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J. B Kraft
"lonestargazer"
(Palestine, TX United States)
I have been a reader of Sci-Fi and Fantasy for almost 50 years, and I can say that this is the best "first novel in a series" I have read in about ten years. In fact, I literally could not put it down, starting it at 10PM on Friday night and finishing it at 3AM on Saturday morning. Then I couldn't sleep thinking about the ideas in the book.
If you have read translated Russian fiction, you will find a familiar feel to the translation that accentuates the best of the Russian Masters. At the same time, as ideas go, the premise is an ingenious variation on a recurrent and Manichean theme -- Light versus Dark. The story is told through the perspective of Anton, a Night Watcher, who works for an Agency that (1) keeps its eyes on the forces of the Dark; (2) enforces an uneasy and temporary truce with them; (3) pursues its own inscrutable agenda in preparation for the inevitible struggle to tip the balance of humanity one way or the other. I have not enjoyed a novel on this theme one-tenth as much since the late Roger Zelazny's "Jack of Shadows", which I thought superb. Yet, Night Watch is even better and more nuanced.
While long (about 500 pp), it is deliciously detailed but fast paced. The characters are wonderfully drawn as we discover new things about them through Anton's eyes, and he becomes increasingly ambivalent about the "party line." I agree that only a contemporary Russian could tell this story as effectively, given the recent history of that country. You will be constantly surprised and entertained as you deduce the real rules that govern this Earth and see the characters develop.
This was a great read, and I can't wait for the next installment. Because the novel is told in the first person point-of-view, I have some skepticism of how well this can be turned into a movie, and still convey the complex ideas and character development -- especially that going on in Anton.
I saw the movie, then ordered the book. The book is far better. It's new-feeling even though the dystopic, gritty, urban fantasy landscape is getting pretty common in the US market. It's fresh to our eyes because the setting is in Russia, and the characters have different outlooks than we are used to seeing. There's a "life sucks, so deal with what you're dealt and don't whine" sort of underlying attitude that I found interesting. The POV character is seemingly depressed, but he muddles along, and is a good guy. The evil is evil but you can sort of see their side of things, too. In short, it is a world made up of gray, and you are ultimately left to decide for yourself what is right and wrong with this world. Also, a killer mystery/thriller plot.
I saw the movie when the limited screening was released in Los Angeles. I loved the movie so much that I had to read the book, I only had to wait 6 months till that happened. I read the book in 3 nights and I was very surprised, I didnt realize that the movie was made following only 1/3 of the book, just the first story. I found the other two parts just as good and it really made me enjoy the movie even more. All in all a very good book and a very fast read, I'll definately read it again and I can't wait until Day Watch comes out in January!
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The Argus (Melbourne,..., Saturday 3 July 1937 Supplement: Week-End Magazine p 31 ... I New Fiction Received AN ADRIATIC FANTASY Literary Spring." 1» Cliarlr-i Norden (Tabir , ami ... the respectable suburbs in which most of the heroes and heroines of modem fiction .spend their lives. I This novel Is a fttrprlsc packet which rails to mind no other work of fiction ' excepting ... 347 words
The Argus (Melbourne,..., Friday 10 August 1934 p 7 ... NEW FICTION I FANCY AND FANTASY Imaginative Authors There are signs in "Defy the Foul Fiend" that Mr. liearl," by John Collier is closely acquainted with classics of fiction. Deliberately he has ... closely ac ¡ quainted with classics of fiction. De ] llberately he has recalled styles of the past In ... 1170 words