First impression: ooh, basilisk. sounds interesting. and that other book by n.m. browne (Hunted) was great, so maybe this will be good too?
Story: inside cover says:
The evocative story of greed, power, and deception sweeps from the underground cave network of the Combers, living like spiders among the endless tunnels and ropes, to the beautiful city inhabited by Abovers. When a young man named Rej discovers the body of a murdered Abover in the combes, their worlds begin to draw closer. He swears vengeance for the murdered man and takes a great risk in going above. There he is placed in the care of Donna, a beautiful young woman trapped in her life as a worker. Food and clothing are rationed, while slaves and workers are forced to live in meager barracks. But Rej and Donna have more in common than a miserable existance; they have weirdly identical dreams of dragons flying in a clear blue sky. They are even more surprised to learn that the cities cruel leader, the Arkel, is determined to find a way to bring just such dreams to life in order to literally scare the population to death. The connection Rej and Donna make leads them on a dramatic adventure to save their loved ones from the Arkel's terrifying plans.
My thoughts: I'm going to be honest- if i hadn't read another book by N M Browne previously, and then read the whole inside cover, I probably wouldn't have read this book. But am I ever happy that I did! This book is wonderfully written, with many smooth plot twists and believable characters. I don't know what else to say other than N. M. Browne is a magician with words.
The verdict: The only thing that wasn't *perfect* with this book was that some parts were mildly boring. Also, although this book was so great, I have read a few books better... but if not for them, this would be my favorite book. And so, that is why Basilisk gets a 9.5/10 ^^.