Sergei LukyanenkoCritiques

Zombies mal anders, dazu ein bisschen Krimi... Eine gelungene Mischung!

Nachdem ich die Wächter-Romane so liebe, war ich von diesem Buch etwas enttäuscht. Die Idee ist eigentluch gut, aber die Figuren bleiben für mich flach, die Handlung hat mich auch nicht überzeugt. Trotzdem werde ich natürlich den 2. Band auch lesen. Oder jetzt erst recht?
Für 3 Sterne reicht es immerhin, ich war ganz gut unterhalten, trotz der Schwächen.

Der zweite Teil hat mir besser gefallen als der erste, vor allem am Anfang. Ab der Mitte etwa wurde es dann aber sehr verworren, Welten-Hopping ohne Sinn und Ziel. Das ursprüngliche Problem verfolgt zu werden, ist dabei irgendwie auf der Strecke geblieben... Trotzdem war ich ganz gut unterhalten, dafür gibt es immerhin noch 3 Sterne.

Das hat mich leider gar nicht überzeugt. Auch ein Jugendbuch dürfte etwas weniger platt und vorhersehbar sein. Außerdem war mir der moralische Zeigefinger zu präsent...

This is the first Russian authored book I've read. Being that I am from America, it's really quite funny how Americans are portrayed the few times mentioned.

Overall I enjoyed reading it! I don't read a lot of books with witches and warlocks and magicians, and I typically find them cheesy (I am still not tempted to pick up Harry Potter), but I really enjoyed this story and characters. The ending was super cheese, and it was a bit of a cop out in my opinion. My friend who only reads books and watches movies that have happy endings would love this book. I didn't learn anything about myself reading this, nor did I really learn anything about the world (maybe perhaps a bit about Russian culture), but it was enjoyable enough; a nice break from the usual stuff that makes me question my existence.

Very good follow up to the classic (imo) Night Watch.

I only made it through the first short story.
It wasn't bad but the further I got the less I enjoyed it.
I usually enjoy a good somber and gloomy mood in a book but here the simplistic fatalism made it all feel so pointless. I just couldn't understand why anyone in this story had enough drive to even get out of the bed in the morning. It all felt to me like everyone should just keel over on the spot, roll into a ball and rock back and forth.
To be frank "why didn't you just kill yourself already" went through my mind repeatedly.
Instead of caring more I kept caring less and less because I had real trouble to connect to anyone in this depressing cast.
The book tries very hard to be wise but never really makes it past the obvious in the context of philosophy and its attempts at hiding that behind mystery shroud™ isn't able to disguise it.
A lot of the interesting parts of the world were pointlessly hidden behind this ominous mystery shroud™.
The first story ends with a blatant sledgehammer foreshadowing which completely killed any vestiges of interest to read on for me.
It could've been a play on the free will vs destiny thingy and not actual prophecy which was a carefully broached topic a few times but even if- that still was very crude either way.
So, all the gloom instead of being mysterious was just depressing and the philosophy instead of being intriguing it was just unrefined and shallow.
Despite all that, I think a good 3/5 star rating for the first story is fair.
This might be a case of its not you, it's me. If you hit me with philosophy I need the full packet. I have a bad time dealing with philosophy-light.

Just a quick reminder that my reviews always sound very negative. I usually only talk about the flaws and how I felt about them. Pay attention to the star rating for how I feel overall about a book.

Just not as good as Night Watch, which I admittedly read about a decade ago. This volume made me wonder if something was getting lost in the translation or if these stories were very trope-reliant in any language. Don't get me wrong, still going to read the next one, probably in less than another decade.

I have always enjoyed Lukyanenko’s stories, finding his unique take on underlying motivation as a driving factor in his magical system to be refreshing. His background as a psychiatrist makes this a perfect choice for him. I think this installment makes the promise of further possible applications of these ideas in the final installment concerning the Twilight itself. I wish both language and fame barriers allowed for me to discuss some of his ideas about psychology presented in these books with him directly, as I am about to be pursuing my doctorate in psychology.
If you enjoyed the previous books in the Night Watch series I think you will enjoy this one as well. We have a continuing evolution of Anton as he takes on a more leadership oriented role, as well as a lot of fun interaction between him and Arina, one of the Moore interesting relationships I feel. The author is good about incorporating developments in culture and technology in the real world into his fictional world which is progressing at roughly the same time. We see new technology being used throughout, and even socio-political events and changes being incorporated. Though I would’ve liked to see some more of Russian internal politics discussed or examined within the context of the story, as it mostly focused on political upheavals in the United States and elsewhere. Perhaps there are social reasons for this, as I know expressing political criticism of the government in Russia in media is still actively discouraged under the current regime. The usual hallmarks of Anton’s musical choices are of course still ther, helping anchor us in a familiar world.
Overall I would say this entry in the series is less action oriented, which may disappoint some readers, and definitely takes a more contemplative tone with a more mystery focused story.
A criticism I saw from other reviewers was that this (and the next book, which I haven’t yet finished) have the world facing a disaster that only Anton can save it from ala some dues ex machina with him as the quintessential god in the machine. I feel that is an inaccurate judgement, as at the climax of this story it is not Anton as some special character that saves the world, but a decision to make a personal sacrifice that any number of characters in this world placed in the same situation would have ability to make.
The book did a feel a bit more...brief...than previous entries, which is less a criticism and more a desire for more of the author’s writing. Hopefully given the international success of this series (though the movie adaptations were pretty terrible) will help get some of the rest of his voluminous body of work translated into English as I would dearly like to read the rest of it.

I loved this whole series, and what limited other works of the author are available in English (skip the trash movie adaptations). Given how prolific the author is, I really wish more of his work was available in English. Also, does anyone have any recommendations for other Russian scifi/fantasy/horror authors that might be worth my time?

This was a reasonably strong finish to the Night Watch series. I can respect an author for, whether the overarching arc was planned from the beginning of a series or not, recognizing that for a story to be told it must have a definitive end rather than letting it drag on. I am not sure if this was where Night Watch was going from the beginning or not, but it is definitely an apt ending to Anton’s story. It serves as an ending not only to his story, but in many ways signals the end of an age...an age for the Others themselves, but also reflecting a possible end/change to many factors within the world and society.
Anton himself, though by far not the oldest of others, is in many ways already an anachronism (musical formats and tastes, ideas about men’s and women’s roles, ideas about teenage sexuality,etc.). This is reflected in the overall structure of the Night and Day Watches themselves. When we finally see the interior of the Day Watch we find that while the Night Watch has failed to evolve in structure and function, the Day Watch is the very epitome of modernity. Even the pondrerings on Anton’s inability to fully adapt to either human or Other lifestyles,this failure to embrace anachronism or modernization, leaves him a man out of time and place, doomed to pass from influence. Doomed in a somewhat obfuscated bit of foreshadowing, to end.
I saw other reviewers object to some of the casual sexism and homophobia present in this books, which I think is partially a product of the current climate in Russian society (similar to veiled comments about the biased, ‘liberal’ media), but prerhaps it is more closely tied to this idea of ending eras. Most of the casual homophobia and sexism are voiced by characters who are likely to see their active roles in Other society (and by extension their influence of the society of humans) passing away. I would like to think this is a subtle nod by the author that these ideas are outdated, of the past.
I say that I hope that because while in have loved this author’s literally work, some additional biographically reading has left me feeling unsettled about supporting him through the purchase of any additional books (unless used). It seems he is a staunch supporter of the violent invasion and domination of the Crimea by the Russian government. It seems he is also a vocal supporter of the patently false propagandistic claims by the Russian government that the ban on US adoption of Russian children is anything other than using those children as a weapon to protest the Magnitsky Act. Perhaps this should not surprise me, as he was successful even under the state run publication of science fiction and fantasy, some in some sense would have to be a loyalist. This go easy long way to explaining the lack of social commentary on the government of Russia itself, and the occasional jabs at foriegn media and liberalism.

The Others walk the streets of Moscow, split into the Night Watch, those of the light who watch over the actions of the dark, and the Night Watch, who do the opposite, in the effort to maintain the balance between good and evil. This follows Anton, who stumbles across Svetlana and Egor, both unaligned humans who have become embroiled in events that threaten the whole city and the truce that exists between the light and the dark.

I

El difícil equilibrio entre la Luz y las Tinieblas, los dos bandos que habitan la realidad paralela del Crepúsculo, puede romperse definitivamente: al parecer, un mortal conoce la existencia de los Otros y quiere unirse a ellos. Tres guardianes comienzan a investigar el caso en un lujoso edificio de apartamentos de Moscú. A muchos kilómetros de allí, en una cabaña del bosque, una misteriosa mujer oculta el libro del sortilegio que puede convertir a un humano en un ser del Crepúsculo. Una obra extremadamente original, que combina intriga, acción, magia y esoterismo con un trasfondo filosófico que profundiza en la relatividad del bien y del mal, en la idea de libertad, etc.

Pasean por las calles de Moscú, indistinguibles del resto de la población, y se llaman a sí mismos los Otros. Son criaturas con poderes excepcionales que han perdido su humanidad y pueden internarse en el Crepúsculo, un mundo de sombras paralelo al nuestro. Cada Otro ha tenido que jurar lealtad o bien a la Luz o bien a las Tinieblas. Ambos bandos conviven en una difícil tregua desde que, tiempo atrás, para impedir el caos y la aniquilación, firmaron un pacto y crearon dos patrullas "la Guardia Nocturna" y "la Guardia Diurna" para vigilarse de cerca. Su objetivo no es destruirse, sino mantener el precario equilibrio entre el bien y el mal. Sin embargo, una antigua profecía dice que un día aparecerá un poderoso Otro que será tentado por uno de los bandos e inclinará la balanza. Ese día ha llegado.

I loved [Night Watch] when I read it nearly 10 years ago, so I expected to like this book too. Unfortunately, the main viewpoint character is an incredibly unpleasant person, and every page of the narrative is steeped in contempt. Contempt for every person she meets, contempt for every situation... even the brief opener that she doesn't appear in is completely contemptuous of the characters in it. I don't know if this is a massive departure from the previous book or if my tastes have just drastically changed, but I don't like this at all.

I got to page 107 before I bailed.

Возможно это и не шедевр, но в свое время очень удачно попала книга под руку.
Последний выбор отозвался гулким колоколом где-то внутри.

In my opinon the best part so far. Though it was inner-monologue and dialogue heavy as always, the flow of reading was smoother than in the books before.
As for the German edition, I have the impression that the translation, which was a problem at some points in the previous books, is improving.

Unknown to regular people, the world if filled with supernatural beings called others. Some of the others follow Light while others follow Dark. Both sides work to maintain a balance between Good and Evil in the world, and are bound by a treaty to do so. When a mid-level agent for the Night Watch (the Light others) discovers a unknown other with extraordinary potential for great power, he finds himself caught up in a power struggle between the forces of both Light and Dark. I really enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to reading the next one in the series. This book was originally published in Russia, and I can see how the philosophy of the book was influenced by the author's culture. There were times that I found myself struggling a little to understand the book's philosophy, but I enjoyed having my mind stretched.

It's weird to say that I couldn’t engage with this book when I clearly did--I finished it, after all. I guess it would be better to say that I never really felt involved in it. It was a bit like going to a bad zoo: nothing really felt natural and it seemed like there hadn’t been much attempt to disguise the fact.

I think that’s due in part to the translation. I know translating is hard, but isn’t there an English-only copyeditor on the other end to go, “hey dude, this doesn’t really make much sense”? There were places where I got lost in the pronouns, but the weirdest thing was reading a scene or a conversation’s tone one way only to bump into an adjective that seems the polar opposite of the impression I was getting.

I didn’t like the main character, but it wasn’t in a fun way. I just was watching him move around—I never felt connected to him, or any of the characters. I think a big part of that was because this parallel world was so insular. The times I felt most connected were when humans had the narrative from their perspective for a bit: I feel like I learned more about those characters in a few pages than I did about Anton in the whole book. But for all the normal world was right next door to the Other world, there was almost no interaction…including with me as a reader.

While I do applaud the author for trying to muddy up good and evil a bit, I kind of feel like he went too far. None of the good people really seemed good. They talked about doing things for others, being selfless, but none of them actually were. Really, aside from the philosophizing, I feel like I could have been reading about the Day Watch.

And I felt like…well, what was the point? Where did we get to? Why did we need to get there? I get that a little bit of that was supposed to be in the book—it wasn’t exactly subtle—but I just didn’t feel any urgency.

It’s a cool world, to be sure, but it didn’t feel as rich as the author seemed to imply. People could live for hundreds of years, but where was their culture? There didn’t seem to be any difference between characters several hundred years old and with an average lifetime, but there wasn’t even a hint that this was deliberate.

I’m a bit disappointed—I had hoped this would be better, since I’ve wanted to read it since 2009—but honestly I just didn’t muster up enough interest in this book to care all that much. Not a waste of time, but this book will be going, with the sequel I picked up just in case, on the take shelf. Hopefully someone who appreciates it more will pick it up.

Quote Roundup

30 - "I've always believed that ill-considered but well-intentioned actions do more good than actions that are well-considered but cruel."
Duh. Oh, and irony overload.

61 - "It's discrimination..."
"You're not in the States," the boss said, and his voice turned dangerously polite. "Yes, it's discrimination. Making use of the most appropriate available member of staff without taking his personal inclinations into account."
This confused me...I was wondering if Ignat was gay, but he only seemed attracted to women afterwards. And he certainly had no trouble getting cozy with the person who merited this comment later.

131 - It's not so easy to use the familiar form of my name. From Anton to Antonshka is too big a step.
One thing I did enjoy about the book was that I got to indulge in my love of Russian names--though the -nyms weren't quite as good as in The Brothers Karamazov.

155 - In a war the most dangerous thing is to understand the enemy. To understand is to forgive. And we have no right to do that--we never have had, not since the creation of the world.
You know what, it's entirely possible that my discomfort from this book is due to my Christian upbringing. I was given a very rational approach: you try to understand those who hurt you, you try to see the bigger picture, you try to understand so that you can forgive, maybe even empathize. I'm not pitching atheism as an opposite here--more like I'm saying the refusal to think logically, to even try to understand, is what made it so hard for me to connect. I always want to understand, but no one in this book does, they just want to categorize their Good and Evil--even when everything is supposedly not so clean-cut.

179 - One of the quirks of people who've managed to find their place in life is that they believe that's the way things ought to be. Everything simply works out the way it ought to. And if someone feels shortchanged by life, then he has only himself to blame. He must be either lazy or stupid. or else he thought too much of himself and tried to "get above himself."
Privilege in a nutshell. There's so much of this in the USA.

229 - "Stay in that body! It suits you better; you're not a man, you're a spineless wimp!"
Ugh, sexism. If Sveta were a real person, I'd pity her internalized misogyny. Since she's written by a man, I pity her creator for the same reason. And I hope he quit practicing psychiatry.

228 - "We're not given the chance to choose absolute truth. Truth's always two-faced. The only thing we have is the right to reject the lie we find most repugnant."
Oversimplified thinking masquerading as profound insight. The book was stuffed with it. It vexed me.

283 - How I wished I had clean hands, a passionate heart, and a cool head. But somehow these three qualities don't seem to get along too well. The wolf, the goat, and the cabbage--what crazy ferryman would think of sticking them all in the same boat? And when he'd eaten the goat for starters, what wolf wouldn't like to try the ferryman?
I have no idea what this means. Who or what is the ferryman? The hands conquer the heart? It's implied but not stated that the heart might "eat" the head (of cabbage--I'm disappointed the translator resisted the pun). Is that supposed to mean something? Is this a Russian saying or story? Why is this so much more complicated than it has to be?!

362 - Gesar might act harshly, even cruelly. He might provoke the Dark Ones and leave the Light Ones to carry on alone. He might do anything at all. Except make a mistake.
Part of the reason I was so confused was that the characters were so inconsistent. This guy's infallible? How's that even possible? Don't we witness him failing, making mistakes? Why would Anton believe he can't make mistakes? Is he being sarcastic?

378 - You have to take responsibility for your actions. But sometimes you simply don't have enough strength for that.
Ugh, this character. You have to earn the right to say that kind of thing and have me believe you, and you definitely haven't done that, Anton. There are plenty of ways I might have sympathized with the difficulty of accepting responsibility. Instead I'm just annoyed.

397 - "The potential of Europe and North America has already been exhausted. Everything that was possible has already been tried there. There are a few things being developed right now. But all those countries are already half asleep. A healthy retiree in shorts with a digital camera--that's the prosperous countries of the West. We need to experiment with young ones. Russia, Asia, the Arab world--these are where the battles of the present day are fought."
Interesting and a bit prophetic--but I think Olga really sold places like Mexico and Greece short.

Hmmm... a bit of a let-down, honestly. I really enjoyed the 2 movies made from this book, but there were so many times that I felt that perhaps the translation wasn't great. (References to "jokes" that must've been puns or other play on words in Russian, for instance). The world-building was great - I was very intrigued with the whole idea of this story, but the execution just fell a little flat for me. Found too often I was looking at the clock saying "C'mon, get somewhere exciting already!". So for me: it just didn't work.

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 the language and the questions that the book raised.
The movies were more action packed and about the very basic fight between good and evil with a few intrigues thrown in, but the book was almost more about the similarities between good and evil, who is willing to do what to reach their own ends?

so good. One of the most imaginative vampire/witch/good vs evil narratives I've found. Can't wait to read the 3rd one...

This is an interesting series in that, each time a new book comes out, I tend to pick it up out of obligation, having gone through the full series, yet, as soon as I get a few pages in, I then remember that I actually enjoy the writing, the characters, and the world that Lukyanenko had built over the six novels.

But I think I can say I never had more fun that with this one, supposedly the conclusion of the series. Not only are all the incredible concepts that make this world come alive all on display, but the author simply seems to find more and more avenues to run down, each one a diamond mine of sparkling creativity.

And dammit, this one was just fun. I was intrigued and bought in early for the ride, but I didn't count on all the chuckles along the way.

If I had one quibble about the story, it was the fact that no one seemed to be more upset about the impending apocalypse. Other than that, this story was bang-on perfect.

I quite enjoy this series overall. And this one was fascinating in that I felt it actually opened up the world of the Day Watch and Night Watch.

But I also felt there were quite a few times when it completely veered from the story into long philosophical discussions about Russia, about some theoretical situations and generally seemed to lose the thread.

But when Lukyanenko got back to the story? It rocked. And I loved the ending.

I liked this one a little more than the first in the series - we get to see a bit more of the world and how it works, and it's a very interesting place. Plus this one has several very interesting POV characters, which is a good change from the all-Anton first book (although he is a major character in two thirds of this one, which is fine). Glad to finally be reading this series.