Will's Reviews > The Basilisk Throne

7 / 10 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com...

For centuries, the inhuman Drehhu have ruled the world from atop the Basilisk Throne, enslaving and repressing humanity with their superior weaponry and tactics. But now, at long last, the three Empires of ‘men have united against them. And pushed into Drehhu lands, risking everything on the outcome of one massive battle.

Commander of the combined merchant fleet, Alastor Nevelon and his son Crespin sail into battle amidst the strength of over a hundred ships. But their strength is a ruse, for their true secret weapon lies at its heart, hidden from enemy eyes. Meanwhile, Crespin’s sister arrives as a hostage at her emperor’s court—insurance against her father’s loyalties. Here she is confronted by intrigue and scheming, the likes of which she could never have imagined, much less survived. Only she must survive now, for there is more at stake than just her own life.

In the wilds, a rogue known only as Hound has teamed up with a group of Chevaliers on a desperate mission—only one he’s not privy to. Their goal: to seduce a powerful sorcerer into doing their bidding, though none of them could’ve envisioned just how powerful he’d be—nor that the girl who rode at his side could prove the key to everything.

—

My main problem with this was the Drehhu. For an eternal enemy that has brutally enslaved humanity for countless generations, I really would’ve expected a bit more about them. Like… well, something. Instead, we’re presented with just this: “the Drehhu are terrible, and they’ve never been defeated”. Until, just a bit into the story they are defeated. Literally the first time we’ve seen them in battle, and they’ve already lost. They’re barely described in the text at all. Basically, the entire setup is a lie. Or, at best, lazy?

Probably lazy, as that pretty much describes the world-building. There are two main languages used here: and they’re English and French. One empire—I honestly can’t remember which—is basically just historically French, with all the terms applied. The third is basically Spanish, with their ranks and hierarchy. Not that these are well-explained. We just kind of figure it out over time. I get that the author doesn’t want to bog the reader down with info-dumps, and I get why—with this story, keeping the pace up is key—but it just makes everything else (the world, the lore) come off as lazy.

Now, from this beginning, I kinda expected my review to end here with a DNF and a warning to stay away. Problem is, the plot is actually, um, really good? I mean, it’s amazingly well told, all things considered. Three out of the four characters think with their dicks (well, I guess Ammolite technically thinks with her clit, but it’s the same general “who can I bang first” approach). Chrysanthe is the one breath of fresh air, but sadly she’s just not very cunning. Putting her in court to soak up intrigue is an interesting choice, as she has no talent for it. Smarter than her brother Crespin, though, who’s just an idiot.

But no.

Despite ALL this, the story rolls right along, through intrigue and plots and counterplots, sex and sex and more sex, violence and war, sorcery and adventure and so much more. Despite how little I related with any of the characters, despite how dumb a good half of them were, how carnal three were, and how uninspired yet another half were, I would still recommend checking this one out. There’s a really good story here, though it might take you a bit to get invested in. It might take looking past the lazy world-building and lazier setup. It might take you longer to make peace with the idiotic and sex-addled characters. But should you look past all of that, there’s a tremendous tale lurking within, just waiting to be let out.

TL;DR

A conflicted series starter, The Basilisk Throne begins with what is surely just lazy world-building and mixes it with stupid, annoying characters. Despite this, not only did I finish it, but now I’m prepared to recommend it to you. Honestly, even I’m a bit surprised by this. But despite my many initial and last caveats, the story is an excellent one. One I got swept up in despite not relating with nor caring much for any of our four main leads. It’s Game of Thrones-esque, but without quite as much blood. Fortunately the author just replaced that with more sex.

Audio Note: For as many caveats as I had about this one, real credit must be given to John Skelley for bringing this one to life. Just like how a bad narrator can kill a good book, a good narrator can make up for just about anything. I’m even down to continue the series, providing Skelley returns to read it.