Day Watch (novel)
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Day Watch (Russian: Dnevnoi Dozor, Дневной дозор) is a fantasy novel by Russian writer Sergey Lukyanenko (co-authored with Vladimir Vasilyev). It is the sequel to Night Watch and the second part of a tetralogy that concludes with Twilight Watch and Final Watch.
It should be noted that the Russian blockbuster film by Timur Bekmambetov (entitled Day Watch) - has nothing to do with this novel, and is actually a loose adaptation of the latter parts of the first book, Night Watch.
The English Language versions are due for release on 04 Jan 2007 (UK) and 10 Jan 2007 (USA), ISBN 0-434-01608-X (UK Hardback), ISBN 0-434-01443-5 (UK Paperback), 1-4013-6020-3 (USA Paperback) and Published by William Heinemann (in the UK) and Miramax/Miramax (in the USA), with 320 pages for the UK Hardback edition.
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[edit] The Synopsis
Walking the streets of Moscow, indistinguishable from the rest of its population, are The Others. Possessors of supernatural powers and capable of entering the Twilight, a shadowy world that exists in parallel to our own, each owes allegiance either to The Dark - the Day Watch - or The Light - the Night Watch. In "The Day Watch", second book of the "Night Watch Trilogy", Alice, a young but powerful Dark Other, leaves her house to attend a meeting with her comrades in the Day Watch. The team is on a mission to apprehend an uninitiated Other, a practicing Dark witch who has so far eluded the bureaux responsible for finding and initiating unlicensed practitioners of magic. It seems a routine operation. But when they arrive, the Night Watch team has already made the arrest. A fierce battle ensues, during which Alice almost dies. Drained of her powers, she is sent to recuperate at a youth camp near the Black Sea. There she meets Igor; the chemistry between them is instant and irresistible, as Alice finds herself falling in love. But then comes the shattering realisation: Igor is a Light Mage. Suddenly, Alice remembers him as one of those involved in the battle that left her crippled. Had they known each other for what they were, the idea that there might be anything between them would have seemed impossible. But now that they know, there is no alternative to a magical duel, a battle that neither of them wants to win...
[edit] Characters:
[edit] Light Others
- Anton Gorodetsky (Light Mage) - a reluctant member of Night Watch, in the beginning of the first book, preferred mundane, technical jobs to actual field work. The events of the series forced him to step up and become a full-fledged operative. They also made him considerably more cynical about the cause of Light Others. His favorite past-time is listening to randomly arranged custom mini-discs. During the course of the novel, he and Svetlana separated, though they got back together at the end.
- Boris Ignatyevich/Geser (Grand Light Mage) - an ancient mage of Tibertian descent who taught a number of heroes and philosophers during his lifetime. He moved to Europe during the early 15th century. Although he has had many opportunities to advance to high-level posts within Night Watch, he chose to remain a regional director of the Moscow division. Geser is a battle-hardened tactician who's been known to turn devastating defeats into small victories. He cares a great deal about his subordinates, though he doesn't hesitate to put them in harm's way for the sake of greater good.
- Svetlana (Grand Light Sorceress) - a young doctor who became the Grand Light Sorceress. She was destined to be a mother of the Light Messiah and wife to Anton, although her faithfulness as wife remains in question. Her powers were severely drained by the Mirror. They were later restored by the Inquisition.
- Olga (Grand Light Sorceress) - an old friend and an occasional lover of Geser who was turned into an owl for breaking obligations she had to the light side. Prior to the events of Day Watch, that punishment was lifted and she was restored to full power.
- Semyon (Light Mage) - a crusty, experienced mage with a wryly cynical outlook on the world. Unlike many of his fellow mages, he is a capable fighter even without his magic.
- Tiger Cub/Katya (Shifter-Mage) - a young, playful mage with a penchant for jewels and amulets. She is highly regarded both by Dark and Light Others. It has been said that she could charm anyone. As the name implies, tiger is her animal form. She has a large house riddled with secret passages. She was banished into the Gloom by the Mirror while trying to avenge the death of her lover.
- Bear (Shifter-Mage) - a reclusive, quiet mage known for his calculated, brutal tactics. It has been continuously speculated that he was originally a Dark Other, despite the well-known fact that once the choice is made, the Others can't change sides. His animal form is a large polar bear. He is frequently partnered with Tiger Cub.
- Ignat (Light Incubus/Succubus) - a self-absorbed mage with "[the] face of a Hollywood actor and [the] body of a Greek god". He prides himself on being able to bed any woman (or man, he doesn't care). As a result, he takes failure very hard.
- Garik (Light Mage) - a shy mage infamous for his bad luck with women.
- Igor (Light Mage) - an idealistic mid-level mage. Despite his youthful appearance, he was born in the late 1920s. He is dedicated to the cause of Light Others, though his refusal to compromise his principles has occasionally caused problems. He fell in love with Alyssa while she was recovering from a power drain. He killed Alyssa. A year later, during the Farmir incident, he willingly banished ("defleshed") himself into the Gloom in order to be with Alyssa, much to Geser's chagrin.
[edit] Dark Others
- Zavulon (Grand Dark Mage) - an ancient schemer about the same age as Geser. His true form has taken on demonic characteristics because he had spent a great deal of time in the Gloom. He expressed interest in taking Alyssa back, so long as she did what she was told (only to reveal that he was just using Alyssa as part of his plan) He knew Lewis Carrol.
- Alyssa Donnikova (Dark Witch) - a young witch with the potent for mischief and discreet mind manipulation. She was killed as a result of Zavulon's scheme to deprive the Light Messiah of the proper teacher. She was temporarely resurrected to testify during the Farnir affair.
- Edgar (Dark Mage) - a strong dark mage (1-2 level) who was transferred to Moscow from an Estonian Day Watch on Zavulon's behest. Although he was, for a while, a steadfast supporter of the Dark Other's cause, he found many aspects of the Dark Others' lifestyle distastesful. fter getting tired of Zavulon's schemes, he joins the Inquisition.
[edit] Unaffiliated
- Maxim (Inquisitor) - a middle-class Light Other whose powers emerged before Night Watch could find him. Feeling compelled to seek out evil, he hunted and killed low-level Dark Others with an enchanted wooden dagger. Upon discovering the truth about the Others, he joined the Inquisition.
- Vitaliy (The Mirror) - a minor Dark Other who was turned into the Mirror by the Gloom itself in order to correct the imbalance between the Night Watch and Day Watch in Moscow. As the Mirror, he had an ability to match the power level of any Other he was combatting at the time. In the span of two weeks, he killed Tiger Cub and drained Svetlana's power. Upon completing his mission, he vanished into the Gloom. In a later novel Final Watch, it is stated that a low-lever neutral Other is required to become a Mirror (there are continuity issues between the novels).
[edit] External links
| Sergey Lukyanenko |
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| Bibliography |
| Island Russia: Today, mom ! · Island Russia · Tsar, tsarevich, king, prince |
| A Lord from Planet Earth: A princess is worth death · The planet which doesn't exist · Glass Sea |
| Line of Delirium: Line of Delirium · Emperors of Illusions |
| Labyrinth of Reflections: Labyrinth of Reflections · False Mirrors · Transparent stained-glass windows |
| The Stars Are Cold Toys: The Stars Are Cold Toys · Star Shadow |
| World of Watches: Night Watch · Day Watch · Twilight Watch · The Last Watch |
| Genome: Genome · Dances on the Snow |
| Seekers of the Sky: Cold Shores · Morning Nears |
| Other fiction:: Knights of Forty Islands · Nuclear Dream · The Boy and the Darkness · Autumn Visits · Not the time for dragons · Spectrum · Rough Draft |
| Short Story Collections:: H is for Human · Nuclear Dream · Gadget |
