At the beginning of Basilisk, young Rej wakes up Below, in his underground home, after dreaming of a dragon flying in a clear blue sky. Sixteen-year-old Donna wakes up Above in the town of Lunnzia, after dreaming the exact same thing--except she recognises the dragon as Arché, the creator dragon whom God sent to seed the world, and who would one day destroy it as a basilisk. Clue by clue, we learn that the fates of these two young people are interconnected, and the suspenseful story unfolds as it alternates between their two perspectives--until, that is, they are united in Chapter 10.

Tall, long-limbed Rej is "a comber, survivor, debtor, occasional beloved of the Lady Luck". Beautiful Donna is a scribe, given up by her family when she was 12 to serve the current anti-aristocratic regime, ruled by the tyrannical Arkel and the Council of Ten. The two teenagers meet when Rej must go Above to see if his dream-dragons are real... and with a somewhat bloodier mission in mind. When he meets Donna, they discover that they share the same dreams, and soon begin to uncover a host of secrets about the plans of the Abovers to destroy the "combers" who live Below in the catacombs. At great personal risk to themselves, Rej and Donna investigate the dreaded Basilisk Contrivance, which, fuelled by the mysterious "Basilisk's Breath," could literally scare Arkel's enemies to death.

Readers will find a colourful cast of characters, the hint of romance, a wallop of political intrigue and a pointed societal commentary on a nation at war, where rich, corrupt leaders deny their joyless citizens freedom and individuality. To open the book is to enter a dark, velvety, poisonous, drug-hazed world, where no-one can be trusted, and fear, greed, corruption, betrayal and murder are a way of life. Still, glimmers of love, altruism, courage and unshakeable loyalty shine through. Suitable for ages 13 and older. --Karin Snelson, Amazon.com

'She blends history, myth, archaeology and psychology like no writer I've read since Rosemary Sutcliff' Amanda Craig, Independent on Sunday Basilisk is a rich and evocative story of greed, power and deception which sweeps from the underground cave network of the Combers, living like spiders amongst the endless tunnels and ropes, to the beautiful city inhabited by Abovers. The two worlds should never meet, but when the body of a murdered Abover appears in the combs, their worlds begin to draw closer and the corrupt dictator Arkel sees that his power over both is threatened. This is a brilliantly imagined and original novel, which will draw you into a dark and disturbing world.

2004-10-16 I'm sorry, I tried, I tried...

And failed.
'the best author since Rosemary Sutcliff' says the blurb on the back of the book. Intrigued by this confidant assertion, I picked up the book, bought it and settled down to enjoy a good book.
Or so I wished.
For the ideas are there. The idea of a creater and destoyer god does seem to fit in well with Sumerian and Iranian myth. The characters at the start seem eminetely likeable and some of the descriptions do sound like Sutcliff.
But Browne made the worst error possible, and that is bad writing. It goes rapidly downhill from chapter two. The main character, living underground in a catacomb, trying to solve a murder, really annoyed me and after ploughing wearily through this book, I wanted to zip his mouth shut with duct tape. The plot didn't carry my attention, and while it was alright for a lazy Sunday afternoon read, if you're looking for quality fantasy faire, stick with Jonathon Stroud, Brian Jacques or Nancy Farmer with the excellent Sea of Trolls.
There are good scenes but they are the exception rather than the rule and overall Basilisk is a real wasted opportunity. It could have been great but it burned and crashed with its poor writing. What could have been...