It seems very much like a game.

This story unrolls step by step like a game of chess. The players know what they are doing, but the pieces can only move as directed. The pieces cannot understand the minds of the players and neither can we, the spectators. Every move raises new questions and opens new possibilities, there are surprises at every turn. The game plays out not perhaps as anyone expected, but with a satisfying conclusion. I loved it.

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Good Listen,

Further builds on the stories of the characters we were introduced to in book 1, The Night Watch, however for me personally it just wasn't as good. I would still 100% recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the first. I've actually listened to all 3 of the audio books available in The Watch series twice, they are really enjoyable.

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Very entertaining

This book is very entertaining and I could not stop until I had read the whole book. I loved the mix of characters and the plot of the book. You can listen to the book whilst basking in the sun in the park or whilst taking a walk. Absolutely beautiful.

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2 people found this helpful

Great series

I love fantasy and mild sci-fi books, and own the paperbacks of this series. But with lots of long journeys this year I decided to get these audio books for in the car, to help keep me interested and awake!



Great story, the whole series is great and would recommend. The narration is good, once you get past the odd (to me!) change from narration in an American accent, switching to a Russian(ish) accent when speaking as a character. But then I'm from the UK and it just seemed a little odd to me. Good narration though, and good quality audio.

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1 person found this helpful

The Day Watch: Watch, Book 2

Although I loved the films and would recommend them to any syfy movie lovers, yet again it is a case of the book being so much better than the films. For a start this book is split into three separate (although linked) stories and to do them justice each would need a film of its own. I found this book slightly harder to get into than the first and third, largely because it is often told from the point of view of the dark ones. However it is this willingness to write a universe in which characters of vastly different natures are all represented, where the reader can sympathize and in some ways understand the motives of the `bad' as well as the `good', that make this series so brilliant. The character progression that you get throughout the books of both the dark and light characters, as they learn, grow and develop their beliefs really sets the stories apart. The series is written beautifully with wonderful imagery, imagination and plot. The narrator is, in my opinion, one of the best I have heard doing both male and female voices and varying accents equally well so that it is like listening to a play with a full cast. There is nothing that I would criticize.

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1 person found this helpful

Magic and vampires

Another great story by Sergei that will keep you listening. I was hooked by the first book and I am about to buy the next one. Brilliantly narrated with a wonderful story. 10/10 from me

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Great story. Slightly annoying narrator.

Stort is amazing and I'm already ready to start the third book. Whilst clear, the narrator really doesn't do a Russian accent well and this often means that it is difficult to tell which character is speaking as they generally sound very similar. Less annoying but still reducing my listening pleasure was the 'Americanisation' of the character and place names. The Russian names were generally pronounced incorrectly and the name of the city Moscow, pronounced 'Must-cow.'
I'm not sure why the narrator chose to use a false Russian accent, as Murakami books aren't narrated by non-Japanese readers using a Japanese accent, they are just read in a neutral English accent.

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Well written

Really liked the style and format of the story. A very enjoyable read, the narrator was fabulous

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A bit disappointing

I listened to ‘The Night Watch’ and was very impressed, hence my purchase of this, the second in the series, however, I was somewhat disappointed. I didn’t hang on every word as I did with book one, consequently losing the plot on several occasions and having to backtrack. The head-honchos for both sides were mentioned in this, but they didn’t have the same impact as before – I wasn’t sure who was who. In fact I ended not being too sure who exactly were the good guys!

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okey follow-up but not spectacular

Any additional comments?

Review:

Like Book 1, this book is a slow start too. Unfortunately, so is a few characters' tendencies to be too stupid to live (TSTL) too! That, I did not appreciate! However the world building remains beautiful as ever! Similarly to Book 1, this book did not pick up until the very end but the difference is that this ending did not inspire me to pick up the next book in the series, unlike Book 1 which made me pick up this book. I don't know whether the goodness of Sergei Lukyanenko's story telling quality did not translate well into English thus it got lost in translation, or I simply do not appreciate his story telling abilities. Either way, I find the book dragging. But the beautiful world of Anton Gorodetsky and my incurable curiosity as to what happened in the end made me continue reading until the end, but I don't think I would be buying another Night Watch book. If ever, I'll borrow it from the library rather than waste my money on another book in this series.


Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 2
Character development = 3
Story itself = 1.5
Ending = 3
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 2
Pace = paperback: 1 (audiobook: 14 hrs and 25 mins listening time)
Plot = 1.5
Narrator = 4

Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5

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