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Night Watch

A Novel

By Sergei Lukyanenko

(72)

| Paperback | 9781401359799

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Book Description

The Night Watch series has caused a sensation never before seen in Russia -- its popularity is frenzied and unprecedented, and driven by a truly great, epic story. In 2005 Fox Searchlight announced it had acquired the Russian film adaptation for an American release. Interest in the books hereContinue

Critics

NIGHT WATCH

First published in Russia in 1998 and later adapted in a popular film in 2004, Sergei Lukyanenko's vastly entertaining novel NIGHT WATCH introduces readers to a parallel reality (centered in Moscow) in which good and evil constantly struggle to maint ... (read full critics)

reviewingtheevidence published on Sun, 13 Nov 2011

Bookreporter.com - NIGHT WATCH by Sergei Lukyanenko, translated by Andrew Bromfield

In modern-day Moscow, things are not quite what they seem. The citizens of the city wake, watch television, go to work and live their lives. Amongst them, however, walk Warriors of Light and of Darkness, who are separated into the factions known as t ... (read full critics)

bookreporter published on Wed, 1 Sep 2010

5 Reviews

2 people find this helpful

This book is a "Harry Porter" novel for adults. Originally written in Russian, this first book of a trilogy by Sergei Lukyanenko has 3 stories about the adventures of Anton, a middle-level magician of the Night Watch in Moscow. In Lukyanenko's world, besides the humans, there are the Others who ha ... (continue)

This book is a "Harry Porter" novel for adults. Originally written in Russian, this first book of a trilogy by Sergei Lukyanenko has 3 stories about the adventures of Anton, a middle-level magician of the Night Watch in Moscow. In Lukyanenko's world, besides the humans, there are the Others who have supernatural powers. They are divided into the good ones who police the night, and the bad ones (vampires, werewolves etc.) who look after the day (the Day Watch).
There has been a truce between the Night and Day Watches such that the two sides coexist among humans for hundreds of years, until some people with great potential and on the verge of joining either side tilt the balance.
It's ultimately a battle between good and evil. The story offers a lot of actions and the author is quite good at describing the fighting scenes and various weapons and gadgets wielded by the Others. There is a twilight zone which is only accessible by the Others at any time. That's quite fascinating.
However, I can't help comparing this twilight world with the Matrix - that it is nothing but a figment of the author's imagination. Sci-fi is not my cup of tea and after reading the 455 pages, I don't know what the point is. I am not interested in this battle which is meaningless and silly.
For the next 2 books of the trilogy, I think I will pass.

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Tracy W said on Jul 20, 2007 | 1 feedback

Questions

Many questions pop up after reading the book. What is good? What is bad? What is your value? Is your boss right every time? Listen to your boss or listen to your heart?

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Wrenwin said on May 16, 2010 | Add your feedback

The book introduces a few characters, all which I found interesting. The system of karma was awesome, and I loved how a cataclysm could be brought on because of something so simple. Hopefully the series keeps up this pace. I'm reluctant to see the movie though... Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, and D ... (continue)

The book introduces a few characters, all which I found interesting. The system of karma was awesome, and I loved how a cataclysm could be brought on because of something so simple. Hopefully the series keeps up this pace. I'm reluctant to see the movie though... Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, and Demons easily make the books dreary world colorful in a sense.

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No Name said on Feb 2, 2010 | Add your feedback

This volume is divided into three books – or distinct stories – following the development of the first-person protagonist, Anton, as a Light magician and an agent of Night Watch, and that of two uninitated Others – superhumans with magical powers and quasi-immortality – who become his allies.
... (continue)

This volume is divided into three books – or distinct stories – following the development of the first-person protagonist, Anton, as a Light magician and an agent of Night Watch, and that of two uninitated Others – superhumans with magical powers and quasi-immortality – who become his allies.
Having watched the movie Night Watch, which was adapted from Story One: ‘Destiny’, I had some preconceived ideas about the book, and frankly I felt somewhat underwhelmed by the text, not the least because the storyline tries to be clever and convoluted, and then spelt out by the protagonist as a flash of insight in the final 5% of the story's pages. This remains the model for Stories Two and Three in this volume, and I found it rather unsatisfying.
That said, I quite enjoyed the threads of moral ambiguity that run through the volume (and in fact through the series), questioning the nature of Good and Evil and how easily actions in the name of Good inflict harm on its proponents and humanity at large alike.
Overall, I think Lukyanenko's world of Twilight is imaginative, and there is much potential in playing with shifting frames of reference between Good and Evil, Light and Dark, so I'm happy to assume the series will get better with The Day Watch (of which I also own a copy).

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Dummy Member said on Jun 2, 2008 | Add your feedback

What an interesting novel from Russia. It was really refreshing to read something from another country (although it was translated). I really like the whole light vs. dark scenario going on. It almost makes the light (or good) side seem like the real bad guys. I also like how each person actually ch ... (continue)

What an interesting novel from Russia. It was really refreshing to read something from another country (although it was translated). I really like the whole light vs. dark scenario going on. It almost makes the light (or good) side seem like the real bad guys. I also like how each person actually chooses if they are light or dark and if one is dark, it doesn't make them evil. I almost have to wonder if Lukyanenko ever read Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising. After reading Rising, I found some similar themes. I know they are all taken from mythology, but I found them to be very close, which fascinated me. The book is long and is actually three stories in one. However, it went really fast and I couldn't wait to continue on the story. I highly recommend this book to sci-fi fans.

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cjspock said on Oct 3, 2007 | Add your feedback