ROADSIDE PICNIC

After playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R Shadow of Chornobyl, I wanted to learn more about it's world and lore. Then I stumbled upon a discussion on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R subreddit where I found out about this book. I was immediately interested in it. So I bought this book and now it is one of my favourites.

Let's get it straight, this is not belongs to those type of stories which have lots of turn and mind-boggling twists. Viewpoint of every individual is different. According to me it's a story which may be not much entertaining but thought provoking. This is an example of sheer imagination. The concept stay with you permanently. In the history of sci-fi, we have very few writers who built futuristic world so efficiently that although being a science fiction, the story become a speculative one. This is rare and That's where lie the uniqueness. Character building is great, descriptions are excellent, the flow of the language will let you immerse in the political, social and psychological conflics. Ending is perfect and open-end.

A must-read for any science fiction geek. Very uniquely Russian and feels different from the classic Western sci fi works.

Really interesting themes at work.

The book is brilliant, and is not quite something I expected. You can, if you wish, try and find hidden messages in the book, about communism or totalitarian regimes, but I don't think this was the intent behind the story. The story is, itself, mesmerizing, and almost surreal. The premise is simple. A scavenger - Redskin - goes into the Zone, picking up artefacts left by an alien visitation. The effect of these artefacts damaging for his daughter, and he goes one last time into the Zone, for her sake. There are some excellent passages on humanity in the book, and it is well worth reading. Suspend rational thought, and enjoy the ride.

excellent