The progression of events worked much better for me than in book 2, THE TROPIC OF SERPENTS ( EBR review), with information building in such a way that despite the crazy sequence of events in the climax that I believed every word. She meets so many new people along the way, such as the mysterious Suhail, whose passion for Draconic archeology rivals her own for dragon naturalism Isabella’s son Jacob, now nine, takes a bigger role in the story and it’s fun to see him become his own person while inspiring his mother in the process the cross-dressing native who understands Isabella’s obsession with dragons and how it flavors her personality and even the island where they are stranded for several months has its own personality with its proximity to the very answers Isabella is looking for. Her PoV narration is filled with self discovery, an appreciation for the world around her, and observations about her companions. She is a heroine in every sense of the word. The best part of this series is Isabella. With Isabella on board, the crew included in the VOYAGE OF THE BASILISK are bound for an adventure you will not soon forget. But when they sail for the open sea, a storm throws them off course and the ensuing discoveries forever changes Isabella’s understanding of dragons and herself. Powerless to recover the stolen solution or protect the dragons, she must move on in her studies.

As they carry on in their travels and stop at a port town conquered by the Yelang, Isabella discovers that her reputation has preceded her, and that the dragon bone preservation solution stolen in book 2 has resulted in the very thing she feared: governments hunting dragons for their bones. The voyage starts out as scheduled, they find their first sea dragon, and observe the beast… more close-up than planned. With Isabella on board, they are bound for an adventure. Along for the ride is her young son Jacob Jacob’s nanny Abigail and Tom, Isabella’s research partner. Here we are in book 3 of Marie Brennan’s Lady Trent Memoirs with VOYAGE OF THE BASILISK ( Amazon) and our heroine, Isabella Camherst, is sent on an expedition to research dragons on sea and on land. This series keeps getting better and better.

Voyage of the basilisk