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Day Watch (Дозоры #2)

by Sergei Lukyanenko, Andrew Bromfield (Translator)

4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 · rating details · 8,353 ratings · 378 reviews

The second book in the internationally bestselling fantasy series, Day Watch begins where Night Watch left off, set in a modern-day Moscow where the 1,000-year-old treaty between Light and Dark maintains its uneasy balance through careful vigilance from the Others. The forces of darkness keep an eye during the day, the Day Watch, while the agents of Light monitor the night...more

Paperback, First English, 464 pages

Published March 21st 2007 by Miramax Books (first published 1998)

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Jan 20, 2013 Nataliya rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: soviet-and-modern-russian, 2013-reads

Unless you happen to be a chessmaster in the neverending chess game of life, you are nothing but a pawn to be sacrificed when the strategy demands it.

"The game is eternal; only the time the figures spend on the checkered board is finite."

It really doesn't matter which side in the war you belong to because each will sacrifice its expendable pawns in the pursuit of victory. And no pawn is ever safe - because, regardless of your rank among the minions, you are still nothing more than a piece to b...more Unless you happen to be a chessmaster in the neverending chess game of life, you are nothing but a pawn to be sacrificed when the strategy demands it.

"The game is eternal; only the time the figures spend on the checkered board is finite."

"And really, all our aspirations and speeches are meaningless. We are marionettes. Nothing more than marionettes. Trying to become a puppet-master is a hopeless feat since you need special abilities like Geser's or Zavulon's, and those abilities are exceedingly rare. And all the seats at the chessboards are already taken. No chessmaster will allow his place to be taken by a chess-piece, even if it's a chess king or a queen."

--- From the semi-drunk, in the Russian fashion, conversation between the enemies Edgar (the Dark One) and Anton (the Light One). Both are, of course, pawns on the chessboard of life. ---

Ultimately for the pawns, the 'little people' with little power involved in the 'big kids' games led by those select few who hold the reins of power, the side that they take in the war really does not make that much of a difference. The goals and strategies are set by the leaders, and the rest are just trying to live their lives, to survive, to do well in life; they work and love and have friends. This is what Lukyanenko focuses on in The Day Watch, the sequel to Night Watch, now showing us more of the happenings on the other side of the virtual barricades in the neverending war between the non-ironically named the Light Ones and the Dark Ones.

"But for the Others people are a source of existence. Their roots and food. For the Light Ones and the Dark Ones alike, regardless of what the Light Ones blab about on every corner. They also take their energy from people's lives. As for the goals... We have the same goals. Both us and the Light Ones are trying to beat our rivals and be the first to reach the goal."

Night Watch had its fair share of moral greyness and ambiguity, showing that the distinctions between the Light and the Dark are not as obvious as their names suggest; underscoring how even the 'good guys', especially those with power, will not hesitate to manipulate and use their followers to get what they want. The Day Watch shows us that the same is true for the other side, and that, honestly, the 'pawns' may have more in common than they think. Except they are not always open to seeing that, to reconsidering their ingrained, deeply prejudiced views of traditional enemies. But sometimes they cannot help but see how pointless the distinctions between them can be, and the failure to do so can lead to tragedy.

"And Anton thought yet another time that the Dark Ones in their seeming simplicity are sometimes more humane than the fighters for the grand ideals - the Light Ones."

The leaders of both sides in this eternal standstill of the Dark (Zavulon) and the Light (Geser) would very much love to upset the tenuous balance and bring the long-awaited victory to their side. Little will stop them, and the methods they choose are eerily similar despite the presumed differences in etiology - the age-tested political strategies rooted in intrigues and manipulations and deceit and the willingness to move the pawns on the board whichever way they please and easily sacrificing them once need comes for that.

That is not a new approach all in itself. What was different about this book is that the said pawns have no misconceptions about their leaders' lack of hesitance about reaching their goals regardless of the costs. And yet, contrary to what you'd expect, they do not rebel much. They know about the lack of honesty in their respective Watches - and yet continue following the same leaders, continue following the ideologies they were raised with, continue sticking with their side and their rulers. It's to me a very Soviet way of looking at things, stemming from the time where there was no doubt that the intentions of those in power may have nothing to do with your well-being and that you may be easily sacrificed in order to achieve "the greater good". And you don't need to know about these plans in order to unwittingly help carrying them out.

"Keys are never told which door they are supposed to unlock."

There's not really a "lone wolf" mentality, no true attempts to overthrow the status quo by rebelling - well, in all honesty there are a few tries at going against the big guys - but it seems that the end result invariably ends up being what those in power envisioned and planned for. And so little people get screwed and life goes on. If you decide to do something about this, you just may realize that your rebellion or actions is exactly what was planned for you, the expendable pawn. Good pawn, you did your job well, as planned, goodbye now. And the lone ranger fails to change the course of events yet again - so unlike the approach usually accepted by the more individualistic Western society.

"You're the Dark One," said Anton. "You can only see evil, treason and vileness in everything."

"I just don't close my eyes to them," Edgar retorted. "And that's why I don't trust Zavulon. Almost as much as I don't trust Geser. I even trust you more than them - after all, you're also a pathetic pawn, accidentally painted a different color than me. Does the black pawn hate the white one? No. Especially when the pawns are peacefully drinking beer together."

Lukyanenko has this annoying habit of creating almost a playlist for his books, using the lyrics from well-known Russian songs to illustrate the ideas and the feelings of his characters, and sometimes trying to use the message in the song as a soundtrack for the story, highlighting the points he's trying to make, and sometimes almost using them to introduce certain plot points ((view spoiler). If it were a movie, the songs he uses would be playing in the background as the characters ponderously stare past the camera.

This approach got quite a bit of eye-rolling from me - except one instance where he uses a song "Tin Soldiers" by the famous Soviet singer-songwriter Vladimir Vysotsky - a song seemingly about his six-year-old son playing war with his toy soldiers, with equal numbers 'dying' on each side - and with the question of how exactly does he make a choice which ones live and which ones die. A few of Vysotsky's short verses so aptly underscore the point that Lukyanenko makes over pages and pages of this book - the arbitrariness of what side in the war you end up on, the cruelty of chance, and the pointless demise of the pawns in somebody else's war.

The English translation of the song is under the spoiler tag - unlike Lukyanenko, I will not be forcing it on you, but it's quite good:
(view spoiler)

This was overall a good book, and I liked the ambiguity and the greyness and the moral conflicts. Stars are docked for frequent over-moralizing and a subpar use of Norse-Christian mythology that seemed to be semi-awkwardly tacked on at the end. But overall it's a solid 3.5 star read, and I will be gladly picking up the next one in the series, hoping to see more of this world that I find is quite growing on me.

---------
My review of Night Watch - the first book in the Watch series - is here.(less)

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Mar 20, 2008 Holli rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sequel-ville

Nightwatch was told in the voice of just one of the Light ones, Anton. This book continues the story, weaving in threads from the previous book while creating a whole 'nother cluster fuck for the characters involved. It is brilliant. It is also in three parts, but this time each part is told by a different Dark One. The first part is told by a love struck witch called Alisa. Honestly, the author did an amazing job, but I wasn't sure I could stand a whole book about her. Luckily it is the perfect...more

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Oct 20, 2010 Kat Kennedy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: the-great-shelf-of-meh, kat-s-book-reviews

I found this book of the Watch series really hard to get into.

I suppose because Lukyanenko's morose and realistic writing was great for Night Watch but was totally depressing and frustrating in Day Watch. There's only so much human weakness, moral reasoning and realistically bad endings I can take, okay! I'm a natural optimist! It gets to me!

better!

Ah! Much better!

It was still well written. The characters were still great. Lukyanenko is still absolutely brilliant. Sometimes though, I want to live in dr...more

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Jun 15, 2008 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone interested in a Russian take on the epic battle between good and evil

Recommended to Jennifer by: the movie, Nightwatch

In this interesting sequel to the book, Nightwatch, the epic battle between light and dark has a curious sort of beaurocracy to it. Sergei Lukyanenko creates a world where the forces of Light and Darkness have spent the last millenium in an uneasy stalemate--the balance of power maintained by a treaty and a group called the Inquisition.

Yet, the forces of Light and Dark are not so different--both are composed of "Others," supernatural beings who begin as human but must choose which side to belong...more

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Nov 20, 2007 Dale rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the twenty-first book I read on my commute, and back to the genre well I go. A strange and wondrous sub-area of genre which I like to call "modern foreign urban magical horror."

Day Watch is actually the second book in a trilogy (I read the first book, Night Watch, some time ago in the Pre-Commute days) about the agencies of the supernatural in Russia in the present day. (The author is Russian and the novels are translated into English.) Basic Premise of the Trilogy #1: powerful supernatu...more This is the twenty-first book I read on my commute, and back to the genre well I go. A strange and wondrous sub-area of genre which I like to call "modern foreign urban magical horror."

Day Watch is actually the second book in a trilogy (I read the first book, Night Watch, some time ago in the Pre-Commute days) about the agencies of the supernatural in Russia in the present day. (The author is Russian and the novels are translated into English.) Basic Premise of the Trilogy #1: powerful supernatural forces have always existed alongside humanity, in the form of Others - vampires, werewolves, witches, demons, etc. Basic Premise of the Trilogy #2: there are Light Others (benign shapeshifters, good witches and wizards) and Dark Others (vampires, evil magicians, demons) and the Light and the Dark have been at war since the dawn of time. Basic Premise of the Trilogy #3: millennia of outright warfare took such a toll on both the Light and the Dark that they came to a truce, and creating a system of checks and balances so that neither side can become too powerful. Basic Premise of the Trilogy #4: the two factions co-exist uneasily, and open warfare has been replaced by Machiavellian maneuvering on both sides, with Light and Dark angling to exploit loopholes in the treaty in order to become so powerful that the treaty becomes moot, as either Light will finally vanquish Dark completely, or Dark will utterly consume Light. In the mean time, the Others who work for the Watches on either side are usually only pawns in games played by their superiors.

I love this trilogy (so far - plan on picking up the third book soon!) because it's so different from other things I've read. Even through the filter of supernatural characters and plots, the insight into life in Russia, with its decaying infrastructure and institutional corruption, is fascinating. The characters are all interesting, as well - the first book focuses on several Light Others, but Day Watch is all about the so-called evil Dark Others who are even more intriguing. (Day Watch are the "bad guys", keeping watch on the creatures of light who belong to the day; the Night Watch keeps watch on the creatures of darkness, so they are the "good guys".) The idea of reducing the struggle between Good and Evil to a chess game of deceit, power grabs, political feints and other such bureaucratic moves also amuses me greatly, as does the world-building, the imaginative natural laws that govern the powers of the supernatural creatures.

It's one of the more absorbing and exotic worlds in genre fiction, and I'll be sad to see it go when I finish the third and final book. Definitely worth a look if you ever wondered what a government-oversight war between Good and Evil in a post-reform Iron Curtain society would look like. (And if you've never wondered that before, well, I bet you do now.)

Running total for types of books read on the commute:

Classics: 1
Modern Lit: 4
Fantasy/sci-fi: 11
Non-fiction: 4
(less)

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Sep 21, 2011 Simon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

After the events of the first book, in which we saw the Night watch achieve a series of victories over the Day watch, the tables are turned and we see how the Dark Ones maneuver their way back onto more level terms.

Generally though, it's more of the same. Split into three interrelated stories in which Gesar and Zabulon attempt to out manipulate each other in the seemingly eternal struggle between the Light and Dark. The book is well written and entertaining enough but I find my interest in the s...more

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Mar 30, 2009 Wushi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Remaining within the world previously described within the pages of Night Watch, we change perspectives to focus on other characters, to flesh out the world. This book is again divided into three acts, which are a bit more closely tied together. I was looking forward to hearing the Day watch's side of the story, as Anton is fairly balanced in his perspective, but ultimately prone to the kind of more-enlightened-than-thou attitude that I suspect is common amongst the Night watch.

Act one focuses o...more Remaining within the world previously described within the pages of Night Watch, we change perspectives to focus on other characters, to flesh out the world. This book is again divided into three acts, which are a bit more closely tied together. I was looking forward to hearing the Day watch's side of the story, as Anton is fairly balanced in his perspective, but ultimately prone to the kind of more-enlightened-than-thou attitude that I suspect is common amongst the Night watch.

Act one focuses on Alisa Donnikova, a Dark one and returning character from the first book. In the crossfire of a botched confrontation between the watches, she finds herself drained of power. Retreating to equivalent of a boy and girl scouts camp to recover, she falls in love with Igor, another councilor who turns out to be recovering Light one from the same botched confrontation. Love is a difficult thing, made more so by their opposing allegiances, and the story ends with the results of their final confrontation uncertain.

Act Two shifts focus to a very confused man named Vitaliy Ragoza. He travels to Moscow, encounters most of the Nightwatchmen we remember from the first book, and seems to experience a rapid increase in his capabilities as an Other. In the background to this story, we find out about some rogue Daywatch members who have stolen a powerful artifact. The Inquisition is falled in, and the story concludes with Vitaliy confrontations with Anton and his lover Svetlana.

Act Three is told in the third person, and shows us the third party to the treaty, the Inquisition. They exist as an ultimate check on the powers of the Nightwatch and Daywatch. This story wraps up most of the dangling bits from the prior stories, with Daywatch schemes finally coming to the light (aha), though it leaves the door open very obviously to continuation of the series.

A somewhat weaker book, I enjoyed it as connective tissue between the stories. Upon examination of the overall series these stories are vital for a variety of reasons, but I had mixed feelings. The first story is wonderfully character driven, it draws you in makes you sympathize and then hits you hard with its emotional punch. The other two stories were much more plot driven, and I found myself much less interested in who was throwing fireballs at whom. So far my impression is that Sergei's weakest act is always the second.(less)

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Mar 16, 2009 Teresa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Night Watch : Day Watch

I enjoyed these stories. They were a good read, light and quick, but not too simple. Like fairy tales for grownups, they build on the eternal struggle between good and evil. They are written in a way that lets you just have the story if that’s all you want, but more likely you are left pondering the real world embedded in the imaginary one.

I like Anton. He’s a good character to hold the story together. Working on the side of Light, but having doubts. I like it that he see...more

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Teresa Night Watch : Day Watch

I enjoyed these stories. They were a good read, light and quick, but not too simple. Like fairy tales for grownups, they build...more
updated Mar 16, 2009 07:19am

Feb 05, 2009 Ryan Mishap rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-fantasy

I love these books!
In modern Moscow, age old being called Others still exist. The Light and the Dark Ones called a truce hundreds of years ago and out governed by that treaty. The Nightwatch is the Light Ones’ police force to keep the Dark in Line. The Daywatch is their counterpart. There may be a truce, but the schemes, manipulations, and plans are always in motion.
Anton, a third level magician on his first field operation when Nightwatch begins, is one of my favorite characters in fiction. H...more

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Dec 22, 2008 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, wizardry

The previous book left us with an unbalanced Moscow. The forces of Light gained a powerful ally in the form of Svetlana Nazarova, a potential Great Sorceress. Even before she knew she was an Other - one of that mysterious class of beings who can work magic, who can curse, bless and change their shapes - she was able to create a curse that very nearly destroyed Moscow. She, and the city, were saved through the bravery of Anton Gorodetsky and the Night Watch, who guard against the excesses of the...more

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Dec 14, 2008 Shawne rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fantasy fans, fans of Lukyanenko's Night Watch universe

Shelves: fiction

I wasn't sure if Lukyanenko could improve on Night Watch, the first book in this trilogy chronicling the eternal war between the Light and the Dark - certainly I felt that the first in this set of three stories (the crucial one in which Alisa Donnikova, a Dark Witch and erstwhile lover of Zabulon (the head honcho of the Day Watch), falls in love with Light magician Igor Teplov, wasn't particularly well-told. The love story never seemed to spark off quite right, although the ideas introduced by L...more

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Dec 02, 2008 Antof9 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008-read, bbc-barely-a-book-club

So first, I HATE this cover! The whole time I was reading this book, I tried to hide it :) It seriously freaks me out and I'll be glad to get it out of my house soon!

Next, the BBC read this book because it's the sequel to this book, which we surprisingly all liked. Still confused about that -- I'm not sure we've ever had a book we all liked before ... For more information on that, here are all the blog entries on this book.

Because I mentioned the translator for the first book, I thought I'd ment...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Sakura87 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: autori-russi, duemila, urban-fantasy, gotico, saga-ciclo

Meno graffiante e movimentato del primo, I guardiani del giorno si conferma comunque un buon libro, più per l’intreccio affascinante (che gode ancora dell’originalità dell’ambientazione) che per stile e approfondimento dei personaggi.
Stavolta, attraversata la trincea, ci ritroviamo tra le tenebrose fila della Guardia del giorno, come già anticipato dal titolo, più precisamente nei panni di Alisa Donnikova nella prima parte, e del misterioso Vitalj Ragoza nella seconda.
Avevamo già avuto modo ne...more Meno graffiante e movimentato del primo, I guardiani del giorno si conferma comunque un buon libro, più per l’intreccio affascinante (che gode ancora dell’originalità dell’ambientazione) che per stile e approfondimento dei personaggi.
Stavolta, attraversata la trincea, ci ritroviamo tra le tenebrose fila della Guardia del giorno, come già anticipato dal titolo, più precisamente nei panni di Alisa Donnikova nella prima parte, e del misterioso Vitalj Ragoza nella seconda.
Avevamo già avuto modo nel primo libro di conoscere la maga Alisa, amante del più potente mago delle tenebre Zavulon, ma sempre filtrata dai tendenziosi occhi di Anton (non esattamente il mago della Luce più ingenuo e smaliziato, ma in ogni caso ‘di parte’): questa volta il palcoscenico è tutto suo, e scomparsi gli scontri urbani, scomparsi gli intrighi, resta la storia di una donna innamorata. Che sfortunatamente, anche in vacanza di recupero, resta sempre la pedina di un gioco infinitamente più grande di lei.
Vitalj, protagonista della seconda storia, è un Altro ucraino in viaggio verso Mosca: ha perso la memoria, ma passo passo un misterioso istinto lo guida all’uso dei suoi poteri, istinto che lo porta a scontrarsi più e più volte con la Guardia della Notte. Quel ch’è anormale è che sembra che i suoi poteri siano in continuo sviluppo, e che anche la Guardia del Giorno non sappia bene che pesci prendere. Contemporaneamente, un potente artefatto magico è stato trafugato dalla sede dell’Inquisizione, la terza entità super partes che vigila sull’operato delle altre due. Le fila s’intessono, il cerchio si stringe, e anche questa volta le rivelazioni finali sono sorprendentemente ingegnose.
L’ultimo racconto è un po’ anomalo, in quanto è narrato alla terza persona (diversamente da tutti i precedenti) e si divide equamente tra le vicende di Edgar, uno dei maghi più potenti della Guardia del Giorno, e Anton, entrambi inviati a Praga dai rispettivi superiori per affrontare un processo dell’Inquisizione riguardante Alisa e Igor in qualità di accusatori/avvocati. Entrambi speculano sulla partita che si sta giocando tra Luce e Tenebre, di cui si sentono sacrificabili pedoni nella mani di Geser e Zavulon. Ed entrambi, sebbene su versanti opposti, lo sono sul serio.

Nel complesso, dicevo prima, un buon libro, sebbene sia presente poca azione e molta riflessione. Ho il sospetto che sia di preparazione agli eventi del terzo, per cui, per sbilanciarmi completamente, dovrò attendere la sua lettura.(less)

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Apr 16, 2012 Mirvan Ereon rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love this series so much and the movie was so damn fun! The movies gave justice to the book and I can even say they made it so much better. I hope all the movies and books by this writer will progress forever. Can't wait for a new one! I so love this series. I saved all my money just to buy this series and it was so worth it. In fact I do not even like buying books in a series but this made me so happy that i just wanted more. I hope though that the series will end with Last Watch because I ra...more

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Dec 06, 2011 Φλεγύας rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who's into urban fiction

I remember that when I finished reading the Day Watch, I was not entirely sure whether it was a big let down or a wonderful expansion over the first book.
What I was certain of, was the fact that the book felt like it was not written by the same person who had written the first book of the series, the Night Watch. It turns out, I was not entirely mistaken. The Day Watch has not been written entirely by Lukyanenko as, this time round, he had help.
I remember I was not entirely thrilled by the chang...more I remember that when I finished reading the Day Watch, I was not entirely sure whether it was a big let down or a wonderful expansion over the first book.
What I was certain of, was the fact that the book felt like it was not written by the same person who had written the first book of the series, the Night Watch. It turns out, I was not entirely mistaken. The Day Watch has not been written entirely by Lukyanenko as, this time round, he had help.
I remember I was not entirely thrilled by the change of tone in the writing. However, I still gave this book a rating of 4, just like in the case of the first book. Why? Well, lets see.
On on hand, as I already said, I did not particularly enjoy the change in the writing style. It's not a huge change, mind you. But it is still enough for someone who greatly enjoyed the first book.
Also, in this second book, character development feels as if it is not the centre of attention anymore. I'm not implying that the characters are now shallow. Definitely not. I'm just saying (and without wanting to fall into a case of spoilers) that the characters who are driving the story forward, suffer when compared to Anton, the main character of the entire series.
So, why did I give this book 4 stars, just like I did with the first book?
Two things.
One, the action. As much as the first book lacked in action, it is here in bucket loads.
And two, a certain kind of character that is being introduced, an amazing original feast that, as far as I am concerned, has not been used in any other form, literature or movies.
Lukyanenko seems more polished this time round. In this second book, it already becomes evident that Lukyanenko grows as a writer and by the end of the series, it is apparent that he managed to keep the basic ingredients of the first book and polish his writing to create a wonderful mythology.
Ah, not to forget, this book probably has the most amazing ending out of all four of the series. Again, I don't know if it feels that way because the entire book before the end felt a bit less deep -I don't think so- but in any case, the ending left me hunting down the next book to start reading as soon as humanly possible.(less)

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Sep 30, 2011 Stormcrow rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, hail-the-horrors, all-time-favourite-authors

Im Gegensatz zum Vorgänger "Wächter der Nacht" wird dieses Buch nicht von einem, sondern von drei Hauptfiguren erzählt. Ausserdem wird nun auch der Gegenseite - also den Lichtmagiern der Nachtwache - Platz für ihre Sicht der Dinge eingeräumt. Wieder ist das Buch in drei Geschichten aufgeteilt, die am Ende alle zusammengeführt werden. Als Ganzes hat es mir jedoch weniger gut gefallen, als "Wächter der Nacht." Die Atmosphäre ist bei weitem nicht so dicht, der emotionale Aufwand für den Leser gerin...more Im Gegensatz zum Vorgänger "Wächter der Nacht" wird dieses Buch nicht von einem, sondern von drei Hauptfiguren erzählt. Ausserdem wird nun auch der Gegenseite - also den Lichtmagiern der Nachtwache - Platz für ihre Sicht der Dinge eingeräumt. Wieder ist das Buch in drei Geschichten aufgeteilt, die am Ende alle zusammengeführt werden. Als Ganzes hat es mir jedoch weniger gut gefallen, als "Wächter der Nacht." Die Atmosphäre ist bei weitem nicht so dicht, der emotionale Aufwand für den Leser geringer. Dafür erschliesst es sich einem leichter, man kann schneller und mehr an einem Stück lesen.

Die Geschichten sind gut, sowohl die drei Einzelteile als auch die Zusammenführung am Schluss, bei dem ich aber dieses Mal statt einem lauten Lachen nur ein leises Schmunzeln übrig hatte. Das könnte aber durchaus an meiner überwiegenden Sympathie für die Lichten liegen, obwohl ich auch die Dunklen verstehen kann. Ausserdem hatte ich das Gefühl, dass der Autor ebenfalls mit der lichten Seite sympathisiert, denn mir scheint, die Ansichten der Dunklen kommen weniger ausgeprägt rüber als noch "Wächter der Nacht" die Ansichten der Lichten und auch sonst wirkt das Buch stellenweise unvorsichtig. Oder was haltet ihr von einem rothaarigen Asiaten? Nun ja, Geschmackssache.

Schön ist, dass die Ereignisse sich dieses Mal nicht nur in Moskau abspielen und man die verschiedensten Gedanken der verschiedensten Charaktere erfährt. Sowohl auf Zabulon als auch auf Gesar wird mehr eingegangen als bei Teil 1, wobei Zabulon aber geschickt einen Tick geheimnisvoller gehalten wird. Man bekommt dadurch ein ganz neues Bild der beiden und ihrer Grundsätze.

Alles in allem kamen meine Lieblingscharaktere alle schön kräftig zum Zuge, auch wenn einige davon nicht ganz so glücklich enden. Das Buch lohnt sich auf jeden Fall nur schon wegen einiger Einzelheiten wie z.B. dem Wortgefecht zwischen Gesar und Anton zu Beginn der Dritten Geschichte oder Alisas Benehmen im Sommercamp in der ersten Geschichte. Diese und noch unzählige andere Dinge machen "Wächter des Tages" trotz mangelnder Gesamtatmosphäre dennoch zu einem Lesehighlight, das eine ähnlich sehnsüchtige Leere hinterlässt, wie die, die man fühlt, wenn eine geliebte Person einen verlassen hat. Denn hier verlassen einen viele geliebte Charaktere.

In der Hoffnung, dem ein oder anderen von ihnen erneut zu begegnen, werde ich mich auf jeden Fall auf die Fortsetzung stürzen, sobald ich mich für neue Intrigen bereit fühle!(less)

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Mar 15, 2011 Andrew rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the series of novels that the Night Watch and Day Watch movies are based on. If you haven’t seen them you should, Russian or not they are pretty cool. The books follow the Moscow branches of the Night Watch and Day Watch made up of ‘others’. The Others are people with special abilities, sorcerers, witches vampires etc. They have been involved in a battle of good and evil for centuries, although a truce currently exists at the moment. This is simply to stop outright war between them destr...more

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Feb 25, 2011 Wan Ni rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-and-sci-fi, 4-stars-and-better

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 19, 2011 Books-treasureortrash rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

Book Review: 3 Treasure Boxes

This is the best book in the series. An enjoyable book with the introduction of a number of new interesting concepts.This story again shows the power struggle between both the Night Watch and the Day Watch with both sides trying to manipulate people and events to swing power their way as much as possible. It also shows that the Others are trying to ensure that the power between both sides stays about equal to ensure that balance is maintained in the world.

The world t...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Tyler rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a pretty good book, probably equal to its predecessor. I liked the continuity of the three stories of the books and how the results of some of the events in one story came into effect in the next. The character development was also pretty intriguing, though it wasn't easy maintaining the concept of a character and their development that eventually died or was taken out of the plot somehow. I wasn't really fond of the introduction and the conclusion: like I mentioned earlier, I thought t...more

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Sep 30, 2011 Phleghm rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: clumsy

Here it goes. In a form of random thoughts, if I can be forgiven. :)

Much shorter than the previous one! Hooray!

It so happens, that in most case, I do not respond well to authors juggling main characters. I breathe with the lungs of whoever seems pre-destined to be worthy of me. It is not so easy to switch lungs haha.. But again, story has nevertheless pulled me in. Even if it seemed to lack elegance.

I noticed, that it is sometimes written clumsily. There are unnecessary parts, or at least, prese...more

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Jun 17, 2011 Jeff Miller rated it 4 of 5 stars

Like the first book in the series this one is also broken up into three stories that build upon each other. Though this time the stories are through the views of different people with shifts. The first story slowly built up as it told the story of one of the witches on the Daywatch that was a character in the first novel. It was only as the story built that it became more interesting and it had quite a shattering climax. The second story introduces a mysterious other who is mysterious even to hi...more

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Jan 09, 2011 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: russian-stuff

These Russian translated books are a bit hard to get into at first because the culture and some of the language is so different, but once you get into the first 20 pgs or so, it's pretty addictive. This was the second book in the Nightwatch series and picks up a bit after the first one lets off. I wish I could give it 3.5 stars because I'm torn between liking it and REALLY liking it. The writing is excellent, the main characters are well developed and the plot twists are expert. The reader and O...more These Russian translated books are a bit hard to get into at first because the culture and some of the language is so different, but once you get into the first 20 pgs or so, it's pretty addictive. This was the second book in the Nightwatch series and picks up a bit after the first one lets off. I wish I could give it 3.5 stars because I'm torn between liking it and REALLY liking it. The writing is excellent, the main characters are well developed and the plot twists are expert. The reader and Others on the watches are expecting one thing but then some master plan unravels that the big wigs have known about all along and you're just as blind-sided by it as most of the characters. Anton is one of the best characters because he doesn't buy into Destiny quite as much as the others and is always actively trying to circumvent the negative things that are going on. He's a Light Other, but not entirely. He's worked with the head of the Dark Others a few times and I frequently get the sense that he's just on the cusp of figuring out the big picture and surpassing the trivialities of Light v. Dark. He's starting to see the pointlessness of it and how there is no real difference between the two but he isn't quite there yet because he's still stuck in the Light's blind hatred of the Dark.
One thing I find in these books that seems a relevant comment on the human race is the blind hatred the two sides (Light v Dark) have for each other. There's an ever-raging war and either side is only vaguely aware of why, it's just been going on so long that there is no real question of it; it has always been. (RE: Israel v. Palestine, Muslims v Christians v Jews) There are several of these battles going on now in the world and no one really seems to question much of the reasoning. Most participants are content to just go on hating and fighting without much reason. To me, that seems to be the main commentary brought to mind by these Nightwatch books. And with Daywatch, there is a hint of the beginnings of the possibility for love to conquer hate. I liked that about this book.

***SPOILER***
I also don't quite know what to believe about Svetlana. At the end, it gets revealed that she is to be the mother of a female Messiah, the next coming of Jesus. I still don't know what to think about that. But, since it came about largely because of Gesar fooling with her destiny, I'm not likely to accept it until it actually happens. (less)

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Jan 13, 2010 Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: children of the night of all ages

More tales about the never-ending struggle between two contingents of supernatural bureaucrats. This one focuses more on the perspective of the "bad" vampires. As in the first book in the series, the two sides have much in common, so good and bad aren't clear-cut categories. The main point of contention seems to be how they deal with feeding off of humans, with those who would exploit them mercilessly on one side versus those who find alternate sources. This moral divide is mostly an abstraction...more

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Dec 29, 2009 David rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-and-sci-fi

Day Watch, like it's prequel, is divided into three parts. The first part was magnificent! Told from the perspective of Alisa, a Dark One, readers delve further into the grey ambiguities of good and evil. I was reduced to tears by the complexities of Alisa's nature. She was so self-serving, ruthless, and stubborn...yet there were moments of such tenderness, clearly illustrating her compassionate, humane side. It was breathtaking.

Part II was not as enjoyable for me. One of my main problems with t...more

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Feb 29, 2012 Irenelazia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mi dispiace molto dire che questo libro mi ha delusa.
Considerato il fatto che è sostanzialmente diviso in tre parti ben distinte, ho pensato di assegnare un voto ad ognuna delle tre.
Alla prima parte assegno 2 stelle, sostanzialmente perchè mi sono annoiata per buona parte del racconto e perchè la protagonista mi stava molto antipatica, tanto che ho pensato più volte di abbandonare il libro al solo pensiero di doverla sopportare per più di 400 pagine. Poi quando ho letto la conclusione del primo...more

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Jul 09, 2010 Raj rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

The second book in the Night Watch series, this continues the struggles of the forces of Light against Dark through the agencies of Moscow's Night and Day Watches respectively, headed by their Great Magicians as they continue the battle with more subtle means than all-out war. I really rather enjoyed this book, split into three separate stories, each building on what came before to a rather startling climax as we see just how deep and far ahead the plans of the heads of the Watches go.

Two of the...more

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Dec 29, 2012 WakenPayne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

WOW! that is all I can say. The series has now become really really REALLY engaging. If you have read only Night Watch then in this you will have details for how the stories of this entire series will fall into place.

The philosophical questions are back, for a fact in the third story Anton and an Estonian dark one have this long philosophical debate about Light and Dark/Good and Evil. The first story of this book is the weakest out of the entire series so far, I just thought I'd point this out s...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Ernest rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an utterly successful continuation of the world that Night Watch set up. Like its predecessor, structurally this book is told in three parts (linked stories). This time, a greater focus is given to those who owe allegiance to the Dark-the Night Watch. The subtle moves in the story and deep nature of the plot make this a true pleasure to read. What was particular noticeable is that this book read as a seamless continuation from Night Watch (although I personally preferred Night Watch).

On...more

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Sep 25, 2010 Sean rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: myth-and-legend

Excellent story telling, and a great translation from the Russian original. Second book in the Watch series. There are two movies that go with this series, available via Amazon Unbox Video-on-Demand and on DVD - the movies, Night Watch, and Day Watch.

The Watch series details the life of The Others, on the Asian continent and in Europe. The Others are a species of humanity having developed supernatural traits to such an extent that they can absorb themselves into "The Gloom" (as it's called, in...more

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Sergei Lukyanenko (as his name appears on books and films in U.S. markets) is a science-fiction and fantasy author, writing in Russian, and is arguably the most popular contemporary Russian sci-fi writer. His works often feature intense action-packed plots, interwoven with t...more

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