The Night Watch

The back cover of The Night Watch (Ночной Дозор) claimed the book, and the series it's a part of, are more popular in Russia than The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. That might very well be the case -- hell if I know. The Harry Potter series is a good comparison though. Similarly to it, The Night Watch is low/urban fantasy (not to be mistaken with low and high magic) and the relationship characters have with magic and supernatural is the same way sort of relaxed: fear is not the first reaction to magic and even seemingly grievous injuries can be healed and undone.

Set in Moscow, the book felt very Russian to me. That's hardly surprising given the author, Sergei Lukyanenko, is Russian as well: usually people writing of their home country are able to create an authentic atmosphere without even trying. I, however, have never read anything set in Russia before -- or at least I don't recall doing so. A novel experience, so to speak, but a character uncorking a vodka bottle (or a few) was not unexpected.

The Night Watch follows Anton Gorodetsky. He is a mage and a Light Other. Others appear human but have supernatural powers. The type of powers an Other has determines what they're called: magician, werewolf, vampire etc. An Other more or less chooses if they are Light or Dark (and the choice is permanent). Light Others use their powers for altruistic and unselfish purposes, while Dark ones do the opposite. It seems a rather black and white division but over the course of the novel Anton questions the state of things. It may not be a simple good/bad thing after all.

Anton is a member of the Night Watch whose purpose is to keep an eye on Dark Others, to watch that they are not breaking the treaty that was made a long time ago to prevent the sides from annihilating each other. The Dark counterpart to the Night Watch is Day Watch (which is also the title of the second novel).

Others are also able to enter the Twilight, a shadowy version of the normal world. Others can't stay in Twilight forever (lest it claims them) but it allows them to observe the real world unnoticed. It also gives a convenient place for Lights and Darks to fight each other hidden from human perception. 

Apparently 'twilight' is not a perfectly accurate translation. In Russian, the word used is sumrak: a state of coming darkness in singular (visible in one place, not the whole sky) -- twilight would be the word's plural form, sumerki. Sumrak has also been translated into 'gloom' in other English translations but sumrak doesn't have gloom's negative connotation. Or so I read on Wikipedia.

The Night Watch consists of three stories, each with its own prologue. They follow each other in close chronological order though, and there's an overarching plot that ties them together. The novel treats its reader by allowing them to guess what's going on: who's scheming what.

Urban fantasy is not my favorite genre -- I prefer high fantasy (used to, at least) but this novel was entertaining enough. I will continue reading the series as the books come by. The setting got more and more interesting as the book went on and I hope it continues doing so in the following volumes.