Roadside Picnic (16) (Rediscovered Classics)

They came thirteen years ago and went forty-eight hours later, leaving shattered landscapes and strange debris in their wake. Who they are, and their reason for stopping on Earth, remain unknown — as are the exact purpose and function of these artifacts. Human scientists are hard at work studying these valuables, and are even making remarkable scientific breakthroughs with these devices, but are left unsure that they’re using these miracle devices even remotely as intended — or, as LeGuin puts it in her introduction, if they’re using “Geiger counters as hand axes and electrical components as nose rings.” While these six locations are now Zones of Alienation, guarded by military-police, a booming black-market subculture has grown around the young men calling themselves “stalkers” who sneak into the zones to recover these valuable alien artifacts. Braving the hazards of the Zone, many die short and nasty deaths trying to acquire artifacts. Others get tracked down by the police, while some others give up and move away to work in real jobs. Red Schuhart is one of these stalkers; employed as an intern by the scientists studying the Zone, he’s trying to live on the border between legality and outlaw, using his expertise to guide the Russian scientist Kirill in and out of the Zone. On one of these excursions to collect a “full empty,” the worst possible result happens. The embittered Red keeps going back into the zone, addicted to its dangers and thrill, yet hateful of its attraction and the emotional toll associated from all the dead friends and compatriots left in the Zone’s anomalies. But Red will keep going back, because the Zone has what he needs: a limitless supply of valuable artifacts, including a golden sphere which will make wishes come true. Roadside Picnic is not what you might imagine when thinking of a first contact story; the contact isn't between species, but between Red and the alien debris. This focus makes the story all the more human. On the one hand, we have the theme of humanity attempting to adopt these futuristic technologies, the human spirit to survive and better itself. On the other, we have the plight of the stalkers: bitter and poor young men who live in a lower-class ghetto beneath the shadow of the shiny scientific community. The scientists and the military have overtaken the city, and while those born there have various avenues of escape, most pursue the lure of the Zone and become stalkers. They’re not quite forced to go into the zone to survive, but do so in attempts to better their economic standing — part of the Strugatsky’s philosophical commentary, on capitalism and communism Yet Red never manages that upward mobility; later in the story, he’s still living in a run-down Soviet-style tenement and struggling to provide for his family. The value of the artifacts is supposed to be high, but while all the stalkers dream of cashing in and moving to Europe, most of them seem to die in the Zone’s many hazards or emerge too broken to continue smuggling. A vicious cycle, veering towards post-colonial literature in its depiction of the impoverished lower-class doing dangerous things for a quick buck; it’s a refreshing brand of irony to see this applied to what’s ostensibly Canada (the prologue mentions the Royal Armored Corps blockading the Zone, and refers to “over in Europe,” but leaves the exact locale undefined). This is one of the best books I've read all year. The translation was amazing, the prose crisp and clean and readable… and readability doesn't always go hand-in-hand with philosophical genius, as it does here. This was a book I couldn't put down, and I enjoyed every minute I spent engrossed in its pages. I wish someone would re-translate and re-publish more Eastern European SF — or at least more Strugatsky novels — because I’m enthralled with them after finishing Roadside Picnic.

It's somewhat amazing that the end of the Cold War occurred a generation ago and that no one under 30 has much in the way of memories about it. The early 1970s would have been around the midpoint of the Cold War, a time when the Soviet Union was still pretty totalitarian. It was also when Boris and Strugatsky, probably the most prominent science fiction writers to come out of that Soviet era, wrote Roadside Picnic. Superficially, at least, Roadside Picnic seems like a novel that could have been written in the West, albeit with an intriguing idea. A little over a decade before the novel begins, aliens briefly visited Earth. This wasn't a first contact situation as there was no real contact; they stopped by and then left, leaving behind a whole bunch of interesting material. One assumption was that Earth was merely a site for a roadside picnic and what was left was little more than alien litter. This material is in several Zones that typically have restricted access. That doesn't stop "stalkers" from trying to enter a Zone to get the fabulous material within, objects that seem to defy the laws of physics. The Zones are also extremely dangerous with various gases, slimes and other things that can deform and kill. Even a successful stalker like protagonist Red Schuhart can't by completely unscathed; his constant Zone excusions have had genetic effects. Written at a time and place where the government had a big say in what was published, it's interesting to see what type of political themes there might be in Roadside Picnic. There is a vaguely anti-capitalist bent, only in the sense that many of the characters are driven to stalking or its related professions by money. What I find more likely is a subtle anti-Soviet concept, in particular condemning the shortages caused by communism. At this time, items that were plentiful in the West were rare in the USSR, even restricted by law. The stalkers are like smugglers, but instead of going to the West to get blue jeans and rock albums, they're going into the Zones to get wondrous alien machines. It's all interesting, but the book would fail if it were poorly written. It is, however, quite entertaining and it's understandable why some would consider a classic. I don't know if I'd go that far, but this is a pretty good science fiction book.

It's hard to know exactly how to describe Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's Russian science-fiction classic Roadside Picnic in any way that can convey the haunting, oppressive, surreal mood of the novel. Made up of four sections, each separated by periods of time, the novel unfolds in a small town near an area called the Zone, which was left behind after an alien visitation unwitnessed by any humans - indeed, the only evidence of their arrival and presence was these leftover Zones, scattered around the globe. But in the small North American town of Harmont, where the novel unfolds, men known as "stalkers" lead expeditions into the area (some legal, some not) to retrieve the alien leftovers for profit. But what exactly are these leftovers? What was their original purpose? Study them though they might, the scientists have only barely begun to understand anything about these objects. "I'm absolutely convinced that in the vast majority of cases we're using sledgehammers to crack nuts," says a scientist at one point, illustrating how infuriating and bewildering it is to be so close to mind-expanding technology, but unable to know anything about it. And that all goes double for the Zone, a bizarre, nightmarish area whose outward normality belies bizarre rules, deadly traps, bending gravity, and more. These are areas in which normal rules no longer apply, where the very rules of science seem to no longer hold true. But why are these Zones here? Are they testing us? Are they windows into a larger world? Or, as the same scientist says, are they simply the refuse and trash of aliens who stopped for a roadside picnic on our earth, and saw us as ants and animals - not even worth speaking to? That's a bleak philosophical backdrop to a novel, but seems fitting for a novel written in 1972 Russia - after all, this is a culture known for its weary, laughing acceptance of all the cruelties of life, and Roadside Picnic is no different, American setting or not. Whether the book is a critique of the Russian system or an allegory for the corruption of capitalism or simply a science fiction story, I leave for each reader to decide for themselves; yes, there's a long history of censorship of the novel, but as Boris Strugatsky explains in the fascinating afterword, it was never quite clear exactly what was wrong with the novel, other than maybe its tone. But whatever the deeper meaning, Roadside Picnic ultimately feels like humanity coming to terms with its own insignificance, and trying to make peace with what that says about us. Are we just base animals, scrabbling for money and self-interest? Could we be more than that? All of this makes Roadside Picnic sound existential and crushing, I know; indeed, if you've seen Andrei Tarkovsky's film version of the novel, Stalker, you might expect something weighty and heady like that. Instead, Roadside Picnic is remarkably down-to-earth, engaging with its ideas through drunken conversations and private musings, all while living through its primary lead, a stalker named Red whose incursions into the Zone are tense, unnerving, and unsettling, all without much ever truly happening. Indeed, one of the things that makes Roadside Picnic so effective is the way it suggests so much without ever explaining anything, allowing the reader's mind to fill in the gaps of this world around the edges, while giving us an interesting, relatable, down-to-earth character we can empathize with. After all, all Red wants is to provide for his family, and exploring the Zone is what he's good at. I'm not wild about the ending of the novel in some ways, which seems like it comes from a different story entirely, eschewing the more existential and weirdly practical questions of the rest of the book for a quest for a mythical object which may or may not exist, but demands much. There's something fascinating about where the Strugatskys choose to end the novel, though, which ties into that larger question of what exactly we are as a human race, and whether we truly can overcome our limitations. It's a compelling ending, even if I'm not sold on the way we get there. But even with that, it's hard to really convey how much this strange, slight novel will stick with you, informing how you see the world and creating a haunting, grim world that you'll think about for a long time after you finish the pages. Its ideas, its worldbuilding, its imagination, and its characters all live and breathe, giving you a novel whose ambitions and ideas linger beautifully and whose classic status is justly deserved.

Roadside Picnic is a classic of science fiction. It is also a testimony to perseverance on the part of the authors who wrote under Soviet censorship. The forward by renown science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin is a fantastic explanation of how the book was received when first published in the 1970's. The afterword by Boris Strugatsky details the fight to get the book published by the Soviet censors. The premise of Roadside Picnic is that the earth has been visited by aliens. In six areas of the world, they have come and gone, leaving only their debris or garbage behind. Five of these areas are on land. By the end of the day of the visit, the Zones are declared off limits. Eventually, world scientific organizations set up on the borders of the Zones and begin to study the visible and invisible. Some of the items in the Zone are powerful energy sources. Some of the areas of intense gravity that crush men and vehicles flat. There are also organic life forms that cannot be studied because they kill all who get near them. Thirteen years later they are still being studied. No one except scientists are allowed into the Zones. The trade in the black market for items smuggled out of the Zone is huge. The money to be made makes it worth the risk for these smugglers or "stalkers" to enter the Zone at night risking their lives. They are also risking more. Stalkers who frequently run the risk of the Zones find they have severe mutations in their children born after they begin venturing into the Zone. The book prefigured many of the issues surrounding the Chernobyl exclusion zone. It really is an amazing book that really must be read. Or even better, listened to. Robert Forster does a great job narrating the book. Roadside Picnic, although written by two Russian brothers, takes place in Canada. Forster keeps his voice in somewhat of a neutral accent but he conveys the toughness of the main character, Red. Red's frustration with the problems of living with the Zone and the issues it causes comes through very well in the narration. Roadside Picnic is a great book. It has all the tension of a thriller, all the science of a science fiction, all the character development of a great literary novel and it is an exciting audiobook. The Forward by Ms. Le Guin is really important to listen to before the book itself. It helps put the importance of the novel in the listener's mind as they hear the incredible story of Stalkers and the risks they take to provide for their families.

I picked up the paperback after hearing it was a must read for sci-fi fans. The idea is interesting. Aliens briefly land on Earth, then leave, with evidence and weird tech strewn over several "Zones" on Earth. "Stalkers" illegally enter these Zones, encountering many hazards in order to sell alien artifacts on the black market. Cool idea, and the scenes in the Zone are great. You can feel the danger, and the strangeness of it all. Roadside Picnic when in the Zone is brilliant. However, there is only 10 to 15 pages in Zone at the front of the book, and 20 to 25 pages at the end. That means 30 to 40 pages of the fascinating Zone, and the rest (of the 193 pages) out of the Zone. What happens there? Not much. People talk a lot, in their old timey 1950's way. Everyone smokes and drinks constantly, and women stay in the kitchen, so it does feel like a Mad Men era book. The writing is detailed, but possibly due to the translation, it's clunky at times and hard to "see" exactly what happened. There are a few good conversations between background characters on the psychological, sociological, philosophical implications of the alien visit, and while it's smart and interesting, it's hard to care when you just want to get back to the action and intensity of the Zone. Overall, worth reading for great ideas, but mediocre as a story.

Roadside Picnic is one of those books where, if you're not paying attention, you're going to miss the broader point. In Roadside Picnic, the world has been passed over by the Visit. Aliens stopped by, leaving behind a Zone of thousands upon thousands of trinkets to be studied, sold. Or to be utterly destroyed by. The Zone is a dangerous place, after all, and the visitors left no sign that they wanted to communicate with humans at all. But there are still people convinced that the trinkets were left behind to accelerate humanity's development, or something like that. The Zone can't be meaningless, right? Redrick is one of the stalkers--people who venture into the Zone to get trinkets to sell. This is technically illegal, but the money is better than working under someone else, which Red finds oppressive. To him, the Visit only matters insofar as it has given him a way to earn good money even between stays in jail. Like all illicit activities, traitors and double-crossers abound, until Red finds himself making one last trip to the Zone to find a magical sphere that, supposedly, grants wishes. Roadside Picnic is an interesting story. It's fast-paced, with great prose, and interesting characters. The Zone itself is fascinating. It's not over-described, but also not so vague you can't get a sense of what the place is like. While moody with themes of human impotency like a lot of Russian novels, the book is still phenomenal. I really loved some of the questions the book raised, like, why would aliens stop here? And if they did, why would they care about us? Do we really care about them anyway? Why would they leave behind so much trash? It's a super short book and worth the read.

I became aware of Roadside Picnic by way of the movie Stalker, which I in turn learned of as a fan of the STALKER video game series. The film Stalker was interesting, but seemed more of a Soviet-era filmmaking experiment than a proper story, so I was very much relieved to find that Roadside Picnic captures both a science fiction tale and - to a lesser extent - a sort of time capsule of the political and social environment as of its original writing. This new English translation also gives some extensive background information concerning the bumpy and winding route between the story's original conception and this new, arguably most complete edition. The story's protagonist is not a hero, but he is probably the most fundamentally "human" character I've encountered in a sci-fi novel in a very long time. The story unfolds over a considerable span of time, which might not work in some cases but is critical to creating the unique atmosphere of the Zone and contributing to its mystique. It is not a sci-fi "action thriller" in any way - there aren't battles with hostile extraterrestrials or journeys into outer space - but instead an alien encounter that would probably be much more likely than traditional sci-fi offers. If there is any shortcoming, it's that even with large print and considerable author's notes, Roadside Picnic is not very long. It doesn't necessarily need to be, as the story is told in a fulfilling manner at a fluid pace, but I would have enjoyed a little more character development. Other than that, I have no complaints, and it has actually prompted me to revisit the STALKER games that clearly drew a great deal of inspiration from the story without ripping it off.

"Roadside Picnic," written in 1971 by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky and here wonderfully translated by Olena Bormashenko and with a superb introduction by Ursula Le Guin, remains one of the most important works in the science fiction universe and is a must read classic. The story is rather simple and revolutionary... unlike H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" where aliens and humans go to war, an alien race visits earth without even taking notice of humans; indeed humans don't even realize they were here until after they have left. After landing on various spots around the globe, the aliens leave only what appears to be their scattered space junk at landing sites. Humans who dare to venture to retrieve this celestial garbage soon find themselves in danger. The objects hold great power and many who try to loot the sites end up brutally killed by the mysterious properties of these artifacts. Governments cordon off the areas into what are called Zones. One of these Zones, which may be in Canada, is the focus of this story. Some brave souls, called Stalkers, learn how to enter and exit the zones, at times safely, at times not. At the center of the zone lies a mysterious object which may hold the secret to human happiness. The focus of this story primarily follows one Stalker, Red, the only one who seems truly to know the dangers and wonder of the zone, and perhaps he may be the one person who might be able to help the human race by taking the risk of entering the zone to unlock its secret. But there is a cost, among other things Red's child develops a strange illness, as do the children of other Stalkers. There are bizarre happenings around the zones; people who want to learn more about or profit from the objects often miscalculate and suffer for it. The mystery of the zone not only lures Stalkers, but governments seeking power or unscrupulous businessmen seeking to profit from the space trash. But at the heart of the story remains the human quest for happiness, which is best seen through the eyes of Red. As such, this alien story is a very human story. Thanks to Andrei Tarkovsky's remarkable movie "Stalker" in 1979, with a screenplay by the Strugatsky brothers, the book has found a wider audience in the late 20th century, but it remains remarkably relevant in the 21st century as well. I recommend both highly to the person who is like a Stalker, that is the person who is willing to venture into a place few may be willing to go, a place of some danger, that is a place where one might discover what their own deepest wishes for happiness are and how this may in fact not be what we need in the end.