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    Voyage of the Basilisk: A Memoir by Lady Trent
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    Voyage of the Basilisk: A Memoir by Lady Trent
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    Voyage of the Basilisk: A Memoir by Lady Trent
    Ebook370 pages5 hours

    Voyage of the Basilisk: A Memoir by Lady Trent

    By Marie Brennan

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Six years after her perilous exploits in Eriga, Isabella embarks on her most ambitious expedition yet: a two-year trip around the world to study all manner of dragons in every place they might be found, from feathered serpents in the ruins of a fallen civilization to the mighty sea serpents of the tropics. Facing storms, shipwrecks, and warfare, she makes a discovery that offers a revolutionary new insight into the ancient history of dragons.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTitan Books
    Release dateMar 27, 2015
    ISBN9781783295074
    Author

    Marie Brennan

    Marie Brennan is a former anthropologist and folklorist who shamelessly pillages her academic fields for inspiration. She recently misapplied her professors’ hard work to The Night Parade of 100 Demons and the short novel Driftwood. The first book of her Hugo Award-nominated Victorian adventure series The Memoirs of Lady Trent, A Natural History of Dragons, was a finalist for the World Fantasy Award. Her other works include the Doppelganger duology, the urban fantasy Wilders series, the Onyx Court historical fantasies, the Varekai novellas, and over sixty short stories, as well as the New Worlds series of worldbuilding guides. Together with Alyc Helms as M.A. Carrick, she is the author of the upcoming Rook and Rose epic fantasy trilogy, beginning with The Mask of Mirrors. For more information, visit swantower.com.

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    Reviews for Voyage of the Basilisk

    4/5

    176 ratings16 reviews

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    • 4/5
      A continuation of Lady Trent's Memoirs written in the same vein as the previous books. It continues to focus on zoology and anthropology, while also worldbuilding and characterization. It is a good book that expands on the world that the other books have established. If you enjoyed the first 2 books, you will likely enjoy this book as well.
    • 4/5
      Yet another great instalment in this series! This is definitely the weakest book so far that I've read in the Lady Trent Memoirs. I found the first half of the book kind of floundered around and didn't really accomplish anything. There was too much moving around and not enough explanation. I found it quite annoying when Lady Trent kept referring to her travelogue for details...which we obviously weren't given. It was an interesting look into her voyage and overall I really did enjoy it, but it had it's flaws.

      I still enjoyed the writing and Lady Trent's voice. Her character developed more and I'm glad we got to see more of her son and her relationship with him. It really added to what we know of her and her character. The world building was lovely and I liked the new expansions. I quite enjoy the new cultures and places we get to visit in each of her adventures. I think that because she moved around so much on her sea voyage, we didn't get to see this as much, which is what I think was lacking in the first half.

      I'm hoping the next book improves and is more like the first two!
      3.5/5 stars
    • 4/5
      Quite a decent third installment, with more variety of dragons and characters introduced. The blue ink was a little off-putting at first, but I got used to it, and the illustrations are lovely. Will continue to look forward to the next.
    • 4/5
      Lady Trent has more adventures and is banned from returning to another country.Six years after her adventures in Eriga, Lady Trent embarks on a two-year expedition around the world to study Dragons and she discovers a lot about them. With her is her young son and she meets with a variety of people who want different things from her. She has to cope with all the perils on the sea and a lot of various complexities that make her life interesting. She has to cope with different cultures and superstitions and with situations that make her re-think assumptions.It's not a bad series but sometimes I wanted more from it.
    • 4/5
      The third in Brennan's ongoing "Memoirs of Lady Trent" series, somewhat more episodic than the first two but equally good. Naturalist Isabella Camherst embarks on an around-the-world tour, along with her young son, his governess, and her colleague Tom Wilker, to study dragons and sea serpents. Although she sent back reports at the time, and published a travelogue on her return, this volume tells the true story for the first time. The trip was exciting, enlightening, dangerous, and scandalous. Mrs. Camherst, a brilliant scientist and talented raconteur, recounts the whole thing in high style.Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy.allthingsuf.comTHE VOYAGE OF THE BASILISK is Lady Trent's most thrilling adventure to date. With little of grinding misogyny that peppered earlier books, here Isabella takes to the seas with her research fellow Tom, her son Jake, and a stalwart captain mad enough to hunt sea serpents in their natural habitat.Once again, Brennan offers the daily realities of biology at the turn of the century, as much hunting and politics and anthropology as it is studying natural phenomena. Those Machiavellian obstacles don't seem as frustrating when she can sail away on her ship, encountering fascinating (and romantic) people in her search for answers.Over the course of this book tantalizing hints collect about Lady Trent's future relationships, the political upheavals that would shape her future , and the biological nature of the dragons she so loves. While I've enjoyed this series all along, THE VOYAGE OF THE BASILISK may be the first that I finished and was desperate for the next installment. Isabella is at the cusp of so many changes, both personal and professional, and I can't wait to see what happens next.Sexual Content: None.
    • 4/5
      Like I said before, this series is so delightful!

      It's written as a memoir by a famous dragon naturalist. There are also a few drawings (lovely ones by the way.) The whole book just read perfectly.

      Isabella is in society's eyes truly scandalous. I love her. She does her own thing. She loves dragons and she loves studying them. Because what are dragons really? How are the different species connected? Were they tame in the old days when the Draconeans ruled? So many questions she wants the answers for, and hey so many questions I want too. A natural history of dragons, awesome. And even if she is not a historian I love the bits of the Draconeans, the old ruins and legends.

      In this book she travels to many places in her world to learn about dragons. the feathered ones, the sea ones, and more. And of course she gets in a bit of trouble because a sea journey is never easy. The book kept me hooked to the end and it was with a sigh I finished it since I wanted more. But alas, not even a blurb for book 4 yet.

      Beautiful artwork, fascinating personalities and a story that pulls you in. I do recommend this great series.
    • 4/5
      Another great memoir, I like how this one fits into the series. Continues the adventures of Isabella Camden as she travels the world to study dragons. The character often breaks the fourth wall to directly address the audience of her memoirs. This one hinted to a few other writings outside of the narrative included. I'm curious whether they're also printed and can be accessed.

      It has enough adventure and conclusion to this leg of her journey, but still piques my interest to continue reading.
    • 5/5
      Very enjoyable continuation of the series -- I delight in watching this fictional history play out as avidly as any realistic one, and I care deeply about the characters. Lady Trent is so pragmatic, dogged, scientific to her fingernails and yet whimsical that I can't help but love her; not least for her lack of moralistic judgements.

      They journey now by boat, tracking sea serpents and ancient cultures across an island nation. Absolutely captivating.
    • 4/5
      By bringing us more dragons, Brennan has found a winning formula. I believe this is the best of the series so far.
    • 5/5
      This is the third book in the Memoirs of Lady Trent series and was my favorite book of the series yet! There is a ton of adventure in this book and I loved all the science about dragons. I have really been loving this series a lot.I listened to this on audiobook and these audiobooks are amazing. Kate Reading sounds exactly like I imagine Lady Trent would. She does an amazing job with characters voices and emotions and makes the book an absolute joy to listen too. This whole series is highly recommend on audiobook if you enjoy listening to audiobooks.In this book Lady Trent sets off with Tom and her son, Jake, to explore some islands for Sea Serpents. While much of the book is set at sea, a good portion of it is also set on an island where Lady Trent gets to explore both Sea Serpents and Fire Lizards.There are some great new characters added to the story. I loved the addition of the archeologist, Suhail, and enjoyed getting to know and read about Isabella’s son, Jake, more.There is a crazy amount of adventure in this book and I loved every bit of it. I also really enjoyed learning about new types of dragons. This book was non-stop fun from the beginning to the end. Overall this was an amazing read and by far my favorite book in this series. I can’t wait to read the 4th book in the series and very excited to see what new crazy adventures Lady Trent ends up on.
    • 5/5
      Natural historian Isabella Camhurst sets out on a voyage around the world, hoping to study dragons and sea serpents. She gets more than she bargained for, in some respects...I’m enjoying every minute of this series. The audiobook narration is top-notch, as is the storytelling. Highly recommended; start at the beginning, of course.
    • 4/5
      ***I purchased a copy of this book for my own enjoyment, and with no expectation of a review.***Voyage of the Basilisk is Brennan’s third Lady Trent book. This story follows Isabella and Tom Wilker as they set forth on a sea voyage in search of dragons. The whole thing still reminds me of Darwin and his sea expedition on the Beagle. The Basilisk makes a few stops, most notably in Yelang and Coyhuac, picking up Suhail, an Akhian archaeologist studying the ancient Draconean civilisation. In Coyhuac, the expedition is lucky enough to see a rare plumed serpent; in Yelang, they swim with dragon turtles, and observe river dragons. Whilst at sea, the expedition studies sea serpents, with a goal of proving tropical and arctic sea serpents are the same species.The bulk of the story takes place on the island of Keonga, after the Basilisk becomes grounded and needs repairs. The crew are granted hospitality, with restrictions. They may not visit any of the other islands. Necessary supplies are brought to them. Isabella’s unconventional behaviour lends itself to the usual problems for the group,and she has some hard choices to make.While in Keonga, Isabella gets the chance to study fire-drakes, and tropical sea serpents. With the latter,Isabella learns to ride sea serpents, and witnesses firsthand the damage they can do. Among the Keongan islands Isabella and her team face deadly peril, and make great discoveries. First- the fun stuff. As always, I love the cover. The artwork is absolute beautiful! I love the sketches scattered throughout the book. There’s underwater archaeology(!!), dragons(!), and a healthy dose of cultural anthropology. Some of my favourite things. I absolutely love getting to know all the unique cultures. Ms. Brennan has done a masterful job of crafting out her world in words. I believe writers/authors open the door to new realms, and share the keys to those realms through their books, that the reader may journey there also. This is one world I am looking forward to visiting again!Not so fun stuff- there were several places where the chapter headers got left in the text of the chapters themselves. I'm guessing this was when the author was planning scene names. Once I figured out what it was, I was able to gloss over it in my mind’s eye. The writing isn't as sharp as the previous novel, and I felt the ending was rather abrupt. It was just kinda there, like POW, right in your face, then runs off laughing. I would have liked more closure. As with the previous books, if you like things anthropological, or things dealing with naturalism, if historical fantasy tickles your palate, if adventurous accounts akin to The Lost City of Z arrest your attention, then look no further! Marie Brennan's Voyage of the Baslisk can slake that thirst. Come, walk in a world where dragons dwell, and learn the secrets of the natural world.
    • 4/5
      In the interest of full disclosure, I majored in Anthropology and Evolutionary Biology so these books are like super-strength catnip to me. Written in the form of a memoir by the venerable Lady Trent, these novels are adventurous tales about our protagonist when she was a younger woman, but just as importantly they also explore her lifetime of scientific study and research. As such, I find this series extremely hard to resist. Ethnographic narratives? My heart goes all a-flutter. Taxonomy and biodiversity? Help, I swoon! Throw in dragons to complete the trifecta, and stick a fork in me, I’m done.Voyage of the Basilisk picks up a few years after the events of the last book, and once again Isabella is making preparations to leave Scirland in order to continue her scientific study of dragons. There will be several major differences about this particular expedition, however. Isabella will be leading it, for one; no longer accompanied by her old associate and benefactor Lord Hilford, the majority of all decisions will be falling on her shoulders. Isabella has also decided to bring along her son Jake, who is now old enough to travel. And finally, this upcoming expedition will be her longest and most ambitious one yet: two years aboard the Basilisk, a royal survey ship hired to sail her and her party around the world in order to study all manner of dragonkin.Dragons are of course what Isabella desires to see the most. But as we’ve already seen in the previous two installments, everywhere Isabella travels, her adventures also put her in contact with the local population. In many cases, she ends up living with them and immersed in their culture. These books are as much about dragons as they are about the world Isabella live in, which I find is one of the most unique aspects about this series. Unlike a lot of other books featuring dragons, the ones in here are not intrinsically magical or preternatural. They, along with the native flora, fauna, and even native peoples in their habitat are all part of the natural living system. For that reason, I’ve told people before not to read this series solely for the dragons, and instead read it for the whole package.As much as I enjoyed this book, it was not what I’d expected at all. From the description and cover, I immediately thought “Maritime/Nautical Fantasy”. In truth, though Isabella does spend the majority of this book traveling on the high seas, the main story doesn’t really start until halfway when the Basilisk gets shipwrecked in the tropics and the characters find themselves as guests of the local islanders. In contrast, the first half is decidedly lighter on plot as Isabella flits from one place to next, searching for dragons to observe. The overall pacing follows a similar pattern of the first two books, where the beginning was mostly made up of a series of short anecdotes, with the meat of story coming much later. Fans of the previous novels therefore should find Voyage of the Basilisk familiar and to their liking.Just as Isabella’s dragons evolve, so does her character development. As her confidence in her knowledge and skills increases, she starts taking on greater challenges. Leading the expedition is the first step. This book also sees her having the courage to formulate her own scientific hypotheses, as well as the courage to admit when they’re wrong.For the first time in this series, Isabella’s son Jake is also a major character. Isabella knows her maternal instincts have never been strong, not something easy for her to admit. But as Jake grows, her feelings toward motherhood begin changing and she starts to see her son as a young man with his own hopes and dreams, and not just a reminder of her late husband. This side plot really touched me, recalling Isabella’s guilt over putting her research ahead of her family in The Tropic of Serpents and comparing that to her relationship with Jake now. I like how amidst the adventure and the science in these books, there’s always an emotional side to the story.This novel builds significantly on the previous books. First of all, Isabella’s voyage on the Basilisk expanded the scope of the world tremendously, from the luscious jungles of Coyahuac to the volcanic islands of Keonga. We encounter many new species of dragons, including sea serpents, fire lizards, feathered drakes, and more. Aside from Jake, new characters include Aekinitos, the eccentric captain of the Basilisk, and Suhail, an archaeologist specializing in ancient draconic ruins. Isabella befriends the latter and then becomes quite taken with him, and their dynamic is so wonderful that I really hope we’ll see him again someday.I really love this series, and my fondness only grows with every new adventure. I rarely make such a deep connection to a main character, but three books later, “Lady Trent” feels incredibly real for me. There’s so much about her past that has yet to be revealed, and I can’t wait for the next installment of this series. More expeditions, more science, and of course more dragons!
    • 5/5
      Pros: excellent world-building, fun protagonist, quick readCons: ending felt rushedThis is the third volume of Isabella, Lady Trent’s memoirs and deals with the 2 year research voyage she took on the RSS Basilik. With her she brings Tom, who accompanied her on previous journeys, her nine year old son, Jake, and his governess, Abby.As with the other books in this series, this is a character driven fantasy novel, following the extraordinary adventures of a female dragon researcher from Scirland. While the previous books focused on one area for her excursions, this one covers several locations where she researches various types of dragons in an effort to create a proper taxonomy for the species.I love the degree of detail Brennan adds to these book, particularly the background tidbits that don’t strictly need to be there but show the amount of behind the scenes thought that goes into the stories. For example, it doesn’t really matter to the story that this trip took 2 years or more to plan (besides aging the characters), but it acknowledges that such travel in the past was not only expensive but also difficult to arrange. I also appreciated the occasional bureaucratic, medical, and cultural problems they encountered.The world expands greatly as the ship stops at numerous ports, sometimes leaving Isabella’s group behind for a month or more to do research, sometimes carrying on immediately to the next location. Once again the world-building is excellent. It’s possible at times to see what real world cultures she’s adapting for her book, but each society is very different from the others and there’s a wide variety of characters and customs that show up.I’m not generally a fan of character driven fantasy but Isabella is such an interesting person that I race through these volumes. Part way through this book they encounter another researcher, who helps them out. Suhail was just as fun and interesting as Isabella, and I have my suspicions about his hidden last name.While it’s possible to read this volume on its own, there are several allusions to the events of the previous books, and a few spoilerish conversations.The ending feels a little rushed. There’s a climactic event, after which events are narrated rather quickly through the denouement. It works for the structure of a novel but would be somewhat unusual for the memoir this purports to be.These are lighthearted books that don’t take long to read and are accompanied by gorgeous illustrations by Todd Lockwood. It’s a series I highly recommend.
    • 4/5
      A fun dranonpunk adventure from the arctic to the tropics with a rescued princess and a romantic mystery man.