The Watch
$4.99
Value: $4.99
(as of Mar 11, 2025 02:20:49 UTC – Particulars)
An bold and compelling novel, The Watch tells the story of Peter Alexeivich Kropotkin, a former prince who renounced his riches to turn into an anarchist, and his deathbed pact with the mysterious customer who provides Peter a brand new life sooner or later—a seeming miracle with a darker edge that quickly comes into focus.
Reward for THE WATCH
“[A] time-travel romp that gives contemporary event for the philosophical musings that undergirded his earlier novels. . . . He wrings real emotion from a choice that Kropotkin should make when given the possibility to carry his theoretical concepts to fruition, at a value that calls into query his deepest moral beliefs.”—New York Occasions E-book Assessment
“Danvers’ have a look at Richmond by way of Kropotkin’s eyes is a delight. . . . [His] evident enthusiasm for Kropotkin and his philosophy of mutual assist are the spark to a passionate and charming ebook.” —Denver Publish
“Clearly, subtly, agreeably articulated. Danvers spins a grand yarn.”—Kirkus Evaluations
“As entertaining as it’s enlightening, [The Watch] is Danvers’ greatest but.” —Richmond Occasions-Dispatch
ASIN : B07X3XB12B
Writer : Talking Volumes (August 26, 2019)
Publication date : August 26, 2019
Language : English
File dimension : 3.1 MB
Textual content-to-Speech : Enabled
Display screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Phrase Smart : Enabled
Print size : 378 pages
Web page numbers supply ISBN : 0380977621
Maria R. –
I love this book
This book is a great read. Growing up in Richmond adds another level to it as well.
owookiee –
Almost an awesome story
I thoroughly enjoyed all of this book – except the ending. Danvers could have done so much more with the storyline. The truly ironic thing, I find, is that there is one scene in the book where Kropotkin criticizes the ending of Mike’s play; and then _The Watch_ ends, in my eyes, having the same fault! He should have practiced what he preached.
Michael Tusa –
Kropotkin lives!
The story is very creative and well written and, like the other writings by Danvers with which I am familiar, makes us think about things in our current world, our current environment. Enjoyable read.
Skyqi –
Interesting sci-fi/time travel story
In 1921, Peter is a 78-year-old man that is on his deathbed. A mysterious stranger from the distant future named Anchee, appears and offers him a chance to be young again and live a new life in the future. Peter accepts the offer and is relocated to the year 1999 where he is now 32-years-old. Peter must keep his real identity hidden and learn to live in the modern world. In Peter’s first life he was a famous anarchist whose writings have endured to the late 1990s. Anchee tells Peter to hide his ideas, but over the course of the story, Anchee begins to manipulate Peter’s new life more and more. Peter becomes very suspicious of Anchee’s true intentions.I loved the premise. This is an intriguing sci-fi story with interesting lead characters. There is even a watch that gives Peter the ability to time travel whenever he wants. The story falls a little flat with the love story and it seemed like the author wanted to express ideas about anarchists, however the main theme seemed to be more about Peter and other characters’ desire for freedom from extreme situations that do not apply as much in 1999. This was still an interesting concept. Overall, a good read. I would read another book by this author.
Peter Deane –
A work of love
The Watch is a genuine “romantic novel” and does a nifty switcheroo on the 19th century American speculative political science fiction genre seen in Edward Bellamy’s “Looking Backward,” that also employs time travel.The Watch got me banging on the kitchen table on page 99, and the ending, curling back on the author and the courage of the protagonist’s indefatigable spirit, was a fine finish. I believe Danvers ate and fully digested all of the Anarchist Prince’s writings as he deftly dishes up a double dose of Kroptikin spirit while he unveils a detailed history of — and genuine love for— his own hometown, Richomond, VA.I’ll bet this is the novel Danvers always wanted to write. And one you’ll wish you had written about your own home town and intellectual hero.
doomsdayer520 –
Anarchist Out of Time
This is a very creatively constructed story with elements of both time travel and historical fiction. For his own reasons Dennis Danvers has made himself an expert on the obscure Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin, who died in 1921. In this book Kropotkin is sent to present-day Richmond, VA by a mysterious meddler from the future, who either wants to change history favorably with Kropotkin as the catalyst, or simply amuse himself by creating new time streams. The story is told as an autobiography by the displaced Kropotkin, and this leads to enjoyable musings on how a Russian from the last century observes modern America, and especially how he finds kindred souls among a group of punk rockers. Interestingly, and perhaps courageously, Danvers lays down a lot of criticism of his hometown of Richmond and its strange obsession with its hateful past, through the eyes of Kropotkin.Though many of the characters in this novel are quite well drawn and enjoyable, Kropotkin among them, he speaks mostly in the writings of the real-life anarchist, which Danvers clearly wants to bring to light for modern readers. That may have even worked with me, as my curiosity about Kropotkin’s works has been piqued. But this method of storytelling leads to a rather implausible book in which Danvers is advancing his own theories and using Kropotkin’s “classics” as a tool. The plotline also gets a bit out of hand toward the end, and the true motives of the mysterious future meddler remain vague. This is truly a fun and fascinating novel, and a great exercise in creative storytelling. But the use of Kropotkin’s writings by Danvers to comment on modern society gets very heavy-handed and didactic. [~doomsdayer520~]
Trai –
If I could make it “required reading” for schools, I would.
I’d always enjoyed books by Dennis Danvers but had previously considered his works to be “light reading”. This book has changed my mind. It has the potential to be considered one of the great works of modern literature. Comparable to 1984 and Alas, Babylon or Anthem in quality.Simply amazing.
Dar Scott –
Anarchist’s Second Chance
A 19th century anarchist is given a second chance at life at the end of a 20th century.The premise is inventive and I wanted to like this, but…I got only partway through this before putting it aside. Parts were nice, but the crude and socialistic aspects were too much. This is definitely not for teens.