strange and random happenstance: The Baslilisk's Lair

Showing posts with label The Baslilisk's Lair. Show all posts

Monday, June 7, 2010

Tuesday Tomorrow

The Basilisk's Lair: Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist Book 2 by R. L. LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: June 7th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 150 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Nate Fludd, Beastologist, is back in the camel saddle in hot pursuit of a missing, deadly Basilisk—the King of Serpents. As if saving an entire Dhughani village from the Basilisk’s poisonous gaze isn’t difficult enough, Nate and Aunt Phil must begin to piece together the mystery of his parents’ disappearance and protect the lone copy of the Fludd Book of Beasts from a sinister man who always seem to be one step ahead of them. Pack your goggles, rue, and an extra pair of gloves and join Nate on another unbelievable adventure—there’s no rest for the world’s youngest beastologist-in-training!"

While not as close to my heart as the first book, the pace is still kept high and I can not wait for the next installment! My review of the ARC can be found here.

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
Published by: Little Brown
Publication Date: June 7th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris-- the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts fiercely alongside her. Now Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves and finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax-- but loving him means betraying her sister and has the potential to destroy all they've worked for.

Twenty-five-year-old Jackson Pearce delivers a dark, taut fairy tale with heart-pounding action, fierce sisterly love, and a romance that will leave readers breathless."

I have been uber excited for this book! In fact I just recieved an ARC in the mail before I left on my vacation so a review should be forthcoming. But how can you not like it? Look at that simply gorgeous cover! Also, I have been noticing it in bookstores already, so if you can't wait till tomorrow... maybe just pop round and see if they're early shelvers!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments

Labels: ARCs, Beastologist, Jackson Pearce, Kelly Murphy, Nathaniel Fludd, R. L. Lafevers, Sisters Red, The Baslilisk's Lair

Friday, February 5, 2010

Book Review - R. L. LaFever's The Basilisk's Lair

The Basilisk's Lair: Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist Book 2 by R. L. LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
ARC Provided by a Friend
Publication Date: June 7th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 150 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Preorder

The official patter:
"Nate Fludd, Beastologist, is back in the camel saddle in hot pursuit of a missing, deadly Basilisk—the King of Serpents. As if saving an entire Dhughani village from the Basilisk’s poisonous gaze isn’t difficult enough, Nate and Aunt Phil must begin to piece together the mystery of his parents’ disappearance and protect the lone copy of the Fludd Book of Beasts from a sinister man who always seem to be one step ahead of them. Pack your goggles, rue, and an extra pair of gloves and join Nate on another unbelievable adventure—there’s no rest for the world’s youngest beastologist-in-training!"

Nate can't believe it... they're lost. And it's all his fault. Aunt Phil relied on him to get them back to the plane with the compass she entrusted to him and he goes and gets them lost. But his navigation lessons are cut short by a band of men on the horizon. There is a telegram for Aunt Phil from Bamanko. The Basilisk has escaped! They are on the move again, but Nate feels not just the hesitation steaming from the fact he feels incompetent, but from the fact that the Basilisk, unlike the Phoenix, is very dangerous, or so he and Greasle learned from sneaking a look in the book. After a stop over in Egypt, where Nate attempts to jump ship, or plane, as it were, they are on their way to the Sudan. The villagers, as can be expected, are very afraid of the death and destruction that the Basilisk might bring... not only that, but if the creature gets to the river the water will be poisoned and all could die. Also, could the Basilisk's escape have anything to do with the mysterious red headed stranger who wishes to pilfer the Fludd's family secrets?

The second installment of R. L. LaFever's new Beastologist series picks up literally moments after the first book ended. Being more conventional than the first, I thought it was a wonderful bridge book, but lacked the originality of the previous installment, yet built up even greater expectations for the next. The first book set up Nate's past and the new journey and new friends he would make in this path his life was taking since the disappearance of his parents. He learned of the wonders of his family heritage and of the value of friends and relatives. He also learned of the dangers that his legacy contains and the threat from outsiders, particularity of red headed men. In this book, we don't get any further revelations, we don't learn any more about his mysterious nanny or about who the red haired man might be, but we do get a great adventure. While I'm a fan of the story arc, the greater movements of the pieces to come to the endgame, sometimes I know you need an interlude, a break from this, and that's what this book felt like.

Even though it is, or perhaps because of it being, only the second book, you can't have too much revelation, you can't have all the secrets revealed and the curtain lifted, because otherwise this would be a very short series, and that is something I don't want. Instead we have Nate learning that the Beasts can be not only very beautiful, but also very dangerous. Here we have a Basilisk, something slightly different, but still familiar to readers who loved Harry Potter. It's the immediate threat of the Basilisk that must be attended to, no matter how much I wanted them to be on their way back to England to get to the bottom of the Fludd's disappearance. I think that this book will really appeal to the younger age bracket for which it is written, versus, say, myself. I have my eyes on the end, where a younger reader will have their eyes on the immediate struggle. And while the way the Basilisk is handled is unique and original I still felt that perhaps this beast is a little overplayed... but then again the Phoenix worked... so perhaps it's just the lack of secondary and tertiary plots that made it fall a little flat for me. But you can count me in as a reader for the next installment, I can't wait to see where Nate goes and see how his friendship with Greasle grows. I just can't get enough of that morally ambiguous, oil eating gremlin, who is always there when you need her most.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 3 comments

Labels: Aunt Phil, Bamanko, Basilisk, Beastologist, Book Review, Dhughani, Egypt, Greasle, Gremlin, Harry Potter, Nathaniel Fludd, Phoenix, R. L. Lafevers, The Baslilisk's Lair, The Sudan

Monday, November 16, 2009

New R. L. LaFevers' Books in the New Year!

Hopefully by now you all know of my love of Theodosia Throckmorton. If not, I love Theo! Was that good for you? She's smart, funny, has an awesome cat and is an Egyptian Curse breaker. She is easily a young adult's version of Amelia Peabody and everyone should read these books they are that awesome. Yes, kids to grannies, everyone! Anyways, the highly anticipated (certainly by me) 3rd book, Theo and the Eyes of Horus is coming out in April. To whet you appetite, Robin posted the cover up on her website today. I love it! All yellow and shiny and beautifully done by the talented Yoko Tanaka. Can't stand the wait now that you have the cover? Well lucky for you Robin's publishers have let her put the first two chapters up on Theo's website, so head on over and enjoy a little time with Theo. Plus if you haven't read any of the books yet, there's plenty of time before April!

Also she unveiled the cover for her second Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist book. The first was a really fun quick read (review to be posted soon!). So another book to look forward to from the pen of Robin... it's going to be a great 2010! This book is slated to drop in June.