"An excellently plotted and deliciously creepy prologue kicks off this tale of a monster let loose in California. Shinto-obsessed teen Jonathon spends years mastering his craft, and, before he is old enough to shave, has conjured a rock from thin air and a monstrous lizard. Struggling to keep the monster satisfied, Jonathon snatches a group of school children and offers them to the monster to spare his own life, a fate that proves inevitable. Suddenly, the story cuts to a group of twenty-somethings as they venture to a cabin in the woods, only stumble directly into the beast's path. Amongst the group is Cedric, a serial killer who is trying to straighten out his life. But as the action gets rolling, Cedric realizes he cannot fight the urge to kill any longer, unleashing a volley of bullets at the beast before turning the gun on his friends. This is merely the tip of the rapidly melting iceberg to this blood-drenched tale. The author writes with a winning swagger that mixes confident prose with the endless procession of gruesome action. This quirky horror story is a pleasantly morbid diversion."

Publishers Weekly

"After reading Michael Calvillo's spectacular debut novel, I Will Rise, I was tempted to read more of his work. I must say that I Will Rise is no fluke. Michael has the skills, and the goods, to make some noise in the Dark Fantasy/Horror field, and The Basilisk is no exception to this. Well written and thought-out."

Michael Laimo, author of FIRES RISING

"Michael Cavillo's THE BASILISK is one of those dark fantasy stories that tweaks the model to breathe fresh life into the classic monster tale."

Jonathon Maberry, author of GHOST ROAD BLUES

"Calvillo's game seems to poke subtle fun at his characters while gazing through their eyes at our dysfunctional world and our own roles in it. Like the funhouse mirror, what we see there is not always pleasant. I know I would be intrigued to see the rest of The Basilisk, to see what else the author has to say about ... us.

W.D. Gagliani, author of WOLF'S TRAP

"Michael Louis Calvillo continues to impress me. Any fan of dark fiction owes it to him/herself to grab a copy of his stunning debut novel "I Will Rise." With "The Basilisk" Calvillo creates another fascinating disaffected, and somewhat malignant protagonist bent on world domination, or at least dominating his little corner of the world. Calvillo handles magic and myth with such unflinching earnestness that we never doubt its existence.

I eagerly await his next effort."

Sean Keller, screenwriter of Dario Argento's GAILLO

"There are enduring elements that mark all classic reads. Enduring but indefinable. If it were not so, they would be imitated flawlessly every time. You can say that such compelling inventions have mystique, intrigue or resonate universal themes and soul-deep emotions, but how they do that is an ephemeral mystery. I don't know exactly why Michael Calvillo's novel THE BASILISK is sun-shot with such bright rays of inspiration (for all its contrasting darkness), but it is. Whatever you found engaging about Harry Potter and arresting in the TV series "Kung Fu" is here in Calvillo's novel, along with his own emerging style. I think he is evolving rapidly, even within the text of the book itself, and one can see the fine edges of a fully-ranged author beginning to take shape. The idea of the basilisk is charming, the execution done with enough eccentricity to make it authentic. And it travels...oh, it travels."

Thomas Sullivan, author of THE WATER WOLF

"Near the beginning of Michael Louis Calvillo's THE BASILISK, the teenaged protagonist is faced with trying to feed a two-ton monster he's conjured out of thin air, and Calvillo offers this piquant phrase: "In a desperate attempt to sate the creature he had been feeding it bucketfuls of Honey-Nut Cheerios and water." In his first novel I WILL RISE, Calvillo demonstrated a unique ability to combine sardonic humor and horror, and that voice is (thankfully) on clear display again here.

But this isn't the humor of vampires in blood banks, or werewolves buying razors. Calvillo has a rare talent for making his humor part of his story. It's almost as if he's acknowledging the basic absurdity of his horrors (c'mon, a fifteen-year old who can mesmerize entire towns?), and then turning that acknowledgment back by feeding it into his story. His extra gift is to never lose track of the fear factor; read the final paragraph - no, make that the final word - of this excerpt, and you'll get an idea of how Calvillo can evoke shivers with the best of them.

Catch-phrases like "a writer to watch" or "one of the hottest new voices" are overused, but Calvillo is one of the rare cases when those terms are justified, because they've been obviously earned."

Lisa Morton, Bram Stoker Winning author of TESTED