The Death of Yorik Mortwell (review)

Waking up dead and beholden to a bratty deity is probably not the best way to begin a day, but poor Yorik didn’t have much good fortune in his twelve years of life, where he was a servant at Ravenby Manor, so he doesn’t really expect any better from the afterlife. His new master, referred to only as the Princess, has ordered him to haunt his former bosses; while the task initially seems ideal (Master Thomas did, after all, kill him), Yorik soon realizes that the Ravenby estate is being overrun by shadowy spirits that seem to be making the people there behave terribly. While the Princess could use her powers to battle the evil, she stubbornly refuses to do so, citing some sort of punishment by her father and leaving Yorik to watch helplessly as the estate and the beloved sister he left behind face the darkness alone. This slim novel packs plenty of chills; though the story follows a simple trajectory, readers will be both terrified and oddly fascinated by the nightmarish Yglhfm and the treacherous acts they induce. Lacking any special powers, even in death, Yorik is just an average (although non-corporeal) kid going up against some rather formidable foes, making this a classic underdog story with a little extra macabre seasoning. Youngsters who cut their teeth on Edward Gorey will find this tale of death, redemption, and mischief just to their liking.