book data
1299 ratings, 4.08 average rating, 265 reviews
(more data...)
edit
published
July 26th 2006
(first published 1999)
by Miramax Books
binding
Paperback, 464 pages
isbn
1401359795
(isbn13: 9781401359799)
description
The Night Watch series has caused a sensation never before seen in Russia -- its popularity is frenzied and unprecedented, and driven by a trul...more
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
| topics | replies | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Rory Gilmore ...: October Movie Night: Dracula, Frankenstein | 19 | 39 | 18 days ago, 12:14PM | |
| You'll love this ...: November Book Nominations | 10 | 47 | 10/13/2008 10:06AM | |
| White Nights: Modern Russian Fiction | 3 | 19 | 09/26/2008 11:37AM |
friend reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1933)
Read in December, 2007
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."...more
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."...more
Like this review?
yes
(4 people liked it)
add a comment
Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
fantasy fans, vampire nuts.
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 plot poin...more
The Night Watch books are perfectly translated and give explanation of even the simple plot poin...more
Like this review?
yes
(2 people liked it)
add a comment
Read in April, 2007
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 turn into d...more
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 turn into d...more
Like this review?
yes
(2 people liked it)
add a comment
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
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
1 comment
Read in January, 2008
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 status quo in...more
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 status quo in...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
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...more
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...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in August, 2006
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 books have...more
Night Watch is part of a fantasy trilogy that both makes and breaks molds. The books have...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
recommends it for:
fans of the movie and modern fantasy
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 further the...more
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 further the...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in November, 2007
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
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
1 comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
not sure. but very few people.
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 coin, nothing is 100...more
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 coin, nothing is 100...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
philosophical science fiction lovers
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 watch the movie unt...more
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 watch the movie unt...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
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
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans
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
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in March, 2007
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
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
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 bure...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in September, 2007
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 for quite some t...more
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 for quite some t...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in November, 2006
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
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
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. ...more
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. ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in September, 2007
recommended to Katie by:
my friendrecommends it for: people who enjoyed Supernatural reading
So my friend tells me of some Russian novel that I would love. Soo....I borrow the book from the library and WHOA! This book is just mind blowing!
Nightwatch is about a Nightwatch agent named Anton. Anton is an Other, a human being with the abiltiy to see into the Twilight which is the "shadow world" of our world today. The Others have been around for centuries and belong to two main groups: the Nightwatch and the Daywatch. The Nightwatch consists of Light Ones and patrol the Dark O...more
Nightwatch is about a Nightwatch agent named Anton. Anton is an Other, a human being with the abiltiy to see into the Twilight which is the "shadow world" of our world today. The Others have been around for centuries and belong to two main groups: the Nightwatch and the Daywatch. The Nightwatch consists of Light Ones and patrol the Dark O...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2008
Vampires, shape-shifters, witches, magicians...nothing new there. Light, Dark, the Balance...nothing new there either. So why do I like this book so much? Well, in the imagination stakes, there is the Twilight, which does seem original to me, but really it is the character and setting that I like.
The protagonist, Anton, Light One, magician, agent for the Night Watch - the organisation that attempts to ensure that the Dark Ones uphold the truce between Light and Dark - is committed to his ...more
The protagonist, Anton, Light One, magician, agent for the Night Watch - the organisation that attempts to ensure that the Dark Ones uphold the truce between Light and Dark - is committed to his ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment