The Undying of Obedience Wellrest by Nicholas Bowling ~ Blog Tour

I loved Nicholas Bowling’s Song of the Far Isles, a beautifully magical tale of the music that makes us who we are. I was thrilled to be offered the opportunity to read The Undying of Obedience Wellrest.

With a gothic Regency setting, The Undying of Obedience Wellrest is a uniquely dark and compelling mystery. Surrounded by magic, death, science and the macabre, readers cannot be certain what is coming next. Nicholas Bowling has created a cast of utterly fascinating, one-of-a-kind characters, slowly revealing that people aren’t quite who they seem.

Fifteen-year-old Ned is a gravekeeper. He and his grandfather (accompanied by his pet fly, Mosca) keep watch over death. They must dig perfect graves and make sure the “residents” of their cemetery really do rest in peace. In this world of funerals, death and mourning, there is little room for hope of a different life. Things change when there’s evidence of graves being disturbed. Is someone body snatching in the name of science?

A young girl (Obedience Wellrest) starts lurking among the graves. She asks a lot of questions and is particularly interested in the Nameless Grave. Who’s buried there? Why is it locked? What’s inside? Obedience struggles to live up to her name. She wants nothing but to dedicate her life to science. Her father is disgusted by this idea, calling her uncouth and feral. He wants her to follow the traditional path and marry a man she doesn’t love.

As Ned and Obedience tell their stories in a clever dual-narrative, themes of the power of the patriarchy, the unknown of death, the struggle of women in science and empathy for those we don’t understand weave themselves into a blanket of darkness and mystery.

The Undying of Obedience Wellrest is aimed at readers age 13+. It would find a perfect home in the hands of Upper Key Stage Three readers who want to explore the unusual, ask questions about death and lose themselves in something creepy.

Thank you to Chicken House and Laura Smythe for my copy of this engaging book!

Don’t miss the other stops on this brilliant blog tour!