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36th out of 111 books
—
84 voters
Darkwater
What would you sell your soul for?
Sixteen-year-old Sarah Trevelyan would give anything to regain the power and wealth her family has lost, so she makes a bargain with Azrael, Lord of Darkwater Hall. He gives her one hundred years and the means to accomplish her objective--in exchange for her soul. Fast-forward a hundred years to Tom, a fifteen-year-old boy who dreams of at...more
Sixteen-year-old Sarah Trevelyan would give anything to regain the power and wealth her family has lost, so she makes a bargain with Azrael, Lord of Darkwater Hall. He gives her one hundred years and the means to accomplish her objective--in exchange for her soul. Fast-forward a hundred years to Tom, a fifteen-year-old boy who dreams of at...more
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published
September 27th 2012
by Dial Books for Young Readers
(first published February 1st 2000)
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2.5 stars The fantastic premise behind this book sadly does not deliver on its promise.
16-year-old Sarah Trevalyn, a young girl in Victorian England, strikes an unthinkable bargain with a mysterious stranger named Azrael: one hundred years of wealth and property in exchange for her everlasting soul. Years later, she gets involved when a boy named Tom begins a journey down the same path.
What I liked:
-- The basic outline for this story is fascinating.
-- Some of the descriptions were quite lovely.
-...more
16-year-old Sarah Trevalyn, a young girl in Victorian England, strikes an unthinkable bargain with a mysterious stranger named Azrael: one hundred years of wealth and property in exchange for her everlasting soul. Years later, she gets involved when a boy named Tom begins a journey down the same path.
What I liked:
-- The basic outline for this story is fascinating.
-- Some of the descriptions were quite lovely.
-...more
Catherine Fisher on top form, technically, gives us a story about a bargain for a teenaged girl's soul. Inspired by Dr. Faustus and the alchemical quest to create gold from base metal, this story's primary strength is its characters. They are flawed, sympathetic, real. Indeed I think this is Fisher's great strength as a writer; her protagonists are completely convincing human beings. (Fisher has used all sorts of mythic and religious inspirations; classical Greek, ancient Egyptian, Celtic, Arthu...more
Sarah Trevelyan is a prideful young woman whose family has fallen far from their privileged background. Now she must live off the charity of others in a small home as a tenant and struggle to feed her ailing father. Azrael , the current owner of her family’s former estate Darkwater Hall comes to visit and gives Sarah a job in his library at Darkwater. When he offers her the hall in exchange for her soul a desperate Sarah agrees. Flash forward to the present and Tom, a 15 year old has been bullie...more
I think Catherine Fisher actually cannot write anything bad -- she is endlessly creative, especially when coming up with interesting twists on old stories, as here. Plus, she creates really involving characters and settings.
I adored this book even though -- (or maybe because?) -- I did not immediately love the heroine, Sarah. She is -- at first -- quite unsympathetic, though you have to feel for her despite this. Her circumstances are so awful, it's no wonder she's rather awful herself!
I also lo...more
I adored this book even though -- (or maybe because?) -- I did not immediately love the heroine, Sarah. She is -- at first -- quite unsympathetic, though you have to feel for her despite this. Her circumstances are so awful, it's no wonder she's rather awful herself!
I also lo...more
Welsh fantasist extraordinaire Catherine Fisher takes on the familiar tale of someone who sells their soul and regrets it. But she does it in her own style, leading to an ending most readers won't expect unless they're really up on their mythology and/or folklore.
The young girl who sells her soul is Sarah Trevelyan, the last of the once-proud Trevelyan family. I take that back; they're still proud, they've just lost everything. But she sells her soul to regain Darkwater Hall from its new lord, g...more
The young girl who sells her soul is Sarah Trevelyan, the last of the once-proud Trevelyan family. I take that back; they're still proud, they've just lost everything. But she sells her soul to regain Darkwater Hall from its new lord, g...more
After reading the Incarceron series I expected much the same of Catherine Fisher's latest, Darkwater. Instead, I found myself immersed in a good old fashioned ghost story akin to Edgar Allan Poe or Stephen King. Sarah Trevelyan has seen the ruin of her family name and the deterioration of her father's health due to her grandfather gambling away the family estate of Darkwater. When the new lord of Darkwater Hall comes to town he makes Sarah his assistant in his alchemy experiments and she goes to...more
Another absolutely fascinating book from Catherine Fisher. What, if anything, would you sell your soul for? Sarah, 16, is the mainstay of her family; their manor has been gambled away. When she loses her job as a slavey in the local dame school, Lord Azrael, the man who won her ancestral home from her grandfather, offers her a job in his library. But what will this job really cost her?
A century later, 15-year-old Tom, from a poor family, is also offered a job at Darkwater hall - by Lord Azrael....more
A century later, 15-year-old Tom, from a poor family, is also offered a job at Darkwater hall - by Lord Azrael....more
Sarah Trevelyan's family was once the nobility, living in style in Darkwater Hall, but a gambling loss by Sarah's grandfather resulted in lands, money, everything going to the mysterious Lord Azrael. 16-year-old Sarah is reduced to cleaning the schoolroom and living in poverty. She loses her job after standing up to the horrid teacher and with nowhere else to go, agrees to work for Lord Azrael, who has just moved into the Hall and requires an assistant to help him organize his library. Multiple...more
Here we have a story where two parts become one. In the first half of the book, we meet Sarah Trevelyan, descendent of the once-proud and wealthy Trevelyans. She has been reduced to assisting in a local school house to make ends meet for her and her ailing father. All the while, the spectre of her family's former glory, Darkwater Hall, looms over her. Sarah would give just about anything to get her family's honor back. One day, she meets the new lord of Darkwater Hall, Lord Azrael, who offers he...more
3.5
Given my love affair with all things Welsh and considering that Incareron and Sapphique are some of the best YA stuff out there, this should be a no brainer 5 star. I even have just read Doctor Faustus for a drama class and loved it so what's not to love about a young girl who sells her soul to the Devil? So when this book came for Christmas, I eagerly put aside every other book, and put off writing that long overdue paper for my psychology class and cracked open the book. Fisher's writing is...more
Given my love affair with all things Welsh and considering that Incareron and Sapphique are some of the best YA stuff out there, this should be a no brainer 5 star. I even have just read Doctor Faustus for a drama class and loved it so what's not to love about a young girl who sells her soul to the Devil? So when this book came for Christmas, I eagerly put aside every other book, and put off writing that long overdue paper for my psychology class and cracked open the book. Fisher's writing is...more
I thought the book had a good premise. With Sarah the main character at the beginning cutting a bargain with Lord Azrael to get what she wanted for 100 years in exchange for her soul at the end of that time period. After the bargain the story fast forwards 100 years to present day and you meet a new character, Tom, who the reader a brief glimpse of in the beginning of the story. While the story has a small amount of action and some intrigue. I really wanted more background to the characters who...more
I've read several books by Catherine Fisher, including the Relic Master series and the Incarceron duology. I've had mixed reactions to her writing in the past. Generally, I have wanted to like them and loved the set up of place and character and world and so on, but felt like the end of the series tended to not fulfill my expectations. Darkwater is a self-contained book, which I think helped it. We start in the 19th century with Sarah Trevelyn, last of the fallen Trevelyns, once lords of the ma...more
Whatever else may be said about this book it is amazingly well written. The scenery and tone is kept well through out the book. However, I feel this book finished without anything actually happening.
The story is dark, that much is obviously by the cover art, yet the author manages to to keep the tone of the writing dark without condemning the characters and reader to an overly dark and depressing world. There is little to no light relief which parts could have benefited from.
The book is a quic...more
The story is dark, that much is obviously by the cover art, yet the author manages to to keep the tone of the writing dark without condemning the characters and reader to an overly dark and depressing world. There is little to no light relief which parts could have benefited from.
The book is a quic...more
This story was quite interesting, I have to admit that I was a little bit surprise by the story itself and the main subject was kind of a first for me. Even if I've heard about it before, I never really read about it.
The story doesn't seem really long (still 240 pages) and I read it quickly (I'm used to read book over 300 pages) but the subject and the plot were something catchy. From the first page I was immersed in a universe, characteristic of the Victorian era and well described, illustrated...more
The story doesn't seem really long (still 240 pages) and I read it quickly (I'm used to read book over 300 pages) but the subject and the plot were something catchy. From the first page I was immersed in a universe, characteristic of the Victorian era and well described, illustrated...more
This book kept my attention, I am still wondering who Azrael is. A young girl in the 1800's has lost family fortune and is trying to make a living by helping at a school. She is mistreated and decides to leave. She goes to work for the man who gambled with her grandfather and took his fortune away. She strikes a bargain- her soul for her wealth back. Would we go on being the proud owner of all that wealth, or would be change since we now know how hard it is to work everyday and just get by? Well...more
Warning: that book was provided to me free of charge. However, this is my honest opinion.
Plot:
I think it is the first time I have ever complained about the summary of a book but it seems that there is a first time for everything. Under normal circumstances, I might have needed to use a spoiler tag as I told the story but this time, there's no need for it. You can tell exactly what is going to happen, although with less details, by simply reading the back cover of this book. The only surprise you...more
Plot:
I think it is the first time I have ever complained about the summary of a book but it seems that there is a first time for everything. Under normal circumstances, I might have needed to use a spoiler tag as I told the story but this time, there's no need for it. You can tell exactly what is going to happen, although with less details, by simply reading the back cover of this book. The only surprise you...more
Winning this from the Goodreads First Reads Program was a good thing in that first, it was a cool book and second, I discovered an author I had not heard of and wished to read more of Ms. Fisher's works. I like the whole idea of good and evil and even more so when the lines between good and evil are questioned and blurred, makes it more interesting. I like peeking into lives and minds, looking at choices made, consequences, and thinking, what would I do? I was not as pleased with the ending as t...more
I received this book through a Goodreads give away. Thank you so much for being able to read Darkwater by Catherine Fisher before it is published.
I truly enjoyed this novel. I read it in one day. The plot was great and the characters are quick to draw you in. The novel had me second guessing who was good and who was evil and what the true meaning of it really was.
I realize this book is aimed at teenagers but as an adult I enjoyed it and would recommend it to and tween/teenager. It is dark but n...more
I truly enjoyed this novel. I read it in one day. The plot was great and the characters are quick to draw you in. The novel had me second guessing who was good and who was evil and what the true meaning of it really was.
I realize this book is aimed at teenagers but as an adult I enjoyed it and would recommend it to and tween/teenager. It is dark but n...more
Nov 26, 2012
Lindsay
added it
Shelves:
young-adult,
death,
historical,
mystery,
paranormal,
secrets,
own,
alchemy,
reviewed,
danger
Sarah would give anything to regain the power and wealth her family lost, so she makes a deal with Azrael, Lord of Darkwater Hall. He gives her a chance to accomplish her objective, providing the time and the means, all in exchange for her soul. Fast-forward one hundred years to Tom, a young boy who dreams of going to Darkwater Hall School but doesn't believe he has the talent. Until he meets the new professor, Azrael, who offers him a bargain. Will Sarah somehow be able to stop Tom from making...more
I'm very sorry I could only give this book 3 stars. I loved the idea of the book, it was something that no one had ever written about. It just wasn't written well. The transitioning of the story didn't go well. It didn't flow together like stories should. I tried really hard to like this book. It just didn't do it for me. The first part (Sarah's story) was done well, but I think it was Tom's portion of the story and the ending that ruined it. There were no surprises, no exciting twist that made...more
Sarah Trevelyan comes from a rich family, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at her. The Trevelyans have lost their money, their family house (the rather ominously named Darkwater Hall), and their power. Now she and her father, the only Trevelyans still living, live with their former maid Martha in her tiny cottage. Sarah is desperate to get family’s estate and wealth back, so when Azrael, the new owner of Darkwater Hall, makes her a deal, she agrees: she sells her soul for the chance to have h...more
I liked this book! I wish there had been more, but it was exactly the story I needed. I think the most successful aspect is the atmosphere created in the town and the school, both in past and present. The gothic setting and characters are very spooky, complimented by an interesting mystery.
Sarah Trevelyan, whose grandfather lost her family's extreme fortune in a lost bet, wants nothing more than to return to her family's estate, Darkwater Hall. A hundred years later, in present day, Tom wants no...more
Sarah Trevelyan, whose grandfather lost her family's extreme fortune in a lost bet, wants nothing more than to return to her family's estate, Darkwater Hall. A hundred years later, in present day, Tom wants no...more
I think this book is ok. I dont think this book was for me. It had one bid conflict which was a girl named sarah had lost everything she had thanks to her uncle. Some minor conflicts where that she got a deal from the ruler of darkwater so that she could have tens years to make up what she lost but things do not go as planed. then a fifteen year old boy wants to make a bargin with the darwater master but sarah trys to stop him from making the same mistake she did.
This book attracted my attention due to the fact that it was about creepy curses and things, and the fact that it was a short read (which I needed during exam week). I felt like this book had a great idea behind it, the execution just wasn't all that great. Darkwater moved a bit slowly at the beginning, and I felt like since the book was so short, a lot of things were only vaguely explained. Great idea, and I applaud the author for originality in her ideas, but I feel like the execution could ha...more
After the long and intense reads of "Incarceron" and "Sapphique," this modern parable of a novel flew by almost too quickly. I longed to know more about the principal characters who end up teaming up to escape Azrael across the century. A satisfying stand-alone book; I hope it means Fisher is gearing up for another series! This strays from her familiar tropes, and shows a lot of growth as a writer.
YA - a favorite conflict of several books is the option of selling one's soul to gain something for self or others. This book follows in the same path but with teen characters and a gothic setting. While I was confused about the truth of two characters (Azrael & Simon) I will definitely be able to find readers for this book. Will a sequel clear up some character questions? We'll have to see.
Sixteen year old Sarah lives in Victorian times. She is very upset that the loss of her family’s fortune has caused her to slave among the commoners, believing her family’s estate at Darkwater should rightfully be hers. She jumps at the chance to work for Azrael, the current owner, in his study of alchemy.
Read the rest of my review at: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.c...
Read the rest of my review at: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.c...
As a HUGE fan of Fisher's other books - I had very high expectations for this one as well. The book was filled with Fisher's fabulous characters and interesting plotting ... but it isn't as strong as her other books. It is much shorter, and possibly a good introduction to fantasty for older elementary kids who are ready for a new genre. Still an enjoyable. Still a HUGE fan!!
Great mild horror/suspense for teens exploring the nature of good versus evil, whether it be within the girl, her father, her friends, her fellow villagers or the mysterious stranger, or the tramp. Who is good, who is bad... or is everyone a mixture of both good and evil? Things aren't necessarily as they seem.
I loved Catherine Fisher's Incarceron, but this one didn't quite do it for me. The premise was intriguing - a gothic tale in which a young girl sells her soul to a dark and mysterious man (could he really be Satan?) in order to save her father and gain back her family estate - but I was never very attached to the characters and I felt the story left too many loose ends.
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Catherine Fisher was born in Newport, Wales. She graduated from the University of Wales with a degree in English and a fascination for myth and history. She has worked in education and archaeology and as a lecturer in creative writing at the University of Glamorgan. She is a Fellow of the Welsh Academy.
Catherine is an acclaimed poet and novelist, regularly lecturing and giving readings to groups o...more
More about Catherine Fisher...
Catherine is an acclaimed poet and novelist, regularly lecturing and giving readings to groups o...more
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I didn't like that series either...
Oct 26, 2012 09:44am
Nov 04, 2012 10:24pm