I am reading Roadside Picnic for the first time and it is sparking my imagination and creativity in a way I haven't felt in many years.

Submitted by shoegazeweedbed t3_zyeu16 in books

I do creative work for a living (when I'm not laid off) and like most people my age struggle with depression that makes it hard for me to enjoy the things I should.

In my haze this week I started watching the excellent Shudder series "Cursed Films," which introduced me to a Russian sci-fi film called Ста́лкер, or Stalker. The premise--experts guiding clients through an extremely dangerous, trap-laden landscape to have their wishes answered--immediately spoke to me.

Watched the movie on YouTube. Loved it and started digging in more. Found the book it is based on, which is called Roadside Picnic.

This shit is blowing my fucking mind.

I brought up depression earlier because it is very hard for me to get excited about ideas nowadays. A lot of the time I feel like that South Park season where everything one of the boys saw looked/sounded like literal shit.

This book's premise, though? I haven't felt this way about a new piece of media in a very long time.
Mind-blowing. Like in the movie, it's all about criminals who go into an area that has been tainted by an extraterrestrial presence. They grab artifacts that break the laws of physics and sell them to surgeons, study institutes, and other places for the highest dollar.

And the craziest thing to me is - this book was written in 1972. It does so many things I've never seen referenced in other media. If you told me it was written five years ago I would believe you.

Anyway. Not sure if this is a review or just me spazzing about my new special interest or what. But I read the book in two sittings and highly recommend it to anyone looking for something new.

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gMike t1_j25i9o4 wrote

One of the best Science Fiction novels ever written. I've been reading SF for close to 60 years and Roadside Picnic is head and shoulders above anything else I've ever read.

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shredinger137 t1_j25fh7c wrote

Remember that the USSR was in full swing at the time. There's a substantial body of work from that corner of the world that didn't totally cross over to Western stories. Even classic works suffer from that. If you look into other regions, like Asia and Africa, you'll find you'll find the same pattern. Eastern European works have their own voice that I'm personally a fan of, and Soviet work is a fascinating look behind the curtain.

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CrazyCatLady108 t1_j25g2wz wrote

you should check out other Strugatskys works. "land of the Crimson Clouds" and "Rainbow" are my favorites.

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MisterThwak t1_j25v726 wrote

It really is an amazing book. Interesting that you were exposed to it by the film on youtube, most people find out about the book as it was the inspiration for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. computer games of the 00's.

It's funny because a lot of people think those games are super jank and weird but the people who find out about the book through the game always end up explaining "look it's really a good book, I know the game it's based on is jank as hell but the book's really great!"

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Franz_Thieppel t1_j26fna1 wrote

Those people should speak for themselves. The Stalker games are great and Call of Pripyat isn't even that jank.

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GottJammern t1_j26ltus wrote

The original games are very janky, but since they're easily editable via mods/modifications, almost all of that jank has long since been removed. Nowadays they hold up VERY well.

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fordisabastard t1_j278j9j wrote

If anyone wants to explore the world in a game, STALKER Anomaly is a very good fan made version of the game with the blessings of the creators, and also completely free.

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i_am39_jack t1_j25ibo6 wrote

Not sure how good is the English translation , I’ve read it in Russian and still have memories of what i felt whilst reading

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shoegazeweedbed OP t1_j25vtmy wrote

I actually wondered how much would be lost in translation and looked it up. Apparently the "best" English translation available does change characterization around a bit. I also found some of the shoved-in references to Western media materials such as Playboy somewhat jarring when they're also sitting around eating borscht.

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ivbox t1_j28ndsc wrote

In the original, the borscht is the name of a restaurant. And because the zone in a Commonwealth country, Western references make sense.

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Stupid-Sexy-Alt t1_j26u8lc wrote

I read it in English and found the ideas super compelling but the narrative quite flat.

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LackadaisicalWolf t1_j26rw0x wrote

I've read Roadside Picnic in English and Finnish. The English translation lacked something for me, but the Finnish one felt really Russian. I mean, it just had that certain feeling to it.

Reading the same book in two different languages was like reading two different books. Really weird experience.

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i_am39_jack t1_j26zncf wrote

Totally agree. I read Steinbeck in Russian and later English, similar but different vibes for sure

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SteveCake t1_j25rfn3 wrote

You can't go wrong here- all of Tarkovsky's films are available free on YouTube with English subtitles if you fancy trying another. They are all equally spiritual and meditative. My favourite is Mirror. There's a sub r/Tarkovsky

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shoegazeweedbed OP t1_j25uq0e wrote

Big thanks, noted. Solaris is next because I was one of the rare few who liked the Clooney version back in the day

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NiteNiteSpiderBite t1_j26on65 wrote

I LOVE Solaris!! I hope you like it too. Just as beautiful and hypnotic as Stalker.

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NiteNiteSpiderBite t1_j26ofii wrote

I am absolutely obsessed with this book and with "Stalker." The concept that humanity is no more consequential to reality than trash at the side of a road will haunt me forever. I love the beautiful nihilism of the book and movie. And the movie has some of the most gorgeous cinematography I've ever seen. It is so slow, so plodding, so deliberate. It's like a 3 hour meditation.

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FrenchProgressive t1_j281iio wrote

If I remember correctly the comparaison in the book, the thrash represents the artefacts. The humanity are the ants crawling all over the thrash.

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SlouchyGuy t1_j262p1v wrote

Yeah, Strugatsky are great writers. Several of their their other books happen in the same universe, there's also lighter Monday Begins on Saturday written in the middle of Khruschev Thaw, and it's sequel, Tale of Troika, which was written and banned when it ended.

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themilkywayfarer t1_j26lo3d wrote

Annihilation and the rest of the Southern Reach trilogy, as well as Borne hit on some similar aspects. I just ordered Roadside Picnic on your recommendation. You might like Jeff Vandermeer.

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NiteNiteSpiderBite t1_j26osb4 wrote

IMO Jeff Vandermeer is an exceptional world-builder but absolute trash at making characters

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themilkywayfarer t1_j26un9s wrote

I think that's certainly a fair take. I kinda enjoy the detached nature of his style myself.

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SideburnsOfDoom t1_j28copb wrote

There aint no dystopia like a Soviet Sci-fi dystopia, given that they were already living in something quite dystopian.

I'm a fan of The Doomed City , also by the Strugatsky brothers in the 1970s, not published until later, not translated into English until much later, 2016 I think.

It looks to me like the movie Dark City draws inspiration from this book.

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DrFreitag t1_j25lmqd wrote

Its my favorite book! (i have three copies of it in two different languages ib my room) I'm sure you will be amazed by the ending, one of the best I've ever seen.

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wvdirtboy t1_j26521q wrote

Roadside Picnic wowed me and I've since reread it. If you liked that, you might try their (Strugatsky) novel "Snail on a Slope". Very different, but there is an air of mystery and parts are almost surreal. I plan on rereading it too.

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Rusty_Junkie_Rat t1_j25xroh wrote

I really liked that book and planning to read it again for the next year. I know that existence of the movie is maybe how people got introduced to it while for me is was the video game series S.T.A.L.K.E.R. which is based on the book. really got interested into reading the source material for and oh boy, I didn't regret it in the slightest.

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UpDownCharmed t1_j260mbd wrote

Thank you, it sounds so interesting- I just placed a hold at my library!

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xinzaku t1_j27exqr wrote

I had a very similar experience reading it earlier this year, it left me absolutely in awe of the Strugatsky's imaginations. Mind boggling how many ideas they pack into those 200 pages.

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Aeshaetter t1_j28dxh7 wrote

Same! I had always wanted to watch Stalker, hearing about how good it was for years, and finally saw it was on Youtube and watched it. It instantly became one of my favorite movies so I decided to order Roadside Picnic and loved that also.

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ursus_album t1_j2ab59m wrote

That's one of the best books ever, however many nuances got lost in translation, but I guess that's inevitable.

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