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Mar 06, 2010

Logan rated it:

For the past month or so I have been regrettably absent from the nets that I like to call my digital home. Real life demands have left me with precious little time to call my own and, more frightening still, the books that have found their way into my hands have not been inspiring me to take to the webs and shout my opinions into the ether with my usual gusto. Yes, I was in the grip of a mid-winter malaise second to none where everything I read, saw, or listened to just seemed either like it w More...

1 comment like (16 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2007

Josh rated it:

I read Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch after having already seen the films based on it. The movie Night Watch is more or less a faithful adaptation of the first section of the book with a few embellishments. The movie Day Watch is a much looser adaptation of the second and third sections.

On the first page of the book, there are two messages: One from the Night Watch that reads: "This text had been approved for distribution as conducive to the cause of Light." The message More...

0 comments like (14 people liked it)

Nov 04, 2007

R3grant rated it:

For those that found the interest to see the movie some 2 years ago when it made it's North American release, Night Watch seemed a bit too confusing. Whether it was just another victim of the movie made from a book or that Russian is a difficult language to translate to English, Night Watch and it's sequel Day Watch, lacked a lot of background story and character development that the books provide.

The Night Watch books are perfectly translated and give explanation of even the simple p More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

May 24, 2010

Jo rated it:

This book is made up of three stories. All involve the main character, Anton. I really enjoyed these. It was very original and interesting. I loved all the rules and the complications that came along with them. There was more to it than just magic and vampires and shape shifters. Looking forward to reading Day Watch.

10 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 11, 2007

Liz rated it:

This was another novel that I liked recently. I read it because I'd seen the movie and then someone on livejournal mentioned the book. The movie was a neat idea, slick, and totally incomprehensible. The movie was also a lot harsher and less intelligent.

The book surprised me with its ethical quandries and interesting observations about people. The main idea is that there are supernatural creatures around us, they all draw their power from the same sort of source but they can tur More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Dec 02, 2008

Antof9 rated it:

ok, so the BBC read this right at the end of the year/beginning of 2008. And now it's almost the end of March, so I can hardly be expected to remember much of what I wanted to say. However, here's the link to all the blog entries on this book from the club, to start.

Second, I never in a million years would have thought I'd like a Russian vampire book, but I did. I really liked it, and read it very quickly.

Third, don't ever -- and I mean EVER -- watch the movie. It's h More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 19, 2011

Kana rated it:

I'm one of those people who sadly watched the movies before the books. But I went into both, knowing that the movie was 'loosely' based on the books.
As much as I love the movie, I do prefer the slower and less 'mystical' pace of the book. Even when I first saw the movie, I thought that they were rushing and packing as much detail into each scene as they could, and that I was missing out on alot even with that effort. And I was right. The book has it's characters running at a much slower a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 26, 2010

Anna Raffaella rated it:

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

5 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 28, 2009

Libby rated it:

The Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko is quite fascinating. It’s thought provoking, original material with a story line that keeps you turning the pages. The concept is that there are certain people, or Others, who exist beyond the realm of normality. They are human beings involved in an eternal war between the cosmic balance of Light and Dark.

The “Watches” are formal organizations in charge of maintaining the necessary balance between Light and Dark. The Day Watch is comprised of

More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 03, 2008

Shawne rated it:

I confess that I first came to Lukyanenko's Night Watch trilogy through the two movies based on this first book - and I'm glad I decided to pick up the literary source material as well. Lukyanenko has created a fascinating universe, a magical realm characterised by Light and Darkness grafted into the human world we recognise: a dazzlingly imaginative fantasy rooted in the almost painfully mundane. It is staggering - and ridiculously fun - to plunge into the vodka-laced pages making up Lukyanenko More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 02, 2008

Norma rated it:

I only recently found out about The Night Watch, the first of Lukyanenko's tetralogy of Otherwordly doings, from a recent collection of European science fiction writing in translation: The SFWA European Hall of Fame: Sixteen Contemporary Masterpieces of Science Fiction from the Continent, edited by James Morrow and Kathryn Morrow (2007). This latter collection is highly recommended to readers like myself who consider tales like Kafka's The Metamorphosis as the essence of fantasy, speculative fic More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 30, 2008

Cherie rated it:

Living in modern day Moscow, the "Others" are an ancient race of humans with supernatural powers. Each Other pledges allegiance to either the Light or the Dark, and each side has a Watch—Night Watch for the Light and Day Watch for the Dark—whose responsibility it is to maintain the balance between the Light and the Dark, Good and Evil, verifying neither side has an unfair advantage.

An uneasy truce has existed between the two groups for several thousand years, but all tha More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 20, 2008

Michelle rated it:

In a world where vampires, werewolves, witches and other other-worldly beings walk alongside humans, there must be rules. In Night Watch the rules are upheld begrudgingly by the Day Watch and the Night Watch--councils of these otherworldlies who each in their own way, try to keep chaos from erupting at any given time.

Their truce is one that sits on a shaky foundation and rogue members/non-members of both councils are wreaking havoc by trying to bring about the end of society's statu More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 01, 2008

Jessica rated it:

Published: 2006 (English translation)

How I discovered: Jamie discovered the movie about two years ago, and had always wanted to read the books. I got him this and the sequel for Xmas. He liked it and suggested I read it, too.

What I liked: These days (well, the past year or two) I've been quite interested in books with elements of the supernatural, and this one delivers with vampires, mages, and shapeshifters. The gritty realism of present-day Moscow is a nice change from More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jul 03, 2007

Amanda rated it:

I am almost sad I let this book go from my library. I found it on the "recommended" shelf at my local bookstore. I devoured it at record speed. While I know very little Russian, I do know a thing or two about translation. I can't comment on how closely it follows the original but I can say that translators have done a wonderful job. The story has great pace and the language is clean and simple.

Night Watch is part of a fantasy trilogy that both makes and breaks molds. The bo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 22, 2007

Jesse rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. It was one of the few translated books I've ever read, and I thought the translation was done well. The language was not nearly as "clunky" feeling as another translated book I've read.

I thought the character of Anton held up well through most of the book. He grew, he changed. He was the humanity that most other members of his group had lost much of already. The idea of his humanity making him flawed in a way that always seems to work to fur More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 29, 2007

Pioden rated it:

Very intense, excellent book. Set in modern Moscow, it gives those of us from the West a glimpse into another way of life. And then, you get the fantastic element - the magic, vampires, shapeshifters, alternate phase of being (Twilight, gloom, dusk, what's in a word?). And the battle between Good and Evil that has been put into an uneasy truce that all do not agree with. Nightwatch are those that watch the night, the dark, the evil. Their counterparts are the Daywatch, and that is the next b More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jun 11, 2007

k.wing rated it:

Let's just get the hard stuff out of the way first:
a. the translation is pretty bad.
b. it's a horror/thriller novel. I found it in the sci-fi/fantasy section.

There. I put out all the dirty laundry. Now, on to why it's a 5 star book.
The 'lessons' in this book are very hard to swallow. There is truth in this book that you will not find in very many other places. If you jump on the train that thinks nothing in this world is 100% evil, and on the other side of the More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Steven rated it:

Try it! You'll like it!

What is it?
* A Russian book
* A Sci-Fi book
* A book of Philosophy
Wait, wait! It's all of the above.

This sounds like it should be just plain boring. But it was a page turner... Yes, I'll turn off the light and go to sleep in just a minute, Dear. Surprised and pleased! I've always loved philosophy, but rarely find it in SF, my vice fiction. But this kept me up late at night. And it is the beginning of a trilogy (don't w More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 22, 2007

Ann rated it:

Most times if I see a movie and then read the book, I can pick out what I didn't like and what I would have loved to have seen added in. This would have been a perfect scenario, considering I've seen both Nightwatch and Daywatch, and they are both contained within this first book. Normally that would really annoy, but the movies and the book itself are so great I couldn't even be upset. I really enjoyed everything from the format (3 shorter chronological stories involving the same characters)to More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 02, 2007

Michelle rated it:

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 sim More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 27, 2007

Vivienne rated it:

Completely different from the movie. I mean totally totally different. It is a very philosophical book and through the thoughts and voice of the protagonist, Anton, the author deliberates about good/evil and right/wrong and The Others' responsibility to society. It also speaks to human nature and the way the world runs. The slightly rough translation annoyed me as well as the references to Russian history, culture, and modern car models. This irritated me because I felt like I was missing More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 11, 2007

Meri rated it:

Set in contemporary Moscow, Night Watch combines the suspense of a police thriller, the imagination of a fantasy epic, and the sardonic wit of good Russian fiction. The story tells of the ongoing battle between the forces of good and evil, or Light and Dark. Both powers are manifested in the Others, people with supernatural powers who populate our everyday lives. Anton Gorodetsky, an agent of the Night Watch, the Light’s police force, must battle with vampires, magicians, and departmental bureau More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Ellen rated it:

Comparisons, hmmm. Lukyanenko's like an intellectual Steven King--in this book at any rate. Fantastic pacing, plotting, plus keen observations/soul-searching.

The translation isn't perfect, but it's acceptable. Wish I spoke russian, so I could read it in the original language, so I'd know just how madly in love I am with the author.

The plot is just dragging me along as if I'm tied to the back of its car. I haven't felt the need to drop everything and read this quickly More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Noah rated it:

A fantastic read. I'm also in the camp that loved the film. Complex and morally ambiguous, this novel introduces a Moscow (and a world) where the supernatural agents of the Night Watch and Day Watch keep the balance by the terms of a treaty set out either fairly recently or eons ago. (The Book mentions it being recent; the movie indicates that it's ancient.) Neither side can overtly interfere with the human world; each has to manuever for advantage in subtler ways that often leave both the membe More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 17, 2009

Kathryn rated it:

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

8 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 02, 2009

Keith rated it:

Book one in the Watch series. Unlike anything you have read from American or English language authors. Russian writer with a true talent.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 30, 2009

Wushi rated it:

The beginning to a gritty modern fantasy series, this book introduces us to Anton Gorodetsky, an Other who works for the Nightwatch. Others are those people who can use magic, specifically those capable of stepping into the "lower levels" of reality refered to as the Twilight. Others exist divided roughly evenly into the Light and the Dark, drawing on respectively aspected emotional energy for their power. The Nightwatch is a collection of Light Ones who watch over their Dark brethr More...

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Mar 23, 2009

Keith rated it:

I did quite enjoy this. If I were taking away points for style and proofreading I'd have docked a star, but I can't fault the book itself for the mistakes of editors and translators. There are things that don't quite translate... cultural references that the translator should have made more accessible to the non-Russian reading the book. There are also sloppy mistakes like repeated sentences and typos. However, the book itself is a lot of fun. Complex tales of vampires and magicians and shap More...

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Feb 05, 2009

Ryan rated it:

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 char More...

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