Several weeks ago I finished reading Nightwatch by Sergei Lukyanenko, a Russian science fiction writer. The Russian movie by the same name, based on the book, is quite good. As is its sequel, Daywatch.

My decision to read the book after watching the movie violates one of my soft rules — read the book before watching the movie based on the book. I wonder if I had read the book first (a) if I would have seen the movie and (b) would have had a different impression of the book.

In the mid-eighties, I read Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick after watching Blade Runner, which is based on Do Androids, and found the book disappointing. I admit I find Dick to be a difficult read anyways because he’s an “ideas” writer. Yeah, the technology is cool, Mr. Dick, but what do your ideas tell us about the human condition? (I have since read other Dick books where I’m closer to understanding the appeal.)

The movie Night Watch combines very cool computer graphics with a leading sympathetic figure by the name of Anton. It creates a fantastic world view involving a battle between good and evil. And it distinguishes itself with powerful visual images and the outstanding performance by Konstantin Khabenskiy. The book was messier and not as polished as the movie.

In truth, I wonder if the translation from Russian to English was wanting. The polish and the pacing from the movie were not there in the book, although the essential storyline was. The storyline in the book is more complicated and layered; the movie narrative has a more complex structure. How to categorize. A love story? An epic battle between good and evil? A bad hangover?

I’ve added the sequel Daywatch to my list of books to read, but it may be my last Lukyanenko book to read for a while. You can find out more about the author at: http://www.lukianenko.ru/biography_eng/.