Book Review: Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan

Goodreads
#3 in the Memoirs of Lady Trent series
ARC from publisher, via NetGalley
352 pages
4 out of 5 stars, Special Shelf series

There are NO spoilers in this review, but if you're worried, check out my review of the first book A Natural History of Dragons instead!

The series in general (no spoilers)

Ah, there's something so satisfying about a consistent series. I always know what to expect with the Lady Trent books, and thankfully, Voyage of the Basilisk stuck with the same tried and true formula.

Fans of the first two books can rest assured that this third installment is more of the same, and I mean that in a good way. Isabella embarks on another journey to another excitingly untamed part of the world to continue her study of dragons. The first half follows a series of mini adventures and the second half focuses on a local group of people, exposing Isabella to another novel culture.

That may sound formulaic, especially since that same pattern is followed in each book. It is the uniqueness of the adventures that keep this series from feeling stale. Even more enamoring, for me, is the sense of exploration. I'm so fired up following Isabella as she makes new discoveries in her quest to understand dragons.

I thrive on that indescribably invigorating feeling of forming theories, testing them out, finding their flaws, delighting when they're proved right, and, almost even more exciting, turning over the new questions that arise and chasing their answers.

These books wouldn't be half as good if Isabella wasn't narrating them. Her voice is so perfect (though she is certainly not) and I have found a true kindred spirit in her character. I like how she stays true to herself, embracing her passions and quirks, even if they do not conform to the accepted or the norm. She has learned that she can choose to either be happy in life, or unhappy, and she has chosen to be happy.

This voyage in particular

As you've probably gathered, this book sees Isabella on the high seas and the first half of the book takes place almost entirely on board the ship. Even though I like a lot of books that take place on ships, I don't actually like being on fictional ships very much. It's claustrophobic and I hate the feeling of being trapped on a relatively fragile ship with nothing around but a vast ocean holding all manner of dangerous sea creatures. Plus, the food. Barf.

So, I've knocked off a star for that completely personal reason.

Fans of Tom and Natalie will be disappointed because they are not very notable in this book. Natalie especially, since she doesn't even accompany Isabella on her journey. Instead, a new character comes to the forefront and I can't say I'm upset about this new development (though I DO miss Tom. I really liked his growing relationship with Isabella in Tropic of Serpents and I was hoping to spend more time on that in this book). But, this new character is a diverting consolation prize.

Other things I liked (without giving things away): The supremely excellent scene of Isabella and the Great Nostril Grab (and the even greater description of the fictional artistic portrayals of said event), Isabella's on going relationship and her exploration of her feelings with the Jacobs, adding in an archeological exploration (that surprisingly ties back in with the prior books), treasure (!), the wife (what a fun way to address those rumors), and the incorrect theory (because we've all kicked ourselves at some point, and Isabella described all the emotions perfectly).  

Bottom line

Upon finishing the book I had two thoughts:

1. Gosh, I read that quickly!
2. When is the next book coming out?

I wish I had savored this book more because now it's finished and I have to wait at least a year (I'm guessing, gah, Goodreads doesn't even have the next book up!) and I really just want to keep reading in this world and with these characters. I didn't mean to read it so fast. I just, I just couldn't stop reading!

So, when is the next book coming out??

Looking for another book like this? You might like: 

Click on the covers to go to my review/Goodreads

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Book Review: The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan + Giveaway (US/CA)

#2 in the Memoir by Lady Trent series 
Release Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: Tor 
Pages: 331
Received: Finished copy from publisher
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars, Special Shelf
Goodreads

I was lost in the depths of despair

I've been having a serious streak of bad luck when it comes to books this year. I haven't even reviewed all of them because I've just felt so meh and disappointed about them.

But that all ends now with the latest installment in the Memoir by Lady Trent series.

Until I found a bosom friend in Lady Trent

I was shocked last year at how much I adored the first book A Natural History of Dragons, and while it ended just fine as a standalone, I desperately hoped it would not remain so.

Thankfully, there's a sequel (and now a third book announced!), and I think Tropic of Serpents might be even better than the first.

Isabella is a significant part of why I can't get enough of this series. She's a character trope for sure, but I love this type of character, so I don't mind at all.

Think of her as a dragon-loving Amelia Peabody or a grown up Theodosia. She has an insatiable thirst for knowledge and she isn't afraid to take risks if it means satisfying her curiosity.

But she isn't just a character of action, as so many Strong Female Characters tend to be. Nor is she damaged, thank goodness, which seems to be the other prevailing feature of insufferable SFCs.

Isabella examines her own motives and feelings with the same studious eye she applies to dragon anatomy, and while she finds this thoroughly uncomfortable, she forces herself to confront them anyway. She totally earned my admiration with her fortitude and courage.

Like the Strong Female Character trope, we also have the Strong Feminist, and I guess you could put Isabella into that category too because she thoroughly bucks society's expectations of what is proper behavior for a woman. But, she doesn't do it for a Cause, again, thankfully! because I'm sorry to say but I find that so tiresome.

She does it because it is what she must do. Isabella knows what makes her happy in life, and she doesn't let anyone or any expectation stand in her way. This doesn't come easy, though, and I appreciated that Marie Brennan took the time to examine the conflict Isabella inevitably feels between following her duty and giving in to her desire.

She grew a lot over the course of this book and I was absolutely cheering her by the end!    

If only she'd break her slate over his head

If you've read the first book, then you know what happens in the end. So you know, the door is open for, let's say, possibilities.

(Also, if you've been keeping track of the names, Trent is neither Isabella's maiden name nor Jacob's surname. Just saying.)

(And, yeah, I know it's also NOT the last name of a certain combative other character who appeared in the first book and plays an even larger role Tropic of Serpents, but that did not in any way stop me from wishing for something more).

But, all the parentheticals aside, this is not a kissing book. There isn't any romance (despite society's gossip and my desire to believe it) and, honestly, given the events of the previous book and all the growth Isabella needed to accomplish I (grudgingly) guess that's ok.

Still, they make for a very entertaining and mutually respectful friendship. And, as a woman and a man of low birth, I have high hopes that I will get to see them take down society's stodgy Rules for who can and who cannot conduct scientific research.

"Because if you are imagining, you might as well imagine something worth while"

Isabella is half the reason I love these books, but her adventures make up the other half.

While the world is a totally fictional place made up of overly-complicated yet typically fantasyish names, it is basically our world circa 1800s-ish. Scriland is England, and Eriga (the setting of this installment) is Africa.

If I didn't enjoy saying Scriland so much (it really rolls off the tongue) I'd say my one complaint is that I wish Marie Brennan had just made this a historical fantasy series and set everything in our own real countries. I mean, who are we fooling here?

(Then again, had she done that I'd probably complain about her changing history, which is something I usually take issue with.)

But, the only part where I really started to zone out and lose interest was when Isabella started talking about the politics between the various countries. Now, you know me, I LIVE for fictional politics! Especially when there's shady dealings and imminent war, which was the case here (between not just two, but THREE nations!)

So why wasn't I stoked? Because I had a hard time keeping track of the nations. Between the weird pronunciations and the This-fictional-country-is-really-That-real-country mental match ups I spent more time puzzling out the Who when I should have been indulging my penchant for political intrigue focusing on the What. I got it all sorted, but the way it was presented really pulled me out of the story.

But that was the only time that happened, because Marie Brennan NAILS it when it comes to immersion. After a fun jaunt across the (basically) African savannah where I got to indulge all my childhood Nature-watching dreams and go on a safari hunt (!!!), we trekked through a place called the Green Hell, and oh my gosh, a place was never named more appropriately.

The Green Hell was miserable, which is to say, it was AWESOME! I felt like I was right there with Isabella with the humidity and the bugs and the diseases and the wonderland of natural and cultural discoveries! There's also a Secret To Unravel relating to the dragons living there and the answer was totally unexpected yet fit very nicely.

Bottom line

I can't rave about the Memoir by Lady Trent series enough! I haven't read anything quite like it, and when I'm not reading this series a part of my brain is always wishing I had the next book in my hands. I can't wait to follow Isabella on her next adventure.

Perhaps the best compliment I can give is that I got so completely sucked into Tropic of Serpents that it felt like I was living and breathing the experiences right next to Isabella, who I'm half convinced is actually a real live person living off in in the world somewhere (along with Sherlock Holmes).

Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key 

Do you have any questions about Tropic of Serpents that I haven't addressed?
Feel free to ask in the comments!


Do you know any other books like this?

Giveaway!

Info for the giveaway:

• What you can win: Three winners will each get a  finished copy of Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan
• As always, you do NOT have to be a follower
• This giveaway is for US/CA addresses only
• You must be 13 years of age or older
• One entry per person
• I will contact the winner through email and the winner will have 24 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen 
• This giveaway closes on May 31st 

Click here to enter the giveaway!

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Tiny Reviews: Warrior & All Our Yesterdays

Sometimes I read a book and, love it or hate it, I just don't have all that much to say about it. I don't really like the idea of putting multiple reviews in one post (mostly because I feel like it makes my review index and post titles messy and I'm an obsessive stickler for organization), but I'm going to give it a shot now. 



Warrior by Marie Brennan

I immediately sought out more Marie Brennan books as soon as I finished A Natural History of Dragons (LOVE) and Warrior topped my list of "Want To Read." The blurb described it as basically two doppelgangers, one a witch and the other an assassin, living in a world where There Can Be Only One and so they need to try to kill each other. Awesome!

The book was good, but not as epically awesome as I was expecting based on that premise. The characters were likable, but flat. The action was promising, but never delivered any truly pulse pounding scenes. There was no romance, which is fine, but also a letdown. The world building was fascinating, though, and my favorite part by far. 

This is the first book in a duology, but it ends pretty well as a standalone. I like where things ended here and I'm content to leave it at that. 

Purchased
Rating: 3 out of 5

___________________________________________

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

I DNF-ed this one at the 120 page mark and just barely had to hold back from tossing it across the room. The opening chapter was gripping and I had SUCH high hopes, but it was a downhill crash from there. Stereotypical characters abound and I am SO TIRED of authors who rely on shallow tropes. The time travel explanations were mushy at best, but I could let that slide. What I couldn't let slide was the tiresome, repetitive stupidity of the main character. The final straw was the author's "twists" that were at best amateurish and at worst almost insultingly obvious.  

Library
Rating: DNF

Have you read any of these books? 
What did you think of them?

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Author Interview: Marie Brennan + Giveaway! (US/CA)

Please Welcome Marie Brennan!

Marie was nice enough to stop by and answer some of my burning questions about her oeuvre. And what a collection it is! Fairies! Historical fantasy! Dragons! Witches! Doppelgangers! I'm already on a mad hunt to track down more of her books and there isn't a plot that doesn't look right up my alley!  

Website | Blog | Publisher | Twitter | Goodreads

Giveaway!
See below for details

Q: Which one of your characters would you most want to kiss?

A: If I’m being really honest (and my husband isn’t reading this), then Julian, from Lies and Prophecy. A much earlier draft of that book was the first novel I ever finished writing, so it’s not surprising that as love interests go, he’s the one I have the strongest attachment to.

by Todd Lockwood

Q: Which one of your characters would you want to swap BFF charms with?

A: It’s a toss-up between Isabella, the protagonist of A Natural History of Dragons, and Delphia Northwood, one of the secondary characters in A Star Shall Fall. Both of them are very bookish, which makes them near and dear to my heart.

Q: Which one of your characters do you most want to slap or give a verbal tongue lashing to?

A: One of the problems with being a writer is, you have to get into your characters’ heads, which tends to mean you end up sympathizing with them even when they’re being dumb. And then sometimes they go and develop depth on you, totally without warning. Even with a character like Carline -- a minor figure in several of the Onyx Court books -- I want to smack her for being shallow and callous (which she is), but then she comes out with a really telling observation about the way the fae of London relate to mortals, and I have to admit she has a point.

Q: If you were transported into your book, which scene would you most want to reenact?

A: The deployment of the Ephemeral Engine at the end of With Fate Conspire. It would scare the crap out of me if I didn’t know what the result would be, but since I do, that would be a mind-blowingly awesome thing to experience.

Q: Which one of your character’s brains would you want to pick the most?

by Todd Lockwood

A: Jack Ellin, from In Ashes Lie. He’s a very smart man, and also a smart-ass, which means the conversation would be fun as well as enlightening. But I’d want to invite Isabella and Delphia to the party, too, as well as Abd ar-Rashid, an educated and well-traveled genie from the later Onyx Court books.

Q: Which scene do you think will surprise readers the most?

A: Judging by the responses I’ve been getting from readers, the one that settles the fate of a particular character in A Natural History of Dragons. I can’t think how to be more specific without giving spoilers, but let’s just say that if it makes you want to send me a ranty e-mail, then you’ve probably found the right one.

Q: Which scene was the most fun to write?

A: For A Natural History of Dragons, the non-spoilery answer is the first time Isabella and Jacob meet, in the Falchester menagerie. A great deal of what I made up for that scene really laid the groundwork and tone for the novel and the series as a whole.

The spoilery answer is the cavern -- I will say no more.

Q: What is one piece of advice you would give your main character?

A: I would tell Isabella to pay attention to the people around her, as well as the natural world. She isn’t the best at reading social cues, nor to anticipating and dealing with the problems they can create.

by Todd Lockwood

Readers should add A Natural History of Dragons to their To Be Read list if they like...

Books about:

     headstrong young ladies, outspoken old ladies, Victorian science, ancient ruins, world travel, and of course dragons.

Books/movies like:
     Mary Robinette Kowal’s Glamourist series, Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate, or The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec.

Main characters like:
     Amelia Peabody, from Elizabeth Peters’ historical mysteries, or (from history) the travel writers Isabella Bird and Mary Kingsley.

About A Natural History of Dragons:

Click for larger images!

You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart—no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon’s presence, even for the briefest of moments—even at the risk of one’s life—is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten. . . .

All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day.

Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.

Marie Brennan introduces an enchanting new world in A Natural History of Dragons.

ISBN: 978-0-7653-3196-0

On Sale: February 5, 2013

Available here:

Indiebound, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BooksAMillion,

Powells, Walmart,  Overstock


Author bio:

Marie Brennan is a former academic with a background in archaeology, anthropology, and folklore, which she now puts to rather cockeyed use in writing fantasy. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to many short stories and novellas, she is also the author of A Star Shall Fall and With Fate Conspire (both from Tor Books), as well as Warrior, Witch, Midnight Never Come, In Ashes Lie, and Lies and Prophecy. You can find her online at SwanTower.com.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Marie!

It was probably around, oh, maybe page 200 or so that I put down A Natural History of Dragons last night and vowed not to read another page (that night). Not because it was bad, but because it was SO GOOD and I realized I only had about another two hours worth of reading time left with it. I had to start rationing.

So, what did I do to occupy my time instead? I went straight to Goodreads, of course, and proceeded to (desperately) check out all of Marie's other books and see which I could find in my library. Yes, it's that good!

Oh, and notice all those pictures in my post? Those are only a handful of the awesome full-page illustrations peppered throughout the book! I LOVE books with illustrations! Even better, they really bring to life the images I was already mentally picturing and don't clash at all with how *I* was already picturing the dragons.

Have you read A Natural History of Dragons?
How would you answer these questions?
(Remember, no spoilers please!) 

Want a chance to win your own copy of A Natural History of Dragons? Thanks to the publisher, I have three copies to offer!

Click here to enter the giveaway!

Info for the giveaway:

• What you can win: Three people will each win one finished hardcover copy of A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan!
• As always, you do NOT have to be a follower
• You must have a US/CA mailing address
• You must be 13 years of age or older
• One entry per person
• Your address is not required, but including it will help with sending the book out to you sooner
• I will contact the winner through email and the winner will have 24 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen 
• This giveaway closes on March 20th 

Click here to enter the giveaway!

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