The Night Watch (Watch, Book 1) | Sergei Lukyanenko

The Night Watch (Watch, Book 1) | Sergei Lukyanenko | Liked it!

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The Night Watch (W...

	The Night Watch (Watch, Book 1) Sergei Lukyanenko Miramax, 2006 - 464 pages average customer review:based on 58 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Innovative and refreshing

First, a review for those that want to take the book after watching the movie(s): do it. If you liked the movies, you'll probably like the book even more - the narration is much more coherent, the events are much less chaotic and the character motivations seem better sketched.

Now, a general review: this book is generally put in the fantasy genre. That means many readers might reach for this book expecting some sort of "Harry Potter in Moscow", as I've read in one of the reviews here. This is NOT it. The fantasy setting here is more of a narrative device than a real dedicated setting. For those of you that have read Bulgakov's "Master and Margerita", you'll come to recognize the device quite clearly - it's virtually the same feel, but in recent-day Moscow instead of the early communist-times one.

Lukyanenko has done something quite impressive - he's written a book about a typical Russian person, who seems special to the reader because of his involvement in the epic struggle between Light and Dark. But this is just a ruse - the struggle is nothing but epic, it is more alegorical then literal. One of the reviews here was very critical on the book, saying that the action didn't progress anywhere, that all of our hero's deeds turned out to have changed nothing in the greater view of things. This is not a mistake by the author, it's the intended effect. That's exactly what the book is supposed to present.

Don't be fooled - this is not yet another fantasy novel, not an epic fantasy one, nor a typical urban fantasy one. This is not a fantasy novel at all. This is a book about normal people, everyday choices, everyday lives. It just seems much more interesting when presented in an imaginative fantasy setting. And it is this combination of excellent worldbuilding and great narration that gets this book five stars.

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Liked it!

Entertaining, engaging vampire novel from Russia, first of three. Definitely more comprehensible than the film! I liked this book- Anton, the narrator, is sympathetic and likable and I enjoyed following his adventures in the intrigue-filled world of vampire-Moscow. As someone who does not read a lot of scifi or vampire novels I appreciated that it wasn't very violent

enraptured

i picked up this book and couldnt put it down again! a most amazing author and story. he manages to write an unsaid plot and leave a silent ending that is like and explosion of possibity threads in a certain direction. a true inspiration.

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Very dry

The book wasn't fantabulous, but strangely addicting (as I'm eagerly awaiting my shipment of the next 2). Other reviews can give you the synopsis.

The main character, Anton, really hits me as a real person. Who tries to be fit in and get what he wants and try not put his foot in his mouth too much.

The writing is done well, but I think the translation might have turned the humor very dry. (You read and it'll make a joke but you don't get the "they laughed" or "he chuckled" or anything else. So there is humour and it is make-you-grin but it's very dry and doesn't really draw attention to itself).

The concept is good, and it's like looking into different scenes in a person's life, finishing that story, and then go to the next scene.

People compare it to Harry Potter or whatever, I'm not seeing that here. The writing style is completely different and it has more of a laid back coffee shop story type feel as opposed to the rollercoaster that is HP.

Definately recommend.

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Intriguing sci-fi novel

I liked Lukanyenko's novel quite a lot. It is very atmospheric, bringing out the grime and grit of urban Moscow. Somehow, the city becomes the natural location for the many compromises between good and evil.

THe premise is that there is a special "race" of people with supernatural abilities, tasked with maintaining the balance between good and evil. Several ideas recur throughout the book. Among them that evil will always exist if humans welcome and feed it, that the road to hell is paved with good intentions... While nto super original, these ideas are well developed and thrive in the author's setting and plot. However, by the third novella (the book is separated in three parts, each part retaining teh same protagonist, but featuring different "good vs. evil" struggles) the ideas become somewhat repetitive and tedious.

I would strongly recommend it and am looking forward to reading Daywatch, the second book in the trilogy, written from the point of view of the evil side.

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