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Alien Zones: Roadside Picnic / Hard to Be a God
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky are amongst the greatest Russian Sci-Fi writers of all time. Now, two of their most powerful works have finally been released in English in new translations and collected in an exclusive SFBC collection. The Strugatsky’s 1964 novel Hard to Be a God is one of their definitive novels. It tells the story of Don Rumata, who is sent from Earth to a medieval kingdom with instructions to observe, but to never interfere. This, however, could all change when the kingdom is threatened. First published in 1972, Roadside Picnic is the story of a young rebel who scavenges alien artifacts to sell on the black market. Everything is going according to plan until one day when he picks a mysterious object that could change his life forever.
455 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
7 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Arkady Strugatsky
425 books1,889 followersThe brothers Arkady Strugatsky [Russian: Аркадий Стругацкий] and Boris Strugatsky [Russian: Борис Стругацкий] were Soviet-Russian science fiction authors who collaborated through most of their careers.
Arkady Strugatsky was born 25 August 1925 in Batumi; the family later moved to Leningrad. In January 1942, Arkady and his father were evacuated from the Siege of Leningrad, but Arkady was the only survivor in his train car; his father died upon reaching Vologda. Arkady was drafted into the Soviet army in 1943. He trained first at the artillery school in Aktyubinsk and later at the Military Institute of Foreign Languages in Moscow, from which he graduated in 1949 as an interpreter of English and Japanese. He worked as a teacher and interpreter for the military until 1955. In 1955, he began working as an editor and writer.
In 1958, he began collaborating with his brother Boris, a collaboration that lasted until Arkady's death on 12 October 1991. Arkady Strugatsky became a member of the Union of Soviet Writers in 1964. In addition to his own writing, he translated Japanese language short stories and novels, as well as some English works with his brother.
Source: Wikipedia
Arkady Strugatsky was born 25 August 1925 in Batumi; the family later moved to Leningrad. In January 1942, Arkady and his father were evacuated from the Siege of Leningrad, but Arkady was the only survivor in his train car; his father died upon reaching Vologda. Arkady was drafted into the Soviet army in 1943. He trained first at the artillery school in Aktyubinsk and later at the Military Institute of Foreign Languages in Moscow, from which he graduated in 1949 as an interpreter of English and Japanese. He worked as a teacher and interpreter for the military until 1955. In 1955, he began working as an editor and writer.
In 1958, he began collaborating with his brother Boris, a collaboration that lasted until Arkady's death on 12 October 1991. Arkady Strugatsky became a member of the Union of Soviet Writers in 1964. In addition to his own writing, he translated Japanese language short stories and novels, as well as some English works with his brother.
Source: Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 15, 2018
Roadside Picnic is a wonderful and classic SF story that suffers only a bit from the translation from Russian (this is the 2012 translation by Bormashenko (Hard to Be a God was not in my edition). At times it feels like the context gets lost or flow is interrupted by an odd word choice.
With that said, the story is wonderfully engrossing. It is a compelling situation, Aliens(?) visit Earth in 6 locations very briefly and leave. The story is about one location that happened to be an ordinary town in someplace like America, unclear, but unimportant. Our hero is a stalker, a person who illegally enters this tightly controlled zone to steal 'treasures' left behind after The Visit. They are mysterious and sometimes useful and all incomprehensible. Each run is a treasure hunt, mapping expedition, and game of 'Russian Roulette'. A slight turn the wrong direction can be deadly in the literal blink of an eye, or days later, or change you utterly for good or ill.
Why are those artifacts? Mysteries for humans to solve and demonstrate our capacity to join the universe of sentient beings? Deposits to improve our situation from a beneficent species? A vector for invasion? Evidence points to these ideas and more. And, what about the rumored truly unique artifacts that reside in the zone, one that is alleged to grant your innermost wishes? What could you want to ask for?
It's all so compelling and nothing is resolved. And, in that way it is brilliantly done, brilliantly constructed. Like much of life as we learn in our later years, nothing is resolved. Stunning event happens on Earth and, practically speaking, our corruption leaks all over it as much as it leaks all over us.
I recommend the book highly. An engrossing short read.
The story of its difficult publishing history in 1970s and 80s Soviet Russia is intriguing. But, we have assurance that this translation is of the original text and includes an postscript by one of the authors describing some of that history.
With that said, the story is wonderfully engrossing. It is a compelling situation, Aliens(?) visit Earth in 6 locations very briefly and leave. The story is about one location that happened to be an ordinary town in someplace like America, unclear, but unimportant. Our hero is a stalker, a person who illegally enters this tightly controlled zone to steal 'treasures' left behind after The Visit. They are mysterious and sometimes useful and all incomprehensible. Each run is a treasure hunt, mapping expedition, and game of 'Russian Roulette'. A slight turn the wrong direction can be deadly in the literal blink of an eye, or days later, or change you utterly for good or ill.
Why are those artifacts? Mysteries for humans to solve and demonstrate our capacity to join the universe of sentient beings? Deposits to improve our situation from a beneficent species? A vector for invasion? Evidence points to these ideas and more. And, what about the rumored truly unique artifacts that reside in the zone, one that is alleged to grant your innermost wishes? What could you want to ask for?
It's all so compelling and nothing is resolved. And, in that way it is brilliantly done, brilliantly constructed. Like much of life as we learn in our later years, nothing is resolved. Stunning event happens on Earth and, practically speaking, our corruption leaks all over it as much as it leaks all over us.
I recommend the book highly. An engrossing short read.
The story of its difficult publishing history in 1970s and 80s Soviet Russia is intriguing. But, we have assurance that this translation is of the original text and includes an postscript by one of the authors describing some of that history.
June 14, 2021
I never thought I would like something so much on fantasy. Took me from the first to the very last page.
January 22, 2022
3.5 for Roadside Picnic. Cool book but the SFBC translation is rough.
May 20, 2021
Roadside Picnic:
It is difficult to assess my feelings on this book as I feel quite ambivalent, if not indifferent, towards it. I did enjoy the process of reading it and found a great deal of its questions and explorations of philosophy engaging. However, I wasn't particularly drawn or sympathetic to any of the characters and I feel like it could have had a more interesting narrative to what was a very cool premise. I do feel like it might not have been the best choice to start my foray into the SF genre so I would like to re-read it once I have some more staples of science fiction under my belt. Overall, it was an okay read but didn't feel very fulfilling.
It is difficult to assess my feelings on this book as I feel quite ambivalent, if not indifferent, towards it. I did enjoy the process of reading it and found a great deal of its questions and explorations of philosophy engaging. However, I wasn't particularly drawn or sympathetic to any of the characters and I feel like it could have had a more interesting narrative to what was a very cool premise. I do feel like it might not have been the best choice to start my foray into the SF genre so I would like to re-read it once I have some more staples of science fiction under my belt. Overall, it was an okay read but didn't feel very fulfilling.
March 6, 2015
I had read about Roadside Picnic, and that was the reason I bought this collection of two stories, the other being Hard to Be a God. Since Roadside Picnic was second in the book, and I would never jump around in a collection, I started reading the other story, which I knew nothing about. I was not enjoying Hard to Be a God at all for a good part of the novel. Suddenly I turned a page and realized that something had changed. The story is a familiar one about a group of observers watching a lesser civilization. The observers and those observed are not that far removed from each other except in a few areas. This is not "hard" sci-fi, and I feel it barely fits the genre. It proved to be an enjoyable read.
The second, and much anticipated, story Roadside Picnic came next. This is more of a sci-fi story. An alien visitation has left uninhabitable zones across the Earth. These zones are filled with artifacts and traps. The story centers around those who enter the zones and scavenge for profit. The picnic idea stems from one character's theory that all the things left are just alien garbage after a stopover for lunch. The reader never sees the aliens or finds out their reason for coming, so the presented theory might be right.
I found myself enjoying the first story more than the second. This could be because of the anticipation that Picnic held for me. The writing style of both is similar and the characters are fleshed out in a sufficient manner. I've read better, and I've read worse. For me, both novels fall closer to the bottom than the top.
The second, and much anticipated, story Roadside Picnic came next. This is more of a sci-fi story. An alien visitation has left uninhabitable zones across the Earth. These zones are filled with artifacts and traps. The story centers around those who enter the zones and scavenge for profit. The picnic idea stems from one character's theory that all the things left are just alien garbage after a stopover for lunch. The reader never sees the aliens or finds out their reason for coming, so the presented theory might be right.
I found myself enjoying the first story more than the second. This could be because of the anticipation that Picnic held for me. The writing style of both is similar and the characters are fleshed out in a sufficient manner. I've read better, and I've read worse. For me, both novels fall closer to the bottom than the top.
June 19, 2017
Actually just read Roadside Picnic, which inspired the Tarkovsky film, Stalker.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews