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geekwayne's review
4.0
When Silas' father disappears one night, he begins a journey to discover who his father really was and to take up in the family business as an undertaker. Undertaker in this case has quite a different definition. He returns to the town he was born in, Lichport, and discovers an entire town of interesting characters.
Left with only an unusual pocketwatch, Silas tries to find out what happened to his father in a town with a long tradition of caring for the dead. Along the way, he discovers the history of the town and many of it's unusual residents. To tell too much would be to spoil the journey for you. The theme of the book seems to be remembering the past and honoring those who have gone on before us. This is carried out beautifully in some haunting and wistful scenes.
It's a long book, but never felt overly long. It's also part of a trilogy, but this book stands completely on it's own. There is still much of this world to discover, but the loose ends are wrapped up satisfactorily for the most part.
Moody, dark and atmospheric, this was a perfect read for Halloween, and is one of the most unusual books I've read in quite a while.
Left with only an unusual pocketwatch, Silas tries to find out what happened to his father in a town with a long tradition of caring for the dead. Along the way, he discovers the history of the town and many of it's unusual residents. To tell too much would be to spoil the journey for you. The theme of the book seems to be remembering the past and honoring those who have gone on before us. This is carried out beautifully in some haunting and wistful scenes.
It's a long book, but never felt overly long. It's also part of a trilogy, but this book stands completely on it's own. There is still much of this world to discover, but the loose ends are wrapped up satisfactorily for the most part.
Moody, dark and atmospheric, this was a perfect read for Halloween, and is one of the most unusual books I've read in quite a while.
ellwynautumn's review
5.0
Delightfully dark with wonderfully drawn characters that will challenge your perception of life and death! Loved it!!
holli1al's review
5.0
I was able to relate to Silas in a way that I don't think I can even describe. Dr. Berk has not only captured the loneliness inherently resting within the heart of every only child, but also their imagination and their tendency to be drawn to the solemn aspects of adulthood too early. This is no ordinary fantasy world that Dr. Berk spins; for he is actually un-spinning reality to reveal the restless ever-present ghosts who lurk there, too often ignored.
This tale is a coming-of-age story, a modern Grimm's fairy tale, and an expert examination of the importance and variance of death rituals across cultures.
The prose in this novel and its sequels is both beautiful and haunting; months have passed since I first read them, and yet even in daylight, images and voices from Death Watch continue to crawl out of the text and dig their talons into my unconscious, if I am not watchful. The writing is masterful enough to convince any reader that the town of Lichport really is out there somewhere,perched on the crumbling banks of reality, but I am more unfortunate than the average reader. I happen to live directly by the real mill pond that I am fairly certain inspired Dr. Berk's Mill Pond, and in the dark of night I, like Silas, have seen darting lights there, will-o-the wisps that I try to explain away as swamp gas. I no longer walk there at night, for fear that the pale and dripping arm of some lonely girl will reach out for my shoe, whispering, "I will be." So, I guess what I'm saying is, thanks a lot for that, Dr. Berk.
This tale is a coming-of-age story, a modern Grimm's fairy tale, and an expert examination of the importance and variance of death rituals across cultures.
The prose in this novel and its sequels is both beautiful and haunting; months have passed since I first read them, and yet even in daylight, images and voices from Death Watch continue to crawl out of the text and dig their talons into my unconscious, if I am not watchful. The writing is masterful enough to convince any reader that the town of Lichport really is out there somewhere,perched on the crumbling banks of reality, but I am more unfortunate than the average reader. I happen to live directly by the real mill pond that I am fairly certain inspired Dr. Berk's Mill Pond, and in the dark of night I, like Silas, have seen darting lights there, will-o-the wisps that I try to explain away as swamp gas. I no longer walk there at night, for fear that the pale and dripping arm of some lonely girl will reach out for my shoe, whispering, "I will be." So, I guess what I'm saying is, thanks a lot for that, Dr. Berk.
yokorie's review
5.0
When Silas Umber’s mother moves him back to his birthplace of Lichport, Silas hopes that he can use the time to discover more about his father, the resident Undertaker, who disappeared almost a year ago. But once he arrives and settles into the house of his uncle, an enigmatic man with locked rooms and an obsession with preservation, he finds not his father, but the shadows of him: a man who was more than a mortician, the Undertaker of Lichport, a staple in the community, and a treasured friend of many who still call the aged town home.
Amongst his father’s books and possessions, Silas also finds the Death Watch, a timepiece that allows its owner to see the dead, and realizes how little he knew of his father before his disappearance. As his despair over his father grows, Silas learns that it is mostly likely he who will become the next Undertaker; after all, someone has to appease the town’s residents, both living and deceased.
Death Watch is probably one of the most artful, beautifully written novels that I’ve had the pleasure of reading recently. The imagery and metaphor that is wound into every chapter shines in today’s young adult literature market. The dialogue is very well done; the lines reveal not so much about the person speaking them as they do about the constructs of Lichport itself, this little town where everyone is intertwined with the lives of one another, and with their inevitable deaths.
The only true issue that I have with Death Watch is that the combination of its length—over five hundred pages—and the carefully constructed sentences makes the read a little slow at times. This is certainly not a book for those who like fast car chases and edge-of-your-seat fistfights, and it took me around a hundred pages to really begin to get into the story. After Silas acquires the Death Watch, my reading began to pick up speed and I became more invested in the story. The story moves at a sleepy pace, much like the town of Lichport itself, but the weight of hypnotic detail in every action makes this story worth much more as an artful piece than an action-packed one.
Despite the length of the book and the time that it took me to read it, I believe that Berk made the right choice in every last word and phrase he placed into his work, and would not change a thing. In fact, I was rather surprised by the fact that this is the first book in a trilogy, as everything wraps up so well in the end it would fare equally well as a stand-alone novel. However, since it is not, I will be eagerly awaiting word of Berk’s next novel and tales of the mysterious town of Lichport that will come with it.
Amongst his father’s books and possessions, Silas also finds the Death Watch, a timepiece that allows its owner to see the dead, and realizes how little he knew of his father before his disappearance. As his despair over his father grows, Silas learns that it is mostly likely he who will become the next Undertaker; after all, someone has to appease the town’s residents, both living and deceased.
Death Watch is probably one of the most artful, beautifully written novels that I’ve had the pleasure of reading recently. The imagery and metaphor that is wound into every chapter shines in today’s young adult literature market. The dialogue is very well done; the lines reveal not so much about the person speaking them as they do about the constructs of Lichport itself, this little town where everyone is intertwined with the lives of one another, and with their inevitable deaths.
The only true issue that I have with Death Watch is that the combination of its length—over five hundred pages—and the carefully constructed sentences makes the read a little slow at times. This is certainly not a book for those who like fast car chases and edge-of-your-seat fistfights, and it took me around a hundred pages to really begin to get into the story. After Silas acquires the Death Watch, my reading began to pick up speed and I became more invested in the story. The story moves at a sleepy pace, much like the town of Lichport itself, but the weight of hypnotic detail in every action makes this story worth much more as an artful piece than an action-packed one.
Despite the length of the book and the time that it took me to read it, I believe that Berk made the right choice in every last word and phrase he placed into his work, and would not change a thing. In fact, I was rather surprised by the fact that this is the first book in a trilogy, as everything wraps up so well in the end it would fare equally well as a stand-alone novel. However, since it is not, I will be eagerly awaiting word of Berk’s next novel and tales of the mysterious town of Lichport that will come with it.
luckylolabug's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The lore and worldbuilding is really well thought out, but the last third of the book really felt almost rushed. Things resolved way too quickly, some plot threads came across as abandoned all together. The writing style can be a bit hard to get through at times, though I wouldn't count that as a point against.
mferrante83's review
4.0
It feels to me that today’s YA market is supersaturated by a preponderance of speculative novels about werewolves, vampires, and faeries. Maybe that’s just my perception of the YA world post-Twilight, but it does mean that when I see a YA novel with supernatural elements that doesn’t include any of the aforementioned creatures I get rather excited. Originality is always something to be praised and the minute I set my eyes on the somber and minimalist cover of Ari Berk’s Death Watch I knew that I was in for something wholly different.
In this novel Silas Umber’s father is missing and believed dead. Amos Umber, Silas’ father, was an Undertaker whose job it was to help the restless dead and recently deceased find their way down whatever path they were meant to trod. Silas is a moody and somewhat fanciful figure who barely suspects the truth of his father’s profession. He is constantly butting heads with his mother whose rocky relationship with his father, and whose rapid acceptance of his death, causes no end of conflict between the two. With Amos gone Silas’ mother decided to move backer to her and Amos’ hometown of Lichport where she will live with Amos’ brother Charles. Silas embraces this change since it will offer him the opportunity to travel in his father’s footsteps. Of course, all is not as it seems in the house of Charles Umber and Silas soon find himself in conflict with his strange and menacing uncle.
The story of Death Watch unfurls slowly and somehow masterfully combines an air of gloom with the sense and comfort of home. The novel, particularly during its opening, does a wonderful job at moving Silas along the stages of grief and hanging up initially and quite understandably on “denial” but touching upon the various other stages of the Kubler-Ross model as it progresses. The word is in the title and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that death plays a major thematic role throughout the novel. Berk works in some small discussion of funerary rites and the importance of those for the living and, in his world, the dead. Indeed, Berk crafts a whole fantasy landscape out of death and the means through which it can trap both the living and the dead. It is a particularly mature theme and one that young adult targeted fantasy titles rarely seem willing to touch.
Along with Silas readers are take through a languid journey across the sometimes dilapidated and oftentime gloomy streets of Lichport. Berk infuses the world of Death Watch with a sense of history and life. It is a landscape full of wonder, mystery, magic, and myth. There is a sense of completeness to the world glimpse in the pages of Death Watch, a sensation the exists despite the fact that there questions left unanswered and shadows left unexplored. The tone of Death Watch is serious and less prone to whimsy than Gaiman’s Graveyard Book yet I was much reminded of that title as I read through Death Watch. Whereas Gaimain’s work seemed to focus on the last grasp of childhood before stepping into the adult world leaving magic and wonder behind Death Watch feels like the inverse of that theme where the abandonment of magic wonder would be an abdication of responsibility. Both novels would make interesting comparison reading.
Death Watch tells a complete story in and on its own. There are few novels I’ve read that have done as good a job at taking a character through a journey of growth and discovery and Death Watch’s examination of Silas, and particularly his relationship to his parents, goes a long way towards grounding the novel in reality. Where some YA tends towards melodrama Death Watch conveys emotion with seeming ease and readers will latch on to Silas right from the outset. Ari Berk is definitely a writer to watch and the Undertaken Trilogy (of which Death Watch is the first) is a series the definitely needs some more attention. Death Watch is thoughtful, beautiful, and absolutely mesmerizing prose that adults and teens should experience for themselves.
In this novel Silas Umber’s father is missing and believed dead. Amos Umber, Silas’ father, was an Undertaker whose job it was to help the restless dead and recently deceased find their way down whatever path they were meant to trod. Silas is a moody and somewhat fanciful figure who barely suspects the truth of his father’s profession. He is constantly butting heads with his mother whose rocky relationship with his father, and whose rapid acceptance of his death, causes no end of conflict between the two. With Amos gone Silas’ mother decided to move backer to her and Amos’ hometown of Lichport where she will live with Amos’ brother Charles. Silas embraces this change since it will offer him the opportunity to travel in his father’s footsteps. Of course, all is not as it seems in the house of Charles Umber and Silas soon find himself in conflict with his strange and menacing uncle.
The story of Death Watch unfurls slowly and somehow masterfully combines an air of gloom with the sense and comfort of home. The novel, particularly during its opening, does a wonderful job at moving Silas along the stages of grief and hanging up initially and quite understandably on “denial” but touching upon the various other stages of the Kubler-Ross model as it progresses. The word is in the title and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that death plays a major thematic role throughout the novel. Berk works in some small discussion of funerary rites and the importance of those for the living and, in his world, the dead. Indeed, Berk crafts a whole fantasy landscape out of death and the means through which it can trap both the living and the dead. It is a particularly mature theme and one that young adult targeted fantasy titles rarely seem willing to touch.
Along with Silas readers are take through a languid journey across the sometimes dilapidated and oftentime gloomy streets of Lichport. Berk infuses the world of Death Watch with a sense of history and life. It is a landscape full of wonder, mystery, magic, and myth. There is a sense of completeness to the world glimpse in the pages of Death Watch, a sensation the exists despite the fact that there questions left unanswered and shadows left unexplored. The tone of Death Watch is serious and less prone to whimsy than Gaiman’s Graveyard Book yet I was much reminded of that title as I read through Death Watch. Whereas Gaimain’s work seemed to focus on the last grasp of childhood before stepping into the adult world leaving magic and wonder behind Death Watch feels like the inverse of that theme where the abandonment of magic wonder would be an abdication of responsibility. Both novels would make interesting comparison reading.
Death Watch tells a complete story in and on its own. There are few novels I’ve read that have done as good a job at taking a character through a journey of growth and discovery and Death Watch’s examination of Silas, and particularly his relationship to his parents, goes a long way towards grounding the novel in reality. Where some YA tends towards melodrama Death Watch conveys emotion with seeming ease and readers will latch on to Silas right from the outset. Ari Berk is definitely a writer to watch and the Undertaken Trilogy (of which Death Watch is the first) is a series the definitely needs some more attention. Death Watch is thoughtful, beautiful, and absolutely mesmerizing prose that adults and teens should experience for themselves.
lisagoe's review
3.0
I liked how much information I gained about customs of death and such. I also quite liked the meditative tone of the novel as a whole, but it wasn't really in tune with my particular headspace. Had I read this as a young gothling, I might have enjoyed it more.
erikacenteno's review
5.0
This book is brilliant. The world building was incredible. The characters were so unique. I LOVED THIS BOOK.