The novel is truly multidimensional: it is left at the discretion of the reader to decide whether this is just an entertaining read with some allegory in it, or a wise allegoric "nutshell" of the major religions' development and influence on the "sheep" of humanity (I feel Christianity and Islam being the most relevant ones).

Unfortunately, Storm herself appears to hint that this novel belongs to the "early" stages of her literary career. Storm's introduction to "Calenture" (2001) reads: ""Calenture" is part of what I call my "Headline" [a publishing house] period, the other three novels being "Hermetech", "Burying the Shadow" and "Sign for the Sacred".... I have a special fondness for these novels, as they remind me of a time when I was stretching my creative wings...Calenture, being the last of the Headline books, exemplifies both the end of an era in my writing, and also the culmination of all I'd assimilated and experimented with along the way..It was followed by a complete change of direction on my part, with the "Grigori" trilogy, in which I adopted a more streamlined style and also wrote, for the first time, in the "real world"...". Nevertheless, after reading this, I still hope I am just too pessimistic, and Storm eventually meant a recess rather than the "end of an era". Though "more streamlined" "Grigori" books are quite entertaining at times, but,in my opinion, the earlier novels - such as "Sign for the Sacred" - are much more superior. Storm may be a decent writer of such "real world" stories as "Grigori" (and I'm sure there are enough fans of those), but her "fantasy world" novels (such as "Sign for the Sacred") is the realm where her true Genius lies. I strongly hope that Storm comes back and finishes the sequel to "Sign for the Sacred" -"Death By Sweetness" - three first chapters of which are included in this "Stark House" edition. It promises to be a masterpiece.

To conclude, I'd like to bring up a quote from "Storm Constantine: The Profession of Lying", SC's biography included in "Stalking Tender Prey" Meisha Merlin's US edition (1998/2001), which is very descriptive of "Sign for the Sacred":

"There is a game starting to be played here between Storm and her readers, a growing confidence that runs throughout her novels for Headline, where the books can be read and enjoyed on a number of levels: of story, allegory and in the pleasure of uncovering the more esoteric reference and allusions".

5.0 out of 5 stars do not judge a book by the cover, December 7, 2011

By 

Stephen Dean Six "glassdude6" (wv) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sign for the Sacred (Paperback)

I almost passed this book by due to the cover- but it was a enjoyable read and more the wonderfully creafted tale the author, and now others, are unfolding. Read it by all means - do not let the cover scare you away. Complex, engaging, well crafted and unexpected would describe Sign for the Sacred.