Day Watch (novel)
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Day Watch (Russian: Dnevnoi Dozor, Дневной дозор) is a fantasy novel by Russian authors Sergey Lukyanenko and Vladimir Vasilyev. The second book in the tetralogy of Watches, it is preceded by Night Watch and followed by Twilight Watch and Final Watch. Day Watch also stands out of the tetralogy as it is the only novel in the series not told from Anton Gorodetsky's point of view.
While the 2006 film, Day Watch bears the same name as this book, is actually a loose adaptation of the latter parts of the first book, Night Watch, and not an adaptation of this novel.
The English translation by Andrew Bromfield was released in January 2007 both in the US and UK. [1][2][3]
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[edit] Plot summary
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.
The American edition of the book consists of three novella length stories. The European edition only contains the first two of the following three. [4]
[edit] Unauthorised Personnel Permitted
(this story is being told from the point of view of Alisa Donnikova)
Alisa Donnikova, 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 and recruit an uninitiated Other, a practicing Dark witch who has so far eluded the bureaus 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 Alisa 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 Alisa finds herself falling in love. But then comes a shattering revelation: Igor is a Light Mage. Alisa remembers him as one of those involved in the battle that left her crippled. Had they known what they were, they would have not entered their relationship. But now that they know, Igor (who reacts with rage, feeling he was tricked) challenges Alisa (who reacts with a more depressed note of sadness) to a duel. Alisa allows Igor to choose the site of the battle: off-shore (while the two are swimming). Alisa chooses not to fight back, allowing Igor to magically pull her under the water and drown her while she contemplates the fact that as a Dark Other, she could gain no power from the humans happily frolicking on the shore even if she tried. While this is going on, Makar, a boy that had become infatuated with Alisa, swims out to rescue her and also drowns.
Note: The first scene of this novella forms the basis for the first scene of the film Night Watch. In the book, a woman named Natasha goes to a witch to have her cast a spell to make her husband fall back in love with her. In the movie, Anton goes to the same witch to have her kill what he thinks is his wife's child with her adulterous lover (it turns out to actually be his own child). Both scenes play out in much the same way from there, but the arrival of the Day Watch and subsequent battle does not occur in the movie.
[edit] A Stranger Among Others
(this story is being told from the point of view of Vitaliy Ragoza)
A man named Vitaliy Ragoza awakens while walking through a park late at night with no memory of his past or who he is. Following an internal instinct, he is able to protect himself from a werewolf and board a train to Moscow. Once in Moscow, still following instinct, he registers his presence as a Dark Other with the Day Watch and proceeds to stumble into a series of seemingly accidental encounters with the Night Watch, often resulting in a Night Watch member dying. He kills Tiger Cub in self-defense as she seeks revenge for him setting a trap that (legally) kills a Night Watch investigator trespassing in his hotel room.
While this is taking place, a Day Watch splinter group named the "Regin Brothers" stages an attack on the Inquisition to steal a powerful artifact named "Fafnir's Claw". Only 4 Regin Brothers survive and they head to Moscow. Ragoza inadvertently winds up in possession of the claw, but does little with it and gives it back. Eventually, the Inquisition calls a meeting to determine what is going on and whom, if anyone, should be held responsible. Anton is called to attend, but Zabulon encourages him not to with the promise that he will be able to live freely with Svetlana if he does not.
After Vitaliy and Anton have a car accident (deliberately staged by Anton) on the way to the meeting, Svetlana concludes that Anton and Vitaliy are engaged in a duel that will result in Anton's death. When Vitaliy arrives at the meeting alone, she assumes the worst and strikes him with all of her considerable power, leaving her dangerously drained (like Alisa above). Vitaliy is unaffected, although his clothes and MiniDisc player are destroyed. Anton then appears and gives Vitaliy his own MiniDisc player as a replacement. The Inquisition concludes that Vitaliy is a manifestation of the Twilight attempting to rebalance Light and Dark since light has become overly dominant and is in danger of being able to recreate the world as a paradise. Vitaliy was able to neutralize Svetlana by his presence and restore the balance. Svetlana is sufficiently reduced in power that she and Anton are now theoretically able to live as equals, as Zabulon promised. Vitaliy leaves the courthouse, listening to music, and dissipates into the Twilight, his purpose fulfilled.
[edit] Another Power
(this story is the only story in the tetralogy without any narrator)
The third story revolves around a trial by the Inquisition to investigate the events of the first two stories. The first part of the story deals with various involved parties travelling to Prague (where the trial will be held), the second part involves the characters meeting in a number of different configurations and talking, the third part involves the trial itself.
All of the surviving major characters of the first two stories are on their way to Prague, which is the new location of the Inquisition after the Regin Brothers destroyed the old one. Edgar, a medium high level operative, is going to plead the Day Watch's case. Edgar assures the 4 remaining Regin Brothers that the Day Watch will protect them. Anton is going as a prosecutor for the Night Watch. Igor is already there being put up (but not held in custody) by the Inquisition. In Prague, Anton meets an American Air Force pilot who is also a Light Mage. The pilot is proud of his work (bombing Kosovo). Anton is appalled that anyone can perform such evil acts and still align themselves with good. Anton and Edgar meet over beer and discuss dark vs. light philosophy. Edgar is clearly not a terribly enthusiastic Dark Other, but he's doing his job nevertheless. Anton then goes to visit Igor while Edgar, left to his own devices, uncovers a lot of evidence to indicate that Zabulon is setting him up to be killed in order to facilitate the resurrection of Fafnir. He's understandably frightened and angered. Meanwhile, Anton, eager to distract the suicidal Igor, gets him roaring drunk on Vodka and attempts to draw him into a strategy session to try and figure out what the Day watch is up to, with some success. They wonder whose destiny it was that Olga changed at the end of Night Watch and here it is revealed that, though Svetlana's child would always have been a powerful light Other, the changes mean that her birth has been timed to make her a Light Messiah. Gessar arrives and pleads with Igor to stick around for at least another 20 years. Igor is non-committal.
The next day, the trial begins. The Regin Brothers are tried first and are found guilty only of lesser crimes, though they transported Fafnir's Claw, they didn't participate in the theft. They are stripped of all but the very smallest of their magical powers and sent on their way. The main focus of the trial is the events of the first story. A number of minor charges against Gesar and Zabulon are dismissed under technicalities. In order to get to the bottom of the case, they temporarily resurrect Alisa, who implicates Zabulon in her demise, stating that Igor was not responsible for her death. Igor is cleared of all charges. However, when Alisa is sent back to the Twilight, Igor follows her, dying himself. Zabulon is ecstatic, admitting that he had indeed planned to sacrifice Alisa in order to remove Igor, saying that Igor was the only one that could have trained the upcoming Light Messiah.
[edit] Characters in "Day Watch"
[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 pastime 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 Ignatievich/Gesar (Grand Light Mage) - an ancient mage of Tibetan 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 (Anton caught her in Ignat's bed, apparently after a threesome). 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 and is largely saddened with her demise.
- 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 Teplov (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 was drained of his powers during a battle again the Dark Others and send to a camp at the Black Sea to recuperate. He fell in love with Alisa while she too was recovering from a power drain, while both were unable to recognize each other as Others. Upon discovering Alisa was a Dark Other, he took it badly and challenged her, which led to her death as she didn't fight back. A year later, during the Fafnir incident, he willingly banished ("dematerialized") himself into the Gloom in order to be with Alisa, much to Geser's chagrin.
[edit] Dark Others
- Zavulon (spelled Zabulon in the English translation) (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 Alisa back, so long as she did what she was told (only to reveal that he was just using Alisa as part of his plan). He knew Lewis Carrol.
- Alisa 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 temporarily 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 distasteful. After 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.
- Vitaly Ragoza (The Mirror) - a minor Other who was not associated with either side, but was turned into the Mirror by the Twilight 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 combating 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 Twilight.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ ISBN 0-434-01608-X (UK Hardback, published by William Heinemann, with 320 pages)
- ^ ISBN 0-434-01443-5 (UK Paperback, published by William Heinemann) At Amazon
- ^ ISBN 1-4013-6020-3 (USA Paperback, published by Miramax) At Amazon
- ^ The Day Watch - Book review
[edit] External links
- Lukyanenko's official site
- Vasilyev's official site
- Review of the book by Charles Packer.
- Review at SciFi.com
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