Day Watch

Day Watch (2000/2006) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield

This sequel to Night Watch picks up after the events of the previous book, but while the first book was written from the perspective of Anton Gorodetsky, Night Watch agent, this story is told from the perspective of three different Dark Ones, all three Day Watch agents.

Like Night Watch, the book is broken into three stories: Unauthorized Personnel Permitted, A Stranger Among Others, and Another Power.

The first story is my least favorite, and to be honest, I skipped most of it. It is very good, I just don’t like the main character, Alisa Donnikova.

My palm was aching slightly from the recoil. The “gremlin” isn’t a very complicated spell, but I’d cast it in too much of a hurry.. I’d left the Volvo with an incorporeal creature fiddling about under its hood–not even a creature really, but a bundle energy with an obsessive passion for destroying technology.

I think I believe gremlins exist.

Regardless of how I feel about Alisa, you cannot skip this story when reading the book for the first time. It’s really very good, but, as I said, I just don’t like spending time with the main character.

The story starts with a young woman going to visit a woman who has a reputation as a witch–someone who can really solve problems for you. But there is a cost.

“I’ll take all the sins on myself, any you like. Do we have a deal?”

The seer looked at her sternly, disapprovingly.

“That’s not right, my daughter… About all the sins. Who knows what sins I might hang on you? My own, or somebody else’s… then afterward you would have to answer to God.”

That’s not as far fetched an idea as you might think. Consider the occupation of sin-eater–someone who would take upon themselves the sins and transgressions of the deceased. If someone could ritually take the sins of the dead by eating bread, then it stands to reason sins could be transferable in other ways.

This isn’t, of course, the point of this story, but I really do love these details that appear throughout the story.

The second story, A Stranger Among Others, is told from the point of view a Dark Other who is headed to Moscow–but he doesn’t know why, or even who he is. His memory starts with the beginning of the story. Like this first, this is a very good story. Unlike the first, I don’t hate spending time with Vitaly Rogoza. He’s fascinating, and more than Alisa, gives us a good look at the complexity of Dark Ones.

“Do the Dark Ones really need a pointless fight? Do they need pointless casualties?” I said, answering a question with a question, like some joker from Odessa.

Of course, the glimpses into the Twilight are also fascinating.

In the Twilight the mini-motorbike looked a bit like the little hump-backed horse in the fairy tale. A small animal with handlebars for horns and one big headlight-eye.

The third and final story deal with the repercussions of both the first and the second stories. This story shares time equally between Anton and Edgar–a Dark Magician. Both have been sent to Prague to present the cases of their respective Watches to the Inquisition.

We also learn a bit more about the Reign Brothers, who want to bring back Fafnir. Again, I love how mythology and folklore are brought in as with Fafnir and Sigurd.

But, the story is complex and fascinating without that mythical grounding. Take this conversation between Gesar and Anton:

“Is love really a weakness?”

“If you have love in you, it’s a strength. But if you are in love, it’s a weakness.”

Did I mention how much I love the little cultural glimpses?

Igor poured vodka into two glasses without speaking. He covered two with slices of bread, set one in front of Anton, and took the last one for himself.

That comes from the Russian (Russian Orthodox) tradition for mourning the dead.

So, despite skipping most of the first story, this really is another very good, and very enjoyable story.

Published by Miramax

Rating: 8/10

• Browse the archives:
  
• Twilight Watch » »
• « « Night Watch