| Title | : | The Lure of the Basilisk (The Lords of Dûs, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1587155877 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781587155871 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 208 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1980 |
The Lure of the Basilisk (The Lords of Dûs, #1) Reviews
-
3,5 estrellas en realidad.
Novela de fantasía de Lawrence Watt-Evans, un autor poco conocido en el Mundo Hispano debido a las escasas traducciones de sus obras al español.
Ésta, "La Tentación del Basilisco", fue su primera novela publicada y la verdad es que dentro del mundo de la fantasía no destaca mucho. De hecho es bastante irregular, sin llegar a ser mala... pero veamos de qué trata.
La trama nos cuenta acerca de Garth, un sobrehombre, que busca inmortalizar su nombre, por lo que se pondrá bajo las órdenes del Rey olvidado, el que le encomendará la peligrosa misión de capturar a un basilisco vivo y llevárselo de regreso, lo que implicará de camino unas cuantas batallas y poco más... Y es que la novela no tiene realmente ninguna gran sorpresa, es prácticamente un viaje de ida y vuelta con algunas pocas batallas de por medio, las que en ningún momento logran engancharte del todo, aunque tampoco aburren, salvo tal vez el inicio y algunos intermedios dónde el autor nos cuenta con más detalles del que quisiéramos algunos aspectos mundanos de la travesía con escaso peso o relevancia en el producto final.
Cosa aparte es el tema del basilisco, tal vez lo más interesante y a la vez decepcionante de la novela... Y es que esperaba un poco más del autor, imaginándome que inventaría algún ingenioso método para atrapar a la criatura sumado a algún tipo de batalla que lograra darle ese tono épico, común de la literatura fantástica, pero no. Soluciona todo de una forma que se le ocurriría hasta el escritor más mediocre... ¡Magia! Todo, salvo la parte final tal vez, se soluciona con magia.
Aún así, como he dicho antes, la novela logró mantenerme más menos interesado, pues igual me hacía preguntarme cómo terminaría el asunto... y debo decir que despues de todo no ha sido de una mala manera, el basilisco en la resolución es prácticamente inutil, pero el autor al menos nos entrega un mensaje esperanzador para nuestro héroe y sus aspiraciones para con los reinos humanos. Algo que sin lugar a dudas podría darle mucho más renombre y prestigio que el que el sobrehombre esperaba alcanzar realizando hazañas heroicas, lo que en mi caso personal me pareció bastante acertado y me hizo darle sus 3,5 estrellas (antes de llegar a aquellas páginas me sentía inclinado a darle menos).
En fin, una novela que no destaca, pero tampoco aburre y que al menos su autor logra dotar de cierta originalidad al cambiar a un caballero por un sobrehombre, a un corcel de montura por una especie de felino gigante y a un dragón por un basilisco.
¡Solo para fans acérrimos de la fantasía, de lo contrario estoy casi seguro que te aburrirá!
*Nota: esta novela cuenta con tres secuelas (la siguiente "Los siete altares" traducida al español y las ultimas dos, "La espada de Bheleu" y "El libro del silencio" solo en idioma original inglés). Aunque, como he dicho, ésta primera parte no me ha aparecido mala, dudo qué me animé en algún momento a leer las continuaciones. -
After receiving the fourth book in this series as a gift; reading up on the series; and ordering the rest, I sat on the series for a year before picking it up for a fun, end-of-year read; to my pleasant surprise, Watt-Evans spins a quest story that is fun and unique. The protagonist, Garth, is not a human, nor does he act like one; in fact, he doesn't understand the way humans react to stressful events (y'know, like dying and stuff), and this wrinkle adds interesting conflicts to the story. As for the quest, Watt-Evans devotes considerable time to its actual fulfillment, and places Garth in mundane situations that require the same kind of fortitude that mortal combat demands.
As is usual for the genre, Watt-Evans gives a little and poses a fistful of questions at the same time that, I assume, he will answer in future books. As I am on Winter break and happy to read a fun diversion, I am keen to continue. -
I was in grade school when I met Lawrence Watt-Evans at a book fair at the public library in Frankfort, KY, around 1982. He spent several minutes talking to me and providing encouragement that stoked the creative fire building within a boy of 11. He signed and gave me a copy of "The Lure of the Basilisk" and I went home and read it cover to cover in a just a few days. I still recollect what a nice guy he was and how I was so pumped to have met my first REAL author, bragging to my geek friends (who shared my love of All-Things-Tolkien and Marvel superheroes) and showing off his autograph. If Watt-Evans were to read this today, he might get a kick out of the fact that Mickey Mantle was also at the same book fair promoting his autobiography and although I shook Mantle's hand and probably muttered something like "nice to meet you, sir" it was Watt-Evans who was the highlight of my day.
My signed copy of "The Lure of the Basilisk" had long since vanished, but if you had asked me to rate this book when I was 11, it would have certainly received five stars. Now that I'm in my forties, I can honestly say it was probably a three-star read. I still think Garth the Overman was a fairly cool departure from the standard fantasy fare at the time and on the cutting edge of the anti-hero movement of the mid to latter '80s, and it was actually quite a mature read for a boy of my age at the time. Novel aside, however, I give two thumbs up and five stars to Watt-Evans for being the class act that he was and apparently still is.
(Go FB friend him:
http://www.facebook.com/wattevans)
--
*I also regret not having spent a few more minutes talking to Mr. Mantle. I know most adult hands seem big to a growing boy, but Mantle's hands were HUGE and felt like baseball leather, no joke. -
The Lure of Basilisk is an enjoyable and somewhat atypical fantasy story. It's a quick read, and quite addictive: strangely for me, the strength of it isn't in characters, but just in the fact that it was a little different to the usual fare and I'm curious as to where it goes from here. I want to know who the Forgotten King is, and where he stands on the scales of good and evil, and whether that matters. I'm not so intrigued by Garth -- he's a good character, he's not human and he doesn't act human, but there's not much mystery about him.
I can't remember if I found copies of these books somewhere: I'll have to go digging. I don't want to forget about this and not read the rest of the series. -
This was a fun blast from the past to read. Nice simple fantasy with hints of Robert W. Chambers and H.P. Lovecraft inspired horror.
No modern humanist pretentions. No vaginal fantasy elements.
Such a refreshing read. -
3.75 stars
Overall I really enjoyed this early 80s Swords and Sorcery adventure... I’ve had it on my bookshelf since I was a teenage in the 80s! The first half dragged a bit and was a slightly disappointing ... but the second half zipped by and was brilliant!
I think I’d started it before years ago and got bored but perseverance paid off big time. I like the ambiguity of Gath, the main protagonist. He is a fairly complex character searching for meaning and purpose. A sort of midlife crises in a Prince. He hates killing but seems to stumble into it with out trying, yet full of honour and principles (of a sort), resourcefulness and compassion (of a sort).
It’s unusual to have a non human main character and that adds to this books charm. I’ve dived straight into the next book and am loving it from the get go! -
I think I am a sucker for this style of pulpy fantasy: a small cast of characters, with a plot revolving around a single protagonist on a lone quest driven by less than laudable motivations, and even better a non-human who actually acts like a non-human. I like that Garth is both competent and flawed, and that he makes mistakes but perseveres. The world is fantastical and harsh, and its denizens are treacherous. Throw in the panther-like warbeast and I'm hooked. This book is just plain fun, and it makes me want to go back and re-read some of the Moorcock books. For some reason I never completed this series back when I originally read it, but I plan to do so now.
-
I remember reading this book back in 1980, the end of my first year of high school. I remember it well because I loved the book and it was back when D&D was huge but before TSR came out with all or the monster books. Many dungeon masters used this book to prove the powers of the basilisk. I didn't even know what one was until I read the book. I didn't know that there were more books in the series. Now I'm going to have to find time to read those as well.
-
I am seldom surprised reading a story, so it is very nice to "figure out" what should happen next and something else occur. What great characters and the opportunity to look through the eyes of another back at the human race and discover anew our weirdness. This was an awesome stand alone story, but it makes me want to read the next in the series even more.
-
Great fantasy with interesting characters.
-
The Lure of the Basilisk was the first book written by Lawrence Watt-Evans, and it shows. I haven’t read any of his other books for comparison, but the writing in this one is pretty simplistic. We follow Garth as he sets out with a goal to have his name remembered for generations. Following standard fantasy tropes, an oracle sends him to find the Lost King, who is a strange hooded man in the corner of the bar. The Lost King sends Garth on an errand, which takes place over the majority of the book. The pacing was also a little strange at times as pages were taken up here and there detailing some mundane tasks that really didn’t impact the plot. Also, certain conflicts seemed to be wrapped up a little too neatly with a deus ex machina.
That said, I did appreciate the use of the third person limited point of view that really helped me to see Garth’s viewpoint. Mental health was briefly touched on, which was a surprise in a novel like this. What do you do when your leader gives you orders that you don’t agree with? Something interesting to think about. Overall, the story wasn’t amazing, but it was interesting enough for me to want to continue the series.
For more:
https://medium.com/@shanejorr/shanes-... -
Been a long time since I read anything by Lawrence Watt-Evans and I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed what I had read. This was no different. He has a knack for writing something just a bit different than the usual swords and sorcery and often times a sense of humor that suits me. This was one of the first things he wrote so it was interesting to compare with later titles. Look forward to the others in the series and more of his works as well.
-
I always like Watt-Evans books, they're such simple fantasy stories but he throws in so many little puzzles and twists to make things seem original. Something that seems like just a "kill the monster" story from the back cover evolves into discussion of evil and working out what to do actually do with the best.
-
I picked this up at a used book store probably because I liked the cover. I enjoyed reading this fantasy tale because it was different and not what I expected. The hero was different. You didn't know what to expect at each twist and turn. Fun read!
-
Originally read when it was first published back in the 80's. The author was still figuring out his voice, and it remains a fun read. The ebook from Wildside Press includes some new background information on the creation of the series (well, it was new in 2001), which I found interesting.
-
I was recommended this book by someone who had enjoyed them in high school, so I was not expecting very much, but was pleasantly surprised. Although the writing was simple and the attempts at describing any beautiful scenes fell short of my expectations, it was definitely still a page-turner. The author is excellent at 'becoming' the character and although he writes in many lampshade explanations, it does make the story more realistic and logical. While many threads of the story are left unanswered, it does provide a segue into the following books, so I don't particularly mind.
Overall, I love the mystery of the story and I find Garth both amusing and offensive for this inability to understand humans. I rated this book 3/5 because I don't think this is a very challenging novel, not only in reading level, but also conceptually. My favorite part of this book was definitely the basilisk itself - the author did an excellent job of personifying it and, surprisingly, making it one of the easiest characters to identify with in the book without diminishing its frightening aspects. -
Part of a four-book series: I actually read the fourth volume more than a decade ago and always have wanted to revisit the story and read from the beginning.
The main character is unique (not human, but does possess some human qualities); however, the other characters introduced throughout the first book lack any importance. It's difficult to tell if any of the other characters are truly important at first, and even later, they still lack any distinction to make them memorable.
The story itself (as it unwinds over the four books) is where the author's attention shines; still, despite the intriguing plot arch, the first book lacks the intrigue to keep the reader invested past the first book.
Would I recommend this book? Only on the merits of the fourth, which I still have to re-read to truly evaluate the value of. -
Perhaps I am being kind with 4 stars, but I did enjoy the book. The character Garth shrugs a lot. He gets some help from the author (bringing mirrors to subdue the basilisk). However, I was intrigued by the Forgotten King and I liked Koros. Even Shang was a bit memorable.
-
I sought this book out to reread since it was one of the first fantasy books I read as a child. Memories trump the actual book, which I still enjoyed but didn't prompt me to continue the four book series.
-
I gave it 4 stars but that was in my persona as a 14 year old boy, when I first saw the book at my school library. As an adult, well, it was written in the '70's so the ideas now feel a little cliched, but the writing is solid and the characterization is good. I liked it.
