Roadside Picnic - Kirjakasa

245 pages

English language

Published Jan. 1, 1977 by Macmillan.

ISBN:: 978-0-02-615170-2
OCLC Number:: 2910972
Goodreads:: 3885738

(1 review)

Roadside Picnic is set in the aftermath of an extraterrestrial event called the Visitation that took place in several locations around the Earth, simultaneously, over a two-day period. Neither the Visitors themselves nor their means of arrival or departure were ever seen by the local populations who lived inside the relatively small areas, each a few square kilometers, of the six Visitation Zones. The zones exhibit strange and dangerous phenomena not understood by humans, and contain artifacts with inexplicable properties. The title of the novel derives from an analogy proposed by the character Dr. Valentine Pilman, who compares the Visitation to a picnic.

1 edition

Thom reviewed Roadside Picnic by Boris Strugatsky

Review of 'Roadside Picnic' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Originally published in sections, this has more focus on characters than plot. Philosophy is also a recurring theme, and I feel this would benefit from a reread. From the grand idea to the intimate character focus, there is a lot to think about.

This is another book that has been on my reading list for a while. I read the version published by Chicago Review Press in 2012, a "new translation". I don't know what the old translation was, but I have heard that the original Soviet publication of this was considerably edited. I have not seen the film or played the video game, though I understand the latter has moved the event location to Chernobyl, which changes the underlying philosophy somewhat. How much philosophy does one get from a video game?

Subjects

Science fiction