This is an excellently written book, and the Russian/English Translator has done a great job with it. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a great book to read. My wife, ReynaVoop turned me on to this series, and as always, she was right about this book.

Ok, after about a month of shipping problems I finally got it! (It was user error originally, to give them some credit).

Loved it. Now, don't just go and buy Twilight Watch and read it first, cuz then it might not make much sense. Read in order. But narratively speaking, this is AWESOME!

There were a couple times when I flinched while reading when Anton made jabs at the USA. I won't lie. But it wasn't something really dwelled on, but it was jarring enough to be remembered.

You get to see Kostya again, who we only got a glimpse of in NightWatch, and quite a bit of him too. There wasn't long remembrances like in DayWatch. It was an adrenaline rush as in constant action and intrigue. The writing was so much better (either that or the translator did a much better job) than the first two and quicker paced.

About the characterization. Anton in the last one (DayWatch) seemed more like a puppy dog that you wanted to kick (yes, I get frustrated by made-up characters)(I do NOT endorse or practice the act of kicking puppies). This one he again became the guy we fell in love with in NightWatch. Svetlana also shines. Some of the characters who were more prominent before (Gesar, Olga, the rest of the NightWatch and pretty much all the DayWatch) take a backseat. The Inquisition takes a step forward, so we get to see more of Edgar and Weitzlav.

NightWatch and DayWatch were great books but had to keep reverting to what happened (a lot of explanations, a lot of history, a lot of back story) which makes sense when you get into a series. TwilightWatch managed to break the mold though and it was like you got to experience things first hand as they were happening.

Number 4 (LastWatch) needs to hurry up and come out now! I can't wait.

DEFINITELY recommend!

If you have read the 1st two, you have to read this one. Fast action and sets things up for the last book hopefully to be released by summer of 08. If you love the supernatural like I do these books are a must read.

My ranking of the Night Watch novels are Day Watch first, then Night Watch and then Twilight Watch as a distant third. This book was written a few years after the other two, likely to coincide with the release of the movie Night Watch in Russia. It definitely feels like a cash in and almost has a fan fiction quality to it. It's not the worst thing I've ever read, but it is naggingly non-essential. Read it if you really enjoyed the first two and aren't really interested in reading anything else.

My ranking of the Night Watch novels are Day Watch first, then Night Watch and then Twilight Watch as a distant third. This book was written a few years after the other two, likely to coincide with the release of the movie Night Watch in Russia. It definitely feels like a cash in and almost has a fan fiction quality to it. It's not the worst thing I've ever read, but it is naggingly non-essential. Read it if you really enjoyed the first two and aren't really interested in reading anything else.

The 5 stars are for the book. If I could rate the translation... "-10" might be something.
For all the people who liked it: imagine how much more you'd like it in the original. The translation is unbelievably horrible. The Lukyanenko's excellent style and slang is lost completely. His characters, who are thoroughly modern, sound like they were written by Dickens.
For all people who did not like it: that is because of translation. All the comments about all characters sounding the same... Yep. Not in the original.

Sergei Lukyanenko outdid himself with this third book in the series. All three stories in this book are excellent. For new readers, be sure you've read Night Watch and Day Watch before getting into this one. After finishing the book, I emailed the publisher to find out when Last Watch (sometimes titled Final Watch in fan forums) will be translated to English. They tell me the release will be sometime in 2008. Can't wait!

As the first reveiwer did an excellent job I will not rehash the story line


Another excellent Watch book. This one has some interesting concepts and the stories tie together more than in previous books. If you liked the first two then you will like this one

Sergei, has created yet another hyper-realistic, hyper-stylized frenetic horrorfest, a great follow up to the two classics, Nightwatch and Daywatch

I really liked "Nightwatch". But after I dragged myself through "Daywatch" I should have stopped. Instead, hopeless optimist that I am, I trudged through "Twilightwatch". By the time this book ended, every character felt identical, Sergei did not even bother differentiating their speech patterns or their mannerisms, or anything. In fact, the characterization was so poor, I figured out that whenver a character showed personality, it was a clue as to what was about to happen. The third (also the final) story in this book was so bad, it played out like an over-the-top session of Dungeons and Dragons. On that note, the final confrontation actually felt like it was written by a "rules lawyer" type of D&D player.

Sad to say, I was really hoping that this book would at least be better than "Daywatch", at it wasn't. "Nightwatch" was great, but people looking for better-than-generic fiction should avoid "Twilightwatch" at all costs.

I've really enjoyed reading this series and would love to see more adventures featuring Anton and his family...I might have liked this book more than Day Watch. The witch was a great character and it was non-stop from beginning to end. Seeing Anton work with Edgar, Zabulon, Gesar, Kotsya and his extremely powerful wife was great. I still would have liked more "horror" since that's my thing...I've recommended this series to a number of friends and will continue to do so. Great stuff!! Long live the Twilight :)

That's .. really all I had to say. The first movie, Night Watch, lured me in, and I'm completely addicted.

I tried initially to surmise this series almost as "Harry Potter for adults," but that approach doesn't even come close. While Lukyanenko and Rowling utilize some of the same storytelling tools, Rowling can not even come close on subtlty and red herrings. Lukyanenko can bring you through an entire storyline thinking you have the entire plot foresen, and, in the final ten pages, tell you your wrong and explain why the situation was completely different from what you thought, without introducing any new information or plot points, or forcing you to have memorized one esoteric fact that links the plot together.

This book, similarly to Night Watch, focus on the actions of Anton, the Night Watch operative from the prior two books. He has advanced in power significantly, and continues to strive for fighting for the Light while simultaneously fighting off the crushing despair that the fight is not only impossible to win, but that they are no better than the forces of Darkness, and that fighting has robbed him of his remaining humanity.

Parts of the story delve into the philosophy of magic and the nature of some of the Others, from the "lowly" vampires to the Higher Magicians, without making magic the be-all, end-all that it is in, oh, let us call it Potter-World. Many of the abilities commonly used are little more than tricks of hypnosis, and initially made me think more of Jedi than practicers of magic. Several comments are made about humans being aware of the Others, and actively working against them, and while they're relatively easy to keep under watch, the Others still can't take their eyes off them.

The book strikes a good balance between the utilization of magic and using it as a constant deus ex machina. What it continually comes down to is the intelligence and will of the characters involved, not a usage of spells or Power. While this volume introduces a spellbook of tremendous power, the story isn't solely about the book, but also about the forces of Light, Darkness, and the Inquisition all work at cross purposes, which each trying to manipulate the others and even themselves to come out ahead, even by a centimeter.

This follow-up to the (also amazing) Russian magical reality books Night Watch and Day Watch returns us to Anton's mind and to Anton's relationships with those around him. Focusing on interactions with the mysterious Inquisitors, this book takes Anton further along in his path to understanding that there really is very little difference between Light and Dark and that the shades of Grey they all walk in are probably more suited to all Others than being separated like this.

In the first of the three "books" that are traditionally found in each of these novels, Anton has to go "undercover" into a community of humans to try to discover who, if anyone, has been told about the Others. Not only is it dangerous for the Others to be revealed, but whomever revealed the Others to this human has also promised to turn this human into an Other him or herself, which is - according to all but the most forbidden of legends - impossible.

In the second "book," Anton runs across an unregistered and VERY powerful witch as well as several werewolves who were apparently hunting humans while on vacation in his dacha (country house) and has to try to take care of these problems with the help of Svetlana.

In the third "book," a powerful vampire and member of the Inquisition has been murdered and a book thought to be the stuff of legends, that will allow Others to turn humans into Others themselves, has been stolen from the house of the witch Arina. Anton, with the help of the vampire Kostya and the Inquisitor Edgar, has to try to find the culprit and the book.

Lukyanenko has created a vivid world in modern-day Russia. He shows us the despair with which many modern Russians live while they try to adapt to a capitalistic society, a method of life that is completely foreign to everything they've ever known before. Through this is shown the plotting of the Watches and Inquisition and the Others, using the humans often as pawns and foils in their games for glory. It is an often bleak outlook (to me). My husband, on the other hand, found the book to have a lot of humor in it - he says there are a lot of instances of outright slapstick. So I guess it is all in how you look at it - there is a situation where Anton has an old out-of-work drunk work on a BMW. He brings in several friends and they completely take apart the car. They get so involved in it that they even forget to get drunk. Me, I found that sad. My husband thought it was hysterical.

At any rate, do NOT miss this amazing series of books. You will not be sorry for reading them.

I finished reading Sergei Lukyanenko's Nightwatch epic trilogy this weekend and all I can say is WOW!

All three books were fast paced and filled to the depths of oblivion with socio-political commentary, brilliantly developed characters, and a detailed nitty gritty view of life in Moscow, past, present ... and future.

The trilogy is a mix of interconnected stories overlaid on top of an age old apocalyptic battle between the light and the dark. So many characters move in and out of this complex story, and even the seemingly inconsequential characters end up being the catalysts for one existential moment of crisis after another.

Werewolves, Vampires, Magicians and Witches abound ... not to mention murder, mayhem, and a little black magic. The story has a dark humour to it as well ... the two head bosses are absolutely hilarious as they try, and try again to undermine each other's authority through one intrigue after another, sparing no life or expense. However, aside from the metaphorical aspects of the characters other qualities and their rank and positions, they are above all very, very human -- wanting for a better life and a better world to live in. Love, happiness, and peace -- even creatures of the other world need those things as well.

But the underlying theme of the story, so brilliantly portrayed through our hero Anton, is that no matter how much power you have to change the world for good or for evil, the choice is never easy, as the line between the two is barely a little chalk in the sand. How does one decide, and how does one put aside their own personal views and think objectively about world change. What would it really be like to be an other -- incomprehensible power yet tortured by their own differentness.

Out of all the profound lines in this trilogy, I was hard-pressed to choose one that could sum up the work ... I quote Mr. Lukyanenko: "When people think of freedom, they are not thinking of other people's freedom, they are only thinking of their own bondage."

This series of books (tetralogy) got me reading againg after being obsessed with my PSP! I can't wait for Final Watch to be translated to english and come to the states!

Sergei Lukyanenko once again did his trick - I was totally captivated by this, 3rd in the tetralogy, book and it's spellbinding and magical world of good and evil, light and dark, and even dusk.
The whole series is really great, but this one is my favorite. I love characters, love the action, and all those unexpected and unforseen twists in the plot! Once you start reading, you just can't put this book aside.
Creatures of dark and light, withes, wizards... It's like Harry Potter or even greater for the adults.
Start reading this book, this series (in order or not), and I'm almost sure that you'll be as spellbound with it as I was. A totally good read for those who love contemporary fantasy

I decided to read Night Watch only after watching the movie and was blown away by the writng style, character exposition, and overall concept.

The translator is one of the best in the business, but it's obvious that despite his exceptional writing and translation skills, he is not the source of the rich reading experience, but only the conduit.

As a matter of fact, if you have not read any of the books, but only seen the movie, you will find that the screenplay does not do the story justice. I haven't yet seen the second movie, Day Watch, but I will as soon as it hits my area or comes out on DVD.

This is the third book in the four-part trilogy (yes, I know how that sounds, but apparently there is a fourth book - "Final Watch" on the way).

The stories mainly revolve about the adventures of Anton, who starts the series as a low-to-mid level magician and progresses to the highest levels over the course of the books. Anton is a highly skilled operative of the Night Watch. Currently he is married to one of the most powerful light magicians, and has with her a daughter destines to be a supreme mage, powerful-beyond-description. In this one, he is hot on the heels of a rogue "Other" who has somehow acquired the abiity to transform normal humans into an other. I won't say more because I don't want to spoil it other than to say it shares the major theme of "The Incredibles" in that if all people were to become exceptional, then no one would be exceptional. Suffice it to say that after I read Day Watch the day after it hit the book stores, I was champing at the bit for this one. Now I have to bide my time 6 months or more for the final book.

Bottom line: This book is the third in a series and describes the continual sparring of two factions: The Day Watch is staffed by Dark Others, who describe themselves as agents of free will and who prevent the Light Others from violating terms of a millenium-long truce. The Night Watch is staffed by Light Others, who describe themselves as the good guys and who struggle to prevent Dark Others from violating the truce and from interfering in the affairs of normal humans. Each side is led by a powerful magician who continually hatch complex plots to out maneuver the other. Finally there is the Twilight Watch - comprised of Others from both the Light and the Dark, and who work as a Supreme Court to adjudicate disputes and act as final arbiters of the truce. The writing is rich in description, emotion, and action. You don't have to start with Night Watch: A Novel, but you have to start with one. Read any of the first three in any order and start your immersion into a complex and well thought out world inhabited by magicians, were-creatures, vampires, and the like.

This novel was better than the first two, I think, in that it is written like a novel instead of a collection of loosely related stories. We all like Anton and prefer the viewpoint to stay on him :)



What does bug me is with each new book he comes out, he has more and more and more American hate. I mean come on, how often do you need to trash Americans, you don't see American novelists writing such crap like that about Russians.



Unfortunately the next couple of books have been written already in Russian, I can only wait and see what anti-American stuff he has in that. Oh well, the book is great, I encourage everyone to read it!

After Day Watch focused on the narration of a few different characters, Twilight Watch is back to following the exploits of the main protagonist of the series, Anton.
Also, the three stories in this one are more interrelated than the individual stories in the previous two books. I loved the first two and this one is no different.
The action is tremendous, as more of the world of the Others is explored and explained.
This series has been a complete pleasure and I'm dreading getting to the last page of Final Watch when that is out.

After just finishing the Night Watch trilogy, I have to say that this book is my favorite one. The pacing is fast, the plotting complex and interesting, and the concepts are all pretty cool. Unlike Day Watch, which seemed to have several anticlimaxes after a long build-up of suspense and plotting, Twilight Watch does a much better job of reaching satisfactory conclusions for the different stories involved (which are more interrelated than in the previous books). Which isn't to say that Night Watch or Day Watch wasn't enjoyable; they definitely were, it's just that Twilight Watch does everything a little better. Certainly worth checking out!

You could start the series with this book, but I strongly recommend this wonderful trilogy in order. While the story is not as rigorously linear in plot, as for example, The Lord of the Rings, your understanding and appreciation of the series will be enhanced by reading them in order.

CAUTION: If you order the trilogy together, you may be at extreme risk of sleep deprivation.

The book really rips along, and the author uses the action to disclose new information about the basic laws and types of creatures of magic, so that we continue to be drawn in.

He draws an admirable balance between keeping you off-balance--guessing about what will happen next and pacing his revelation of critical details. It's very suspensful, and it resulted in another sleep deprevation experience.

"Twilight Watch" (same as "Dusk Watch") is the 3rd book in the Night Watch trilogy-now-tetralogy. It opens with a mystery: the Night Watch, the Day Watch, and the neutral-overseer Inquisition receives anonymous notes that a way has been found to turn normal humans into Others. Yet this isn't supposed to be possible! The danger represented by the information would turn the world upside down.

In the 2nd half, Anton with his wife Svetlana and toddler daughter, while vacationing in the country, come across a strange, powerful witch living in the woods, hiding from something...

In this book, Lukyanenko keeps up the excellence of his writing, characterization, excitement, and the moral quandry is as present as ever. The line between the Light and the Dark gets finer still. There is more exploration of the "science" behind magic and a look into the past that I really enjoyed.

This book is definitely more fast-paced than "Day Watch," with many exciting and shocking twists and turns, and a stunning conclusion.