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Heather Young

Shamus Young

The Witch Watch Paperback – February 20, 2012

by Shamus Young (Author)

4.6 89 ratings

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A young lady with a head for invention, a boy with a gift for sorcery, and a rotting corpse with a dry sense of humor all find themselves fighting against a strange new threat in Victorian-era London.

Print length

388 pages
Language

English
Publication date

February 20, 2012
Dimensions

5.98 x 0.8 x 9.02 inches
ISBN-10

1470105810
ISBN-13

978-1470105815
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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Gilbert has two problems. The first is that he died. The second is that he didn't stay dead. Now he's hunted by the Church, the cult that revived him, and Her Majesty's Department of Ethereal Affairs. Gilbert must keep his head long enough to save London, the Queen, and his brassy and opinionated mother from the forces of evil and good alike.

About the Author

Shamus Young is a programmer specializing in old-school graphics techniques. He's the author of the blog Twenty Sided. He's the creator of the webcomics DM of the Rings and Stolen Pixels. He's one of the hosts of the videogame commentary series Spoiler Warning. He's tired of writing about himself in the third person.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; First Edition (February 20, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 388 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1470105810
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1470105815
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.14 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.98 x 0.8 x 9.02 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,411,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #17,479 in Historical Fantasy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 89 ratings

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Heather Young
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Heather Young started drawing at a very young age and grew up to become a freelance artist (and occasional author). In addition to portrait art and watercolor paintings, Heather’s illustrations grace the covers and interiors of several books as well as the card game “Sherwood Showdown.”
Heather lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, three children, and several watercolor dragons.
See more on the author's page
Shamus Young
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Shamus Young is a programmer specializing in old-school graphics techniques. He's the author of the blog Twenty Sided. He's the creator of the webcomics DM of the Rings and Stolen Pixels. He's one of the hosts of the videogame commentary series Spoiler Warning. He's tired of writing about himself in the third person.
See more on the author's page

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4.6 out of 5

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Scott Mikula

The Witch Watch

Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2012

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Let's get this out of the way first: The Witch Watch is a self-published book. I (and probably most of the other people that have reviewed it here) found it because I'm a fan of Shamus Young's blog. I wasn't necessarily expecting the same quality as a book released by a major publisher. Well, I'll say this -- as far as formatting and proofreading (hallmarks of bad self-pub books) The Witch Watch is on par with any professional offering. And as for the story...you'll just have to read on.

Warning: there are spoilers in the text that follows, although I do my best to keep my comments very general and/or confined to the early parts of the book.

The Witch Watch is a comedic romp through a Victorian England where magic exists and the dead can be raised as zombie-like abominations. That's what happened to Gilbert. Except that it was all a mistake; it was supposed to be a powerful wizard, Lord Mordaunt, who got raised. Now Gilbert has to contend with Lord Mordaunt's cult-like followers, the zealously anti-magic church -- and, of course, the "Witch Watch", the royal ministry tasked with investigating and defending against malicious magic. But Gilbert is not an evil abomination, he's just a guy trying to do right by the world. When he learns that the "vigor" (a sort of life force or essence) that revived him came from the Princess Sophie, he is determined to get it back to her.

Along the way we get to know Simon, the young sorcerer who raised Gilbert, who is both more and less than he seems. And Alice, daughter of the Witch Watch's founder, who is herself a magic user and has a very clinical approach to magic. As Gilbert regains his memories (they were lost due to his time as a corpse) we are treated to flashbacks to the time before his death, and slowly discover how it was that he was reanimated in place of Lord Mordaunt.

There's nary a dull moment in the book, as Gilbert's adventures take him across England (and beyond). The alternate history with its unique magic system and the organizations that surround them are carefully drawn. Clearly they were deeply thought out, but by and large the explanations are interesting and used to drive the story forward. And for all the high drama, the book is at its heart a comedy. Reading the banter between the characters is a pleasure whether they're debating how to escape their latest predicament or ruminating on what to have for breakfast.

Still, the book falls short for me in a few ways. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at how ready Gilbert is to give up his (un)life for a princess he's never met. At best it was a missed opportunity for more character depth, and at worst it chips away at the reader's belief in the character. And there were other ways the characters lacked complexity. For instance, without spoiling too much, once the characters sort themselves into good guys and bad guys things become very black and white. The heroes might argue about HOW to do accomplish something, but their goals are very much in a line. Again, if Gilbert had a bit more sense of self preservation I think there would have been an additional thread of tension that would have made all the heroes feel a bit more real.

But all books have their flaws, and in this one the good more than outweighed the bad. In other words, I'm glad I read it. (That's more than I can say about plenty of traditionally published books.) If you're inclined toward light historical fantasy, I think you'd like it too.

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Ian Miller

Witty, Witchy, Watchy

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2012

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Having followed Shamus Young's blog since my roommate got me hooked on his hilarious and intelligent webcomic "DM of the Rings" many years ago, I was intrigued when I found out he had written a novel. Since $5 is quite reasonable for a book, I bought it on impulse and let it sit on my computer for a few weeks. But now that I've finally read the piece, I'm sad I let it go so long.

Young's novel has wit, worldbuilding, and of course, Witch Watchery (by which I mean there is a blend of magic and technology which evidences one of the better examples of quasi-steampunk that have come out of this sad and overrated genre). More importantly, however, he has created characters who engage you despite the seemingly matter-of-fact way they appear and think of themselves.

Gilbert, the accidentally undead soldier, charms with his wit and manners, but the core of his decency is what really brings me to love him. Alice, struggling to fill her father's place in the world, wins the heart through skill, vulnerability, and passion. Simon, perhaps a bit weaker than the others, nonetheless takes an appropriately Dickensian journey from orphandom to adventure, with added magic.

I've heard buzz about this being Pratchett-esque, and as a fan of early-late Pratchett (around the Thud! period), I'd say I know why this comparison is made, but it doesn't really do Young justice. While grasping much of the lightness of touch which marks Pratchett's best work, he nonetheless has a much less cynical approach to the world. While not losing any of the humor of a Discworld-like novel, The Witch Watch has a more earnest, passionate approach to its magical Victoriana, and I think the world of literature is richer for it.

The Witch Watch clearly comes as an earlier work - a few missteps, a few heavy-handed lines - but despite it all, the book has such an assurance and passion combined with intelligence and wit that I cannot but hope for many further novels - either in the same universe, or just written with the same hand.

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A. Matulich

Fun, witty, and well-plotted

Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2018

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I've read this book three times in the years since I bought it, and on each re-read I have enjoyed it in spite of knowing how it ends, each time picking up something I missed the previous time around. This is a thoroughly enjoyable book with an interesting premise, told mostly from the point of view of a common soldier raised from the dead by mistake, who would be perfectly satisfied to return to the grave, trying to make sense of things as he slowly regains his memory while navigating through a well-plotted web of intrigue involving groups of people who are trying to help him or destroy him. The story has a good build-up to a climax and a pretty satisfying ending that leaves an opening for a sequel. My only complaint with it has nothing to do with the writer's talents, but more to do with the physical book. It doesn't come across as professionally typeset, the formatting of paragraphs is odd, and it could have benefited from hiring a copy-editor to correct minor errors before it went to press. But in spite of those distractions which would bother you only if you're obsessive-compulsive with a background in publishing, it's a good read.

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Lars Hoffmann

How are you feeling? Dead.

Reviewed in Germany on October 18, 2017

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Das Multitalent Shamus Young hat hier seinen zweiten Roman geschrieben und veröffentlicht. Diesmal geht es nach London 1885. Per ausgeklügelter und teurer Nekromantie wird eine Leiche wiedererweckt. Dummerweise die Falsche.
Gilbert, so der Name des wandelnden Toten, hat dadurch ein Problem. Die Nekromanten wollen das Vigor, mit dem er erweckt wurde zurück, die Kirche will keine Lebenden Leichen und die titelgebende Witch Watch will die Königsfamilie vor Zauberei beschützen.
Was mir an dem Buch gefällt, ist das alle Charaktere nachvollziehbar handeln. Sie spielen sich nicht gegenseitig den "Idiot Ball" zu, sondern handeln sich entsprechend ihrem derzeitigen Wissen auf logische Ziele zu. Der Leser kann sich zwar seinen Teil denken, aber er wird auch öfter in Dialogen unter den Charakteren daran erinnert, dass er mehr weiß als die Protagonisten.
Das Buch ist bisher nur in Englisch verfügbar. Die Sprache ist aber weitestgehend einfach gehalten. Auf dem sehr guten Blog des Autors gibt es deutlich mehr Worte, die ich mal nachschlagen muss.

Es ist kein Über-Buch, kein All-Time-Klassiker, aber es ist ein gutes Buch, dass mir gut gefällt.

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old_gamer

Fast, clever and fun

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2012

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This story was fast paced, clever and fun. The author avoids the 'the villains will do whatever idiotic thing we wish' trope, and has clever villains, heroes and more ambiguous characters, all with reasons for what they are doing.

Several times during the story, it felt like I had caught the author (or his characters) being stupid. Each time, it turned out I was (happily) wrong.

The author has a clear, engaging style. The story is written from multiple third person perspectives and makes for some very well written scenes where you share the character's confusion, because you are presented with their (incorrect) perceptions.

TL;DR: Loved it. For children and adults. Nice art too.

Edit: I should note that, because this was a print on demand version, the book is not very sturdy - the cover is flimsier than I'm used to on paperbacks and the paper is very thin. This didn't bother me (I am careful with my books!) and was in fact nice to have a lighter, thinner book to carry, but it might bother others.

Nick Eggleton

Undead Victorians? What's not to like!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 2, 2012

Verified Purchase

I echo the sentiment by the other reviews to date - "The Witch Watch" is a superb read, particularly for fans of Discworld or Sherlock Holmes, delivering on the wry humour of the original and the period mystery of the latter.

This book is an enjoyable adventure played out by a trio of mismatched companions defending Queen and Country against a villainous group of aristocrats. I started reading on the expectation of a story set firmly in a smog-choked London (which it does deliver on, even if I suspect Shamus' knowledge of London geography is a little sketchy), but I was pleasantly surprised when the characters travel quite further afield mid-way through the book.

The ending does fall a little quickly and the book is written in US English, which can be a little jarring when some of the plummy English characters speak, but these are extremely minor detractions from an otherwise excellent tale.

I sincerely recommend giving it a go!

Jonathan G

Great read!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 19, 2019

Verified Purchase

It's a compelling story set in a fascinating alternative Victorian England, where magic is outlawed but some people study it scientifically. The characters are great, and the plot moves through all sorts of intrigue, with plenty of humour.

If you like Terry Pratchett's Discworld, you'll like this!

Robin Paulus

A new and original take on Steampunk

Reviewed in Germany on April 5, 2013

Verified Purchase

Steampunk and magic: you see them all the time in fantasy novels all over the place. This one still manages to have an original system in place and a clear, recognisable setting. Story and characters are interesting and not just 2D copies from every other book.
While this book isn't laughing out loud funny, those of us who like wordplay and wit will most certainly be able to enjoy this book.

All in all, a well-written, surprisingly touching story set in a world that stands out of the crowd with great characters and a nice twist or two.

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