Roadside Picnic

The Strugatsky brothers' poignant and introspective novel of first contact that inspired the classic film Stalker Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of those strange misfits who are compelled by some unknown force to venture illegally into the Zone and, in spite of the extreme danger, collect the mysterious artefacts that the alien visitors left scattered around. His life is dominated by the Zone and the thriving black market in the alien products. Even the nature of his daughter has been determined by the Zone. And it is for her that Red makes his last, tragic foray into the hazardous and hostile depths. Readers can't stop thinking about Roadside Picnic: 'A story of a horrific yet fascinating place, a story of an ordinary and unlikable man just trying to get by, a philosophical interlude on humanity and its significance or lack thereof , of greed and wonder, and the fever dream of the soul scream. It still speaks to me ' Goodreads reviewer, 'Such an intriguing setting for me, such an unusual take on alien interaction ' Goodreads reviewer, 'It is a thought-provoking, hard-to-put down masterpiece , most probably the best introduction to Soviet science fiction. A must read for any sci-fi fan' Goodreads reviewer, 'A fantastic and creative exploration of what first contact might be like' Goodreads reviewer, 'The tone of the book is akin to that of some noir works, dark, gritty, getting darker and grittier as the tale wears on . . . Like many great books, the meaning of the ending is left up to the reader' Goodreads reviewer, 'A beautifully depressive and wonderfully atmospheric science fiction novel about life on Earth after an alien "Visitation" that leaves humans with more questions than answers . . . Once I started reading it today, I couldn't stop. The story captured my heart and held my attention' Goodreads reviewer, 'This is the sort of book that you read and then immediately feel the need to lend it to someone you know so that they can experience and enjoy it themselves . . . I was truly astonished -by both the poignancy and the deceptive(?) simplicity of this relatively short novel' Goodreads reviewer,

The Strugatsky brothers' poignant and introspective novel of first contact that inspired the classic film Stalker Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of those strange misfits who are compelled by some unknown force to venture illegally into the Zone and, in spite of the extreme danger, collect the mysterious artefacts that the alien visitors left scattered around. His life is dominated by the Zone and the thriving black market in the alien products. Even the nature of his daughter has been determined by the Zone. And it is for her that Red makes his last, tragic foray into the hazardous and hostile depths. Readers can't stop thinking about Roadside Picnic: 'A story of a horrific yet fascinating place, a story of an ordinary and unlikable man just trying to get by, a philosophical interlude on humanity and its significance or lack thereof , of greed and wonder, and the fever dream of the soul scream. It still speaks to me ' Goodreads reviewer, 'Such an intriguing setting for me, such an unusual take on alien interaction ' Goodreads reviewer, 'It is a thought-provoking, hard-to-put down masterpiece , most probably the best introduction to Soviet science fiction. A must read for any sci-fi fan' Goodreads reviewer, 'A fantastic and creative exploration of what first contact might be like' Goodreads reviewer, 'The tone of the book is akin to that of some noir works, dark, gritty, getting darker and grittier as the tale wears on . . . Like many great books, the meaning of the ending is left up to the reader' Goodreads reviewer, 'A beautifully depressive and wonderfully atmospheric science fiction novel about life on Earth after an alien "Visitation" that leaves humans with more questions than answers . . . Once I started reading it today, I couldn't stop. The story captured my heart and held my attention' Goodreads reviewer, 'This is the sort of book that you read and then immediately feel the need to lend it to someone you know so that they can experience and enjoy it themselves . . . I was truly astonished -by both the poignancy and the deceptive(?) simplicity of this relatively short novel' Goodreads reviewer,

The Strugatsky brothers' poignant and introspective novel of first contact that inspired the classic film Stalker Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of those strange misfits who are compelled by some unknown force to venture illegally into the Zone and, in spite of the extreme danger, collect the mysterious artefacts that the alien visitors left scattered around. His life is dominated by the Zone and the thriving black market in the alien products. Even the nature of his daughter has been determined by the Zone. And it is for her that Red makes his last, tragic foray into the hazardous and hostile depths. Readers can't stop thinking about Roadside Picnic: 'A story of a horrific yet fascinating place, a story of an ordinary and unlikable man just trying to get by, a philosophical interlude on humanity and its significance or lack thereof , of greed and wonder, and the fever dream of the soul scream. It still speaks to me ' Goodreads reviewer, 'Such an intriguing setting for me, such an unusual take on alien interaction ' Goodreads reviewer, 'It is a thought-provoking, hard-to-put down masterpiece , most probably the best introduction to Soviet science fiction. A must read for any sci-fi fan' Goodreads reviewer, 'A fantastic and creative exploration of what first contact might be like' Goodreads reviewer, 'The tone of the book is akin to that of some noir works, dark, gritty, getting darker and grittier as the tale wears on . . . Like many great books, the meaning of the ending is left up to the reader' Goodreads reviewer, 'A beautifully depressive and wonderfully atmospheric science fiction novel about life on Earth after an alien "Visitation" that leaves humans with more questions than answers . . . Once I started reading it today, I couldn't stop. The story captured my heart and held my attention' Goodreads reviewer, 'This is the sort of book that you read and then immediately feel the need to lend it to someone you know so that they can experience and enjoy it themselves . . . I was truly astonished -by both the poignancy and the deceptive(?) simplicity of this relatively short novel' Goodreads reviewer,

The Strugatsky brothers' poignant and introspective novel of first contact that inspired the classic film Stalker Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of those strange misfits who are compelled by some unknown force to venture illegally into the Zone and, in spite of the extreme danger, collect the mysterious artefacts that the alien visitors left scattered around. His life is dominated by the Zone and the thriving black market in the alien products. Even the nature of his daughter has been determined by the Zone. And it is for her that Red makes his last, tragic foray into the hazardous and hostile depths. Readers can't stop thinking about Roadside Picnic: 'A story of a horrific yet fascinating place, a story of an ordinary and unlikable man just trying to get by, a philosophical interlude on humanity and its significance or lack thereof , of greed and wonder, and the fever dream of the soul scream. It still speaks to me ' Goodreads reviewer, 'Such an intriguing setting for me, such an unusual take on alien interaction ' Goodreads reviewer, 'It is a thought-provoking, hard-to-put down masterpiece , most probably the best introduction to Soviet science fiction. A must read for any sci-fi fan' Goodreads reviewer, 'A fantastic and creative exploration of what first contact might be like' Goodreads reviewer, 'The tone of the book is akin to that of some noir works, dark, gritty, getting darker and grittier as the tale wears on . . . Like many great books, the meaning of the ending is left up to the reader' Goodreads reviewer, 'A beautifully depressive and wonderfully atmospheric science fiction novel about life on Earth after an alien "Visitation" that leaves humans with more questions than answers . . . Once I started reading it today, I couldn't stop. The story captured my heart and held my attention' Goodreads reviewer, 'This is the sort of book that you read and then immediately feel the need to lend it to someone you know so that they can experience and enjoy it themselves . . . I was truly astonished -by both the poignancy and the deceptive(?) simplicity of this relatively short novel' Goodreads reviewer,

The Strugatsky brothers' poignant and introspective novel of first contact that inspired the classic film Stalker Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of those strange misfits who are compelled by some unknown force to venture illegally into the Zone and, in spite of the extreme danger, collect the mysterious artefacts that the alien visitors left scattered around. His life is dominated by the Zone and the thriving black market in the alien products. Even the nature of his daughter has been determined by the Zone. And it is for her that Red makes his last, tragic foray into the hazardous and hostile depths. Readers can't stop thinking about Roadside Picnic: 'A story of a horrific yet fascinating place, a story of an ordinary and unlikable man just trying to get by, a philosophical interlude on humanity and its significance or lack thereof , of greed and wonder, and the fever dream of the soul scream. It still speaks to me ' Goodreads reviewer, 'Such an intriguing setting for me, such an unusual take on alien interaction ' Goodreads reviewer, 'It is a thought-provoking, hard-to-put down masterpiece , most probably the best introduction to Soviet science fiction. A must read for any sci-fi fan' Goodreads reviewer, 'A fantastic and creative exploration of what first contact might be like' Goodreads reviewer, 'The tone of the book is akin to that of some noir works, dark, gritty, getting darker and grittier as the tale wears on . . . Like many great books, the meaning of the ending is left up to the reader' Goodreads reviewer, 'A beautifully depressive and wonderfully atmospheric science fiction novel about life on Earth after an alien "Visitation" that leaves humans with more questions than answers . . . Once I started reading it today, I couldn't stop. The story captured my heart and held my attention' Goodreads reviewer, 'This is the sort of book that you read and then immediately feel the need to lend it to someone you know so that they can experience and enjoy it themselves . . . I was truly astonished -by both the poignancy and the deceptive(?) simplicity of this relatively short novel' Goodreads reviewer,

Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of those young rebels who are compelled, in spite of extreme danger, to venture illegally into the Zone to collect the mysterious artifacts that the alien visitors left scattered around. His life is dominated by the place and the thriving black market in the alien products. But when he and his friend Kirill go into the Zone together to pick up a "full empty," something goes wrong. And the news he gets from his girlfriend upon his return makes it inevitable that he'll keep going back to the Zone, again and again, until he finds the answer to all his problems. First published in 1972, Roadside Picnic is still widely regarded as one of the greatest science fiction novels, despite the fact that it has been out of print in the United States for almost thirty years. This authoritative new translation corrects many errors and omissions and has been supplemented with a foreword by Ursula K. Le Guin and a new afterword by Boris Strugatsky explaining the strange history of the novel's publication in Russia.

Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of those young rebels who are compelled, in spite of extreme danger, to venture illegally into the Zone to collect the mysterious artifacts that the alien visitors left scattered around. His life is dominated by the place and the thriving black market in the alien products. But when he and his friend Kirill go into the Zone together to pick up a "full empty," something goes wrong. And the news he gets from his girlfriend upon his return makes it inevitable that he'll keep going back to the Zone, again and again, until he finds the answer to all his problems. First published in 1972, Roadside Picnic is still widely regarded as one of the greatest science fiction novels, despite the fact that it has been out of print in the United States for almost thirty years. This authoritative new translation corrects many errors and omissions and has been supplemented with a foreword by Ursula K. Le Guin and a new afterword by Boris Strugatsky explaining the strange history of the novel's publication in Russia.