{"id":9031,"date":"2017-04-14T19:28:48","date_gmt":"2017-04-14T23:28:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=9031"},"modified":"2023-05-16T16:47:16","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T20:47:16","slug":"the-last-watch-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9031","title":{"rendered":"The Last Watch"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Last Watch<\/a><\/em> (2009) Sergei Lukyanenko<\/a> translated by Andrew Bromfield<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This text is acceptable to the forces of Light.
\nTHE NIGHT WATCH <\/p>\n

This text is acceptable to the forces of Darkness.
\nTHE DAY WATCH<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is the 4th book in the Night Watch series. As with the previous books, it is broken up into three parts: Common Cause, A Common Enemy, A Common Destiny.<\/p>\n

“Common Cause” opens with a young Russian and his girlfriend visiting a haunted house in Edinburgh, where the young man is killed in the Castle of Vampires.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Gesar is attempting to teach Anton to learn how to use his unexpected powers.<\/p>\n

One of the things I particularly like about this series is how well the children are portrayed–kid logic and all.<\/p>\n

We drank, then looked at each other grimly. The vodka tasted like water. <\/p>\n

Then we looked at Nadya. Our daughter was sitting on the floor, fiddling with her building set. Sensing our eyes on her, she started trilling, \u201cLa la-la la la-la.\u201d <\/p>\n

It was the kind of singsong that grown-ups often use to represent little girls in jokes. Horrid little girls who are just about to blow something up, break something, or say something really nasty. <\/p>\n

\u201cNadezhda!\u201d Svetlana said in an icy voice. <\/p>\n

\u201cLa-la-la\u2026\u201d Nadya sang in a slightly louder voice. \u201cWhat have I done now? You said Daddy shouldn\u2019t drink before he flies away. Drinking vodka\u2019s bad for you, you said so! Masha\u2019s daddy drank, he drank and he left home\u2026\u201d There was a subtle weepy note in her voice. <\/p>\n

\u201cNadezhda Antonovna!\u201d Svetlana said in a genuinely stern tone. \u201cGrown-up people have the right\u2026 sometimes\u2026 to drink a glass of vodka. Have you ever seen Daddy drunk?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAt Uncle Tolya\u2019s birthday,\u201d Nadya replied instantly. <\/p>\n

Svetlana gave me a very expressive look. I shrugged guiltily.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of the things I enjoy in this series is how technology appears in the Twilight, when that technology is used by an Other.<\/p>\n

There was a little dragon with bristling red scales standing in the stone archway and blocking my way.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’m not quite sure what it is, but I do enjoy this story very much. It’s not necessarily any single thing, but rather all the bits put together, the amusing and the horrible,<\/p>\n

“A Common Enemy”, the second story, opens with Las giving a tour to a safety inspector.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, now, what have we got here?\u201d the newcomer asked. \u201cOne item left in the accounts office, one in the toilet, one in the fire safety board on the second floor,\u201d the duty pointsman replied eagerly. \u201cEverything\u2019s in order, Boris Ignatievich.\u201d <\/p>\n

The inspector turned pale. <\/p>\n

\u201cLas, we haven\u2019t got a fire safety board on the second floor,\u201d Boris Ignatievich observed. <\/p>\n

\u201cI created an illusion,\u201d Las replied boastfully. \u201cIt was very realistic.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That scene makes me giggle every single time.<\/p>\n

Involve Tolik from the computer service. And Las from the operations side.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cBut he\u2019s a weak magician.\u201d Olga snorted. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut he has a nonstandard way of thinking,\u201d said Gesar.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A non-standard way of thinking indeed!<\/p>\n

This story sees Anton and Alisher off to Samarkand, which is an especially fascinating story to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive me as much as you think you can spare. I can see you\u2019re a good man, so why haggle? A good man is ashamed not to pay a poor taxi driver enough. He pays more than my conscience will allow me to ask.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a good psychologist,\u201d I laughed. <\/p>\n

\u201cGood? Yes\u2026 probably. I did a PhD in Moscow.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In Russia a caf\u00e9 like this would have been closed down in a moment. In Europe they would have put the owner in prison. In the USA the proprietor would have been hit with an absolutely massive fine. And in Japan the boss of an establishment like this would have committed seppuku out of a sense of shame.
\n…
\nWash the sidewalk with soap in Europe, and it will stay clean for three days. But in Russia you can lick it clean with your tongue, and the dust will settle again in an hour. In Asia, there\u2019s even more dust, so the Europeans and the Russians think, \u2018Dirt, ignorance, savagery!\u2019 But that\u2019s not true! It\u2019s just the way the land is. But when you find good smells in Asia, that\u2019s not the dirt. In Asia you have to trust your nose, not your eyes!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I also like the story, as Anton searches out Rustam, the magician who knew Merlin, but I especially love the bits in Samarkand.<\/p>\n

“A Common Destiny” is the third and final story of the book, and although it finishes up the arc begun in the first story, and the story itself is good, the story is all resolution of the arc, and less the bits that fascinate me. Although I do love this bit, which is something I believe.<\/p>\n

What does all this mean? That a medieval world in which magic exists is the one most attractive to people!\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, yes,\u201d I said. \u201cOf course. Because no one thinks about how delightful it is to relieve yourself into a cesspit when it\u2019s twenty degrees below freezing, or the stench those pits give out when it\u2019s ninety degrees in the shade. Because the heroes in the books don\u2019t get head colds, indigestion, appendicitis, or malaria.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So although the third tale isn’t my favorite, the book still has a strong finish, and there are so many bits in the first two stories that I absolutely love, I can’t not love this book.<\/p>\n

Published by Hachette Books<\/p>\n

Rating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Last Watch (2009) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield This text is acceptable to the forces of Light. THE NIGHT WATCH This text is acceptable to the forces of Darkness. THE DAY WATCH This is the 4th book in the Night Watch series. As with the previous books, it is broken up into three […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,2,41,16,38,34],"tags":[67,66,47,65,313,217],"class_list":["post-9031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-fantasy","category-reread","category-supernatural","category-translated","category-urban-fantasy","tag-andrew-bromfield","tag-night-watch","tag-russian","tag-sergei-lukyanenko","tag-vampires","tag-witches"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2lF","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5616,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5616","url_meta":{"origin":9031,"position":0},"title":"Night Watch","author":"Michelle","date":"January 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Night Watch (2006) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield I really love this series, so it was time to re-read! \u201cThe common good and the individual good rarely coincide . . .\u201d Sure, I know. It\u2019s true. But some truths are probably worse than lies. He enjoyed life for its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "10\/10"","block_context":{"text":"10\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/10-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Nightwatch.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2581,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2581","url_meta":{"origin":9031,"position":1},"title":"Day Watch","author":"Michelle","date":"October 13, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Day Watch (2000\/2006) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield Second book in the Night Watch series as I continued my reread. I love his world building. 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Published by Mirimax Books","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Lastwatch.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1177,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1177","url_meta":{"origin":9031,"position":3},"title":"Twilight Watch","author":"Michelle","date":"June 9, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Twilight Watch (2003\/2007) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield Just finished re-reading Twilight Watch, the third book in the Night Watch series. Now I can start the new book in the series, and find out what Anton's been up to. 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Definitely and irrevocably the final\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/The-Sixth-Watch.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1170,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1170","url_meta":{"origin":9031,"position":5},"title":"Night Watch","author":"Michelle","date":"June 4, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Night Watch (2006) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield Been wanting to re-read this series for awhile. Discovering a fourth book in the series was just the push I needed. 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