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Summary: McKillip's prose is her music
Review: While the plot may seem standard (exile comes back to his homeland to reclaim/set right his heritage), McKillip wraps original layers to move the story. Her understanding of music is solid from both sides-both Griffin's, and the teacher, Giulia. Ultimately, the greatest lesson of the book comes not from music, but from the one thing never covered in fantasy-the power of forgivness.
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Summary: The power of words...
Review: Words, the nameless child is told when he reaches the island of Luly, are what being a bard is all about. Found hiding in the burnt ruin of Tormalyne Palace, at first unable to speak or even remember his own name, the black-eyed boy is given the name Rook Caladrius and raised as a bard, among words. As usual, Patricia McKillip's own use of words is detailed, jeweled, precise; the world she creates, with its central city of Berylon, the wild hinterlands and the farming provinces, and Luly, the lonely rock in the sea, is rich and many-layered.Unlike many a traditional fantasy, "Song for the Basilisk" does not have as its hero the young man with the mysterious heritage, the mystical powers, the drive to discover his past. Rook lives on at Luly, fathering a son and learning to play various instruments without ever taking the name of bard; with the exception of a brief, abortive effort to learn his past when as a young man, no mention is made of his history for thirty-seven years. The catalyst comes when a young man, calling himself Griffin Tormalyne after the dead heir of Tormalyne House, comes to Luly to learn magic: he wishes to defeat the Basilisk, Arioso Pellior, Prince of Berylon, who rose to power nearly forty years ago in a bloody war that destroyed Tormalyne House entirely and left two others cowering under his fist. Rook is disinclined to take any interest in politics, especially those far from home, but Griffin is only the first in a chain of events that precipitates him toward Berylon, where he becomes entangled in a web of intrigue forming in the unlikeliest places: a tavern called the Griffin's Egg, the Tormalyne School of Music, and an opera written by a moody and melodramatic composer. Other characters surface out of the flow, clearly drawn and detailed: Giulia Dulcet, a magister of music who sneaks out evenings to play her picochet, a country instrument out of place in the Basilisk's elaborate court; Hexel Barr, the aforementioned composer constantly in search of inspiration; Hollis, Rook's son who follows his father into the city; and the Basilisk's two daughters, dull but beautiful Damiet, and the enigmatic, dragon-eyed Luna. Their interactions weave the core of the story, but McKillip's flawless prose strengthens as well as decorates. "Song for the Basilisk" is not to be missed, not for its tale or its truths. My only complaint is that it should come with a CD of Hexel's opera.
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Summary: Where is Book 2?
Review: You deserve fair warning before starting this book -- there has got to be a book 2 coming. It's a wonderful story written in the expected, beautiful McKillip style -- but it ends with some pretty big unanswered questions! I cannot believe that this is supposed to be a book without a sequel, and I would have appreciated knowing that before I started. Now I will have to wait a year or two to find out what the consequences are for playing that bone pipe!
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