BASILISK

Author (last name first):
 Browne, N. M.

Publisher, Date of Publication: Bloomsbury/2004

Grade Level/ or Age Level: 
9-12

Classification:  
Fiction


BASILISK  is a dystopic love story. The people in this dystopia divided by culture and by treaty. The Combers live in underground catecombs below the once magnificent but now decaying city of Lunnzia. The Combers are the undesirables: the intellectuals, professionals and others who refuse the rigid austerity enforced by the religious elite ruling life above. Following a tragic civil war, the Combers are banished to the "combs"and promised light, food, and clothing as long as they train to be scribes. Rej is a rebellious young comber with strong ties to the Comb's leaders.


Donna and Rej meet in a common dream in which both are golden dragons soaring freely in a cloudless sky. The story describes the struggle of these two protagonists to reunite the people of Lunnzia and to defeat the oppressive religious regime that keeps them apart. The regime is threatening to destroy all of the people in the Combs so more energy may be devoted to wars it is waging against other cities. Donna is abducted and forced to become part of a diabolical weapon that brings nightmares to life and is horribly abused by her captors. Led by Rej, the Combers destroy the oppressive regime and rescue Donna from her captors. 


This book is filled with action and clever dialogue. The characters of Donna and Rej are compelling and reasonably well developed, and late adolescent readers will be able to identify with many of their fears and struggles. Youthful readers will also find their inner strength and courage worthy models. Though the book describes the romantic tension between Rej and Donna in a thoughtful and benign way, many of the physical abuses Donna suffers at the hand of the evil Arkel and his Redmen are brutal and sadistic. Some readers will find them objectionable. The book's combination of timely plot relevance, vivid imagery and clever plot twist make it hard to put down.


Reviewer: Robert Redmond