Night Watch: Book One

"Like Tolkien getting mugged in a Moscow back alley by John Le Carre." —Bleeding Cool

The explosive first installment in Serge Lukyanenko's visionary and internationally bestselling Night Watch series—an inventive blend of atmospheric urban fantasy and riveting spy thriller set in contemporary Moscow

The Night Watch series tells the story of the Others, an ancient race of magicians, shape-shifters, vampires, and other supernatural beings that live among us, and swear allegiance to either the powers of Darkness or the forces of Light. For the past 1000 years, the two sides have been locked in an uneasy truce, keeping their powers in balance as each side secretly plots to take the advantage for themselves. The forces of the Light tasked with keeping the Dark Others in check are the Night Watch.

Night Watch features Anton Gorodetsky, a mid-level Light magician, who during his first field assignment, stumbles upon a cursed young woman—an Other of tremendous potential power who has yet to choose between Light and Darkness. As the two sides prepare for battle, Anton discovers that their destinies are closely intertwined, and the slightest wrong move could cause the destruction of Moscow, or even the world.

They are the "Others," an ancient race of supernatural beings—magicians, shape-shifters, vampires, and healers—who live among us. Human born, they must choose a side to swear allegiance to—the Dark or the Light—when they come of age.

For a millennium, these opponents have coexisted in an uneasy peace, enforced by defenders like the Night Watch, forces of the Light who guard against the Dark. But prophecy decrees that one supreme "Other" will arise to spark a cataclysmic war.

Anton Gorodetsky, an untested mid-level Light magician with the Night Watch, discovers a cursed young woman—an Other of tremendous potential unallied with either side—who can shift the balance of power. With the battle lines between Light and Dark drawn, the magician must move carefully, for one wrong step could mean the beginning of annihilation.

"Like Tolkien getting mugged in a Moscow back alley by John Le Carre." - Bleeding Cool

"Marvelous, inventive detail." - Washington Post Book World

“Fascinating. . . . [The] excellent translation by Andrew Bromfield keeps the pace moving. . . . One of the most original and readable supernatural fictions in some time.” - Scotland on Sunday

“Brace yourself for Harry Potter in Gorky Park. . . . The novel contains some captivating scenes and all kinds of marvelous, inventive detail: The vampires’ seduction of a teenage boy is bone-chilling; every time Lukyanenko described the Other-worldly Twilight, I felt lured into it; and the fantastical powers exercised by Anton and his colleagues range from delightful to awesome. - Washington Post Book World

Praise for Night Watch: “[As] potent as a shot of vodka. . . . [A] compelling urban fantasy.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The Night Watch is inventive, sardonic and imbued with a surprising sense that, for this author and his audience, much of this stuff is new-minted.” - Independent (UK)

“[An] intelligent thriller.” - Telegraph (UK)

""Star Wars" meets the Vampires in Moscow . . . it bursts with a sick, carnivorous glee in its fiendish games." - The New York Times

"This modern day mythical fantasy is Anne Rice on an epic scale, a hugely imagined world. A chiller thriller from cold of Russia, this one's been selling like hot cakes around the world." - Sunday Sport