The next installment in Lady Trent's memoirs details her trip around the world to study sea serpents. Of course, nothing goes quite the way it was planned, and Lady Trent again finds herself caught up in politics and intrigue. 
 I found The Voyage of the Basilisk to be the slowest of the series so far; it didn't grab my attention nearly as well as the first two--especially Tropic of Serpents--did. I can't put a finger on exactly why, but it might be because the narrative wasn't as narrowly contained to a single geographic area the way the first two books were. Likewise, the political upheaval that happens late in the book is only barely touched on earlier on, so it's not as pressing until suddenly it is, unlike with Tropic of Serpents, wherein Lady Trent is directly involved in the conflict the whole time. 
 I did find it deeply interesting that Brennan tackled non-binary genders in this book. Lady Trent's reaction to "differently souled" people (especially when the tribespeople define her as one) shows just how far she's grown since the first book.