Song for the Basilisk
core novel 1998 Song for the Basilisk
Record
| First published | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.02 (2,790 ratings, collected 2026-09-29) |
| Page count | 314 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780441004478 |
Synopsis
As a child, Caladrius was pulled from the smouldering ruins of his home, the sole survivor of the massacre of his house, and carried away to the bards of Luly, on their island in the northern sea, who raised him as one of their own under the name Rook. Of his past he keeps only fragments of fire and death that he would rather forget. Years later, grown, in love and the father of a son, he is still unable to make peace with his memories, and he leaves the island to learn who destroyed his family and why. The answer is his true name, Griffin Tormalyne, and the man who crushed his house: Arioso Pellior, patriarch of the house of the Basilisk and tyrant of the city of Berylon. Caladrius enters the tyrant's household as music tutor to his unmusical daughter, while Berylon's musicians hatch plots of their own.
Where it sits
- Universe: Song for the Basilisk
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Patricia A. McKillip
Awards (verified)
- Mythopoeic Award (Adult Literature), 1999: nominated; Finalist.
Notes
- Ace Books, September 1998. A separate world from McKillip's other universes in this canon.
Sources
← Song for the Basilisk dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.