Deathwatch

I wasn't expecting much from Deathwatch. First of all it is teen fiction which, forgive me, is so often just so much schlock. Second, well, it is teen fiction. I was pleased to find it to be a well-crafted work of survival and suspense. The craftsmanship along with the riveting plot make it an excellent choice for teachers of middle schoolers, even older students in the right context. My biggest problem with the book is that I have serious spatial issues when reading. There were sections in which Ben was plotting his next move that were heavy in spatial descriptions which had me reading with my tongue stuck out and a smidge of drool forming. My usual look of pained concentration. Rather inelegant. If I wasn't going to teach the book, I show more would have said "Yeah, yeah, yeah" and skipped these bits." There was nothing wrong with them, just not compatible with my rightbraininess. In other words, "It's not you, baby. It's me." Obviously, I will have similarly challenged students, so I will need to think of ways to mitigate the problems these sections will cause them. Otherwise, it is a well-written, ripping yarn of cat and mouse desert survival as Ben, a young college student tries to outwit Madec, the wealthy man who has hired him to take him hunting for big horn sheep in the Mojave Desert. Their partnership had been uncomfortable from the start, but when Madec accidentally shots an old prospector things get ugly. Ben refuses to be party to Madec's cover up scheme. Madec's solution? Ben becomes his quarry. I know my twelve year old girls are going to relish the bit where Ben drinks from a murky, guano-mired puddle and chows down on raw quail, their blood dripping from his mouth. That alone is worth the price of admission to me. Too bad there aren't more snakes. They so loved the snakes in True Grit! show less

Originally published in 1972 and now considered a classic of it’s genre, the YA novel, Deathwatch is first and foremost a survival story. When a wealthy man hires, Ben, a local college student as his hunting guide, he expect his young guide to look the other way when he doesn’t follow the rules, but when he mistakenly shoots a person instead of the Rocky Mountain Sheep he swore he saw, he really shows his true colors as he refuses to allow Ben to report the death. He strips Ben of his clothes, weapons, food and water and keeping a watch from a distance waits for the extreme conditions to take Ben’s life as well.

The story is short and fairly simple as Ben uses his knowledge of the desert to outsmart the villain and survive. show more Although a little far-fetched I thought this story was very well done and I can certainly see that young people would be glued to the pages. I enjoyed the descriptions of the desert and the survival techniques that Ben used. This book is often compared to Hatchet by Gary Paulsen but the additional aspect of man-against-man as well as man-against-nature gives Deathwatch an exciting edge. show less

I wasn't expecting much from Deathwatch. First of all it is teen fiction which, forgive me, is so often just so much schlock. Second, well, it is teen fiction. I was pleased to find it to be a well-crafted work of survival and suspense. The craftsmanship along with the riveting plot make it an excellent choice for teachers of middle schoolers, even older students in the right context. My biggest problem with the book is that I have serious spatial issues when reading. There were sections in which Ben was plotting his next move that were heavy in spatial descriptions which had me reading with my tongue stuck out and a smidge of drool forming. My usual look of pained concentration. Rather inelegant. If I wasn't going to teach the book, I show more would have said "Yeah, yeah, yeah" and skipped these bits." There was nothing wrong with them, just not compatible with my rightbraininess. In other words, "It's not you, baby. It's me." Obviously, I will have similarly challenged students, so I will need to think of ways to mitigate the problems these sections will cause them. Otherwise, it is a well-written, ripping yarn of cat and mouse desert survival as Ben, a young college student tries to outwit Madec, the wealthy man who has hired him to take him hunting for big horn sheep in the Mojave Desert. Their partnership had been uncomfortable from the start, but when Madec accidentally shots an old prospector things get ugly. Ben refuses to be party to Madec's cover up scheme. Madec's solution? Ben becomes his quarry. I know my twelve year old girls are going to relish the bit where Ben drinks from a murky, guano-mired puddle and chows down on raw quail, their blood dripping from his mouth. That alone is worth the price of admission to me. Too bad there aren't more snakes. They so loved the snakes in True Grit! show less

I wasn't expecting much from Deathwatch. First of all it is teen fiction which, forgive me, is so often just so much schlock. Second, well, it is teen fiction. I was pleased to find it to be a well-crafted work of survival and suspense. The craftsmanship along with the riveting plot make it an excellent choice for teachers of middle schoolers, even older students in the right context. My biggest problem with the book is that I have serious spatial issues when reading. There were sections in which Ben was plotting his next move that were heavy in spatial descriptions which had me reading with my tongue stuck out and a smidge of drool forming. My usual look of pained concentration. Rather inelegant. If I wasn't going to teach the book, I show more would have said "Yeah, yeah, yeah" and skipped these bits." There was nothing wrong with them, just not compatible with my rightbraininess. In other words, "It's not you, baby. It's me." Obviously, I will have similarly challenged students, so I will need to think of ways to mitigate the problems these sections will cause them. Otherwise, it is a well-written, ripping yarn of cat and mouse desert survival as Ben, a young college student tries to outwit Madec, the wealthy man who has hired him to take him hunting for big horn sheep in the Mojave Desert. Their partnership had been uncomfortable from the start, but when Madec accidentally shots an old prospector things get ugly. Ben refuses to be party to Madec's cover up scheme. Madec's solution? Ben becomes his quarry. I know my twelve year old girls are going to relish the bit where Ben drinks from a murky, guano-mired puddle and chows down on raw quail, their blood dripping from his mouth. That alone is worth the price of admission to me. Too bad there aren't more snakes. They so loved the snakes in True Grit! show less

This was so compelling of a read back in High School. My first novel ever read, very special to me. The characters depth and despair could be felt through the pages, I have not read nothing similar once, and I had basic English back then, it's definitely impressive. Mostly because with just 2 characters Robb White manage to captivate the minds of the audience. In a mystery/suspense ride that not only became a classic but went on to become a movie. My life goal to become a writer was inspired by this novel. Seriously it's sad that this gem is under-rated. It's a short story that is bound to give you a good time. Plus the ending will keep you thoughtful for days. I am looking forward to reading more material from this author, just simply show more excellent overall. show less

When I was young I read and really enjoyed several of Robb White's books. "The Survivor" was a special favorite that I read when I was about 14, but I also enjoyed stories such as "Up Periscope." I happened upon "Deathwatch" a couple months ago and excitedly picked it up at the used shop, even though the subject matter on the back cover didn't sound like something I would like very much.

Well, it turned out I was right about the subject matter. I really did not enjoy a story about a relentlessly evil man changing his hunting target from bighorn sheep to the young college kid who was his guide in the desert. The story was pretty well written and I read this because I wanted to see how it played out. I would never read this again though. show more The ending was a little unexpected. show less

I hated the way this book ended when I finished reading it, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was the perfect ending. Surviving in nature an escaping bad guys was always a fantasy of my childhood, so this was a great read once I got over the ending.