Nightwatch

Nightwatch 4/5 Sergei Lukyanenko

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…..

Moscow, 1998.
What if there were Others amongst us, humans able to slip into Twilight, magicians, vampires, witches, shape-shifters?
What if, for thousands of years, these Others had been waging a war between the forces of Light and the forces of Darkness, senselessly killing millions of humans?
And what if….there was a truce?
For every murder – a healing.
For every lie – a beautiful truth.
For every intervention of Darkness – an equal intervention of Light.
Wouldn’t you go….
…just a little bit…
…insane…?

Anton is a rather mediocre magical of Light, working mostly indoors with analyses. But when his boss throws him out in the field of Moscow to try an find an unlicensed vampire, he suddenly finds himself in a rapidly escalating intrigues which he barely understands. A potentially Great Magician needs to be found before the Dark side curses her, a young boy of uncertain destiny needs to be swayed to the Light, another magician needs to be freed of her prison in a bird’s body and at not time must magic be used, unless you’re willing to face the hideous consequences of giving free leeway to the Dark sides murders and atrocities.
Would it be so strange if Anton just….
…snapped?

And in the end, what’s really the difference between Dark and Light – in a human perspective?

This is a great story, but it might have suffered somewhat in the translation. The language is boring, but the story moves rapidly and interestingly forward. Urban fantasy at its peak!