Voyage of the Basset [Hardcover]

James Christensen (Author), Renwick st James (Author), Alan Dean Foster (Author)

Book Description

In 1850, with the importance of myths in question, Professor Aisling and his two young daughters embark on a journey aboard a magical ship and encounter an assortment of characters who prove the power of stories.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If merit were judged by sheer size, this massive illustrated book would win a heavyweight championship. But this ambitious fantasy-a Pagemaster-esque tale of a 19th-century professor and his family's magical journey into the world of legend-seems unduly slick. The pedestrian prose by St. James (A Journey of the Imagination) and Foster (who has written novelizations of Star Trek and Aliens) is frequently breathless with its own wisdom: "Legends offer mystery and romance and beauty and adventure to anyone who cares to find about them. To lose the old stories... I cannot bear to think of a world without them." While Christensen's abundant illustrations are often richly detailed and atmospheric, many of them are simply overwrought. And, in the mythical world of manticores, gryphons, harpies and trolls, the faeries, mermaids, dryads and their ilk all look suspiciously like Daryl Hannah. Line art, too, punctuates these pages, with semi-pretentious profiles of the fantastic creatures met on the voyage. Credendo vides, or "Believing is seeing," is the motto of the good ship Basset, and it serves readers as well. Those who believe children deserve books with more heart will pass this entry by. Ages 8-up. BOMC selection.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA. In 1850, Professor Algernon Aisling learns that the university plans to eliminate his Department of Myths and Legends. Because he fervently believes in the power of ancient stories and legends to help us understand ourselves and our place in the modern world, he absentmindedly wishes that a magical ship would transport him to the ancient lands of myth. PRESTO! Captain Malachi of the HMS Basset appears, and invites the professor and his daughters to sail from London to the lands of imagination. Aisling and 10-year-old Cassandra board eagerly, but 16-year-old Miranda is serious, practical, and reluctant to make the journey. The Aislings and the crew, made up of dwarves and gremlins, sail forth and encounter characters in (mostly Greek) myths: a manticore, Oberon and Titania, harpies, a sphinx, Minotaur, mermaids, sea serpent, trolls, gryphon, dryad, Medusa, unicorn, and a dragon. All goes along merrily until Aisling steals a dragon's skull belonging to the trolls. This action sets in motion a series of misadventures that endanger everyone aboard. Here, too, is a voyage of self-discovery. The professor realizes the consequences of his greed and desire for fame; Miranda begins to overcome her grief over her mother's recent death. Pen-and-ink drawings from the professor's journal and from Cassandra's notes are a delightful accompaniment to the lush paintings that illustrate this charming and whimsical fantasy. Christensen's magical journey proves that "one's imagination is where science starts," and will appeal to receptive dreamers from age 10 to 110.?Judy Sokoll, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Greenwich Workshop; First Edition edition (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0867130326
• ISBN-13: 978-0867130324
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 10.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,220,487 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantasy is alive and well on the Basset, April 29, 2000

By 

Rosalie P. Brown "Book Lover" (Marietta, Ga) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Voyage of the Basset (Hardcover)

As a lover of fantasy stories, mythology and art I found this book to be amongst the absolute best!. As a female my one complaint used to be "where are the adventures for girls? " Now we have "Cassandra" and her sister who travel on the Basset and have wonderful adventures.

Now we have everything you could possibly want in a book, great drawing, great charecters and a great story that leaves you satisfied yet wanting more.

Girls and Guys of all ages should get this book. If you have kids get it. If you dont have kids get it. I have purchased several copies as gifts, for a new grandmother to read and share over and over with her grandchildren. For a friend to make her and her husband smile. For a set of twins to let them travel togeather.This book is for everyone!

Take a trip with Cassandra and the wonderful crew of the Basset, climb aboard and sail away. The characters will linger with you forever and you will learn that "to believe is to see".

Please Mr Christensen write more!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Voyage of the Basset, January 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Voyage of the Basset (Hardcover)

Wonderful. Nothing else does this book justice. I originally picked up this book in an upperclass type book store (not a please sit down and read type) and I sat down, on the floor, and read a great deal of it. This was at a time when it was far and away out of my budget and I yearned for it for years. I received this book recently as a gift and was once again amazed by the quality of it. It may be classified as a children's book but it is perhaps more enjoyed by the adult reader who can appreciate the literary and historical references. The illustrations are of an unsurpassed quality and often brought a smile to my face. If you still believe, or merely WANT to believe, in faery then order this book and forget for awhile.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Voyage of the Basset, October 16, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Voyage of the Basset (Hardcover)

If you are like me and enjoy fantasy books, you will love "The Voyage of the Basset" by James C. Christensen, Renwich St. James and Alan Dean Foster. This book will capture your imagination and make you believe you are in the story. This is one of my favorite books because of the adventures it holds.
Imagine you and your family are taking a walk and a little boat with six dwarfs and who-knows-how-many Gremlins on it, is docked right in front of you. The dwarfs invite you aboard and take you on a magical journey of incredible adventures. This is what happened to Professor Asiling and his two daughters Miranda and Cassandra.
I think that "The Voyage of the Basset" is an incredible story. In my opinion, this book takes the best qualities of fiction, which are mythology, fantasy, adventure and imagination and then combines them into the best book I have ever read! And I have read at least 1,000 books. I believe that "The Voyage of the Basset" will capture the hearts and imaginations of children everywhere.