Listen free for 30 days
-
The Night Watch
- Watch, Book 1
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Series: Watch, Book 1
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Horror
People who bought this also bought...
-
Cage of Souls
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 23 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The sun is bloated, diseased, dying perhaps. Beneath its baneful light, Shadrapar, last of all cities, harbours fewer than 100,000 human souls. Built on the ruins of countless civilisations, Shadrapar is a museum, an asylum, a prison on a world that is ever more alien to humanity. Bearing witness to the desperate struggle for existence between life old and new is Stefan Advani: rebel, outlaw, survivor. This is his testament, an account of the journey that took him into the blazing desolation of the western deserts and into the labyrinths and caverns of the underworld.
-
-
Surprised by a good book
- By Matt on 22-06-19
-
The Algebraist
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Geoff Annis
- Length: 24 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For short-lived races like humans, space is dominated by the complicated, grandiose Mercatoria. To the Dwellers who may live billions of years, the galaxy consists of their gas-giant planets - the rest is debris. Fassin Taak is a Slow Seer privileged to work with the Dwellers of the gas-giant Nasqueron. His work consists of rummaging for data in their vast, disorganised memories and libraries. Unfortunately, without knowing it, he's come close to an ancient secret of unimaginable importance.
-
-
Spoiled by awful narration
- By Martin on 05-12-17
-
The Pale Dreamer
- A Bone Season Novella
- By: Samantha Shannon
- Narrated by: Alana Kerr Collins
- Length: 2 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the perilous heart of Scion London, a dangerous and valuable poltergeist is on the loose - and it must be caught before chaos erupts on the streets of the capital. Here, the clairvoyant underworld plays by its own rules, and rival gangs will stop at nothing to win such a magnificent prize. Sixteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working for Jaxon Hall, the most notorious mime-lord in the city. He thinks she is hiding a powerful gift, but it refuses to surface. Maybe this is the opportunity she needs to secure her position in his gang, the Seven Seals....
-
-
Unexpectedly good read.
- By ian mcnamara on 29-10-17
-
Dark Eden
- By: Chris Beckett
- Narrated by: Oliver J. Hembrough, Jessica Martin
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A marooned outpost of humanity struggles to survive on a startlingly alien world. John Redlantern, one of the 532 degenerating descendants of two marooned space explorers, will break the laws of Eden, shatter the Family and change history. He will be the first to abandon hope, the first to abandon the old ways, the first to kill another, the first to venture into the Dark, and the first to discover the truth about Eden....
-
-
Everything I look for in Science Fiction
- By M on 05-08-15
-
The Sandman
- By: Neil Gaiman, Dirk Maggs
- Narrated by: Riz Ahmed, Kat Dennings, Taron Egerton, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When The Sandman, also known as Lord Morpheus - the immortal king of dreams, stories and the imagination - is pulled from his realm and imprisoned on Earth by a nefarious cult, he languishes for decades before finally escaping. Once free, he must retrieve the three “tools” that will restore his power and help him to rebuild his dominion, which has deteriorated in his absence.
-
-
I don’t get this
- By John P. Allum on 21-07-20
-
Monster Hunter International
- By: Larry Correia
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 24 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a 14th story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.
-
-
They Shoot Monsters, Don't They?
- By Moonface on 08-04-13
-
Cage of Souls
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 23 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The sun is bloated, diseased, dying perhaps. Beneath its baneful light, Shadrapar, last of all cities, harbours fewer than 100,000 human souls. Built on the ruins of countless civilisations, Shadrapar is a museum, an asylum, a prison on a world that is ever more alien to humanity. Bearing witness to the desperate struggle for existence between life old and new is Stefan Advani: rebel, outlaw, survivor. This is his testament, an account of the journey that took him into the blazing desolation of the western deserts and into the labyrinths and caverns of the underworld.
-
-
Surprised by a good book
- By Matt on 22-06-19
-
The Algebraist
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Geoff Annis
- Length: 24 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For short-lived races like humans, space is dominated by the complicated, grandiose Mercatoria. To the Dwellers who may live billions of years, the galaxy consists of their gas-giant planets - the rest is debris. Fassin Taak is a Slow Seer privileged to work with the Dwellers of the gas-giant Nasqueron. His work consists of rummaging for data in their vast, disorganised memories and libraries. Unfortunately, without knowing it, he's come close to an ancient secret of unimaginable importance.
-
-
Spoiled by awful narration
- By Martin on 05-12-17
-
The Pale Dreamer
- A Bone Season Novella
- By: Samantha Shannon
- Narrated by: Alana Kerr Collins
- Length: 2 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the perilous heart of Scion London, a dangerous and valuable poltergeist is on the loose - and it must be caught before chaos erupts on the streets of the capital. Here, the clairvoyant underworld plays by its own rules, and rival gangs will stop at nothing to win such a magnificent prize. Sixteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working for Jaxon Hall, the most notorious mime-lord in the city. He thinks she is hiding a powerful gift, but it refuses to surface. Maybe this is the opportunity she needs to secure her position in his gang, the Seven Seals....
-
-
Unexpectedly good read.
- By ian mcnamara on 29-10-17
-
Dark Eden
- By: Chris Beckett
- Narrated by: Oliver J. Hembrough, Jessica Martin
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A marooned outpost of humanity struggles to survive on a startlingly alien world. John Redlantern, one of the 532 degenerating descendants of two marooned space explorers, will break the laws of Eden, shatter the Family and change history. He will be the first to abandon hope, the first to abandon the old ways, the first to kill another, the first to venture into the Dark, and the first to discover the truth about Eden....
-
-
Everything I look for in Science Fiction
- By M on 05-08-15
-
The Sandman
- By: Neil Gaiman, Dirk Maggs
- Narrated by: Riz Ahmed, Kat Dennings, Taron Egerton, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When The Sandman, also known as Lord Morpheus - the immortal king of dreams, stories and the imagination - is pulled from his realm and imprisoned on Earth by a nefarious cult, he languishes for decades before finally escaping. Once free, he must retrieve the three “tools” that will restore his power and help him to rebuild his dominion, which has deteriorated in his absence.
-
-
I don’t get this
- By John P. Allum on 21-07-20
-
Monster Hunter International
- By: Larry Correia
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 24 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a 14th story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.
-
-
They Shoot Monsters, Don't They?
- By Moonface on 08-04-13
-
Daughter of the Forest
- Sevenwaters, Book 1
- By: Juliet Marillier
- Narrated by: Terry Donnelly
- Length: 26 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lovely Sorcha is the seventh child and only daughter of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters. Bereft of a mother, she is comforted by her six brothers who love and protect her. Sorcha is the light in their lives, they are determined that she know only contentment. But Sorcha's joy is shattered when her father is bewitched by his new wife, an evil enchantress who binds her brothers with a terrible spell, a spell which only Sorcha can lift-by staying silent.
-
-
Spellbinding! I highly recommend this book
- By Susan on 05-11-13
-
Skinwalker
- Jane Yellowrock, Book 1
- By: Faith Hunter
- Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
- Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind-a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. But now she's been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie's Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who's killing other vamps.
-
-
Vampire fighting, form changing fighter
- By Sharon on 30-11-14
-
Elantris
- By: Brandon Sanderson
- Narrated by: Jack Garrett
- Length: 28 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Elantris was built on magic, and it thrived. But then the magic began to fade, and Elantris began to rot. Now its shattered citizens face domination by a powerful Imperium. Can a young Princess unite the people of Elantris and lead a rebellion against the imperial zealots? Brandon Sanderson's debut fantasy showed his skill as a storyteller and an imaginer of baroque magical systems to be fully developed from the start.
-
-
Awesome!
- By BM on 19-11-14
-
The Emperor's Blades
- Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, Book 1
- By: Brian Staveley
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 19 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley, the emperor of Annur is dead, slain by enemies unknown. His daughter and two sons, scattered across the world, do what they must to stay alive and unmask the assassins. But each of them also has a life-path on which their father set them, destinies entangled with both ancient enemies and inscrutable gods.
-
-
Excellent series
- By Robyn on 17-10-18
-
Ball Lightning
- By: Cixin Liu
- Narrated by: Bruno Roubicek
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Chen's parents are incinerated before his eyes by a blast of ball lightning, he devotes his life to cracking the secret of this mysterious natural phenomenon. The more he learns, the more he comes to realise that ball lightning is just the tip of an entirely new frontier in particle physics. Although Chen's quest provides a purpose for his lonely life, his reasons for chasing this elusive quarry come into conflict with soldiers and scientists who have motives of their own.
-
-
Author's afterword contains spoilers
- By Jed1314 on 28-04-20
-
Lovecraft's Monsters
- By: Neil Gaiman, Ellen Datlow (Editor)
- Narrated by: Bernard Clark
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Prepare to meet the wicked progeny of the master of modern horror. In Lovecraft's Monsters, H. P. Lovecraft's most famous creations--Cthulhu, Shoggoths, Deep Ones, Elder Things, Yog-Sothoth, and more--appear in all their terrifying glory. Each story is a gripping new take on a classic Lovecraftian creature. Contributors include such literary luminaries as Neil Gaiman, Joe R. Lansdale, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Karl Edward Wagner, Elizabeth Bear, and Nick Mamatas.
-
-
Go on, it's well worth it.
- By Kathy on 21-12-16
-
Once
- By: James Herbert
- Narrated by: Damian Lynch
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Upon a time. Remember the faery stories you were told as a child? Tales of tiny, magical, winged beings and elves, wicked witches and goblins. Demons... What if one day you found they were true? What if, when you became an adult, you discovered they were all based on fact? What if you met the fantasy and it was all so very real? That's what happened to Thom Kindred. The wonders were revealed to him – but so were the horrors; for not far behind the Good, there always lurks the Bad.
-
-
WTAF - Do yourself a favour and don't bother
- By Elena on 15-01-20
-
The City and the Stars
- By: Arthur C. Clarke
- Narrated by: Mike Grady
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Men had built cities before, but never such a city as Diaspar; for millennia its protective dome shut out the creeping decay and danger of the world outside. Once, it ruled the stars. But then, as legend had it, the Invaders came, driving humanity into this last refuge. It takes one man, a Unique, to smash the legend and discover the true nature of the Invaders.
-
-
Ahead of its time
- By BM on 28-11-14
-
Perdido Street Station: New Crobuzon, Book 1
- By: China Mieville
- Narrated by: Jonathan Oliver
- Length: 31 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beneath the towering bleached ribs of a dead, ancient beast lies New Crobuzon, a squalid city where humans, Re-mades, and arcane races live in perpetual fear of Parliament and its brutal militia. The air and rivers are thick with factory pollutants and the strange effluents of alchemy, and the ghettos contain a vast mix of workers, artists, spies, junkies, and whores. In New Crobuzon, the unsavory deal is stranger to none—not even to Isaac, a brilliant scientist with a penchant for Crisis Theory.
-
-
Flawed. Overlong. Masterful.
- By Will on 31-01-12
-
Agent to the Stars
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. So getting humanity's trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals. He's one of Hollywood's hottest young agents.
-
-
One of the most unusual stories you will ever read
- By Laura on 17-11-13
-
Paradox Bound
- A Novel
- By: Peter Clines
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nothing ever changes in Sanders. The town's still got a video store, for God's sake. So why doesn't Eli Teague want to leave? Not that he'd ever admit it, but maybe he's been waiting - waiting for the traveler to come back. The one who's roared into his life twice before, pausing just long enough to drop tantalizing clues before disappearing in a cloud of gunfire and a squeal of tires. The one who's a walking anachronism, with her tricorne hat, flintlock rifle, and steampunked Model A Ford.
-
-
Unusual...but it fell flat
- By gepocock on 30-05-18
-
Hard Magic
- Book I of the Grimnoir Chronicles
- By: Larry Correia
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 16 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jake Sullivan is a licensed private eye with a seriously hardboiled attitude. He also possesses raw magical talent and the ability to make objects in his vicinity light as a feather or as heavy as depleted uranium, all with a magical thought. It's no wonder the G-men turn to Jake when they need someoneto go after a suspected killer who has been knocking off banks in a magic-enhanced crime spree.
-
-
Brilliant.
- By HelgaCabbage on 14-08-11
Summary
Set in modern day Moscow, Night Watch is a world as elaborate and imaginative as Tolkien or the best Asimov. Living among us are the "Others," an ancient race of humans with supernatural powers who swear allegiance to either the Dark or the Light. A thousand-year treaty has maintained the balance of power, and the two sides coexist in an uneasy truce. But an ancient prophecy decrees that one supreme "Other" will rise up and tip the balance, plunging the world into a catastrophic war between the Dark and the Light.
When a young boy with extraordinary powers emerges, fulfilling the first half of the prophecy, will the forces of the Light be able to keep the Dark from corrupting the boy and destroying the world?
More from the same
What listeners say about The Night Watch
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- Kindle Customer
- 07-03-13
The Night Watch: Watch, Book 1
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 stories, two of which are barley referenced in the film and to do them justice each would need a film of its own. 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 machinations of both the dark and light others has every bit the excitement of John le Carré plots and the universe is just as realized despite the vampires, magicians and sorceresses that it is populated with. 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.
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Bob
- 27-12-15
Unexceptional
Any additional comments?
Angled around Vampires and what-nots, based in Russia and written by a Russian writer this novel had a certain freshness that I am sure many western readers would enjoy. I enjoyed many of the fringe characters some having interesting animal characteristics and one being an animal with character, the lead figure was thoughtful enough to carry the story although burdened with a certain John Grisham type of angst. This audiobook actually consists of three separate stories which all in someway interlink. The main issue I had with the stories is I didn't like the way any of them ended. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I won't but overall I just didn't think the endings represented good writing and I was left thinking that I would have just preferred it if the author had just written one longer novel for me to get my teeth into, if you pardon the pun.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Fiona Mac
- 12-03-19
Flat. Like the Earth isn’t.
This should have been a book I loved, it ticked all the right boxes, but frankly, it was just boring. I’ve gave up just after starting the second book (his female characters suffer from one of the worst cases of ‘written-by-a-man I have personally experienced. So dull; so two dimensional; so male-lensed). Actually ‘dull’ pretty much applies to all aspects of this book. It’s not bad. It’s just got no oomph! If there is an underlying device linking these stories, other than the character, then I haven’t got far enough through to find it. Maybe it’s the translation but life is too short and there are too many other books to be read. The narrator doesn’t help, though, again, it’s not that he’s bad. I feel that he gives a very believable portrayal of the character: mono-tonal.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Pauline
- 04-03-12
A Very Good Listen
Should you be a ‘Marla Mason’ fan you are sure to like this book, but instead of the backdrop being America it is Moscow.
I have never visited Russia so the small amount of ‘place’ that is used meant nothing to me, but 'The Otherers' – witches, wizards, vampires, to name but a few – are placeless, they need no real scenery. Magic & sorcery abound as the night watches the day and vice versa, and the ordinary people are virtually unaware of the other city in their midst.
I'm moving right on to the next book in this series.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lottie
- 11-04-20
I was expecting great things
After the amazing reviews the book has I was expecting great things however I was disappointed. It’s not the worst book I’ve listened to but it just wasn’t for me 😞
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Sara
- 15-05-12
Great take on vampires and good vs. evil
Highly recommended as it takes a really interesting angle on good vs. evil and the balance that must be maintained in the secret world that the normal person does not see. It is excellently written (or at least translated) and the narrator does a good job with it. I will be buying the next two books in the trilogy.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- F. Redwood
- 03-03-12
A cracking supernatural yarn!
Set in Moscow, the work of the Others soon had me gripped. Told by Anton, his work as a 3rd grade magician patrolling the streets ensuring the balance between the Light and Dark Ones revealed a world of morals and rules followed by the creatures of the supernatural. With vampires, magicians, shape-shifters, sorcerers, monsters and inquisitors as well as the souls of those with their future as yet undecided, the plots between the two sides writhe almost palpably. At last, the three stories within this book bring all of the characters together for a final denouement with a twist in the tail.
Lukyanenko's imaginative portrayal of an invisible-to-mortals yet endless supernatural tussle between Dark and Light, playing out alongside the unsuspecting mortals, is captivating. From the laconic Anton, Svetlana the potentially powerful sorceress, Igor the young teen who vacillates between the pull of Dark and Light, to the Light "Boss" who relentlessly steers his charges towards a secrecy-shrouded goal, the listener is never entirely sure whether these are the good guys or not.
I can't wait to hear the second book!!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- AudiobookDevotee
- 17-02-20
Good story hurt by the rules it establishes.
This book is a bit weird. It often uses a chess analogy to describe the characters as pawns or rooks etc. but the book makes it quite clear that the two sides are locked in a stalemate. If one side casts a spell then the other side is allowed to cast an equivalent spell. If one side breaks a rule then the other side can similarly break a rule. Once you realise that you are effectively reading about a complex series of chess matches where both sides are playing to get a draw and have been drawing their matches for hundreds of years it becomes dull. That’s not to say the narrative isn’t gripping. The start is really strong and sucks you in brilliantly, however, as the world builds over time the novel makes itself less and less interesting which is a shame. I found the characters largely unsympathetic too. The main character is a bit weak, the boss is Dumbledore-ish with convoluted schemes that survive by plot armour, the baddies aren’t very complex and no-one switches sides. They don’t even get to pick a side it is just sort of ‘assigned’ to them. All in all, despite the story starting well by the end of it I really didn’t care who did what and had to force myself to power through to completion. Having read a few reviews since finishing the book I have found out about the author’s rather unpleasant views and, once you learn what sort of person he is, things click into place that seem odd when reading. Sometimes they are spectacularly unsubtle with random characters saying words like “The Western countries have evolved as far as they can whereas Russia is still a young, vital country that could be a utopia.” Or how Communism was a good idea implemented badly. Or how if you want something stupid and trivial on TV it would have to be American. Just little digs all the time that are like when your grandparents whinge about ‘all the immigrants’ that eventually wind you up. I won’t be reading any other books because I already know that the conclusion, per the rules of the universe, will be the maintenance of the status quo which isn’t something that fills me with excitement. On top of that I’m glad my money won’t be going to this guy in the future. The narration was excellent.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- mat
- 23-07-15
Wasn't what I was expecting, but I enjoyed it
What made the experience of listening to The Night Watch the most enjoyable?
it was fun and 'light'. Not gory, despite the content. I don't do 'gory' or tense. I work hard and like my reading to relax me and provide escapism. This book provided that.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
no, too long for that! But I did listen to it as often as I could. In car, in evenings. And I will listen to the sequel.
Any additional comments?
Spoiler alert... I wasn't expecting this to be a 'vampire' story from the description, more of a 'witchy' one. I was initially worried but in the end the 'vampires' were a minor part of the story and it was a fun mix of paranormal.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Andrew Cowie
- 18-09-20
Excellent world building
An exciting and well written take on the age old story of good versus evil, light against darkness. Immersive storytelling with excellent allusions to the lore surrounding the story. My only criticism is the narrator's choice to recite dialogue with a Russian accent, despite the rest of the book, written in the first person, being narrated in an American accent. Despite this, an absolute must experience.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Brent
- 18-06-13
Brilliant story, good narration.
The night watch series is one of my favourites and have read the novel 3-4 times. This time I decided to listen on audible. The story still stands out for me as excellent.
The narration was good, but some of the accents felt a bit off, but overall a good performance.