Roadside Picnic

Roadside Picnic is (in my estimation) a masterpiece of fiction, let alone of genre fiction. How it was published before the Chernobyl disaster is completely beyond me. It works just as well on a philosophical/thematic level as it does as a piece of gripping entertainment. Such a good translation too; I'm amazed at how well the casual tone was preserved across the language barrier. The dialogue, Red's internal monologue, and the characters that surround him are rooted in a realness that plays well as foils to the unknowable and terrifying otherness of the Zone. Hardly a shred of wasted space. So much happens in this tight 190 pages; so much subtextual work that deepens the world without needing to use expositional dumps. I was left wanting so much more in the best possible way. 

To be honest I've been struggling to even write down some thoughts on it, because there's just so much to say. Even after several years of collecting my thoughts on what I read, I feel I am completely over matched. Luckily the page count lends itself to rereading, and I'm sure I'm be back for more. 

I also really enjoyed the forward by Le Guin and the afterward from Boris. I'd very much recommend reading the forward after the novel itself though, as Le Guin does a decent amount of spoiling. I think the less you know about the plot and characters the better.