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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “Light and Darkness. |
Didn’t Like It “I hate quitting on books, but I just couldn't engage on it. It gave me absolutely no excitement, no curiosity, no emotion at all. |
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“A brilliant piece of satisfying complexity balanced between Twilight and reality as we humans perceive it. In the endless savage peace between the forces of light and darkness, the price of that negotiated stalemate come again and again into question as we follow our conflicted hero through a maze of decisions and consequences. Gritty urban fantasy.”
Robin Winter wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I hate quitting on books, but I just couldn't engage on it. It gave me absolutely no excitement, no curiosity, no emotion at all.
Carolina wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The book is composed of 3 parts. I barely managed to finish the first one and was left in a "meh" state. I had every intention of forcing myself to get myself to the end but I just couldn't. I've been trying for weeks and I can't seem to advance a couple of pages and disconnect immediately.
What can I say? First part was not HORRIBLE, but it just wasn't a marvelously plotted story, it was not memorable. In fact, it is pretty much forgettable and simple. Just not worth the waste of my time. Sorry.”
“I had my husband read this first, after he read the Russian version, so he could tell me how good the translation was (he was born in Russia). He tells me the translation from Russian is very good, as good as could be expected considering there are so many Russian words and phrases that simply cannot be translated into English with the same amount of impact. Apparently the Russian version of this book has a great deal of humor in it - what I primarily perceived was a fairly melancholic air.
Katy wrote this review Wednesday, April 24, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This book - all three parts of it - focus on Anton, a 5-year veteran of the Nightwatch. The Nightwatch is a group of Light Others - magicians, shapeshifters, etc. - who work to ensure that the Dark Others (led by the Daywatch) keep the truce that was set up by both sides as a result of WWII (as far as I could tell judging from the time frame). Anton is having what could be most closely defined as a crisis of faith; he feels that maybe the ends do NOT justify the means and that the Nightwatch is NOT acting in the best interests of humankind after all. However, he does not want to switch allegiances - in fact, as far as he knows no one can - and he cannot act directly against the Nightwatch or he will be sent into the Twilight forever.
The first part of the book is the part that most closely resembles the movie that was created from these novels - they must again save Egor, a young boy, from a female vampire, after Anton has already saved him once and killed her paramour, who illegally turned her after falling in love with her when he was licensed to take her (I presume the "legal" result of this transaction would be the death of the girl, but it is never baldly stated this way). At the same time, a large dark vortex has opened over the city and they must find first the person over whom it has risen and secondly the Magician or Sorceress who has set it.
The second part of the book finds Anton in a great deal of danger when he is sent after a Maverick Other, who does not even realize that he IS an Other, who has been killing off Dark Others for around three years. He must find the Maverick and bring him in before the Daywatch catches up to him (or the Maverick - but the Daywatch is certain is it Anton himself who is committing the murders).
Finally in the 3rd section of the book, we find Moscow under an unusual heat wave and the Nightwatch has been cut down to a skeleton crew, with the rest being sent off on vacation. Anton fears that Svetlana - who, he is told, is destined to be a Great One - is being pushed too far, too fast and that, as a result, the fragile love that has grown between them will be snapped. As a result, he pushes her even farther away and finally ends up making a deal with the Dark Ones; however, he redeems himself in the finale, before announcing to Gesar and Svetlana that he has realized this whole situation has been a feint and distraction to keep the Dark Ones from knowing what is actually going on (of course, we ourselves have very little idea ourselves, as Anton doesn't deign to actually state out loud much about the actions going on.)
Maybe more perceptive readers than I will figure out what is going on in the background, but a lot of this feels like a book by L E Modesitt, Jr., where I never quite know what the heck is going on, but I love it anyway.
Don't miss this one - it's a terrific book.”
“Very good!”
Sandra T wrote this review Tuesday, April 16, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I will read just about any book set in Russia. But one with mages, vampires, and an ongoing war between good and evil? I'm there.
Bethany B wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This book contains three related stories centering around the career of Anton, a mid level magician in Moscow's Night Watch, the "good guys." ”
“This is one of those books that is and completely feels like a translation. It starts out really good and then shifts to a whole set of different characters which all come together in the end. There are some things that feel cultural and are thus out of context for a Western reader. The idea behind the story is good but I cannot say I'd go out of my way to read it again.”
Hazysaffron wrote this review Thursday, February 21, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Good vs. Evil is a classic tale, but what happens when there is a Treaty between the two factions involved? Light Ones cannot risk doing more good than allowed if it means that Dark Ones can enable just as much evil to be put out in the world to keep the balance. The Light Ones devote their lives to protecting humans and the Dark Ones see humans only as a food source. Which side would you choose with humanity's future as the ultimate prize?”
Arianna wrote this review Thursday, February 7, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“An amazing view of good, evil & the balance that hovers in between.The night watch & the day watch guard mankind from the powers beyond their knowledge, maintaining the balance between the sides. This is the story of Anton Dorodetsky of the night watch.”
Celtic_Witch wrote this review Saturday, November 10, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I usually don't read fantasy but the trailers for the movies got me interested in reading the books first. The book is divided into three stories: the first was interesting, the second started out well but ran out of steam, and by the third story my interest was waning. Each story had a M. Night Shyamalan-esque twist at the end that felt like a quick and lazy way to wrap up. The feature I enjoyed was the Taoist approach to the treatment of Good and Evil, and the balance between them.”
Dewey Black wrote this review Tuesday, October 2, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“3.75/5
Eliene wrote this review Saturday, May 19, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The Night Watch follows the supernatural beings that reside in Moscow, Russia, vampires, shapeshifters, magicians, etc. They are divided into the Light and Dark and a shaking peace treaty is maintained by the agents of the Night Watch (Light) and the Day Watch (Dark). The novel has three interconnecting stories with Anton, a magician, Night Watch agent, and relatively new field operative as the main character. The leaders of the Light and Dark are playing dangerous games of power to gain the upper hand and Anton gets caught between them and begins to question his role as a "Light" being.
Sergei Lukyanenko has created an imaginative world here. Though the supernatural beings are classified as Dark and Light like in many other novels, they are far from the stereotypical Good vs Evil. The lines are often blurred and the characters find themselves questioning their morals and what it is that makes them Light or Dark. While there was some great action, this is what is what made the novel stand out. The characters weren't blindly following orders. They thought about the consequences of their actions on humans. They questioned their own role as supernaturals.
I also enjoyed Anton's narrative voice. Even though he himself was a magician, he was very "human" and easy to sympathize with. Aside from Anton though, the characters weren't very well developed. I liked Tiger Cub, Olga, and a few others but there wasn't enough of them for the reader to get to know them well enough. I hope this is improved upon in the following novels.
Some parts this novel were quite confusing though that is probably due to the translation from Russian. I wish I could read the original.
I'm looking forward to other books in the series.”
