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Everyday Spectres
Basilisk
When his dream man walks into his lunch break wearing tight snakeskin jeans, Clayton King puts down his sandwich and follows his libido. Clayton tracks his guy to a pet shop and leaves with a name, Anthony, and a date for that night. What Anthony neglects to tell him is that they're going to a fancy dress party, and Clayton is the only normal guy in a hall full of Greek gods.Except it's not a fancy dress party, and Anthony isn't simply a shop assistant. He's a basilisk, the shape-shifting king lizard of Greek mythology who can kill a mortal with a single glance. It's his task to seduce human men so his mother, the goddess Echidna, may feed upon their flesh. Though trapped by his duty to his mother, Anthony can't bear the thought of harming Clayton. What's a god to do?
111 pages, ebook
First published July 7, 2010
36 people want to read
About the author
Kate Cotoner
20 books20 followersKate Cotoner lives in the north of England with her OH and a demanding bonsai named Mr M. She has a fondness for Asian men tempered with a love of hunky Germanic and Mediterranean types, and manages to combine love for all three types whilst watching Formula One motorsport. She loves history, needlepoint, reading, watching brainless blockbusters and meaningful foreign films, staring at US crime shows, and baking French-style bread. She likes strong, plot-driven stories and charismatic characters set against a sweeping, romantic backdrop of history, suspense, international locations and whatever else happens to take her fancy at the time.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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September 29, 2013Finished this today on the commute (that's where I read these days). The story itself tries to be two things - erotic horror, and then m/m romance. Set-up and development point towards horror, but then it switches over and turns into almost romantic comedy with Greek Gods/Monsters. Or maybe it's just Clayton who doesn't cooperate (hey, he has that rebellious streak) and refuses to be a victim like in the horror film. Here's a guy who'd take "Saw" or "Hostel", cracking a joke.
And that's fine. It's a noticeable rift in the story, as if it had just changed direction and turned into something completely different, but stories do that. Neil Gaiman does that all the time - swinging back and forth from very light and funny to absolutely gruesome. And, again, that's OK. Fundamentally, I have to trust an author to give me a good time (I guess there's a parallel to other "entertaining" professions) - and as long as they deliver a satisfying story, they can take me just about anywhere.
Kate Cotoner is such an evocative, strong writer, who observes brilliant details (I worked very close to the area that she describes at the beginning, and that area of London is like that) - that kind of writing can take me just about anywhere and I'm not complaining. I would have preferred for it to remain darker, but I can see that how and where the story went out of control and turned into something else. They do have the right to do that, and especially in a genre that still very much demands that happy-ever-after ("or it won't sell", as several publishers told me), there are many pressures on the author and the story (speculating here... it would be a fascinating question over a tea/coffee to ask a writer).
So, even as the story is pulling in two directions at once, there's so much more great stuff in here than in most m/m I read (or, honestly, browse - I don't buy most of the stuff I read teasers of) that this still works for me.
YMMV.
And that's fine. It's a noticeable rift in the story, as if it had just changed direction and turned into something completely different, but stories do that. Neil Gaiman does that all the time - swinging back and forth from very light and funny to absolutely gruesome. And, again, that's OK. Fundamentally, I have to trust an author to give me a good time (I guess there's a parallel to other "entertaining" professions) - and as long as they deliver a satisfying story, they can take me just about anywhere.
Kate Cotoner is such an evocative, strong writer, who observes brilliant details (I worked very close to the area that she describes at the beginning, and that area of London is like that) - that kind of writing can take me just about anywhere and I'm not complaining. I would have preferred for it to remain darker, but I can see that how and where the story went out of control and turned into something else. They do have the right to do that, and especially in a genre that still very much demands that happy-ever-after ("or it won't sell", as several publishers told me), there are many pressures on the author and the story (speculating here... it would be a fascinating question over a tea/coffee to ask a writer).
So, even as the story is pulling in two directions at once, there's so much more great stuff in here than in most m/m I read (or, honestly, browse - I don't buy most of the stuff I read teasers of) that this still works for me.
YMMV.
January 21, 2011
I really enjoyed reading Basilisk. It was sinfully hot, with a smoldering public sex scene, and at the same time endearingly charming. No matter Anthony’s past deeds, he is easy to sympathize with, as he has the ultimate overbearing mother. And Clayton filled out the image of the naive and sheepish warrior and friend that has a heart of gold, honor, loyalty, and strength. I thought they had great chemistry, especially in the scenes where they’re planning the date and at the beginning of the date. Their interactions blaze with sexual energy and Kate Cotoner has a really wonderful way of framing the dialogue around the mood of the scene. There is a lot of great interplay between Anthony and Clayton as they each try to suss out the other person and gauge that against their preconceived notions of who they are. This is done extraordinarily well and the writing in these parts, in my opinion, is the best in the book.
I also loved the second half of the book where they’re at the club with all of the gods, demi-gods, satyrs, nymphs, dryads, nyads, centaurs and many other creatures. The major gods and goddesses take no part in the on-page conflict of the story, but as always with the Greek myths, they’re always in the background. I got to see a lot of lesser gods and goddesses, though, that I love to see. And because the personalities of these gods and creatures are so well-known throughout the evolution of their history, I love to see how an author is going to take those personalities and make them their own. In some cases they are caricatures because it is their purpose to be an archetype. I thought that Kate Cotoner did well with this part also — they were archetypes, but also tongue-in-cheek, almost ramping their personalities up so much that they are the ultimate in whatever emotion or gratification they represent, whether anger, revenge, naiveté etc.
For the full review, please visit Reviews by Jessewave.
I also loved the second half of the book where they’re at the club with all of the gods, demi-gods, satyrs, nymphs, dryads, nyads, centaurs and many other creatures. The major gods and goddesses take no part in the on-page conflict of the story, but as always with the Greek myths, they’re always in the background. I got to see a lot of lesser gods and goddesses, though, that I love to see. And because the personalities of these gods and creatures are so well-known throughout the evolution of their history, I love to see how an author is going to take those personalities and make them their own. In some cases they are caricatures because it is their purpose to be an archetype. I thought that Kate Cotoner did well with this part also — they were archetypes, but also tongue-in-cheek, almost ramping their personalities up so much that they are the ultimate in whatever emotion or gratification they represent, whether anger, revenge, naiveté etc.
For the full review, please visit Reviews by Jessewave.
April 27, 2011
I loved this sweet little story and in the middle I became rather worried about Clayton's fate.
November 19, 2012
I really hate the cover image for this novella – I find it to be both cheap-looking and boring. What attracted me to this work instead was the pet shop aspect of the description, which reminded me vaguely of Pet Shop of Horrors (which this story has absolutely nothing in common with – the pet shop could have been a flower shop and it wouldn't have made a difference). Also, I've always been interested in stories that derive their inspiration from Greek mythology. I couldn't remember ever reading much about Echidna, but I was intrigued by the thought of a basilisk main character.
I'm not really sure what the author was trying to accomplish with this novella. If she was aiming for erotic romance, she failed. The “erotic” part was definitely there, but the “romance” was less than stellar. This is one of those stories where the main characters declare their love for each other before they've even known each other for a full 24 hours.
It was all way, way too fast. Had Clayton and Anthony just been aiming for hot sex throughout the whole thing, I could have believed it, but somehow Cotoner had them talking about being mates and being in love by the end of the novella. My suspension of disbelief can only go so far. I laughed when I got to this bit, said by Clayton, on page 30 on my Nook:
By that point in the novella, Clayton had barely talked to Anthony. At best, he knew really well what it was like to kiss him, and there was a nice scene involving a gift of expensive chocolates. That's it. Later on, Clayton says the same sort of thing again:
Notice how, once again, Clayton is unable to say, specifically, what he likes about Anthony that has nothing to do with good sex or Anthony's looks? That's because, by that point in the novella, they'd had sex a couple times but still hadn't talked to each other much. Clayton didn't even know that Anthony had almost killed him just a few hours earlier, and he still thought Anthony was human.
The other thing that bothered me about this novella was how dense Clayton was. I know guys aren't necessarily as hyper-aware of potentially dangerous situations as women, but Clayton agreeing to meet a strange guy to go to an unknown place at 11:30 PM still seemed like a dumb thing to do to me. Some of Clayton's inability to put two and two together and realize that the people at the club weren't just humans in costumes could be blamed on his being drunk/drugged and on people's tendency to see only what they expect to see, but I thought Clayton carried things to the extreme. Medusa could have turned someone to stone right in front of him and he would have chalked it up to excellent special effects.
Clayton just did not act like I would have expected a person in his position to act. Considering the conditions under which he first had sex with Anthony, I would have expected extreme embarrassment and perhaps even anger after the drugs/drink started to wear off. Had he really been in front of a crowd of humans, one of them could have been someone from his job or known someone at his workplace, and his career and reputation might have ended up in the toilet. Instead, Clayton was almost giddy and even offered to join Anthony in future “shows.” Seriously? I found Anthony, with his overbearing mother and his surprised delight any time Clayton did anything nice for him, to be a more interesting and appealing character than Clayton.
Usually, I'm all for story and romance taking precedence over sex scenes, but this is one story that might have been better if the sex scenes had been allowed to take up a greater percentage of the word count. I thought the sex scenes were the best part of the novella, although one of them requires that readers be okay with public sex. I also enjoyed the way Cotoner wrote about the mythological beings - they sounded like fun to be around (possibly dangerous, but fun).
Overall, I didn't like this novella nearly as much as I had hoped to. Cotoner would have been better off not even trying to convince readers that Clayton and Anthony had fallen in love with each other - purely "in lust" would have been more believable.
(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
I'm not really sure what the author was trying to accomplish with this novella. If she was aiming for erotic romance, she failed. The “erotic” part was definitely there, but the “romance” was less than stellar. This is one of those stories where the main characters declare their love for each other before they've even known each other for a full 24 hours.
It was all way, way too fast. Had Clayton and Anthony just been aiming for hot sex throughout the whole thing, I could have believed it, but somehow Cotoner had them talking about being mates and being in love by the end of the novella. My suspension of disbelief can only go so far. I laughed when I got to this bit, said by Clayton, on page 30 on my Nook:
“'I like [Anthony] a lot. He's – he's amazing. Beautiful, you know? And it's not just his looks. He's... Yeah. I really like him.'”
By that point in the novella, Clayton had barely talked to Anthony. At best, he knew really well what it was like to kiss him, and there was a nice scene involving a gift of expensive chocolates. That's it. Later on, Clayton says the same sort of thing again:
“'I've never met anyone who gets me as hot as you do. And it's not just the sex or the way you look. I...I really like you.'” (62)
Notice how, once again, Clayton is unable to say, specifically, what he likes about Anthony that has nothing to do with good sex or Anthony's looks? That's because, by that point in the novella, they'd had sex a couple times but still hadn't talked to each other much. Clayton didn't even know that Anthony had almost killed him just a few hours earlier, and he still thought Anthony was human.
The other thing that bothered me about this novella was how dense Clayton was. I know guys aren't necessarily as hyper-aware of potentially dangerous situations as women, but Clayton agreeing to meet a strange guy to go to an unknown place at 11:30 PM still seemed like a dumb thing to do to me. Some of Clayton's inability to put two and two together and realize that the people at the club weren't just humans in costumes could be blamed on his being drunk/drugged and on people's tendency to see only what they expect to see, but I thought Clayton carried things to the extreme. Medusa could have turned someone to stone right in front of him and he would have chalked it up to excellent special effects.
Clayton just did not act like I would have expected a person in his position to act. Considering the conditions under which he first had sex with Anthony, I would have expected extreme embarrassment and perhaps even anger after the drugs/drink started to wear off. Had he really been in front of a crowd of humans, one of them could have been someone from his job or known someone at his workplace, and his career and reputation might have ended up in the toilet. Instead, Clayton was almost giddy and even offered to join Anthony in future “shows.” Seriously? I found Anthony, with his overbearing mother and his surprised delight any time Clayton did anything nice for him, to be a more interesting and appealing character than Clayton.
Usually, I'm all for story and romance taking precedence over sex scenes, but this is one story that might have been better if the sex scenes had been allowed to take up a greater percentage of the word count. I thought the sex scenes were the best part of the novella, although one of them requires that readers be okay with public sex. I also enjoyed the way Cotoner wrote about the mythological beings - they sounded like fun to be around (possibly dangerous, but fun).
Overall, I didn't like this novella nearly as much as I had hoped to. Cotoner would have been better off not even trying to convince readers that Clayton and Anthony had fallen in love with each other - purely "in lust" would have been more believable.
(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
September 12, 2010
2.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews