Night Watch

Watch, Book 1

By: Sergei Lukyanenko

Narrated by: Paul Michael

Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Set in modern day Moscow, Night Watch is a world as elaborate and imaginative as Tolkien or the best Asimov. Living among us are the "Others", an ancient race of humans with supernatural powers who swear allegiance to either the Dark or the Light. A thousand-year treaty has maintained the balance of power, and the two sides coexist in an uneasy truce. But an ancient prophecy decrees that one supreme "Other" will rise up and tip the balance, plunging the world into a catastrophic war between the Dark and the Light.

When a young boy with extraordinary powers emerges, fulfilling the first half of the prophecy, will the forces of the Light be able to keep the Dark from corrupting the boy and destroying the world?

©2006 Sergei Lukyanenko (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Brace yourself for Harry Potter in Gorky Park.... The novel contains some captivating scenes and all kinds of marvelous, inventive detail: The vampires’ seduction of a teenage boy is bone-chilling; every time Lukyanenko described the Other-worldly Twilight, I felt lured into it; and the fantastical powers exercised by Anton and his colleagues range from delightful to awesome." ( The Washington Post Book World)

"[As] potent as a shot of vodka.... [A] compelling urban fantasy." ( Publishers Weekly)

" Night Watch is an epic of extraordinary power." (Quentin Tarantino)

Russian characters can be romantic

Story is good it can hold you but you really need to find the Russian ethic and accent to be romantic

Unusual. Interesting new bits for vampire lore...

Not one big story, but three novellas. I wish that had been mentioned right off the bat. It makes a difference in story, character, etc. development. Story line is unusual and somewhat interesting with (surprisingly) deep (and interesting) philosophical musings for so little (real) character development. Cops and robbers but not really. From a Russian angle no less. Entertaining. A big plus: a story with vampires (witches and warlocks, etc.) that is NOT a thinly disguised torid romance. LOL.

Modern Moscow makes a terrific setting

Modern Moscow makes a terrific setting for an urban fantasy novel and Anton is a likable hero. Paul Michael is perfect for the role of a tough but sensitive Muscovite (and is now my second favorite audiobook reader). While the writing, the setting, the characters, and most of the plot are enjoyable, there are a couple of related problems that kept The Night Watch from being the completely engrossing story it had the potential to be. We get much of the story from Anton???s point of view and, while this made me really understand and like his character, it also means that we spend a huge amount of time listening to Anton trying to figure out what???s going on. He???ll brood for a while, then have an epiphany and give us an explanation (not always logical or believable) that he???s sure is right, but then suddenly he???ll be wrong and some other strange (illogical or unbelievable) explanation will be given, which may or may not be correct. I chuckled toward the end when Anton says: "I didn???t know. As always, I didn???t have enough information for analysis. I could have come up with thirty-three different explanations, all contradicting each other." And I think he does come up with 33 different explanations, all contradicting each other. It gets really confusing and it interrupts the action but, worse, when we find out what???s really going on, it???s not nearly as exciting as it could have been. Most of the plot climaxes just fizzle when we find out the truth. Related to this is the fact that I never quite believed in Sergei Lukyanenko???s world. In his interior monologues, Anton goes on at length about light and dark, destiny and fate ??? I???m not sure that it all made sense. I also didn???t understand some of the choices Anton made, especially at the end. Perhaps this will be cleared up in sequels. Still, I enjoyed spending time in Moscow with Anton and enemies, even if I was confused about the plot.

Pretty good.

I enjoyed, but wasn't blown away by this book. There were some interesting concepts bantered about by the main character, but nothing too profound or meaningful was every truly developed. Story line was run of the mill. But the writing was pretty good.

Suprising funny and uplifting for Russian horror

Sergei Lukyanenko successfully builds a world dense in both Russion culture and folklore amidst an urban fantasy. The battle of light and dark is not new nor are the supernatural beings in the book. Most any reader will have a context for vampires, and magicians, but that being said, it is a unique work. I enjoyed the philosophical approach and discussion of light and dark not being about good and bad. The light is capable of quite despicable acts in the fight against the dark. Instead of being guilt ridden and in denial of this; the characters for the most part accept this without much concern and happily live in this gray world where the contrast can be hard to see. Choices are mostly seen as predestined.

The book is segmented into three stories or parts. All stories revolve around Anton, a middling magician content with his abilities. Anton is part of the Night Watch that work for the light in a tightly controlled and litigated war between the Light and the Dark. Think more paperwork, tit for tat, and offenses than unmitigated bloodshed. The stories are about Anton's struggle with what is right or just, crisis of concience, personal choice, and if you must sacrifice love for the greater good. These are very typical themes handled very differently from a western perspective. I found it to be a a non graphic love story shrouded in dark horror. That amused me and is one of the reasons I liked it so much. Thank you Sergei for tricking me.

If you watched the movies, while beautiful, the story line doesn't follow the book. This is not really the fault of the Director. I would have no idea how you would portray half of the story in the movie and there is so much you would have to take out. If you enjoyed the movie I think you will feel like you won reading the book because you get so much more. If you didn't like the movie? There is still a good chance you might like the book.

Is it slow in parts? Absolutely. Will it frustrate you? Probably. If you read the whole book will you enjoy it, especially for some of Sergei's gems of quotes? I'm betting on yes. I think you will enjoy Paul Michael's narration. He does a fine job and doesn't take anything away from the experience. I will be picking up the next book Day Watch.

The movie does not even come close

A different modern magic world. With power struggles between light and dark.
The sorry have a depth that the movie doesn't even come close to. #dark #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

A great rendition of a great novel

I read the novel years ago and loved it. The novel itself is really three interlocking novellas. Your experience with it maybe determined by how comfortable you are with a frank meditation on the difficulty of maintaining moral dualism in the face of a complex world full of power players and unintended consequences. This has more I common with William Gibson or Neil Stephenson than Tolkien.


The narrator does an excellent job narrating to the tone of the work.
In places where the translation makes the dialog seem stilted, he manages to smooth it out through careful and natural intonation.

The affected Russian accents when the characters talk can be odd though. It creates a strangely disjointed feeling between the protagonist's thoughts (accented like an American speaking English) and his words (accented like an American speaking English doing an inoffensive and well-intentioned Russian accent). Honestly though, it sounds good so this is more an observation than a complaint.

Good start, great performance

The world-building and imagery were solid throughout, and I found myself identifying with several of the characters. However, the stories felt disjointed, and the character development and progression of relationships felt incredibly forced and like we were missing several steps. The author used time jumps to account for that, but it took away from the story for me.

The performance, however, was fantastic. Paul Michael's character distinction, as well as his transitions from narrative to dialogue, and his use of accents, made this book a delight to listen to.

I don't know if I'll continue the series, but I don't regret listening to this book.

It's a great book!

The narrator was great & the book was even better than the movie! I can definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes sci-fi, fantasy & horror! Reminds me of Harry Potter, Hellblazer, Hellboy & the Dresden Files.

Sit back and Enjoy!

I actually read these books about 6 years ago. But I wanted to listen to them. This series is somewhere between sci-fi and paranormal. The setting is in Russia and that makes the whole book more interesting to me. There is one major plot that runs through all the books with 3 sub-plots. There is minor romance and tons of drinking. Many many interesting characters that make the story colorful.