This is a very intriguing book, the first in a trilogy, about maintaining the status quo in Russia between the Dark Ones (witches, wizards, vampires and suchlike) and the Light Ones (magical in the cause of good rather than evil). It was very thrilling and exciting, and I enjoyed finding out about the different characters, particularly as there were quite a few twists and turns along the way.One quibble: Rather than being one long, cohesive novel, it is split into three stories within this book. Although the stories were interconnected, and followed on from each other, this left me feeling a bit disappointed. This was particularly the case at the end of the first story, as I was really getting in to it, and wanted more twists and turns and more excitement....and then it ended. And then we went into another story that I got sucked into....and then it ended. You get the idea. I think I would have preferred it to be a bit more of a substantial cohesive whole. But then, I'm not a huge fan of short stories anyway, so maybe that's just me! ( )

Surprisingly easy to read for a book which was originally in Russian - sign of an excellent translator - I am not sure if this is designed for adults or young adults: it is written in a very approachable manner and is quite at home in the company of Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl.
I like the idea of 'the Others' and the Twlight world they can inhabit at will but with potentially devastating consequences. The balance of power between Good and Bad, or the Light and the Dark, is an ancient concept, but there is little hint of Gnostic mysticism in the story, more of the Cold War, with its give and take and eternal compromise. Keeping the peace is more important than individual survival and the innocent are sacrificed for the greater good: much is made of this blurring of moral lines - does the end justify the means?
An enjoyable story, mildly exciting, moderately entertaining and somewhat thought provoking, I don't understand why it became so popular, caterpulting the author into best seller status, but soon became fond of the characters, especially Anton Gorodetsky, Olga and Svetlana. ( )

I didn't read this until after watching the Russian movie - which I found to be awesome it was so much fun - so while I somewhat surprised at just how different the storyline was from the movie I was at the same time thrilled to read the authors true intentions.

The Washington Post started their review saying the 'brace yourself for Harry Potter in Gorky Park'. Huh? Not even close.

This beginning to a four book fantasy series is set in modern day Moscow. The story involves a race called the "Others," who live and work alongside us, feeding off the negative or positive mental energy that ordinary human beings produce. They fade in and out of a gray fourth dimension known as the Twilight that overlays our natural world. These Others are born to regular human parents, but when each Other comes of age, he or she must choose to join the Light or the Dark side: "If you always put yourself and your own interests first, then your path leads through the Darkness. If you think about others, it leads toward the Light." Pretty simple really.

The forces of Light and Dark are locked in a thousand-year-old Cold War, bound by an ancient truce that keeps the world from being destroyed. Each side maintains a Watch to ensure that the opposite side is not violating the terms of the peace treaty by interfering illegally with the direction of human history.

Enter Anton - he is a somewhat low member of the Night Watch. Pretty ordinary. He falls in love with Svetlana - who is a powerful Other. Anton is told constantly that as Svet's powers increase she will outgrow Anton and move on. Just the way things are in their world.

I enjoyed Anton immensely - and shared his disbelief and frustration to find that in each of the three parts of the novel that all the crap he went thru in the end, his boss cleverly orchestrated everything and it was all pre-ordained to come out exactly as he wanted it to as he had some sort of behind the scenes action going on. Poor Anton I am sure felt pretty used by the end of the novel.

I will continue with the series. I more than enjoy Lukyanenko's style. ( )

http://lampbane.livejournal.com/531944.html

"I enjoyed this book very much, especially in how it was divided into three distinct stories which were loosely interconnected. What's great is that by formatting it into three smaller novels, the stories themselves remain tight with little filler. I'm not sure if it was this, or the writing style, but I was impressed at how well I could remember everything. If they mentioned something that happened earlier, I usually remembered it with perfect clarity and could find the appropriate page in seconds. That's the kind of impact the novel made on me."

Highly enjoyable read. A bit slow to start but once I got into it I couldn't wait to pick it up again, highly imaginative and full of suspense and thrills. I can't wait to read the other books in the series. ( )