Basilisk by N.M. Browne

by N.M. Browne

This is the tale of two worlds, the underground tunnels of the Combers, who live like spiders, and the beautiful city inhabited by the Abovers. They should never meet, but when the murdered body of a Abover is found in the Combs, their worlds draw closer and threaten the power of dictator Arkel.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Dystopia, Mystery, Historical, British Literature

Hardcover

First published May 7, 2004

About the author

I was born in Burnley, Lancs (England) and lived not too far from Pendle Hill - the haunt of witches and all manner of strangeness. This may have had an effect on my imagination.

My father was a painter and teacher and my mother was a teacher too. Both were Welsh and this has probably had an impact on my imagination too. The whole family headed for Wales every holiday so that even now Wales is inextricably linked with long car journeys, holidays, family and general happiness.

I still support Wales rather than England in most things, particularly rugby, much to my husband's annoyance. I have one sister (a very good painter), one husband, four children, one (mad) dog, a bearded dragon and eight nieces and nephews. I live in South West London.

I believe passionately that education is a good thing and just wish that mine made more impact on my thinking. I went to Edge End High School then Nelson and Colne Sixth Form College, both in Lancashire. After an uneventful 'gap year' – trying and failing to get to grips with accountancy, retail (the Co-op bra department) and pharmaceuticals ( the pharmacy at Burnley General Hospital,) I went to New College, Oxford to read Philosophy and Theology and then to King's College, Cambridge to learn how to be a teacher. I taught - briefly - before going back to college – this time to Manchester Business School to get an MBA. After that I worked for an oil company as a kind of all-purpose executive person, but left before I learnt anything that might have been useful either to the company or to me.

When I was seven I knew exactly what I wanted to be but I forgot all about it until some time after I had my second baby when I suddenly remembered that I had always wanted to be a writer. I was lucky enough to be on a corporate career break at the time and my broken career never got mended. Writing is the best job I've ever had.

--N. M. Browne was born in the North of England to Welsh parents. This background inspired a fascination with all things Celtic and an interest in how earlier societies survived the bleakness of a northern winter. Ms. Browne lives in London, England and is the author of Hunted (Bloomsbury 2002).

Reviews

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Combers live underground, in the crevices and tombs of times long since past. Appeased with rations of food from the Above, they gamble for their lives on a daily basis. Rej is barely existing, with debts to some of the most vicious Combers, when he runs into a dying man in a cave that leads to the surface. The man is murdered before Rej can get him help, and Rej vows to avenge the poor man. When he emerges above, his fate is inextricably linked to Donna, a beautiful and stoic woman who is working as a religious scribe in the city. They confide in each other their shared dreams of dragons, and as they try to figure out the intrigue and secrets that surround the city of Above, they are both plunged deeper and deeper into the dangerous plot to overthrow a system that has pushed the people to the brink. Desperate people are the most dangerous, and no one is safe from the uprising.

The pacing of the story is good, as it switches back and forth between Donna and Rej as their adventures progress. With the different points of view, the reader learns more about the Above and the Below than would otherwise be gleaned from one narrator, and the characters are so different that the back and forth keeps the reader wanting to read on to see what will happen. I was disappointed by the dream landscape, as I don’t think the author fleshed out the idea enough, or did enough with the dragon aspect of the novel, seeing as the book is called Basilisk it was severely lacking in this area (until the very end of the book where we get a brief introduction).

There was a small romantic plot, but it was definitely not a focus, which made the action take a front row seat (definitely a good thing as it kept the story moving). I wish there was more character development. Even as the secrets and intrigue were revealed, the reader isn’t treated to any major changes in character motivation, except perhaps between Rej and Donna as they begin to care for each other. Otherwise, an interesting story, with philosophical, scientific, and fantasy plots all weaved into one.

[Katia M. Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the world building on this one, but it Felt like there was something missing. There was a bond between the two main characters that brought them to life for the reader but I'm not sure if it happened too quickly or it was written as if it was going to be a given from the start so the trials and tribulations did not seem as bad. We were supposed to feel pain at the loss of certain characters, but I can't say I did because they felt more like pawns to the plot than real people. I guess the thing missing was emotional attachment. Everything was so stark and cold and oppressive that the small sparks of feeling weren't enough for me to rejoice at. It felt like the author plotted the sequence of events with a fine tooth comb and then manipulated characters to suit. It would have worked better for me if it had been character driven. I didn't feel like the main characters had changed much by the end. Sure, they went through a lot of stuff and saw that sometimes what is accepted as just the way things are doesn't make it right or good, but that's an overall theme. You can't get away with just saying, 'and now all this stuff has happened everything will be different'. I know I'm not explaining it very well, so read it (it was an interesting read), you might see what I mean.

[Geena · Rating 2 out of 5]

[Written: 10-25-2004, Edited: 8-7-2017]: There's only one way to describe N.M. Browne's "Basilisk", and the kindest way of putting it is that it was just "a complete snore fest". Through beginning and the semi-end of the book, the book's lexicon is abundant and enough to take me out of the story.

Past events that are brought up by characters is almost never explained properly at all, and therefore you are left with with a sense of confusion on how the world in the book became so hopeless and deprived of freedom of any sort, and the plot is just too self-serious to really enjoy, let alone engage. Those same sentiment extends to the characters, who never feel like they're particularly impacted by the consequences of the universe around them. Their personalities are lifeless. For lack of a better word, I did not have a good time reading this book and could not, in good conscience recommend it to anyone.

[Kenneth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book takes a while to get going - The two main characters slowly tell their story in alternating chapters until their stories merge and the book really starts to take off. This takes time though.
It started to get good over half way through with a couple of plot twists and it felt like things started to gain pace.
It’s pretty dark in places and there were a lot of background references which had no explanation.
The book is well written in the sense that you do want to know where it is going and what happens next but in certain areas it seemed rushed. There are certain elements which could have been expanded on to help create context. But you got behind the main characters and it is a reasonably good read. If I could give it 3 and a half stars I would … but it’s night quite a 4 ⭐️

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid 3.5, and I was going to round up for reasons like the lack of HEA kisses. Not that it would never happen; just that it didn't happen right then. Unfortunately, the build-up was slow, and the post-climax resolution was so fast that it was pretty close to non-existent, and there was a lot of back-story that was really vital to the plot, but which was given to us in watered-down info-dumps. It's almost like this would have been a really great (multi-volume?) epic for adults, but someone decided to market it to teens as a standalone, so Browne had to hack and slash to get it down to under 350 pages. Enjoyable, but flawed.

[Sharakael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh gosh, I finished this book ages ago and had only just remembered that I had not registered this in GoodReads...

I can't remember much about this... I remember liking the concept, the world and the characters. I remember really liking Rej as a character, and wishing for the book to continue for longer... but other than that I'm afraid it's a bit of a blur for me.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read this twice. But only because I found it in my attic and could not remember how it ended the first time. I thought I had not finished it, but when I finished it the second time I knew I had.

That should tell you something!

But its readable enough. A story of struggle against a tyrannical regime. It has some good ideas and interesting moments. Just not enough of them!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up on a whim and I'm so glad I did. An easy read with a great storyline that kept me hooked. It's a bit Game of Thrones meet the handmaids tale there are plenty of dragons, religious fanatics, assassins and poisons. The characters are well developed as are the worlds of Above and Below. A great fantasy novel.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know what I expected of this book but I did not expect to enjoy it. I was happily surprised when I loved it!
The characters were more intertwined than I had expected and some that I expected to mean nothing had a much larger backstory.

[kiml42 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, and with interesting themes, settings and characters. The plot was a bit predictable, and it occasionally seemed a bit silly.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't finish

[Lindsay Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

surprising amazing

[Corinne Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

For Rej and Donna, life couldn't be more different. Rej is a comber, living a precarious life under the streets in semi-darkness. Donna is a scribe and an "oppidan," sworn to a life of humility and deprivation in the land Above. But they have one critical thing in common and when a murder in the combes brings Rej into the light, these two teens will soon be deep in a plot where dragons and poisons are real weapons and it will be up to them to discover the secret of the Basilisk.

I picked this one up because I was interested in the idea of people living underground, and I think she did create an intriguing culture. The world itself is fairly well thought out and I even like the general plot. But for some reason, this one just never grabbed me. I was never gripped enough to be dying to pick it up and it took me way longer to read than it should have. I think sometimes I was annoyed by the formality of the dialogue and narration as well as the constant use of invented cuss-words. I appreciated that things wrapped themselves up without needing a sequel (although I would've liked more) and the violence in the story made the tension more real, but I just wasn't completely along for the ride this time. Maybe I wanted the relationship between Rej and Donna to be fleshed out more, that might be it, because the fantastical ideas of the plot really were inventive.

You can't win them all, I guess.

[Aelvana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow. Again, some weak points, most specifically in bits of history I thought would have been better filled in, such as the propaganda behind the war and Rej's relationship with his mother, but overall still a really solid piece of work. One caution, though: it is rated young adult, but there are several disturbing instances of torture and near rape. It gets very violent, very messy, but the author paints a wonderful split world where those Below have their unique customs, ways of speaking, swear words, and those Above have another kind. I got a little lost trying to follow all the family relationships, but that's my own inability to remember minor characters more than any fault of the author. I really hope this has a sequel, because it certainly left enough room for one. Recommended.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this when I was 13 or 14. I had never quite forgotten the story. Found the book again and now reading it as an adult of 33, to see what I remembered!

It's honestly a great little book. It doesn't hold your hand with a lot of the lore and politics, you get to figure things out yourself.

I love the feel of this dark world, it's intriguing and unique. It certainly feels like part of a larger story. I love that the main characters seem like a small part of a much bigger picture. Things are happening and concluding that started long before their birth. They find them selves thrown into it all when history finally comes to a head.

It was great to re-read. I had remembered a fair amount, but I picked up on a lot more details and darker tones that probably went over my head as a kid. I think this book could be made into a great film too.

[Tasneem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another well written story. Donna and Rej are so different and yet so alike. The worlds of Above and Below and the people that are divided between it are so well narrated. Donna's father's evil and fear, that force him to kill his partner, the mother of his daughter as well as his beloved sister Estelle are very well brought out. He is mad, and his fear destroys everything he loves, including the land he has taken control of. The laws of Lunnzia are those that are supposed to be good, kind of like Communism was supposed to be good, but it is always corruptible and is to shocking levels by greed, fear and lust for power.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a lot better than I expected it would be. It gets straight into the action and there are no really boring parts. All in all I liked it - the characters were realistic and reasonably likeable (Rej > Donna, though, she annoyed me in parts) and the plot was original. It's pretty short, only 320 pages, so it doesn't drag on. If you like fantasy and alternate universes you'll like this one; it's not the best but it's good :)

[M · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book would have been okay MINUS the whole fantasy/dream element. Which, I realise the fantasy thing was the whole point of the book, but it made the story REALLY, REALLY confusing and also was TOTALLY NOT NECESSARY to the story. This would have been an interesting read if the story was only focusing on the characters and the society they were living in. Add in the basilisk thing (which I still don't understand...) and the book SUCKED.

[Penny Sun · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the book, but the story, although full of fantasy and dreams, and dragons, was also full of poison and torture. That really ruined the story for me. Also it got quite boring, so I read ahead. The torture described in the story is scary. I think the description on the inside cover was misleading, I didn't really like the book.

[Miss Clark · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like the characters, the setting felt recycled. What is it with rape and violent situations? Seems like I have read dozens of these stories in the past year and I am getting really sick of it. Ending was pointless. Overall, into the rubbish bin. Not one single thing that I cared for - it just ran on and one, slow in the beginning, to its breathless, crashing ending.

[Aleina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book, granted I took my time reading it.
I think it took me so long was because of all the stress affecting me at the time, but once I hit a certain point and most of the stress lifted, I sped through the rest of the book like a bullet and slurped up the story as if it were the best meal served.
One of a kind and greatly detailed. I was not disappointed. :)

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a very interesting setting. I wasn't really sure what time period it was set in but as I went along it became a very interesting read. I loved all the different twists and surprises they put into it.

[KJ Shadows · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a LONG time ago when I was younger and I remember I really liked it. I don't actually remember most of it just that I found it enjoyable. Who knows though my tastes are different but I decided to give it a 4 star rating anyway :)

[Jon Oshiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books that she has written. The way that it tells both stories of Raj and Donna is really great and it draws you into their lives and what they go through especially how they live.

[Arnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read this book because my son expressed an interest in it. It is not a book for a 10 yr old.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

odd, but good story line

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it - but one of the main characters logic at one piont really made no sense at all. Oh, well.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites! I've read it a few times.

[Nirav · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but not great.

[Roshni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot idea similar to the Tunnels series and the Gregor the Overlander series
Separation between above and below with a fantasy twist