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The Undertaken #1
Death Watch
They say the dead should rest in peace. Not all the dead agree.
One night, Silas Umber’s father Amos doesn’t come home from work. Devastated, Silas learns that his father was no mere mortician but an Undertaker, charged with bringing The Peace to the dead trapped in the Shadowlands, the states of limbo binding spirits to earth. With Amos gone, Silas and his mother have no choice but to return to Lichport, the crumbling seaside town where Silas was born, and move in with Amos’s brother, Charles.
Even as Silas eagerly explores his father’s town and its many abandoned streets and overgrown cemeteries, he grows increasingly wary of his uncle. There is something not quite right going on in Charles Umber’s ornate, museum-like house—something, Silas is sure, that is connected to his father’s disappearance. When Silas’s search leads him to his father’s old office, he comes across a powerful artifact: the Death Watch, a four hundred year old Hadean clock that allows the owner to see the dead.
Death Watch in hand, Silas begins to unearth Lichport’s secret history—and discovers that he has taken on his father’s mantle as Lichport’s Undertaker. Now, Silas must embark on a dangerous path into the Shadowlands to embrace his destiny and discover the truth about his father—no matter the cost.
One night, Silas Umber’s father Amos doesn’t come home from work. Devastated, Silas learns that his father was no mere mortician but an Undertaker, charged with bringing The Peace to the dead trapped in the Shadowlands, the states of limbo binding spirits to earth. With Amos gone, Silas and his mother have no choice but to return to Lichport, the crumbling seaside town where Silas was born, and move in with Amos’s brother, Charles.
Even as Silas eagerly explores his father’s town and its many abandoned streets and overgrown cemeteries, he grows increasingly wary of his uncle. There is something not quite right going on in Charles Umber’s ornate, museum-like house—something, Silas is sure, that is connected to his father’s disappearance. When Silas’s search leads him to his father’s old office, he comes across a powerful artifact: the Death Watch, a four hundred year old Hadean clock that allows the owner to see the dead.
Death Watch in hand, Silas begins to unearth Lichport’s secret history—and discovers that he has taken on his father’s mantle as Lichport’s Undertaker. Now, Silas must embark on a dangerous path into the Shadowlands to embrace his destiny and discover the truth about his father—no matter the cost.
544 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 15, 2011
56 people are currently reading
3088 people want to read
About the author
Ari Berk
32 books155 followersAri Berk is a writer, artist, and scholar of literature, folklore, and myth. Former student of and assistant to Pulitzer Prize winning writer N. Scott Momaday, Ari has written everything from academic works on ancient cultures to popular books about myths and legends for children and adults and, most recently, a trilogy of novels. He works in a library filled to the ceiling with thousands of arcane books and more than a few wondrous artifacts. When not writing, he moonlights as professor of mythology and folklore at Central Michigan University. He lives in Michigan with his wife and son. Visit him at www.ariberk.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
November 7, 2011
This is the most elegantly terrifying book I have ever read. A beautifully crafted story that brings myths and legends of life and death into a very real place, "Death Watch" is certain to keep you up at night because you can't put it down and you don't want to close your eyes.
If you feel that the book is slow, do NOT give up on it! In our world of insta-tweeter-twit news, we have fallen out of the habit of allowing a story to unfolds, page by page. There is a difference between eating and dining, and in the case of "Death Watch," Ari Berk lays a sumptuous table that is spectacular in its almost Victorian detail.
Berk's phenomenal skill as a master storyteller shines through on every page and his words evoke the sense of other-worldliness that literally haunts New England. This book will leave you feeling deliciously uncomfortable, especially as winter approaches and the raw tree branches tap against your window while the dank mist gathers at the window sill. . .
If you feel that the book is slow, do NOT give up on it! In our world of insta-tweeter-twit news, we have fallen out of the habit of allowing a story to unfolds, page by page. There is a difference between eating and dining, and in the case of "Death Watch," Ari Berk lays a sumptuous table that is spectacular in its almost Victorian detail.
Berk's phenomenal skill as a master storyteller shines through on every page and his words evoke the sense of other-worldliness that literally haunts New England. This book will leave you feeling deliciously uncomfortable, especially as winter approaches and the raw tree branches tap against your window while the dank mist gathers at the window sill. . .
November 10, 2011
This truly gothic novel is imbued with hauntingly beautiful prose and vividly drawn characters set in a town just as imaginative as its inhabitants. Death Watch will linger with you long after you lay it to rest.
June 19, 2014
I adore Silas. He and I would be the best of friends. Throughout the novel, I had to stop because memories from my life would come flooding back corresponding perfectly with his.
I am not sure I can even describe the depths of my connections with this book. The lonely, lost little child longing for a father, how introverted Silas is, his deep connection with books and memories, his deep connection with the dead and those who hurt.
I've found throughout my life that the pain we encounter can often be used to help others. I know life would have been much easier for me if I had an adult in my life who understood me, even an older kid who reached out their hand. Books were always my closest friends, the characters inside reached out their hands to me and they did the same for Silas. I am so connected with Silas even down to his mother making fun of him and complaining that his hair is in his eyes.
The author was marvelous and he described in such wonderful detail each and every part of Lichport. Oh, how I adore Lichport. It reminds me of the old places I have visited and how much I love them, as does Silas.
Silas makes mistakes, obvious, foolish mistakes and that's what makes this novel so wonderful. It feels real, Silas feels real as does each and every character in the novel.
Ari Beck is astounding and his novel is wonderful. Beck alludes to many classic authors including Shakespeare and John Donne. Throughout the novel, I muttered to myself the connections between Beck's Death Watch and Shakespeare's Hamlet. So often I thought "Claudius!" when Uncle did something truly heinous.
*Sigh* There is so much about this novel I adored. Once again, I have found a book that has connected with me deep in my soul.
Sometimes I think I feel too much.
I am not sure I can even describe the depths of my connections with this book. The lonely, lost little child longing for a father, how introverted Silas is, his deep connection with books and memories, his deep connection with the dead and those who hurt.
I've found throughout my life that the pain we encounter can often be used to help others. I know life would have been much easier for me if I had an adult in my life who understood me, even an older kid who reached out their hand. Books were always my closest friends, the characters inside reached out their hands to me and they did the same for Silas. I am so connected with Silas even down to his mother making fun of him and complaining that his hair is in his eyes.
The author was marvelous and he described in such wonderful detail each and every part of Lichport. Oh, how I adore Lichport. It reminds me of the old places I have visited and how much I love them, as does Silas.
Silas makes mistakes, obvious, foolish mistakes and that's what makes this novel so wonderful. It feels real, Silas feels real as does each and every character in the novel.
Ari Beck is astounding and his novel is wonderful. Beck alludes to many classic authors including Shakespeare and John Donne. Throughout the novel, I muttered to myself the connections between Beck's Death Watch and Shakespeare's Hamlet. So often I thought "Claudius!" when Uncle did something truly heinous.
*Sigh* There is so much about this novel I adored. Once again, I have found a book that has connected with me deep in my soul.
Sometimes I think I feel too much.
November 19, 2011
Read This Review & More Like It On My Blog!
Ari Berk's slowly plotted but excellently told tale of teenage Undertaker Silas Umber is a magical, enchanting, if occasionally macabre, tale - one I found hard to put down. The smooth, mellifluous flow of the writer's style eased me into an alternate world of revenants, lichs and ghosts in the necropolis of the book's setting, in the town of Lichport. I can't stress enough how much I enjoyed this quirky, individual young-adult novel with a supernatural bent. Death Watch may take a while to sink its clever claws into a reader, but once I began there was no turning back for me: I had to get as much time as I could with this strange but completely, morbidly fascinating tale and Silas himself. This is a heavy, almost haunting novel - mournful without being too much, but very readable. I went into this expecting perhaps a modern, male Sabriel (shepherd of the dead with unusual tools, dead/missing father, etc.), but Death Watch is a creature of its own making and name.
Silas is one the best parts of the entire endeavor, and a character quite dear to my heart. While his name is both a clever hint and a subtle foreshadowing of his death-centric life (Silas is veeeerry similar to "solace" and "umber" is a brown pigment, hinting at the dirt of the deceased), Silas isn't a creepy character at all: he's kind, quiet, disappointed, sad, lonely (sly mentions of invisible friends allude to the persistent loneliness of the young Umber's life) - all normal, understandable teen emotions. He's a well-developed character that's very aware of words and the power they can have, and as an empathetic young man in a house of brutes or drunks he stands out as the only likable main character in the whole novel. I found Silas' reaction to his father's mysterious disappearance and his mother's complete indifference in response to be wholly compelling and added a nice familial conflict to add in to the more supernatural elements in Silas' life. I also very much enjoyed the arc of Silas development while in Lichport: from a passive but angry young man, he evolves into one of my favorite male protagonists of the recent past.
Silas's job as the Undertaker of Lichport remains vague for the most part of the first half of the novel. I was very curious about this and the role the dead were to have in Berk's tale - fearful he'd veer into caricature or horror - but my fears were unfounded. The role of the Hadean Clock, or Silas's tool to see the ghosts the Death Watch itself, played a minor if very vital role. After so mant paranormal/supernatural reads I loved that the focus of the novel was on Silas himself rather than his "magic" or his Watch. While I found the repeated and varied ominous warning anf fear of the "mist ship" to be less than effective for creating suspense, other characters more than made up for the lack (coughCharlescough) that the supernatural failed to bring. What did more than add to the general atmosphere and the feel of history of the story/family were the notes/addendums/quotes taken from previous Undertaker's collection of knowledge. These little bits and pieces of scattered information did a lot to sate my ever-growing curiosity about the Undertakers, but did not give away too much detail to spoil the story. The supernatural elements the author does choose to include within his mythology all work together marvelously with the mundane, humane aspects to create a very fun novel for readers of any age.
I did wish for a more developed cast of background character in the case of Silas's mother, the very off-putting Dolores Umber. Silas has a strained relationship with his gin-happy mother, but Dolores is painted only one color for the whole novel: black of heart. She is never shown to have a heart or even care for her son and I felt that "disappointed in her life" was a lame and quick sop to explain her extreme apathy for her husband and their child. The slightly Hamlet vibe between Dolores and Silas's Uncle (aka Dolores' brother-in-law) is just plain creepy and did more to establish "Uncle's" character than anything else said about him. The third-person perspective used by Ari Berk is done quite well: equal light, both favorable and disfavorable, is shone upon all the characters of the novel. I just wished for a more believable motivation behind Dolores' actions and vitriol. Her bitter, typical woman-done-wrong routine seemed out-of-tune with the otherwise (mostly) superbly plotted novel. The other periphery characters of the novel - the friendly but dense Mrs. Bowe, the question of Bea - add more flavor and mystery to the novel, but none were what I would call fully-rounded and developed characters. In a novel with so much prose dedicated just about the importance of the past, of ancestors and history, I found Silas's extended family to come up a tad wanting.
While I loved the style, the voice and the characters I did have issues with the plot-lines central to the story. From the initial and almost McGuffin-esque disappearance of Amos Umber to the mysterious ghost ship to the creepy Bea, nothing felt wholly explained or even thought-out by the end of the book. Bea in particular seemed quite unnecessary and like filler for the alternate plots within the story - I would have rather more time with search, in Uncle's house, etc. These essential plot-lines also tended to get lost in the story and the details in Silas's explorations of the town and probably didn't help later on when the novelty itself flagged and I got slightly bored. The mist ship, source of so much worry and fear for 500 pages was a complete let-down and a bust. Its end was sadly all-too-predictable and lessened my overall opinion of Death Watch for it felt out of tune with the rest of such an atmospheric and affecting read. It also doesn't help that it takes quite a while (nearly 250 pages in the 540 page tome) to get any kind of real explanation of basic principles of the world/the magic/the Undertaker job itself.
Another love of mine throughout the pages of Death Watch was the town of Lichport itself. With such an obvious harbinger for a name, I loved the random but delightful flares of supernaturality in the town. From "the Restless" (basically a reanimated corpse/lich) to angry and unsettled ghosts, Lichport is a field of deadly imagination.While I thought Silas explorations of the misthomes/shadowlands fell way short of its potential for awesome. Instead of showcasing the individuality and flair of the nearly-dead town, it was an extended yawn for me after about page 350 until just about 100 pages later. I will admit to chuckling at the sailor's club line about their wives, but one quip does not save 100 pages of meandering novel. It is very impressive that the rest of Ari Berk's novel is strong enough to carry a 4 star rating, even with that 100 pages of yawns. Also: Mrs. Bowe's ridiculous reticence to tell Silas ANYTHING! made me very frustrated and cranky with her character. That also was a situation drawn out too-long and made both Mrs. Bowe and Silas act in ways contradictory to their personalities.
I love love LOVED the author's unique way with words. Ari Berk can write, make no mistake. While I might have minor issues with select parts of the novel, I cannot deny I was repeatedly struck by a passage of a quote in the middle of a page, a paragraph. I know quoting from ARCs is supposed to be a big no-no, but this is a perfect illustration of why I adored the reading experience itself:
This is an author that doesn't delve into purple prose or overdone phrases laced with unnecessary adjectives and adverbs: his is a style of simple lyricism and ease, with a vivid picture easily attached. I loved the frequent descriptionary verbosity as it built a vivid and compelling frame for his characters, but I can see why some readers may be put off by his intensely wordy writing, in addition to the slower pace of the novel. This is certainly not for everyone and I will understand most complaints a reader could have for this story, but for me, this was a wonderful read that left me more than eager for its sequel. Death Watch is best summed up as: a compelling, morbid, weirdly fascinating tale of Wailing Women, Peller-Men, families of mutes, ghosts, lichs, revenants and a great hero, all told in unique and fresh stylings of Mr. Ari Berk.
Ari Berk's slowly plotted but excellently told tale of teenage Undertaker Silas Umber is a magical, enchanting, if occasionally macabre, tale - one I found hard to put down. The smooth, mellifluous flow of the writer's style eased me into an alternate world of revenants, lichs and ghosts in the necropolis of the book's setting, in the town of Lichport. I can't stress enough how much I enjoyed this quirky, individual young-adult novel with a supernatural bent. Death Watch may take a while to sink its clever claws into a reader, but once I began there was no turning back for me: I had to get as much time as I could with this strange but completely, morbidly fascinating tale and Silas himself. This is a heavy, almost haunting novel - mournful without being too much, but very readable. I went into this expecting perhaps a modern, male Sabriel (shepherd of the dead with unusual tools, dead/missing father, etc.), but Death Watch is a creature of its own making and name.
Silas is one the best parts of the entire endeavor, and a character quite dear to my heart. While his name is both a clever hint and a subtle foreshadowing of his death-centric life (Silas is veeeerry similar to "solace" and "umber" is a brown pigment, hinting at the dirt of the deceased), Silas isn't a creepy character at all: he's kind, quiet, disappointed, sad, lonely (sly mentions of invisible friends allude to the persistent loneliness of the young Umber's life) - all normal, understandable teen emotions. He's a well-developed character that's very aware of words and the power they can have, and as an empathetic young man in a house of brutes or drunks he stands out as the only likable main character in the whole novel. I found Silas' reaction to his father's mysterious disappearance and his mother's complete indifference in response to be wholly compelling and added a nice familial conflict to add in to the more supernatural elements in Silas' life. I also very much enjoyed the arc of Silas development while in Lichport: from a passive but angry young man, he evolves into one of my favorite male protagonists of the recent past.
Silas's job as the Undertaker of Lichport remains vague for the most part of the first half of the novel. I was very curious about this and the role the dead were to have in Berk's tale - fearful he'd veer into caricature or horror - but my fears were unfounded. The role of the Hadean Clock, or Silas's tool to see the ghosts the Death Watch itself, played a minor if very vital role. After so mant paranormal/supernatural reads I loved that the focus of the novel was on Silas himself rather than his "magic" or his Watch. While I found the repeated and varied ominous warning anf fear of the "mist ship" to be less than effective for creating suspense, other characters more than made up for the lack (coughCharlescough) that the supernatural failed to bring. What did more than add to the general atmosphere and the feel of history of the story/family were the notes/addendums/quotes taken from previous Undertaker's collection of knowledge. These little bits and pieces of scattered information did a lot to sate my ever-growing curiosity about the Undertakers, but did not give away too much detail to spoil the story. The supernatural elements the author does choose to include within his mythology all work together marvelously with the mundane, humane aspects to create a very fun novel for readers of any age.
I did wish for a more developed cast of background character in the case of Silas's mother, the very off-putting Dolores Umber. Silas has a strained relationship with his gin-happy mother, but Dolores is painted only one color for the whole novel: black of heart. She is never shown to have a heart or even care for her son and I felt that "disappointed in her life" was a lame and quick sop to explain her extreme apathy for her husband and their child. The slightly Hamlet vibe between Dolores and Silas's Uncle (aka Dolores' brother-in-law) is just plain creepy and did more to establish "Uncle's" character than anything else said about him. The third-person perspective used by Ari Berk is done quite well: equal light, both favorable and disfavorable, is shone upon all the characters of the novel. I just wished for a more believable motivation behind Dolores' actions and vitriol. Her bitter, typical woman-done-wrong routine seemed out-of-tune with the otherwise (mostly) superbly plotted novel. The other periphery characters of the novel - the friendly but dense Mrs. Bowe, the question of Bea - add more flavor and mystery to the novel, but none were what I would call fully-rounded and developed characters. In a novel with so much prose dedicated just about the importance of the past, of ancestors and history, I found Silas's extended family to come up a tad wanting.
While I loved the style, the voice and the characters I did have issues with the plot-lines central to the story. From the initial and almost McGuffin-esque disappearance of Amos Umber to the mysterious ghost ship to the creepy Bea, nothing felt wholly explained or even thought-out by the end of the book. Bea in particular seemed quite unnecessary and like filler for the alternate plots within the story - I would have rather more time with search, in Uncle's house, etc. These essential plot-lines also tended to get lost in the story and the details in Silas's explorations of the town and probably didn't help later on when the novelty itself flagged and I got slightly bored. The mist ship, source of so much worry and fear for 500 pages was a complete let-down and a bust. Its end was sadly all-too-predictable and lessened my overall opinion of Death Watch for it felt out of tune with the rest of such an atmospheric and affecting read. It also doesn't help that it takes quite a while (nearly 250 pages in the 540 page tome) to get any kind of real explanation of basic principles of the world/the magic/the Undertaker job itself.
Another love of mine throughout the pages of Death Watch was the town of Lichport itself. With such an obvious harbinger for a name, I loved the random but delightful flares of supernaturality in the town. From "the Restless" (basically a reanimated corpse/lich) to angry and unsettled ghosts, Lichport is a field of deadly imagination.While I thought Silas explorations of the misthomes/shadowlands fell way short of its potential for awesome. Instead of showcasing the individuality and flair of the nearly-dead town, it was an extended yawn for me after about page 350 until just about 100 pages later. I will admit to chuckling at the sailor's club line about their wives, but one quip does not save 100 pages of meandering novel. It is very impressive that the rest of Ari Berk's novel is strong enough to carry a 4 star rating, even with that 100 pages of yawns. Also: Mrs. Bowe's ridiculous reticence to tell Silas ANYTHING! made me very frustrated and cranky with her character. That also was a situation drawn out too-long and made both Mrs. Bowe and Silas act in ways contradictory to their personalities.
I love love LOVED the author's unique way with words. Ari Berk can write, make no mistake. While I might have minor issues with select parts of the novel, I cannot deny I was repeatedly struck by a passage of a quote in the middle of a page, a paragraph. I know quoting from ARCs is supposed to be a big no-no, but this is a perfect illustration of why I adored the reading experience itself:
"The day his dad didn't come home, it was like a huge window over their heads had shattered, and every day they were walking through the broken pieces. Nothing fit together. Nothing made sense or seemed connected to anything else, and every step hurt."
This is an author that doesn't delve into purple prose or overdone phrases laced with unnecessary adjectives and adverbs: his is a style of simple lyricism and ease, with a vivid picture easily attached. I loved the frequent descriptionary verbosity as it built a vivid and compelling frame for his characters, but I can see why some readers may be put off by his intensely wordy writing, in addition to the slower pace of the novel. This is certainly not for everyone and I will understand most complaints a reader could have for this story, but for me, this was a wonderful read that left me more than eager for its sequel. Death Watch is best summed up as: a compelling, morbid, weirdly fascinating tale of Wailing Women, Peller-Men, families of mutes, ghosts, lichs, revenants and a great hero, all told in unique and fresh stylings of Mr. Ari Berk.
November 16, 2011
Death Watch is the extraordinary first novel in the Undertaken Trilogy by Ari Berk.
A compelling tale, masterfully told!
It is a rare and intoxicating achievement by an author when his story-world leaps fully formed off the page, entirely congruent and believable. Gormenghast, Middle Earth and Narnia were just such creations, and Professor Berk's atmospheric Lichport is on a par with these classics.
Death Watch tells the story of young Silas Umber who returns with his mother to Lichport, the town of his birth, following the mysterious disappearance of his father.
Lichport is so brilliantly portrayed that I had to stop reading at bedtime - the vivid, gorgeous prose stirred my imagination and conjured chilling images that kept me awake. Lichport is neglected, overgrown and wonderful. Huge Victorian houses crumble away. Water lies all around - salt marshes, seascapes and quiet pools. Reminders of the dead are on every corner - in the vast cemeteries of the town, in granite mausolea and monuments choked with briars.
There are some fabulous characters - the sinister uncle, the fey girl Beatrice, the redoubtable Mrs Bowe, but the towering achievement of the novel is the utterly convincing storyworld. Death Watch is a haunting ghost story - gothic in its scope and glorious in its prose.
A compelling tale, masterfully told!
It is a rare and intoxicating achievement by an author when his story-world leaps fully formed off the page, entirely congruent and believable. Gormenghast, Middle Earth and Narnia were just such creations, and Professor Berk's atmospheric Lichport is on a par with these classics.
Death Watch tells the story of young Silas Umber who returns with his mother to Lichport, the town of his birth, following the mysterious disappearance of his father.
Lichport is so brilliantly portrayed that I had to stop reading at bedtime - the vivid, gorgeous prose stirred my imagination and conjured chilling images that kept me awake. Lichport is neglected, overgrown and wonderful. Huge Victorian houses crumble away. Water lies all around - salt marshes, seascapes and quiet pools. Reminders of the dead are on every corner - in the vast cemeteries of the town, in granite mausolea and monuments choked with briars.
There are some fabulous characters - the sinister uncle, the fey girl Beatrice, the redoubtable Mrs Bowe, but the towering achievement of the novel is the utterly convincing storyworld. Death Watch is a haunting ghost story - gothic in its scope and glorious in its prose.
November 15, 2011
Love the book, but I would like to use this space to report on what my college students think of it. Death Watch is required reading in my Writing in the Humanities and Children’s Literature courses. Initial reactions were of the “500 pages! Are you kidding?” variety. The book arrived in our college bookstore yesterday, and I am exceedingly pleased to say that many of the most vocal skeptics are now quite enthusiastic. From today’s class: “I can’t wait to read the next chapter”; “I’m staying up late tonight to read this”; and “They should make a movie of this.” If you want a novel that provides more than just a bubblegum chew, a novel that encourages you to linger in a carefully, lovingly, artistically realized world of engaging characters and vivid settings, Death Watch is for you. The language is rich (“almost musical,” one student noted), and the pace is perfectly modulated to allow a reader to savor the words without stalling the narrative. In just one day of reading, the book has begun to win over 5 classrooms of college freshmen and sophomores, a fact that kinda speaks for itself.
November 2, 2011
Few novels truly touch on the depth of emotion that Death Watch did, and none have ever made me miss my passed family members more or remember them more fondly. One scene left me in sobbing tears for an entire evening. That said, the book is still miraculously hopeful and wistfuly optimistic. When I finished I was completely in love with the characters, the town and I cannot wait for the sequel. Haunting. Absolutely fantastic and one of the best books I've read this year.
November 7, 2011
Story Title: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Ending: 5/5
Synopsis:
(from Goodreads): They say the dead should rest in peace. Not all the dead agree.
One night, Silas Umber's father Amos doesn’t come home from work. Devastated, Silas learns that his father was no mere mortician but an Undertaker, charged with bringing The Peace to the dead trapped in the Shadowlands, the states of limbo binding spirits to earth. With Amos gone, Silas and his mother have no choice but to return to Lichport, the crumbling seaside town where Silas was born, and move in with Amos’s brother, Charles.
Even as Silas eagerly explores his father’s town and its many abandoned streets and overgrown cemeteries, he grows increasingly wary of his uncle. There is something not quite right going on in Charles Umber’s ornate, museum-like house—something, Silas is sure, that is connected to his father’s disappearance. When Silas’s search leads him to his father’s old office, he comes across a powerful artifact: the Death Watch, a four hundred year old Hadean clock that allows the owner to see the dead.
Death Watch in hand, Silas begins to unearth Lichport’s secret history—and discovers that he has taken on his father’s mantle as Lichport’s Undertaker. Now, Silas must embark on a dangerous path into the Shadowlands to embrace his destiny and discover the truth about his father—no matter the cost.
Characters:
Silas Umber: Could a name be more poetic? Silas, which is quickly pointed out, sounds much like solace, and Umber, the color of rich, brown earth… the Solace of the Grave, the comfort of being laid to rest peacefully beneath the earth. Is there a more perfect name for an Undertaker? I think not.
Silas is the child of Amos and Dolores Umber, and he is a boy lost. His father disappears in the first chapter of the book, and through the rest of the story we witness Silas coming of age as he moves back to Lichport with his mother, and seeks to find the truth of what happened to his dad.
Bea: A mysterious girl who is infatuated with Silas and, like almost everyone in Lichport, obviously has secrets of her own.
Mother Peale: An elderly woman, and one of the Narrows Folk (the Narrows being the part of town filled with people of the sea) Mother Peale is an old friend of Silace’s father and wise in the ways of those who have remained to wander the streets of this haunted town.
Mrs. Bowe: A close friend of Amos Umber, Mrs. Bowe is a source of knowledge and support for Silas as he tries to walk in his father’s footsteps. Often infuriatingly vague, to the point where you just want to scream, “JUST TELL THE BOY ALREADY!”, she has her reasons for being so, and is always worried about Silas’ well being. She has a special role to play in the town, and is an aide and associate to the work of the Undertaker, as well as someone with invaluable insight into the motives of Uncle. She also has quite the mysterious relationship with bees, and I often wondered, as I read, if we would find out more about this.
Amos Umber: Silas’s father, and the Undertaker of Lichport, he disappears in the beginning of the book, but his presence haunts the pages throughout. Obviously well loved by his son, as well as the town of Lichport, he is a well formed and delicately constructed character whose portrait is painted for the reader through his own items left behind, as well as the abundant stories of the townsfolk.
Dolores Umber: Silas’s neglectful mother, she spends most of her time at the bottom of a bottle and is a character that one finds it very hard to have sympathy for. She has traits in her, though, that can be seen in Silas, and that the reader spends the book praying he will overcome.
Uncle: Overly kind in the most creepy of ways, it’s obvious something is amiss with Uncle the minute you read his letter. He is set on one mission, and nothing will stop him from carrying it out. As with some of histories best villians, he is scary because he truly believes that what he is doing is right.
Writing:
If you dislike books like The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien or The Foundling Series by D.M. Cornish, then don’t read this book. Death Watch is filled with eloquent prose rich with world building. The town of Lichport stands out, a character on its own, and invites the reader to walk its streets right along with Silas.
It is not often that I force myself to slow down while reading a book, but I had to with Death Watch, for fear that it would be over too soon. I couldn’t help but take the time to savor each page. The book begged to be read aloud, the rich detail of each paragraph pouring from the page and painting a vivid picture of the world through which Silas walked.
Drawn in from the opening pages, this rich, dark story gripped me in the same way that books such as Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book and Coraline or Ray Bradbury’s The Halloween Tree and Something Wicked This Way Comes have. It was haunting and filled with a potent atmosphere of the macabre. Each chapter offered insight into a new mystery from Lichport’s past, and not a word was wasted. The ghosts that haunted the pages of this book continued to haunt my imagination long after I put the book down and turned out the lights. They followed me like shadows throughout the day, enticing me from my responsibilities so they could have the chance to further tell their tales, and like Silas, I quickly learned to shut up and listen.
Truly, it was hard to deny this book… and as rich as the world building was, the characters themselves were just as layered and mysterious. Silas spent the book learning mostly through experience, rarely making the exact same mistake twice. He grew as he went, changing from boy to man, letting go of childish behaviors that prevented him from truly seeing the world around him.
Ending:
I don’t think I can rightly express how happy the end of this book made me. When I read the cover and saw that this was a trilogy, I dreaded reaching the end, because frankly, I’m getting tired of how every YA book these days tends to be a trilogy, and often, most of them could easily have been wrapped up in one book (or just weren’t worth three+ books to begin with). Death Watch had a complete and satisfying ending, and with it, I was left wondering if this would be more along the lines of The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, where each book was dedicated to different character. Regardless of whether each book follows Silas, or simply other Undertakers in the town of Lichport, I am now a dedicated reader. I cannot wait to see what book two brings.
Plot:
This is not a book of sappy, sparkly, meaningless romances that seem to develop without any true rhyme or reason.
Thank God.
This is a coming of age story, under the most dire circumstances. It’s a book that causes the reader to sit back and wonder how, and if, they could handle what Silas is faced with. As much about the world of the living as it is about the world of the dead, the book balances on a knife’s edge between the two, and the reader often finds themselves wondering if Silas will be lost to one or the other.
Death Watch is woven together from multiple story threads that span the history of Lichport, adding to the rich background that serves as the stage for Silas’s own adventure. Each one is just as intriguing as the next, and kept me reading avidly until the end, wanting to know what had happened in each circumstance.
Believability of World:
Lichport is so rich, so detailed, so steeped in nostalgia that it feels as if I’ve already been there, even though I know I have not. Lichport itself is a real town, and I wonder how much of this book draws from its history. Regardless, the version in this story, even with its paranormal patrons, reads as a town that just might be found if one looked.
Overall Grade: A+ ~ A book for those who love stories with rich, deep histories, with detailed descriptions that make you feel like you were there. Not for readers looking for a gushy love story, or driveling characters that need a significant other to make up their minds for them. Death Watch is for lovers of literature, those readers who revel in the velvety texture of words as they roll off the tongue. It is for those who read aloud at night to empty rooms, just to hear each line sing. This will go on my shelf of favorites, thank you, Mr. Berk, for such a rich tale.
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Ending: 5/5
Synopsis:
(from Goodreads): They say the dead should rest in peace. Not all the dead agree.
One night, Silas Umber's father Amos doesn’t come home from work. Devastated, Silas learns that his father was no mere mortician but an Undertaker, charged with bringing The Peace to the dead trapped in the Shadowlands, the states of limbo binding spirits to earth. With Amos gone, Silas and his mother have no choice but to return to Lichport, the crumbling seaside town where Silas was born, and move in with Amos’s brother, Charles.
Even as Silas eagerly explores his father’s town and its many abandoned streets and overgrown cemeteries, he grows increasingly wary of his uncle. There is something not quite right going on in Charles Umber’s ornate, museum-like house—something, Silas is sure, that is connected to his father’s disappearance. When Silas’s search leads him to his father’s old office, he comes across a powerful artifact: the Death Watch, a four hundred year old Hadean clock that allows the owner to see the dead.
Death Watch in hand, Silas begins to unearth Lichport’s secret history—and discovers that he has taken on his father’s mantle as Lichport’s Undertaker. Now, Silas must embark on a dangerous path into the Shadowlands to embrace his destiny and discover the truth about his father—no matter the cost.
Characters:
Silas Umber: Could a name be more poetic? Silas, which is quickly pointed out, sounds much like solace, and Umber, the color of rich, brown earth… the Solace of the Grave, the comfort of being laid to rest peacefully beneath the earth. Is there a more perfect name for an Undertaker? I think not.
Silas is the child of Amos and Dolores Umber, and he is a boy lost. His father disappears in the first chapter of the book, and through the rest of the story we witness Silas coming of age as he moves back to Lichport with his mother, and seeks to find the truth of what happened to his dad.
Bea: A mysterious girl who is infatuated with Silas and, like almost everyone in Lichport, obviously has secrets of her own.
Mother Peale: An elderly woman, and one of the Narrows Folk (the Narrows being the part of town filled with people of the sea) Mother Peale is an old friend of Silace’s father and wise in the ways of those who have remained to wander the streets of this haunted town.
Mrs. Bowe: A close friend of Amos Umber, Mrs. Bowe is a source of knowledge and support for Silas as he tries to walk in his father’s footsteps. Often infuriatingly vague, to the point where you just want to scream, “JUST TELL THE BOY ALREADY!”, she has her reasons for being so, and is always worried about Silas’ well being. She has a special role to play in the town, and is an aide and associate to the work of the Undertaker, as well as someone with invaluable insight into the motives of Uncle. She also has quite the mysterious relationship with bees, and I often wondered, as I read, if we would find out more about this.
Amos Umber: Silas’s father, and the Undertaker of Lichport, he disappears in the beginning of the book, but his presence haunts the pages throughout. Obviously well loved by his son, as well as the town of Lichport, he is a well formed and delicately constructed character whose portrait is painted for the reader through his own items left behind, as well as the abundant stories of the townsfolk.
Dolores Umber: Silas’s neglectful mother, she spends most of her time at the bottom of a bottle and is a character that one finds it very hard to have sympathy for. She has traits in her, though, that can be seen in Silas, and that the reader spends the book praying he will overcome.
Uncle: Overly kind in the most creepy of ways, it’s obvious something is amiss with Uncle the minute you read his letter. He is set on one mission, and nothing will stop him from carrying it out. As with some of histories best villians, he is scary because he truly believes that what he is doing is right.
Writing:
If you dislike books like The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien or The Foundling Series by D.M. Cornish, then don’t read this book. Death Watch is filled with eloquent prose rich with world building. The town of Lichport stands out, a character on its own, and invites the reader to walk its streets right along with Silas.
It is not often that I force myself to slow down while reading a book, but I had to with Death Watch, for fear that it would be over too soon. I couldn’t help but take the time to savor each page. The book begged to be read aloud, the rich detail of each paragraph pouring from the page and painting a vivid picture of the world through which Silas walked.
Drawn in from the opening pages, this rich, dark story gripped me in the same way that books such as Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book and Coraline or Ray Bradbury’s The Halloween Tree and Something Wicked This Way Comes have. It was haunting and filled with a potent atmosphere of the macabre. Each chapter offered insight into a new mystery from Lichport’s past, and not a word was wasted. The ghosts that haunted the pages of this book continued to haunt my imagination long after I put the book down and turned out the lights. They followed me like shadows throughout the day, enticing me from my responsibilities so they could have the chance to further tell their tales, and like Silas, I quickly learned to shut up and listen.
Truly, it was hard to deny this book… and as rich as the world building was, the characters themselves were just as layered and mysterious. Silas spent the book learning mostly through experience, rarely making the exact same mistake twice. He grew as he went, changing from boy to man, letting go of childish behaviors that prevented him from truly seeing the world around him.
Ending:
I don’t think I can rightly express how happy the end of this book made me. When I read the cover and saw that this was a trilogy, I dreaded reaching the end, because frankly, I’m getting tired of how every YA book these days tends to be a trilogy, and often, most of them could easily have been wrapped up in one book (or just weren’t worth three+ books to begin with). Death Watch had a complete and satisfying ending, and with it, I was left wondering if this would be more along the lines of The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, where each book was dedicated to different character. Regardless of whether each book follows Silas, or simply other Undertakers in the town of Lichport, I am now a dedicated reader. I cannot wait to see what book two brings.
Plot:
This is not a book of sappy, sparkly, meaningless romances that seem to develop without any true rhyme or reason.
Thank God.
This is a coming of age story, under the most dire circumstances. It’s a book that causes the reader to sit back and wonder how, and if, they could handle what Silas is faced with. As much about the world of the living as it is about the world of the dead, the book balances on a knife’s edge between the two, and the reader often finds themselves wondering if Silas will be lost to one or the other.
Death Watch is woven together from multiple story threads that span the history of Lichport, adding to the rich background that serves as the stage for Silas’s own adventure. Each one is just as intriguing as the next, and kept me reading avidly until the end, wanting to know what had happened in each circumstance.
Believability of World:
Lichport is so rich, so detailed, so steeped in nostalgia that it feels as if I’ve already been there, even though I know I have not. Lichport itself is a real town, and I wonder how much of this book draws from its history. Regardless, the version in this story, even with its paranormal patrons, reads as a town that just might be found if one looked.
Overall Grade: A+ ~ A book for those who love stories with rich, deep histories, with detailed descriptions that make you feel like you were there. Not for readers looking for a gushy love story, or driveling characters that need a significant other to make up their minds for them. Death Watch is for lovers of literature, those readers who revel in the velvety texture of words as they roll off the tongue. It is for those who read aloud at night to empty rooms, just to hear each line sing. This will go on my shelf of favorites, thank you, Mr. Berk, for such a rich tale.
May 25, 2017
I got somewhere between 30-35% through this book, and I just can't.
It has all the elements of a story I should like, but I can't get into it. The narrative drones, the dialogue is stilted and strangely archaic, though I'm fairly certain this is meant to be modern day, and the waxing philosophic doesn't really work when you sort of just talk in circles.
Mostly, though, I just have no emotional investment in the characters. I'm bored, and I don't particularly care what happens. I struggle to get through more than 10-25 pages in a reading, because it literally puts me to sleep.
Not even is enough to keep me interested in continuing. And the thought of a whole trilogy of this? Ye gods and little fishes...
Pity, because the prologue was strong and made me think this would be good... but several of the reviews I read suggest the ending is anti-climactic and not worth the slog to get there.
So, yeah... I'm out.
It has all the elements of a story I should like, but I can't get into it. The narrative drones, the dialogue is stilted and strangely archaic, though I'm fairly certain this is meant to be modern day, and the waxing philosophic doesn't really work when you sort of just talk in circles.
Mostly, though, I just have no emotional investment in the characters. I'm bored, and I don't particularly care what happens. I struggle to get through more than 10-25 pages in a reading, because it literally puts me to sleep.
Not even is enough to keep me interested in continuing. And the thought of a whole trilogy of this? Ye gods and little fishes...
Pity, because the prologue was strong and made me think this would be good... but several of the reviews I read suggest the ending is anti-climactic and not worth the slog to get there.
So, yeah... I'm out.
November 7, 2011
This was one of those rare books where everything else had to go on hold so I could go on a journey with the story. The setting was so old and leaning and beautiful and the characters developed into such real people that this book definitely constitutes many rereads. Every idea proposed about the meaning of living and the blurry line of passing into the otherworld generated tangents of thought, but the power of the prose and plot brought me back and kept me going. The best part? This is only the first of a trilogy.
October 10, 2012
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.
November 24, 2011
I got the chance to pick up an advance copy of this book and hear the author read bits of it aloud in an intimate setting at Schuler Books in Lansing, MI. Death Watch sets the stage for a brilliant series geared toward the young adult to adult reader. This is the story of Silas Umber, the teenage son of Amos, whom Silas thinks is a mortician but plays a role much more important to the dead. When Amos goes missing and is presumed dead, Silas and his alcoholic mother are invited by his Uncle Charles to move back to their ancestral hometown of Lichport, which, you can probably guess, is a hotbed of activity in which the worlds of the living and the dead are only vaguely separate and accessible by both.
Ari Berk is that rare form of prose author whose sense of language truly conveys the emotion needed by simply how the words are arranged. To be clearer, rather than describing events, emotions, and characters, he executes the imagery in the mind of the reader. Almost like casting an incantation, he takes a slow building of requisite background knowledge, lays the plans, and with a simple executable statement, suddenly the scene unfolds in the reader’s mind, events playing themselves, almost unbidden. He immerses the reader in what is almost a non-stop exploration of death mythology and folklore, and while there are truly dark, macabre, and terrifying things to behold in this book (the chapter he read at Schuler was at a level comparable to Lovecraft, and yes, the imagery was impossible to dismiss easily), a most welcoming dimension of the story is how an uncomfortable subject such as the death of family gets an in-depth and sensitive treatment. When confronted with death and the dead, I am struck, as the main character Silas is, by immediate pangs of revulsion and horror. As more is explained, and the importance of ritual, memory, and the preservation of the beloved dead is conveyed, I find myself reflecting more and more about the passage of loved ones and how so very less depressing a subject it is. Very little in the realm of death is unexamined here, including the notion that the stubborn living can choose to inhabit their corporeal forms well after they were meant to – a fitting allusion to those relatives who like to remind us to visit more than we have been.
Death and loss is a subject that we tend to avoid, but with a book like this it gets the appropriate attention and reverence that I believe helps us all come to terms with the inevitable. Whether you believe there is more beyond this veil, or that memory is the only ultimate preservation of those passed, Ari Berk lays a sober yet entertaining story of reflection appropriate for us all.
Ari Berk is that rare form of prose author whose sense of language truly conveys the emotion needed by simply how the words are arranged. To be clearer, rather than describing events, emotions, and characters, he executes the imagery in the mind of the reader. Almost like casting an incantation, he takes a slow building of requisite background knowledge, lays the plans, and with a simple executable statement, suddenly the scene unfolds in the reader’s mind, events playing themselves, almost unbidden. He immerses the reader in what is almost a non-stop exploration of death mythology and folklore, and while there are truly dark, macabre, and terrifying things to behold in this book (the chapter he read at Schuler was at a level comparable to Lovecraft, and yes, the imagery was impossible to dismiss easily), a most welcoming dimension of the story is how an uncomfortable subject such as the death of family gets an in-depth and sensitive treatment. When confronted with death and the dead, I am struck, as the main character Silas is, by immediate pangs of revulsion and horror. As more is explained, and the importance of ritual, memory, and the preservation of the beloved dead is conveyed, I find myself reflecting more and more about the passage of loved ones and how so very less depressing a subject it is. Very little in the realm of death is unexamined here, including the notion that the stubborn living can choose to inhabit their corporeal forms well after they were meant to – a fitting allusion to those relatives who like to remind us to visit more than we have been.
Death and loss is a subject that we tend to avoid, but with a book like this it gets the appropriate attention and reverence that I believe helps us all come to terms with the inevitable. Whether you believe there is more beyond this veil, or that memory is the only ultimate preservation of those passed, Ari Berk lays a sober yet entertaining story of reflection appropriate for us all.
December 12, 2011
Originally posted at Beneath the Jacket
I'm kind of shocked that I haven't seen this book featured or reviewed on other blogs. Somehow it went under the radar and people seemed to have missed its release. Well, I think it's time to change that.
Death Watch is for fans of the horror genre. It's been a while since a book freaked me the heck out. Sure, Anna Dressed In Blood has its moments, but Death Watch takes it to a whole other level. This mainly comes from Berk's descriptions and prose. The whole book played exactly like a movie in my head and I saw every scary and sometime horrific detail in my mind. And Berk's characters? AMAZING and so well fleshed out. I felt like they were all straight out of a Dicken's novel. The whole book has a very classic feel to it even though it's set in modern times. It might be because the town of Lichport hasn't really changed since its founding in the 1600s. All of its inhabitants seem to be happily stuck in the past, though the outside world has changed around them.
This isn't a book for people looking for a quick read. It's a little over 500 pages which is mainly unheard of in the young adult category. Even I, the *Queen of Patience, struggled with it sometimes. Berk goes into GREAT detail about the architecture of Lichport and sometimes I found myself skimming those passages. Though if you like architecture, more power to you, and pick this book up. If you're more a fan of fast-moving books like Legend, as a most recent example, you may not like this one. Death Watch takes its time to get started, but when it gets there, it's full of fabulousness.
I can assume from the first book that The Undertaken Trilogy is going to epic. Unless the next two books are going to be, like, 300 pages, then not so much. I can't wait to see how Silas develops in the rest of the series!
*I am not the Queen of Patience, I lied to you. I am not even the Duchess of Patience. I am a person with no patience and always in need of instant gratification. But yet, I still enjoyed the book.
I'm kind of shocked that I haven't seen this book featured or reviewed on other blogs. Somehow it went under the radar and people seemed to have missed its release. Well, I think it's time to change that.
Death Watch is for fans of the horror genre. It's been a while since a book freaked me the heck out. Sure, Anna Dressed In Blood has its moments, but Death Watch takes it to a whole other level. This mainly comes from Berk's descriptions and prose. The whole book played exactly like a movie in my head and I saw every scary and sometime horrific detail in my mind. And Berk's characters? AMAZING and so well fleshed out. I felt like they were all straight out of a Dicken's novel. The whole book has a very classic feel to it even though it's set in modern times. It might be because the town of Lichport hasn't really changed since its founding in the 1600s. All of its inhabitants seem to be happily stuck in the past, though the outside world has changed around them.
This isn't a book for people looking for a quick read. It's a little over 500 pages which is mainly unheard of in the young adult category. Even I, the *Queen of Patience, struggled with it sometimes. Berk goes into GREAT detail about the architecture of Lichport and sometimes I found myself skimming those passages. Though if you like architecture, more power to you, and pick this book up. If you're more a fan of fast-moving books like Legend, as a most recent example, you may not like this one. Death Watch takes its time to get started, but when it gets there, it's full of fabulousness.
I can assume from the first book that The Undertaken Trilogy is going to epic. Unless the next two books are going to be, like, 300 pages, then not so much. I can't wait to see how Silas develops in the rest of the series!
*I am not the Queen of Patience, I lied to you. I am not even the Duchess of Patience. I am a person with no patience and always in need of instant gratification. But yet, I still enjoyed the book.
December 31, 2011
Beautifully foggy and grey and rainy, filled with tenderness and love and ghosts and lyrical, graceful writing. Death Watch is one of those books that you dream inside of until it's over and then you're bereft and a little sad that you've reached the end. The characters are deeply sympathetic and real (Silas and Mrs. Bowe, in particular, waltz into the reader's heart with little effort and make their home there) and the plot unravels mystery after mystery only to open the door to more questions - but the kind of questions that you have to answer for yourself. Yes, it's a book about ghosts, and the dead, and a strange little town in a strange little place. But it's about so much more - remembering and forgetting, living well and dying well (and the poorer alternative), and perhaps most importantly, the bond between fathers and sons.
This isn't a junk-food read - the pacing is elegant and rich, like a tapestry being spun, and you're meant to sink into the hypnotic atmosphere of Lichport. Don't save this one for a short plane ride; instead, curl up next to a window when it's pouring rain and thundering outside, put on a pot of tea, and allow yourself to be spellbound for awhile. You don't read Death Watch as much as you live it, breathe it, and dream it.
Another writer once ended a story with a now-famous question, and Ari Berk has answered it with this lovely work - yes, indeed, the dead do love.
This isn't a junk-food read - the pacing is elegant and rich, like a tapestry being spun, and you're meant to sink into the hypnotic atmosphere of Lichport. Don't save this one for a short plane ride; instead, curl up next to a window when it's pouring rain and thundering outside, put on a pot of tea, and allow yourself to be spellbound for awhile. You don't read Death Watch as much as you live it, breathe it, and dream it.
Another writer once ended a story with a now-famous question, and Ari Berk has answered it with this lovely work - yes, indeed, the dead do love.
January 15, 2012
It's got the trappings of all of the morbid, gloomy, funerary, curios-and-specimens-in-formaldehyde momento mori sort of stuff that I am a sucker for, but I couldn't get emotionally connected in it. I really didn't care. Nothing within the book ever came alive for me (har har) - not the story, nor the characters. I nearly quit reading the book several times and had to force myself to continue. The format of the novel, interspersed with poetry and excerpts from an antique "ledger" that came into the protagonist Silas's possession did make for something more unusual than what you would find in a typical YA novel, but the result of that weakened the novel overall because all these stylistic devices just came across as self-indulgent. I give it two stars because some parts were ok, though I can't remember what they were. Ha ha ha.
October 23, 2011
Wow. This slow-burn story is a great read! This is a ghost story, but it is really a story about relationships. As each relationship unfolds you feel a richness of story that truly draws you in. This story is told with such wonderful grace as the author's words paint a picture and then invites you to join him. It is a wonderful coming-of-age story with just the right amount of mystery, romance and angst to keep you hanging. I just want to hug Silas and make it all right! I continue to think of the characters and wonder about them. I cannot wait until book two comes out to see how the story continues!
January 25, 2012
I’m a bit in love with this book. If I were to come up with a catchy description to try and grab the attention of other readers, I might describe it as Hamlet meets Jamaica Inn. However, whilst references to the works of the Bard and other classic literary sources may be found lovingly woven throughout, ‘Death Watch’ is a truly original work. Befitting the theme of the tale, it stands proudly on the shoulders of its ancestors.
Death Watch is a thought-provoking and profoundly moving exploration of loss and the grieving process from both sides of the coin, giving possibly even more insight into the experiences of the souls of the dead than the living. Ari Berk deftly paints his characters and setting in a twilight palette of sepia and grey, within which may be found tones more vivid than any rainbow. The characters, (and the setting of Lichport may well be counted among their number), are subtle, complex and quite fascinating, and as an ex-actor I find myself wishing for a stage or film adaptation, as there is so much in even the smallest parts to get one’s teeth into!
As the first part of a trilogy to be published, I read with some anxiety, afraid to reach the end and then have to wait another year for the next instalment. I was prepared to be patient, as after all I had already waited quite some time for the book itself after hearing the author read a short excerpt at a gathering a few years ago. However I was pleasantly surprised to find that, although I am looking forward greatly to the next book, I felt extremely satisfied when I reached the end of Death Watch. The lead character, Silas Umber, undergoes a true initiatory journey and takes the reader with him on every step, leap and stumble along the way.
There is still so much to explore in the extraordinary and immensely atmospheric Lichport, (such an inspired name for the town!), and until the next two volumes appear, I may have to dip back into Death Watch on a regular basis in order to walk the haunted pathways of this town once more.
Death Watch is a thought-provoking and profoundly moving exploration of loss and the grieving process from both sides of the coin, giving possibly even more insight into the experiences of the souls of the dead than the living. Ari Berk deftly paints his characters and setting in a twilight palette of sepia and grey, within which may be found tones more vivid than any rainbow. The characters, (and the setting of Lichport may well be counted among their number), are subtle, complex and quite fascinating, and as an ex-actor I find myself wishing for a stage or film adaptation, as there is so much in even the smallest parts to get one’s teeth into!
As the first part of a trilogy to be published, I read with some anxiety, afraid to reach the end and then have to wait another year for the next instalment. I was prepared to be patient, as after all I had already waited quite some time for the book itself after hearing the author read a short excerpt at a gathering a few years ago. However I was pleasantly surprised to find that, although I am looking forward greatly to the next book, I felt extremely satisfied when I reached the end of Death Watch. The lead character, Silas Umber, undergoes a true initiatory journey and takes the reader with him on every step, leap and stumble along the way.
There is still so much to explore in the extraordinary and immensely atmospheric Lichport, (such an inspired name for the town!), and until the next two volumes appear, I may have to dip back into Death Watch on a regular basis in order to walk the haunted pathways of this town once more.
January 30, 2012
Reminiscent of classic Poe-esque gothic horror, yet not beyond the scope of imagining this as a Stephen King brain-child; this book is one of the more weird and interesting reads that's fallen out of my bookshelf.
I was first thrown a little by the pace of this book. As promised, it is very slow going. Many times I was caught confused, not understanding a point; I felt I was being kept from pertinent information. Assuming things would unfold, I hung in and once I was familiar the pace quickened considerably. I can't say everything was explained to justify my earlier bewilderment, but I think I can live with that. This book appears to purposefully confuse a little. Litchport is a place of superstition and old customs. The story is foggy in some senses, like a weird dream you've just woke up from and are trying to remember the details of before they're gone. The spoken dialogue is very assuredly not modern, reminding me of the old south, perhaps even the islands around Maine, and is sometimes quite nearly so unrelatable that indeed it does seem very dream-like. Then again, isn't any good ghost story? There are a lot of things happening in this book that depend on the reader to just accept that yes, this is what's happening, just go with it, it'll make sense in time.
But I think that's what make this so interesting and different. It doesn't compare against anything I've seen written in the last 20 years in a way that I could pit one book against another as an example. It holds itself in its own little niche.
All that said, this book is not going to appeal to everyone. It has a bit of a target market in the lover of ghost stories, folklore, mythology, and dusty old books. This is not a fast read, nor an action filled teen drama. This is a bit of a jump in a time machine to a time when the mind was a little less skeptical and a little more open to the things that lurk in the night.
I was first thrown a little by the pace of this book. As promised, it is very slow going. Many times I was caught confused, not understanding a point; I felt I was being kept from pertinent information. Assuming things would unfold, I hung in and once I was familiar the pace quickened considerably. I can't say everything was explained to justify my earlier bewilderment, but I think I can live with that. This book appears to purposefully confuse a little. Litchport is a place of superstition and old customs. The story is foggy in some senses, like a weird dream you've just woke up from and are trying to remember the details of before they're gone. The spoken dialogue is very assuredly not modern, reminding me of the old south, perhaps even the islands around Maine, and is sometimes quite nearly so unrelatable that indeed it does seem very dream-like. Then again, isn't any good ghost story? There are a lot of things happening in this book that depend on the reader to just accept that yes, this is what's happening, just go with it, it'll make sense in time.
But I think that's what make this so interesting and different. It doesn't compare against anything I've seen written in the last 20 years in a way that I could pit one book against another as an example. It holds itself in its own little niche.
All that said, this book is not going to appeal to everyone. It has a bit of a target market in the lover of ghost stories, folklore, mythology, and dusty old books. This is not a fast read, nor an action filled teen drama. This is a bit of a jump in a time machine to a time when the mind was a little less skeptical and a little more open to the things that lurk in the night.
March 12, 2012
Silas Umber ‘s best friend is his father Amos. So when one night Amos fails to come home from work he is completely devastated. Left alone with a bitter alcoholic mother and no money they are forced to move in with his wealthy uncle to the place of his birth, the town of Litchport. Uncle lives in the Umber family mansion, a slightly creepy place filled with ancient tomes, manuscripts and artifacts that have to do with death and the dead. There is also a something else, something unsettling that Silas cannot put his finger on. While living with his uncle he learns that his father (unlike his uncle) was very well regarded in the town of Litchport. He also learns that his father was not a mortician but an undertaker, someone who helps guide souls to their resting place. Silas soon discovers that he too has some of his father’s skills and is soon called on by the residents of Licthport to help guide the souls of their dead out of this world and into the next. Though his interactions with the residents of Licthport, both the living and the dead he begins to suspect that his Uncle may well be the one responsible for his fathers disappearance.
Death Watch is rich with imagery and well researched lore about death and the dead. Berk masterfully weaves together different cultural traditions and rituals about death into an interesting and engaging story. Some might classify this as a horror story but it is much more than that. It is also a coming of age story about a boy who must decide what path he should follow and how growing up means that you have to accept new found responsibilities and learn to forgive to move forward. One of the best books I have read in a long time.
Death Watch is rich with imagery and well researched lore about death and the dead. Berk masterfully weaves together different cultural traditions and rituals about death into an interesting and engaging story. Some might classify this as a horror story but it is much more than that. It is also a coming of age story about a boy who must decide what path he should follow and how growing up means that you have to accept new found responsibilities and learn to forgive to move forward. One of the best books I have read in a long time.
June 12, 2012
Death Watch was a long book and it felt like one, too. But the interesting characters, fantastic world building, and intricate setting all kept my interest. I wanted to find his dad as much as he did. Maybe not with the same motives. I wanted answers and lots of them. About the death watch, the history of the town as well as the family. I wanted to know what secrets everyone was holding and what danger he was in. And little by little a lot was revealed. Though there was still much left to be desired in the end, which will keep reading the rest of the trilogy.
I was annoyed that everyone seemed to know more than him and yet wouldn’t tell him a lot. Even if it would end up being beneficial to him and possibly end up saving his life. A lot of seemingly stupid things he does could have been prevented this way.
I’m not sure if the whole love interest part of it will continue but I had a love/hate relationship with that as well. It was creepy, then sweet, then helped him to feel less lonely. I liked it in the end, but it still seemed like something randomly thrown together now that I know we’ll get more information about later on.
I would recommend this for people who like adventure-esque ghost stories, slow paced but creepy plots, or anyone who doesn’t mind devoting a good chuck of time to a pretty interesting story.
LONG AND INTRIGING. 4/5 stars
I was annoyed that everyone seemed to know more than him and yet wouldn’t tell him a lot. Even if it would end up being beneficial to him and possibly end up saving his life. A lot of seemingly stupid things he does could have been prevented this way.
I’m not sure if the whole love interest part of it will continue but I had a love/hate relationship with that as well. It was creepy, then sweet, then helped him to feel less lonely. I liked it in the end, but it still seemed like something randomly thrown together now that I know we’ll get more information about later on.
I would recommend this for people who like adventure-esque ghost stories, slow paced but creepy plots, or anyone who doesn’t mind devoting a good chuck of time to a pretty interesting story.
LONG AND INTRIGING. 4/5 stars
November 9, 2011
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.
February 15, 2012
On a recommendation from author Tony Diterlizzi I started reading Death Watch by Ari Berk. This wonderful book reads as if you were Dr. Frankenstein and you put a bit of Edgar Allen Poe, Stephen King, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Neil Gaimen together. It is a gothic horror story with heart. Young Silas Umber comes with his mother back to his childhood home to search for his father who suddenly disappeared. They are taken in by Silas's strange uncle and live in a mansion full of New England haunts. Silas begins to learn about what being an undertaker is all about and gets to know what his dad was really into when he moves into his dad's old house and his possessions. Filled with old myths about death and the afterlife, the Death Watch is wonderfully written and spooky in the old fashioned way.
December 20, 2019
If you are seeking a book that will entice you with its macabre, look no further! Death Watch will satisfy your cravings with a sound plot, moving characters and a mystery to be solved. I have absolutely loved this trilogy since its release, and I must say that Silas Umber has remained one of my very favourite fictional characters to this day party because I feel that he was truly written like a forlorn teen (rather than like an annoying and mopey kid like many other writers have written depressed adolescents as, thereby making the reader detest him). I feel a strong, personal connection to the wonderful characters in this trilogy, it's somewhat difficult to put it in words. Needless to say, Death Watch has stayed with me for years after I first read it and will for many more to come.
October 23, 2011
Wow. This slow-burn story is a great read! This is a ghost story, but it is really a story about relationships. As each relationship unfolds you feel a richness of story that truly draws you in. This story is told with such wonderful grace as the author's words paint a picture and then invites you to join him. It is a wonderful coming-of-age story with just the right amount of mystery, romance and angst to keep you hanging. I just want to hug Silas and make it all right! I continue to think of the characters and wonder about them. I cannot wait until book two comes out to see how the story continues!
January 12, 2012
Death Watch is an amazing book filled with so many rich images and care worn treasures written into it that it is unlike any other book I have read. I feel that the world that Death Watch lets it's readers glimpse is clearly forged with a sliver of true soul embedded in it. I loved the way it wove itself together becoming not just a story about characters but an experience within this rather unique and forgotten land. There are truths written in these pages that speak deeply to me and I will reread this book often. I am glad this is to become a continuing series and look forward to the next visit into Lichport. I feel the Undertaker has a part to play for all of us, thank you. -RM
December 15, 2011
AWESOME.
Slightly creepy (okay very creepy), yet still heartbreaking and heartwarming. It's refreshing to have a YA novel were the character doesn't have anything to do with school, friends, or any of the general YA trappings. Easily enjoyed by adults and teens.
Slightly creepy (okay very creepy), yet still heartbreaking and heartwarming. It's refreshing to have a YA novel were the character doesn't have anything to do with school, friends, or any of the general YA trappings. Easily enjoyed by adults and teens.
September 18, 2018
An expertly crafted Gothic fiction where the land of the living collides beautifully, heartbreakingly, and savagely with the dead. I was constantly in awe of the author's stunning tapestry of characters and settings, his tender treatment of the left behind and forgotten deceased, and poignant philosophical musings about family, death and remembrance, and mortality. This is a book that needs to be experienced and absorbed by readers of the macabre and supernatural.
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January 12, 2017I think this is a very thought out book and had great structure too. It is very suspenseful and mysterious. I would recommend this book to anybody who likes different types of books because this is the most fascinating and interesting story that I have read in a while.
The book I have been reading is called Death Watch or better known as The Undertaken Triology. It is about how a boy’s father goes missing and they wait for months for him to return but he never does. Also in this story it is very common for people to go missing all the time. They then move in with the boy’s uncle, who is into very strange and ancient antiques and parts of once living things. While back in his mother’s hometown he is introduced to a women who knew his father and shows him his old working space. In the coat pocket that the boy had put on he found a watch shaped like a skull, which by his father was best known as the death watch.
I liked how this book is very strange and different from most fantasy books. It is like a thriller and mysterious vibe because of all the different things that go on in the story. I didn’t like how they didn’t tell the audience about what happened to his father. They only gave us the beginning part where they said that the door closed behind him and that was it. It really made me want to read more so I could figure out what happened to him.
I would recommend this book to somebody if you or somebody you know enjoys fantasies and mysterious types of books. This is a suspenseful, mysterious, fantasy, and thriller type of book. Those are the things I always enjoy reading so anybody who has those types of interest in reading should definitely read this book. Even if you don’t like those types of generes for books if you like series then you would like this because it is a series. It has three books, book one is called Death Watch, book two is called Mistle Child, and book three is called Lych Way. So it is a triology. So for anybody that enjoys book series then there would be this one because I highly recommened it.
The book I have been reading is called Death Watch or better known as The Undertaken Triology. It is about how a boy’s father goes missing and they wait for months for him to return but he never does. Also in this story it is very common for people to go missing all the time. They then move in with the boy’s uncle, who is into very strange and ancient antiques and parts of once living things. While back in his mother’s hometown he is introduced to a women who knew his father and shows him his old working space. In the coat pocket that the boy had put on he found a watch shaped like a skull, which by his father was best known as the death watch.
I liked how this book is very strange and different from most fantasy books. It is like a thriller and mysterious vibe because of all the different things that go on in the story. I didn’t like how they didn’t tell the audience about what happened to his father. They only gave us the beginning part where they said that the door closed behind him and that was it. It really made me want to read more so I could figure out what happened to him.
I would recommend this book to somebody if you or somebody you know enjoys fantasies and mysterious types of books. This is a suspenseful, mysterious, fantasy, and thriller type of book. Those are the things I always enjoy reading so anybody who has those types of interest in reading should definitely read this book. Even if you don’t like those types of generes for books if you like series then you would like this because it is a series. It has three books, book one is called Death Watch, book two is called Mistle Child, and book three is called Lych Way. So it is a triology. So for anybody that enjoys book series then there would be this one because I highly recommened it.
February 21, 2012
After seeing the cover (I'm a sucker for the Tim Burtonesque artwork) and reading a lot of the great reviews I was excited to dive into this book. I love teen books and the supernatural so I thought this would be right up my alley. After reading it for a few weeks I am struggling to finish it. I have about 100 pages left but I just don't care. It's a very slow paced story and the prose is very descriptive (which I don't mind. In fact, I loved "The Night Circus" which is similar in style.) and I found myself just waiting for something, anything!, to actually happen. After about half of the book is completed does any kind of supernatural action take place. I'm hoping that the end of the book will pick up but I don't think I will continue on with this supposed trilogy.
UPDATE: So after having about 100 pages left, I couldn't take it anymore. I just wanted to put the book down and be done with it, but since I was so close to finishing I decided to skip a some chapters and jump ahead. I ended up reading the last 4 chapters and, sad to say, it never got better. The ending wasn't climactic at all. I will definitely not be picking up the next two (really? Two more books?!) of the trilogy.
I would have given the book one star but some of the ghosts were actually pretty cool so I gave it two stars.
UPDATE: So after having about 100 pages left, I couldn't take it anymore. I just wanted to put the book down and be done with it, but since I was so close to finishing I decided to skip a some chapters and jump ahead. I ended up reading the last 4 chapters and, sad to say, it never got better. The ending wasn't climactic at all. I will definitely not be picking up the next two (really? Two more books?!) of the trilogy.
I would have given the book one star but some of the ghosts were actually pretty cool so I gave it two stars.
May 26, 2023
Perhaps one of the best books I've ever read. While the narrative focuses on Silas Umber's growth into Undertaker, there is a central mystery at the heart of Death Watch surrounding the disappearance of Silas's father. Silas must learn from his father's old friends and the work he has left behind what it means to bring Peace to the departed while setting aside his own anxieties related to his missing father. The narrative is lush with rich and vivid stories about the townsfolk of Lichport, and the characters are developed in a way that is almost folkloric, giving them wonderful depth. I particularly enjoyed the great-grandfather.
One of the most interesting themes in the novel is the idea of how immortality is preserved through the living. Uncle his a morbid fascination with the remains of the dead, making relics which he believes achieves immortality. His understanding of the dead lacks a respect that brings him only lasting torment. Conversely, Silas uses the understanding bestowed to him from his father to bring Peace to the dead by listening to their needs and discovering the root of a ghost's presence. This is a simplified analysis of the theme for it is palimpsest; the more this books is visited, the deeper it will take one in the dynamics of mortality and how people cope with it.
One of the most interesting themes in the novel is the idea of how immortality is preserved through the living. Uncle his a morbid fascination with the remains of the dead, making relics which he believes achieves immortality. His understanding of the dead lacks a respect that brings him only lasting torment. Conversely, Silas uses the understanding bestowed to him from his father to bring Peace to the dead by listening to their needs and discovering the root of a ghost's presence. This is a simplified analysis of the theme for it is palimpsest; the more this books is visited, the deeper it will take one in the dynamics of mortality and how people cope with it.
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