Note: This review contains light spoilers for A Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan.
Isabella Camherst has established herself as a serious academic, but despite having stopped a war, unmasked a plot to steal dragon bone, and more, she doesn’t get a fraction of the respect she feels she (rightly) deserves. So, as most academics do, Lady Trent begins looking for her next adventure to study dragons and finds it when funding’s secured for a two-year voyage around the world to study dragons of every stripe. This time, her son Jake will accompany her, along with Tom and a foreign anthropologist who has as keen an interest in dragons as Isabella’s own. Yet, despite the goal being scientific, Isabella soon discovers that nothing is nearly as simple as she would ultimately like it to be.
The Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan is the third installment of the Lady Trent series, and in it, readers readers get to explore a wider world than Brennan had laid out in the prior two installments. Isabella and company get to have adventures on a broad number of islands that provide useful context for how dragons behave in Brennan’s world, but most importantly, the novel introduces a culture that operates in a way outside the normal boundaries of any group that’s been shown thus far. Brennan’s world-building is solid, but as with any fantasy novel, it’s hard to show the reader just how diverse the people and their beliefs can be without building a scene around their interaction, and for the first time, Brennan introduces the reader to a society of island people that explore the role of marriage in society, which likewise provides a jumping off point for Isabella’s growth in understanding her own approach to relationships, given that she’s admitted to having married multiple times throughout her life.
One additional interesting feature of the novel lies in the exploration of the historical dragon-centric society mentioned in previous books, but which have only been hinted at up to this time. While it’s still in the nascent phase of its narrative arc, it’s clear that Brennan is building up the society in The Voyage of the Basilisk so that it sets the stage for further hints down the line.
For Casual Readers
The Voyage of the Basilisk would likely appeal to anyone who has read the rest of the Lady Trent series and found it interesting, but it would likely appeal to those who are interested in a light academia novel that explores gender and sexuality without making it the primary focus of the story. Further, Brennan’s style of writing — an epistolary-esque style that feels like you’re reading Lady Trent’s journals, even as it’s supposed to be her memoirs — would make it an attractive read for anyone who likes delving into the mind of a character as they make their case for why decisions were taken.
Further, Isabella’s character continues to be intriguing for her strong-willed nature, but it’s also fascinating to see how she’s growing into a more nuanced individual as time progresses, which could be an interesting arc for people interested in reading about strong female protagonists that grow into a more balanced version of individual achievement for the sake of their family.
For Writers
Brennan’s novel continues to offer similar lessons to those laid out in my review for A Tropic of Serpents and A Natural History of Dragons, but it also builds on these lessons by exploring LGBTQ+ themes in a way that I haven’t seen before. It’s not uncommon for novels with ostensibly heterosexual characters from repressive cultures to be comfortable with displays of open acceptance by other cultures, and there are novels that deal with the struggle of accepting one’s own queer identity, but I can’t recall a book where the main character questions their own identity when presented the opportunity the way that Brennan has Isabella interrogate herself, and that can be a useful template for other writers to use when dealing with hefty questions of identity.
If you’re interested in picking up a copy of The Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan and want to support both The Coffeehouse Creative and independent bookstores, you can use the Bookshop.org affiliate link here.
Next Up: It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
A Final Note
The Coffeehouse Creative is a place to flex creative muscle while working on other projects. That means that alongside book reviews, you’re likely to find:
Travel pieces that have brought joy the writer’s life
Reflections on writing and the life that it brings with it
Recommendations on marketing and management practices
Notes from a graduate student looking to survive the studies
Newsletters will be sent out at least twice a month, but blogs will appear more frequently as time permits.
If you want to stay in the loop, be sure to subscribe!
Interested in Other Book-Focused Content?
Manybooks
Join 150,000+ fellow readers! Enjoy our handpicked selection of great free and deeply discounted ebooks - straight to your inbox.
Subscribe