Reviews

Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

Only show reviews with written explanations

badseedgirl's review against another edition

5.0

Gorgeous. No other word would describe Sergei Lukyanenko's first novel in his "Night Watch" Series. This novel was a surprise to me, because it is not actually a novel, but is instead three interlocking short stories about the same cast of characters. I just loved the book. Mr. Lukyanenko's writing style is rich and lush, but does not get bogged down in "wordiness" to the detriment of moving the plot along.

The overarching theme of this novel is the nature of Good and Evil. The main character in all three stories is Anton. A member of the "Night Watch" for five years he is struggling with the nature of his job and the Night Watch in general. He is a creature of "The Light" but throughout the novel, Anton struggles with what he sees as the damage the decisions made by his supervisors in the Nigh Watch in the name of "The Light"

"We don't know how to wish anyone harm. It's just that sometimes our Good is no different from Evil."

My God, what a beautiful, poignant, and heartbreaking line. And this novel is full of them. I will say that I'm not sure that I as the reader or Anton get the answers we are looking for, but as his supervisor tells him at the end of the novel;
"Well Anton, you can't always be a winner. I haven't been, and you won't be either."

I must say I am looking forward to read the next book in the series!

shalini_gunnasan's review

Go to review page

3.0

The translation is quite simplistic, so I think maybe some better work can be done there. I like the moral ambiguity as compared to straightforward, black and white Good vs Evil. It's a bit more realistic and comparable to real-world compromises and balances. But an idealistic person will find this frustrating, and if they seek such escapism, they will not find it here.

I quite dislike the sexism and homophobia, but that's pretty realistic too for today's Russians. Product of their times. They're already doing something about it though, and anyway, lots of so-called egalitarian countries have a long way to go themselves.

I give a three for the translation, it's rough in places. Otherwise it's something different and worth checking out.

aoc's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

As much as "urban fantasy" seems to have earned negative connotations over the years, Night Watch is something different. Perhaps because it doesn't go hand-in-hand with equally dreaded Young Adult classification, but I'd pin it more on themes and moods present. Modern supernatural Moscow it is, then.

Alongside your normal people there also covertly exist Others, those who at some point awakened to their outlandish abilities. This has been the case practically since mankind itself has existed, as one character even brings up an example which may have led to the original case that divided Others into two camps: Light and Dark. If you use your powers for others, you're Light One, and opposite for Dark Ones. There's a LOT more nuance to this, but fundamentally these two camps were locked in a cold war until a relatively recent Treaty that led to formation of Day Watch and Night Watch - two organizations respectively keeping tabs on their opposites, each striving to seemingly maintain a power equilibrium, but more often than not looking to get a one-up. We step into modern day Moscow as Anton Gorodetsky, member of the Night Watch, has to take on the role of a field operator just as he stumbles across two Dark Ones, vampires like his perfectly normal neighbors just so happen to be, engaging in a crime of unlicensed feeding. One vampire gets dusted, female one escapes, and untold destiny still hangs around the would-be child victim as Anton gets new directions from his department boss. On top of it all, there's a gigantic vortex of negative energy surrounding a woman down on her luck threatening to cause an apocalyptic-level event.

Anton gets a talking owl to help him crack the case.

As I hinted above Night Watch the novel isn't really about a magical school, although there is an aspect of this as eponymous organization serves as both a safety department and education center for newly initiated Light Ones, but a larger percentage of it is instead dedicated to musings about the natures of two opposing organizations. There philosophies included. Protagonist Anton himself is rather new to all of this and comes across powers beyond his reckoning as fourth grade magician, but this is even further contrasted when additional characters get introduced with their own bias or ignorance. It's almost a cliche at this point, but good doesn't necessarily mean GOOD... or even worse, it just might which becomes a crippling flaw when opposition has no qualms about relying on your well-meaning nature. Think politics, morality and magic rolled into one. What I really like about how author handles this is his utterly honest approach even if at times characters turn into preachers, but more to each other than the reader. After a while Others don't really see themselves as human anymore, certainly not Dark Ones, yet they must exist in this society most wish they could re-integrate back into after their eyes have been exposed to machinations beyond time. If there's any inherent draw to reading Night Watch it would be how it tackles matters of destiny, and how people can fight it for that simple frailty of love.

Pleased to report I liked almost all of the characters. Needless to say, Anton steals the spotlight, but one who has had a life and development prior to becoming an Other. He was and is a programmer still essentially doing his old job, but now it involves magical disks, memory re-creations and walking around with talismans so you can't be influenced by more powerful magicians. Misstep here is his nature comes through more in mindset since we can't have him confined to Night Watch's office lest we lose our action protagonist. His power gets more recognition as story goes on to justify all the antics, though. I'd be spoiling who other main characters are, as there are three stories here with progressive time skips, but Gesar fulfills the role of a multifaceted leader of the Moscow branch and fits the mastermind role perfectly. Plans with plans doesn't even begin to describe this centuries old individual who seems to know everything and everyone, and most of the other Watch members get decent characterization for the brief exposition. Even Day Watch department get some, but largely only to portray what unsavory characters they are and far, far more held at bay Night Watch than the other way around.

Would I recommend Night Watch? Yes. For a modern reader I'd probably put a caveat or two in here. If you're looking for some extensive magical system which seems to be all rage the days, you'll be sorely disappointed since it never gets that technical. There's a wide breadth of abilities here, but rarely just throwing fireballs... except when they are. More utilitarian and, well, more MAGICAL system if I were to put it into very basic terms. Story is more wrapped in legalese and morality with a healthy dose of what appeals to be Russian culture. After all, you drink vodka to bring back some color into your grey world after a bender.

literarycoffeecat's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

arkayanon's review

Go to review page

4.0

I enjoyed this book both for the story and for its different worldview, being written by a Russian and me being North Carolinian. I'm no expert in translations, nor could I even read the original Russian so I can't speak to the accuracy of the translation.

I first learned of the story through the movie so it was interesting to come with that previous exposure and the book's division into three parts explains the movie's format a bit.

While I liked the story I never found myself connecting with any of the characters aside from Tiger Cub or Semyon. I understood Anton's dilemma regarding his relationship with Svetlana on an intellectual level, but I never really empathized with it.

To me there is a pervasive sense of bleakness and powerlessness amongst the characters below the level of the top mages maneuvering around each other, and I wonder if this is a feature of the author's national identity or simply a mood he was trying to create.

kcoleet's review

Go to review page

4.0

This supernatural book, and others in this series, has an interesting take on good and evil. The characters on the "Light" and "Dark" sides eventually come to question who is right/wrong, who has the power to decide that, and how they feel about their role in protecting/using humans.

The author relies a little too heavily on song lyrics that the characters listen to in order to amplify the action, express a mood, etc. I have no idea if these are real songs or pastiches, as I'm not up on Russian pop music.

The translation makes the dialogue a little stiff and stilted, I think.

But it was quite different from what I expected and I enjoyed being surprised.