Good vs. Evil. Nightwatch vs. Daywatch.

It’s one of those “eternal battle” types and it’s done much better than most. The story follows Anton (for the most part), a computer programmer/analyst and Other, who is being pushed into becoming a field agent for the organisation Nightwatch (the good guys), and it shows his struggle in dealing with the less than black and white natures of each watch.

Usually I only read the Lovecraftian style of horror. You know, the “Eldritch horrors lurking beneath the flimsy veil of shadows” kind of thing. So it’s good to read something out of that kind of style that is genuinely interesting and shows a realistic “human” slant on the traditional horror concept.

And it’s not that woefully romaticised horror either which never fails to bug the pants off me.

And for anyone who has seen the film and not yet read the book, the film only covers the first third of the book and that’s nowhere near as good as the later two-thirds.

The only complaint I have is that the translation is occasionally a bit patchy, but that’s not enough to ruin your enjoyment.

There’s an english translation of Daywatch (the sequel, and that’s both for the book and the film) due out soon.

Normally I don’t bother with this kind of thing. The “self help” kind of book.

Usually it’s against my principles (such that I have).

But, for my birthday yesterday, Ruthy got me the “Teach Yourself: Writing A Novel”.

I need any encouragement and guidance I can find these days. And, surprisingly, it seems to be doing some good.

Already some good tips have led me to get a good bit further though one of the many projects I have on the go.

And I keep forgetting wee things like “even if you write just 10 minutes worth a day” and “if it was easy then everyone would be doing it” and “eat more cabbage”.

Wait a mo. That last one can’t be right?