The Night Watch (US)

'Like Tolkien getting mugged in a Moscow back alley by John Le Carre.'—Bleeding CoolThe 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 MoscowThe 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. The forces of Light and Darkness have co-existed in a delicate balance for hundreds of years ... until now. Even as the Night Watch polices the Dark Others--among them vampires, witches and shape-shifters--a chain of mysterious events triggers a dreaded, age-old prophecy: An immortal with special powers will come to switch sides, shattering the balance and unleashing an apocalyptic war unlike any the world has ever known 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