Roadside Picnic

By: Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky, Olena Bormashenko - translator

Narrated by: Robert Forster

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.

©1972 Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (P)2012 Random House

Alien Litterbugs

If you only read one Russian Science fiction novel, make it Roadside Picnic. Subject to heavy Soviet censorship during its beginnings, the Strugatsky brothers have only relatively recently been rediscovered appreciated for their remarkable skills. This a true gem for the science fiction genera, and while Robert Forster's heavy accent can take a bit of getting used to, he does a solid job with a great, albeit very bleak, story. Very highly recommended!

Disappointed

great story idea in theory but it just didn't get there. maybe it's a Russian thing but there was so much more left. you really never get to know the characters.

One of the best sci-fi stories I have listened too

Amazingly narrated by Robert Forster (R.I.P). Gripping story with engaging characters. A multi-layered plot that will leaving you thinking well after the end.

I can't think of anything I would change, except

that I wish it was longer. There's so many interesting things about 'the zone' that I wish the book would have spent more time there. In any case this book wastes no time on a dull moment, every aspect of the book feels like it should be there and keeps even the shortest attention span interested. The narrator was well chosen, and captures the personality of Red and the overall tone of the book very well. Probably my favorite audiobook so far, out of the 40 or so I have.

good

I'm too lazy to fill this out so I'm just going to write this instead

Nihilism and Entertainment

Recursive narrative arch leaving one with an understanding of emptiness. Or, a joyful romp.? Nah!

brutal super good

the strugatskys are supeb in this book great read
Great thematic superb atmosphere and excellent storytelling.

At the end of the day it is a journey in introspection

A very flowing book the step by step digs into introspection by providing a sort of mirror on humanity.

Dark and thoughtful classic sci-fi

Not a shiny glossy action sci-fi. Dark, gritty and real. Oh, wait, not really "real" but... if aliens did stop by, this could very well be how we "interpret" their leavings.

I really liked this book. It is fairly slow moving and the characters are shrouded in mystery. In fact, all the details are pretty shrouded and we are left to fill in a lot of blanks. I like how it isn't all spelled out for us. Very thoughtful, very interesting, and probably pretty accurate as to what the aftermath of an alien visitation could be like...

The narration is very good. I do agree that it would have added some extra "ambience" if it were a Russian speaking narrator, but whatever... There isn't anything graphic, nor, unfortunately, anything joyous, in this story...

wow! So Much More to the story than the movie!

I watched the film classic, Stalker, which led me to check out the book that inspired it. So glad I downloaded this version!

This version of the book has been restored to the original text as the authors intended it before the many edits and revisions they were forced to make by the publishing house back in the USSR. Knowing that this text is being presented as the authors intended makes the reading of the adventure more enjoyable.

The choice of narrator for this translation was perfect! Robert Forster brings a kind of hard-boiled, gritty, noir kind of vibe to the text. I love him as an actor (in Breaking Bad, Jackie Brown etc) and love his voice. His voice really added to the quality of the listening experience in a big way and I think I'll be checking out any other book that he narrates moving forward. This is a prime example of a great narrator making an already engaging story even better, more powerful, more dramatic, and adds a certain depth and weight to the experience. I couldn't imagine this being read by anyone else.

Lastly, this is VERY different than the movie in terms of plot points, character names, story structure, etc. I knew that going into the read so I wasn't surprised but feel that it's important to mention. The movie and the book both communicate the same overall message and convey very similar meanings and moods. The movie removes many plot points and characters and names and specifics as leaves far more of the story a little more open to interpretation. Both the movie and the book are excellent! I was a little surprised by the gritty, more American-like, more detective story, more adventure-like story structure at first, but all of those specifics in the book don't detract from the overall gravity of the story. It's still a very similar experience with a powerful last 10 minutes.

The only drawback to the whole book is the VERY long chapters. I occasionally lost a little interest in the first 3rd of the last 2 chapters or felt the tension and momentum of the chapters losing just a little bit of steam... BUT, this book rewards you for sticking with it. All of it just builds and builds and builds to a powerful and awe inspiring final movement.

One of my favorite books ever!