During college I worked in the library's archives, taking care of 100-500 year old Bibles (and a copy of The Iliad in Greek and Latin from 1561). I was also taking bookmaking classes, and during my lonely and oxygen-deprived hours in the top floor of the library I dreamed up place where the dead are turned into books: The skin is made into vellum and leather, bone is used to support the spine, hair is woven to bind it, and the person's biography and epitaphs are written in their blood. Of course, we all know that human skin makes horrible vellum, and as far as acidity goes it's an archivist's nightmare, but that's not the point. I find the idea of a library in which each book is made from one person, chronicling their life and death, absolutely enchanting.

If this isn't what the Catacomb Libralus is, then this is what it will be to me.

that's a really interesting idea...

the person becomes the book... gruesome, but enchanting too...

During college I worked in the library's archives, taking care of 100-500 year old Bibles (and a copy of The Iliad in Greek and Latin from 1561). I was also taking bookmaking classes, and during my lonely and oxygen-deprived hours in the top floor of the library I dreamed up place where the dead are turned into books: The skin is made into vellum and leather, bone is used to support the spine, hair is woven to bind it, and the person's biography and epitaphs are written in their blood. Of course, we all know that human skin makes horrible vellum, and as far as acidity goes it's an archivist's nightmare, but that's not the point. I find the idea of a library in which each book is made from one person, chronicling their life and death, absolutely enchanting.

If this isn't what the Catacomb Libralus is, then this is what it will be to me.

How very Lovecraftian. So you were working in the Forbidden Stacks at Miskatonic University, were you? ;)

Infernal Grimoire, anyone?

How very Lovecraftian. So you were working in the Forbidden Stacks at Miskatonic University, were you? ;)

I was, when I wasn't preoccupied with calling upon an army of cats to slaughter pink slime creatures on the moon.

Infernal Grimoire, anyone?

Maybe it's Evil Dead's Necronomicon.

Idea already used in a pretty good film (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114134/).

Idea already used in a pretty good film (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114134/).

Of course I'm not the first to think of making people into books. Anybody know the concept behind Catacomb Libralus?

That movie looks interesting though. Kinda looks like Written on the Body (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15054.Written_on_the_Body).

Ah! I'll have to check if it's available here - thanks! :)

Ewe - books of the dead. Reminds me of that wondeful movie 'Army of Darkness' with Bruce Campbell - the special edition DVD came in a case with faux human skin to resemble their version of the Necronomicon. Very squigey.

Guys with tatoos would have illustrations in their book!

I always thought of the Catacomb Libralus as the Unseen University (Terry Partchet's Disc World), or rather the library within the university. Come to think of it - isn't there an orangutan in the game? Mr. Pratchet has some very interesting things to say about libraries as they get larger. Called L space (Wikipedia 'Other dimensions of the Discworld'). Basically all large libraries are connected through time and space. Books = Knowledge = Power = (mass x distance squared) divided by Time.

Now if only wine cellars could be connected this way!

Ewe - books of the dead. Reminds me of that wondeful movie 'Army of Darkness' with Bruce Campbell - the special edition DVD came in a case with faux human skin to resemble their version of the Necronomicon. Very squigey.

It was totally Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 that had the Book of the Dead dvds. Army of Darkness had a normal one :p

Guys with tatoos would have illustrations in their book!

Free ink.

My flatmate's got one of them, now that's a marketing scheme!

I have a friend who has Bruce Campbell's autograph tattooed on her upper arm. That means she gets the book of her life and death autographed by her idol. Lucky @#$%.

During college I worked in the library's archives, taking care of 100-500 year old Bibles (and a copy of The Iliad in Greek and Latin from 1561). I was also taking bookmaking classes, and during my lonely and oxygen-deprived hours in the top floor of the library I dreamed up place where the dead are turned into books: The skin is made into vellum and leather, bone is used to support the spine, hair is woven to bind it, and the person's biography and epitaphs are written in their blood. Of course, we all know that human skin makes horrible vellum, and as far as acidity goes it's an archivist's nightmare, but that's not the point. I find the idea of a library in which each book is made from one person, chronicling their life and death, absolutely enchanting.

If this isn't what the Catacomb Libralus is, then this is what it will be to me.

I've always assumed that the Catacomb Libralus was a huge, hidden repository of knowledge from the Age of Magic, and building the wonder represents the resources needed to excavate it.

Of course, that library could very easily be written on the skin of an ancient civilization, with the knowledge coming from studying the lives of the great archmages whose lifebooks are there.

The University of Georgia has a book made of human leather... beyond that I can not remember any other details...