Wächter des Tages

Дозоры #2

by Sergei Lukyanenko, Christiane Pöhlmann (Translator)

Vampire, Gestaltwandler, Hexen, Magier - seit ewigen Zeiten leben die sogenannten "Anderen" unerkannt in unserer Mitte. Und seit ewigen Zeiten stehen sich die Mächte des Lichts und die Mächte der Finsternis unversöhnlich gegenüber, zurückgehalten nur durch einen vor Jahren geschlossenen Waffenstillstand. Zwei Organisationen - den "Wächtern der Nacht" und den "Wächtern des Tages" - obliegt es, das empfindliche Gleichgewicht der Kräfte aufrecht zu erhalten. Doch nun droht dieses Gleichgewicht zu kippen und die Welt ins Chaos zu stürzen...

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Vampires, Russia, Paranormal

526 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Сергей Лукьяненко (Russian)
Szergej Lukjanyenko (Hungarian)
Sergejs Lukjaņenko (Latvian)
Sergey Lukyanenko
Sergej Luk'janenko (Italian)
Сергей Лукяненко (Bulgarian)
Sergej Lukianenko (German)
Siergiej Łukjanienko (Polish)
Sergej Lukjaněnko (Czech)

Sergei Lukyanenko (as his name appears on books and films in U.S. markets) is a science-fiction and fantasy author, writing in Russian, and is arguably the most popular contemporary Russian sci-fi writer. His works often feature intense action-packed plots, interwoven with the moral dilemma of keeping one's humanity while being strong.

Lukyanenko is a prolific writer, releasing usually 1-2 books per year, as well as a number of a critical articles and short stories. Recently his works have been adapted into film productions, for which he wrote the screenplays. He lives in Moscow with his wife Sonia and two sons, Artemiy and Danil, keeps mice as pets and enjoys cooking.

Reviews

[Mario the lone bookwolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

To avoid prejudices and double standards, it´s never bad to switch between the protagonists´ and antagonists´ perspectives and, why not, write whole parts of a series from different viewpoints.

I´ve seen close to not other fantasy and dark fantasy author doing this, thereby giving it an extra, deep, substantial layer of philosophical undertone and completely understandable explanations for the mentalities implemented in the melancholic, depressing, and hopeless dark fantasy wasteland.

One of the most important insights is that evil, duh, doesn´t see itself as that bad. It´s just as if a lion, bear, or any flesh eating animal would be seen as evil murderer, because it needs the death, or in the case of black magicians and witches, at least suffering and weakening by parasitizing, of others to survive. Of course, we are no animals and this would thereby be a very cheap excuse, but if there would really be magic powers and one could just get big on the dark side, it´s at least understandable. Or if her/his talents are just onesided, what should the person do, not use them and unleash the full potential because of unrealistic, altruistic, moral, and ethical questions?

Lukianenko implies that the destructive and bad, easy way is far more lucrative and seductive, all thanks to human nature, because the having lesser power, being friendly and helpful, rainbow unicorn way just isn´t realistic for predatory, carnivorous apes, just as vegetables are hardly ever beaten by a bloody, medium filet steak. Must suppress the evil voices in my mind,… drooling.

One can see it in real life, being a friendly, motivated, sober, recycling, vegetarian, eco friendly, open minded, etc. person isn´t as sexy and fun as being a drunk, egoistic, hateful, etc., well, much more realistic person. And so, in Lukianenkos´ world, we are the livestock, cattle, and brain food, and the inner struggles and subjective paths of the higher evolved magic fractions decide whether we are slaughtered or cared for with interspecies love. Because, of course, to a certain extent, evil can do good and good evil, which complicates the dynamics between not so good, closer to evil and not evil enough.

But, not as in a real life where evil rules everything, a balance, rules, even courts, a bonus malus rating system are implemented to make sure that the power balance stays intact, no war breaks out, and each side has it´s primal goals and cozy or bloody scopes. At least as long as nobody beyond all categories comes witching around.

Heck, in real world, this would be like everything evil in one half of the population and an angel fairy government on the other side, each one with its own secret services, specials forces, investigators, etc. It´s no wonder that this genre, like Butchers´ Dresden files, is exploding, because putting the stereotypical dark fantasy, mythology, and fairytale inspired tropes into new, funny, disturbing, mind penetrating, subtle criticizing contexts is a great recipe for grey reading pleasure between boring, stereotypical white and black fractions.

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...

[Holli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nightwatch was told in the voice of just one of the Light ones, Anton. This book continues the story, weaving in threads from the previous book while creating a whole 'nother cluster fuck for the characters involved. It is brilliant. It is also in three parts, but this time each part is told by a different Dark One. The first part is told by a love struck witch called Alisa. Honestly, the author did an amazing job, but I wasn't sure I could stand a whole book about her. Luckily it is the perfect amount. I even began to pity her myself. (Kristin, I think you'd really like her part in everything.) The second part is told be a powerful magician who is suffering a bit of amnesia. The climax of his story is beyond words. The third part is told by the magician Edgar, the temporary stand in for the extremely powerful, 'vacationing" head of the Daywatch. He himself is not that powerful by any means, so he is trying to figure out why the hell he was called to Moscow. (Stevie S. this is the story for you!) All three stories connect in the end, beautifully woven in and out of each other. Love, Tragedy, Conspiracies, Magic, Religious debates, Ethical dilemmas. Fucking good. For a while good, sweet old Hufflepuff me was considering joining the Daywatch! It has all the good vs evil banter of Good Omens, but it is taken further in the absence of God and The Devil. And the ending! oooh that bastard Lukyaneko! My fist was raised, shaking to the heavens. He got me! I thought I had figured it out, but he got me! well done!

FUCKING GOOD STORY! Can't wait to pick up the Twilightwatch!

[YouKneeK · Rating 3 out of 5]

Day Watch is the second book in the Russian Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko. Like the first book, it’s split up into three stories that build on each other to tell a larger story. Unlike the first book, each story focuses on different characters.

I had a lot of mixed feelings while reading this. First of all, one of my biggest complaints about the first book had been all of the repetitive musings on morality. In this book, I’m happy to say there wasn’t very much of it. There was a little in the first story, but it was from the perspective of a character on a different side of the conflict than the one who did all the moralizing in the first book, so it was relatively interesting and this time the author didn’t make the mistake of repeating the same thoughts all throughout the rest of the book.

I enjoyed the first story up until close to the end. I enjoyed seeing things from the perspective of the Day Watch, and I liked getting in the head of one of the characters who had been a villain in the first book. However, I was very annoyed near the end when Alisa and Igor “fell in love” after one day of wistful glances from a distance, an awkward conversation, and then a night full of sex. And then this is followed up with the “tragic” duel between the star-crossed lovers after they learn who each other really is. It was supposed to be tragic, but I would have had to buy into the relationship first. With so little development, either on or off the page, it wasn’t even a relationship in my book.

Then I really enjoyed the second story, until I got to the very end. There was a lot going on and I enjoyed speculating how it would all tie together, and I was particularly interested in what was going on with the main character. Then I got to the end, and it seemed like everything in the story had been a manipulation to restore the balance of power between the light and the dark in the most unnecessarily and unrealistically convoluted manner possible. So I was annoyed again.

Then there was the third story. Up to this point the first two stories hadn’t appeared to be directly related, but the third story started shedding more light on events in both stories and tying things together into a larger plot. So I thought maybe I judged too soon at the end of the second story and I started getting interested in the big picture all over again. The end of the third story wasn’t as annoying to me, but I still felt like things were over-plotted when considering the final revelations. I had a similar reaction to the stories in the first book also.

So how do I rate this? I think I’m going to give it 3.5 stars like I did the first book, because I did enjoy most of my time spent reading it. This time though, I’m going to round down to 3 on Goodreads. I debated whether to read the next book. The stories are enjoyable, but I’m repeatedly dissatisfied by the endings. I was tempted to read “just one more book”, but I suspect my reaction to the third book would be similar and I’d get to the end of that book feeling just as undecided as I do now. If that pattern continued, I’d likely find myself at the end of the entire six-book series feeling horribly annoyed. :) I’ve therefore decided to move on to something new.

[Kat Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book of the Watch series really hard to get into.

I suppose because Lukyanenko's morose and realistic writing was great for Night Watch but was totally depressing and frustrating in Day Watch. There's only so much human weakness, moral reasoning and realistically bad endings I can take, okay! I'm a natural optimist! It gets to me!



Ah! Much better!

It was still well written. The characters were still great. Lukyanenko is still absolutely brilliant. Sometimes though, I want to live in dream land where everything is great and the good guys always win.

[John McDermott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed The Day Watch a lot more than the previous book - The Night Watch. However, at times it did struggle to hold my attention. So, ho-hum ; enjoyable but a low three stars.

[Cynnamon · Rating 4 out of 5]

English version below

*******************

3 weitere Episoden aus dem Wächter-Universum, diesmal aus der Perspektive der Dunklen.

Mir hat es gut gefallen, wenn auch nicht ganz so gut wie der erste Band.

---------------------

3 more episodes from the Guardian universe, this time from the perspective of the Dark Ones.

I liked it a lot, even if not quite as much as the first volume.

[Viktor Stoyanov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Дневният патрул идва на смяна, ще се смени ли и водачът в позиционната игра?

Така е представено противоборството между патрулите - светлите и тъмните - една безкрайна партия шах с накланящи се везни, или променлива сила на позицията (за да останем в шахматната метафора, която и авторът използва). В първата книга светлите натрупаха по някоя и друга точка. Инициираха Светлана. А сега?

Положителните ми впечатления от "Нощния патрул" в обши линии ги има и тук. За да не се повтарям - ревюто е: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Какво отчитам като занижение в нивото от първата книга?
- Нямаше толкова ... мхм "power" в сблъсиците. И в текста като цяло.
- Повече дребни интрижки и сплетни.
- Повече юридически хватки и по-малко качествен екшън.
- Ранната и донякъде безсмислена загуба на герои. Няма да спойлвам.

Какво ми хареса повече:
- Музиката. Много силни текстове бяха включени в книгата. Харесаха ми и ще потърся оригиналните парчета. Но все пак музиката не е дело на автора на книгата - та, кредит само за включването ѝ на точните места.

[Asia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Kathrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading the book for the second time, I liked it even more and upped the rating to 5 stars.

Somehow, the writing as well as the topic of the stories worked way better for me. Somehow, it was really easy to connect to the characters.

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daywatch is made up of three stories dealing with the powers of light and dark. The first story is about a dark witch who goes to a beach to regain her powers. I highly disliked this story. 1/5 stars. The second story is a solid semi-mystery that kept me entertained but lacked any real lasting substance and I’m already forgetting the details 3/5. The third story brings everything together but it wasn't enough to raise the rest of the book up. 3.5/5.
The final score 2.5/5 rounded up to 3 stars. This is why I wish Goodreads would start allowing half-stars.

[oguz kaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

*İlk kitaptaki kaos dolu diyaloglar devam ediyor ama biraz iyileşme var. Bu da anlaşılabillik açısından çok daha kolay bir öykü zinciri oluşturmuş. Bu sefer dünyadan zevk almaya çalışan, önce ben diyen grup olan Karanlık Varlık'ların bakışından anlatılan bir roman var.

**İlk hikayede bizim aptal ama gittikçe zekileşen Aydınlık Varlık olan karakterimizi görmeyince afalladım. Fakat ilerledikçe Gündüz Nöbeti'nin hikayesi Gece Nöbeti'ne bağlama işini çok iyi kotarmış.
Entrikanın, kaosun, aşkın, büyünün karmaşık bir anlatıda başarılı şekilde karıştırıldığı ve çözümlendiği bir romandı.

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second book in the series, featuring the ongoing struggle between "the dark" and "the light." Like the first book, it is told in a series of three interwoven stories, but the changing narrative styles are somewhat hard to follow. Much of the book describes the battle between these forces, and the two organizations established to monitor their actions: The Night Watch, which is staffed by Light Magicians (virtuous), and the Day Watch, which is staffed by Dark Magicians (freedom-loving libertarians.) At the center is a treaty, drawn to restrict the use of magic and to license the activities of vampires, werewolves and other creatures. There is a doomed love story, a powerful relic on the loose, and the mysterious agendas of the two leaders of the Watches, while they sacrifice their chess pieces in an attempt to emerge victorious.

[denudatio_pulpae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jak jest po ciemnej stronie mocy?

Alicja Donnikowa, młoda wiedźma, trafia do ośrodka, gdzie ma regenerować siły po wyczerpującej akcji Dziennego Patrolu. Na miejscu poznaje chłopaka, Igora. Między młodymi wybucha uczucie, jednak miłość szybko przeradza się w prawdziwy dramat, Igor bowiem nie jest zwykłym śmiertelnikiem. Czy ich spotkanie to przypadek, czy świadoma, zaplanowana ingerencja osób trzecich, która będzie miała wpływ na odwieczną walkę Światła i Ciemności?

Łukjanienko zgrabnie rozwinął historię i dodał nowe wątki. Równowaga sił jakoś jeszcze zipie, ale zarówno jedna, jak i druga strona robią co mogą, żeby ją wykończyć. Rola Swietłany i Antona zaczyna się powoli krystalizować. Poznajemy motywacje i racje Ciemnych, przez co lepiej jesteśmy w stanie zrozumieć ten niekończący się konflikt. Ogólnie na plus.
7/10

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please Note: Read and reviewed in 2007.

My Synopsis; In this, the 2nd book of the Others' series, we are again treated to three separate, yet intertwining stories: first, the young Dark witch Alisa loses her powers in a struggle over an illegally practicing Dark witch and is sent to Artek (the most elite of the camps for the Young Pioneers during the Soviet era) to regain her strength. There she falls in love with another of the camp leaders ... In the second story, a Finnish group of the Dark Ones called the Brothers of Regin steal the mystical Talon of Fafnir and attempt to bring it to Moscow. Vitaly Rogoza, an Other who seems to have lost his memory and is gradually gaining it back, along with stronger and stronger powers, gets in the line of several murders, causing the Light Others to attack him. There is not much more I can tell about this story without completely ruining it - you will simply have to read it for yourself. In the third story, we are treated to a gathering of the Inquisition to determine the guilt or lack thereof regarding these events.

My Thoughts: This story is told more from the point of view of the Dark Ones, which is very interesting in that it seems to show that most of the scheming and problems are caused by the Light Ones, because of their misunderstanding of the ultimate goals of the Dark Ones, and their refusal to even try to understand. The Dark Ones are shown to only wish to live their own lives in freedom and do as they wish as long as they don't infringe on others' freedoms - which is very similar to the witches' creed: "An it harm none, do as thou wilt." The Light Ones, however, believe that everything the Dark Ones do is a direct attempt to "start something" and/or are lies. It is truly a tragic situation.

The addition of many references to Russian pop culture means that there will be little bits and pieces here and there that people who aren't familiar with Russian modern culture might find a bit abstruse; however, this does not lessen the enjoyment of this very well-done book. I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys thought-provoking works, epic stories about the struggle of Light vs. Dark, paranormal alternate history stories, or just a good book.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another three stories, following on from the events of The Night Watch, which had resolved matters quite nicely, thank you. (There was a time when this series would have been published as a nanology not a trilogy.) The Nightwatch had a somewhat unsettling habit of switching from the first person perspective of Anton, Nightwatch Agent, to a third person perspective whenever the author felt the need to describe events Anton was not witness to. The first story in the volume switches to a first person perspective of a character encountered briefly a number of times in the previous volume - and she is from the Day Watch. Other first person perspectives are used in the subsequent stories and again third person is used whenever the author feels like it. All this switching around is a little distracting and detracting....
The witch Alisa, protagonist of the first story in the present volume is not a likable character (downright unpleasant, in my view) and I'm confident she is not meant to be. Yet at the denouement I found myself sympathising with her more than a little - that is quite some achievement on the part of Lukyenenko, who is, at his best, a very capable writer.
The middle story I found to be relatively weak, because the central character literally is not a character - Lukyenenko thereby defeating his own great strength of making his protagonists beleivable. The reasons behind this weird situation are explained, but still, the story is not what it perhaps could have been.
The final story sits perhaps between the other two in quality, this time because I felt that dragging Germanic and Christian mythology to the forefront of matters was a mistake. It somehow distracted from Lukyenenko's own imaginative creations.
Over-all this volume is weaker than the first and it is because it is more disjointed. The changes of perspective between characters leave you without the unifying influence that the use of Anton's first person view in all three parts of The Night Watch provided.

[Hank · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two parts of this were exciting and full of mysteries and 5 star stories. The last part was a mostly dry, russian, introspective, courtroom slog that seriously dinged my enjoyment. I loved the two characters in the first two parts, I was constantly engaged in where they were going and how it related to the overall story. They both had depth and although Lukyanenko clearly loves characters living inside their own heads, the first two were minimized enough to add to the story instead of weigh it down. The last piece to the overall book felt like an overly complicated courtroom drama without the drama. The pieces I did like were the vodka drinking session and the two lovers being true to their love at the end. 3.5 stars rounded up because Russian authors always have a slightly different perspective than western authors that I enjoy.

I didn't enjoy it enough to immediately start reading the next one although I own it. Which means I probably won't ever read it because the "oh look a new book" syndrome I am suffering from will bury it before I get back to the series.

[Julie Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing my rereading of the series and it is proving a satisfying experience, which is always the test of a good book for me. The first time through one is taken up in the excitement of the storyline unfolding. The second time around when one is more relaxed and looking around the neighborhood (so to speak) is when a story shows staying power or the lack thereof.

My original review is below.
================

Loneliness, dejection, the contempt or pity of people around you--these are unpleasant feelings. But they are precisely the things that produce genuine Dark Ones.

As with the previous book in the series, The Night Watch, this is comprised of three stories. Unlike the previous book, this is told from the Dark Ones' point of view and by three different protagonists. Intriguingly, it begins with statements opposite to those which open Night Watch. We are told that this text is not approved because it is deleterious to the cause of Light (signed the Night Watch) and deleterious to the cause of Dark (signed the Day Watch).

The first story is told from a Dark witch's point of view as she is sent to recover from a difficult assignment. It was definitely dark and almost kept me from continuing. It's funny because it isn't as if the story contained anything that I haven't encountered in other books and it definitely isn't because it is told from the dark point of view. There was just something about it that made me not want to read it, which is a tribute to the author's ability to convey atmosphere in his storytelling.

I thoroughly enjoyed the second story which was a mystery within a mystery as a man riding a train realizes he has amnesia ... and is an Other. The third story brought the other two together in a climactic trial by The Inquisition.

As in Night Watch, each story examined a facet of Dark or Light. I was especially interested in the third story where most of it is shown from the point of view of Edgar, a Dark Other, or Anton, our familiar Light Other from the first book. Several times each was judging the other for the very same thing while thinking, "Just like a Light/Dark Other..." In this story we also hear about how Inquisitors see things and it was an interesting contrast to the Others.

Day Watch uses these engrossing stories to examine good, evil, love, and sacrifice, continuing the themes found in Night Watch. As such it gave me pause while I thought about the author's representation of the very thin line that separates good from evil, and true love from a self-serving pretense of love.

It was quite good overall, although it was not quite as good as Night Watch. Definitely recommended.

[Lee Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a fun 300 page book. Unfortunately, it continued for an additional 200 pages. Like "Night Watch," "Day Watch" introduces us to magicians, shape-shifters, and vampires that must mind the crossing of t's and dotting of i's in magical law in order to keep a treaty between the powers of light and dark so that a conflagration at best or apocalypse at worst can be avoided. There is always a way around pro forma, however, and the plot derives from the loopholes found, alternately, by the light and dark powers. Bored yet? Add another 100 pages of "if-then" scenarios by various magicians, and you have simulated the experience of reading this book. Sure, the constant subterfuge can lend itself to interesting moments, but it begins to feel too much like a free plot card as the novel drags on. At the end, I found myself exclaiming "Why not?!" instead of "Deus ex machina!" A credit is due to the author for finding his device. It has its moments: the social commentary directly relating to modern Russia, such as notes on idealistic young people with guitars, the nature of conversation with and without vodka, or the overzealous obnoxiousness of well-meaning do-gooders, made me laugh out loud or, at least, find a sympathetic soul to appreciate the lines. This is a fine book for mindless entertainment reading, although it is slightly less satisfying than Night Watch, which you will want to read first anyway.

[Elena Linville-Abdo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had absolutely loved Night Watch, but unfortunately I wasn't as trilled with Day Watch. The story is okay, but it lacks the soul of the first one. Or maybe the novelty just wore off. Also, after reading several books by this author, I can sadly say that he never manages to stick the ending. The stories just sort of... fall apart by the end.

[Dacko]

Sećam se samo da mi je bila vrlo zabavna dok sam čitala... i ničeg više. To me, doduše, ne sprečava da pročitam i poslednji nastavak u serijalu, već samo da knjizi dam veću ocenu od 'dopala mi se'.

[Kaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Experience is primarily the ability to restrain our fleeting impulses.”

A solid sequel to a extraordinary start of series which is based on ambiguity and similarities between Light and Dark. It wasn't disappointing in any way, but I found myself longing for something more. More Anton, I guess. He is the true protagonist of the story and I don't see a reason for this experiment with changing POVs.

In the first part, a witch Alisa who temporarily loses her powers. The head of the Dark Ones, Zabulon, sends her to recover while posing as a camp counselor - she can suck energy from the happy young campers. Without access to her magic, she finds herself unexpectedly falling for a handsome co-worker Igor, who happens to be one of the Light Others.

In the second part, a man finds himself on a train, with no memory of who he is, just a huge bag full of cash. In time, he learns he's one of the Others and much more. He was so utterly boring.

“Maybe it was cold and miserable in the forest, but man can bring his own warmth and comfort anywhere he goes.”

That weird Other was monotonous, but he had a few good quotes and this was one of them. It's so bizzare reading about a character who has no personality or emotions and I don't like it. There are more characters who deserve reading space.

A powerful artifact has been stolen from its guardians and it could throw off the strenuous balance between Dark and Light. The Inquisition gets involved, most of the story we see from Edgar's POV and he is very much interesting. Basically, he is in Day Watch what Anton is in Night Watch. The two of them share one astonishing conversation that makes the ongoing "cold" war between Light and Dark even more perplexing and exciting.

Essentially, it doesn't matter which side in the war you belong to because each will sacrifice its expendable pawns in the pursuit of breaking the balance. The goals and strategies are set by the leaders Geser and Zavulon and the rest are just trying to live their lives and survive.

I liked the greyness and the moral conflicts, which are especially shown in conversations between Edgar and Anton, and Igor and Anton. Lukyanenko is the master of obscurity but there is one thing doesn't have one clue of - romance. E.L. James did better job in 50 Shades of Grey with it than Lukyanenko. Relationships are awkward, all of them are insta-love, characters have no apparent reason to fall in love with each other and their bond is painfully platonic.

The middle story I found to be relatively weak, because the central character literally is not a character, as I said before. The reasons behind this weird situation are explained, but still, I almost started skipping pages. Maybe it would've been more interesting if the plot was told from more POVs, just like in the third part of the book.

I still can't tell Semyon from Garik, or Ilya from Ignat, but I know I like all of them, lol. Wait, is Ignat the one who sleeps with everyone, but prefers boys? Hm. Oh, and I think Semyon is the one Anton had great bromance with in Night Watch. The point is, all of these characters deserved more chapters or POVs, instead romance is central to the plot - Alisa and Igor who had tragic and "epic" love story based on ONE GOOD SEX and one day of getting to know each other. Also, there are Anton and poor one-dimensional Svetlana, which seem to be one of those passive-agressive couples who are miserable but stay together to torture each other. Oh, and the song lyrics. Stop. with. the. song. lyrics.

As previously pointed out, Lukyanenko explores characters we have already met but the perspective changes into introspection of those of the Day Watch. I thought I'd find this one more interesting than the first one, because I always like the bad guys better but the constant change of POVs really got on my nerves. The Night Watch was held together so beautifully by the continuing presence of commendable Anton and his inner moral demons. On the other hand, Alisa and Vitaly were difficult to sympathise with. Edgar was better and maybe this would've been better book than Night Watch if it was told entirely from his POV. One of my biggest problems is that Anton isn’t the protagonist and the best quotes are said from wrong people.

Alisa could've been likable if ALL her thoughts weren't about sex with hot guys. Or making unimportant guys fall in love with her. She had temper and interesting way of thinking, she was also cheeky and durable, but she let boys dictate her life.

“Because love stands above Darkness and Light. Because love is not sex or a shared faith, or "the joint maintenance of a household and the upbringing of children." Because love is also Power.“

This quote is so beautiful and it would've been more believable if it weren't told by Alisa. I still can't comprehend the big love between Alisa and Igor who knew each other one day. Ok, he made her come, but lets not start a revolution because of it.

Suprisingly, Edgar was the most interesting character in the book. He did what he wanted to do and couldn't care less about social conventions, but he had a slight idea of what is right and wrong. Being rational is his strongest suit and it saved his life in the end.

Anton was barely there but it was nice to see the perception others have of him. He isn't a strong Mage, but everyone respect him and wait for him to make a decision. He has this incommodious combination of caring too much and not caring enough. I still don't know how he didn't get in big trouble by now.

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

This book is killing me. So many debatable quotes about love, but none of the actual relationships are worth debating. We're just suposed to believe when author tells us the couples are in love, but daoesn't give a crap about actually showing it.

“Love was something different. Love was pure delight, a fountain of emotions, sensual delights, and enjoying spending time together.”

I'll end my bitter ranting here.

[BBFeimova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Имам огромен проблем с усещането за героите. Отношенията помежду им намирам за недостатъчно задълбочени, откъдето и моето възприемане на образите им - няма емоция в тях, каквато и да е, ни гняв, ни любов, ни приятелство, съперничество, чувство на превъзходство, страх и прочее, нищо, нищо от изброеното не е въплътено в същността на персонажите. За всички техни чувства "се казва, а не се показва" в текста.
Иначе страхотни разсъждения на Лукяненко. Не съм от върлите последователи на фентъзито, но точно тези "Патрули" ги определям като "философско фентъзи"(е, май няма такова понятие, но аз ги разбирам така). Развитието на историята е някакво съчетание между редене на пъзел и партия шах - героите ту наместват събитията според новонаученото, ту предвиждат евентуалните възможни ходове на противника. Но и в тази част ми липсваше динамиката, действието, екшънът.
Не е за 2 звезди, но макар и много трудно, ѝ давам 3, само заради любопитството ми дали в трета част ще се раздвижат нещата.

[Gergana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Този отворен край хич не ми харесва. Нямах намерение да продължавам с другите. Тази така ми се влачеше, чак към края ми стана интересна. Във всеки случай, сега ми се чете някаква класика, която засяга малко по-дълбоки теми от добре познатата битка между доброто и злото.

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where is this going... I feel like something big is being set up
Also when did they get married?

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
This is the sequel to "Night Watch" and was wonderful! All the best characters are back, including some new ones that totally blow you away. This is basically a continuation of the first book. I was a little disappointed it did not continue with the main character from book one...but after I got past that I LOVED IT! It was refreshing to see how the dark ones went about their business. Not as interesting a conclusion as in the first one but I think that was mainly because of the set up for the third book. It is so great to read such deep writing, having numerous, seemingly unrelated events come together to form a single tapestry in the end. I also enjoy such stories that show that, though there is a struggle between the forces of Light and Dark, it could be disastrous if either side ever gained a significant advantage.

I highly recommend it for fans of non-traditional fantasy. My only complaint is that sometimes all the plotting gets kind of complicated. I think that was intended, though.

[Karine · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best fantasy books I've ever read, Day Watch is a phenomenal sequel. While Night Watch gave the perspective of the Light Ones, in this Russian saga of good versus evil, Day Watch challenges the reader's perceptions with the perspective of the Dark Ones. The three short stories are expertly intertwined to reveal a game of chess in which the characters struggle to figure out their role.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hodnocení: 3,5/5

Denní hlídka mi přišla o trochu slabší než předchozí díl Noční hlídka. Chybělo mi v ní víc akce, ironického humoru a taky pořádný nečekaný zvrat a velkolepé závěrečné vyvrcholení. Přesto se těším na třetí díl Šerá hlídka, protože série Noční hlídka pořád patří v žánru urban fantasy k tomu nejlepšímu, co můžete najít.

Celou recenzi si můžete přečíst zde:
http://www.suzannesworldofbooks.cz/cl...

[Ute · Rating 5 out of 5]

Der vorliegende Text ist der Sache des Lichts abträglich und nicht zur Verbreitung zugelassen. (Die Nachtwache)
Der vorliegende Text ist der Sache des Dunkels abträglich und nicht zur Verbreitung zugelassen. (Die Tagwache)

1. Satz - Der Hauseingang flößte keinen Respekt ein.
letzter - "Darauf kann er ohnehin verzichten."

[Uros Rakic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Alisa :'(
This book is like 10 times more sad then the 1st.
But i loved it!

[Zéro Janvier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le deuxième tome d’une série de fantasy urbaine russe, avec des magiciens, des sorciers, des vampires, et des loup-garous qui s’affrontent secrètement dans les rues de Moscou, et parfois ailleurs. Ce deuxième tome m'a encore plus plu que le premier, probablement car les intrigues gagnent en profondeur et en enjeux, et je dois dire que c'était plaisant de lire ces histoires du point de vue de "l'autre camp" par rapport au premier tome.