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. 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. ( )

Good survivalist murder novel for young readers (7th grade?). If you're a liberal helicopter parent worried about exposing your pansy "boy" to dark themes that involve guns, murder and survival in the wild, don't read this. If you're not a sissy and your kid likes life-or-death adventure survival stories, this is for you. ( )

I greatly enjoyed this book. It hit the spot, metaphorically. I wanted to read a book that was relatively simple, quick, and entertaining. Yes, a beach read, which is where I finished this one.

The story is nice and straightforward. Two men enter the desert and an "accident" occurs, leaving them to battle one another. Ben, our lead character, is hunted by the cunning Madec. Ben grew up in the desert regions and knows it well. Madec knows how to hunt and has survived the cutthroat world of big business. Who does what to whom? Well, you need to read that for yourself.

The book was written in 1974 but holds up perfectly. ( )

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 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! ( )

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 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! ( )