Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Strange and interesting. Philosophical and intriguing. I had to go and read about it more to make deeper sense of it, though that’s due to listening to audiobook, rather than carefully reading it.
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
From its visceral depictions of mind-bending and grotesque phenomena to its seemingly realistic portrayal of the black market around items from an alien visitation site to its alternatingly dim and optimistic views of humanity, it really has everything you could want in a (post-)first contact story. This book has as much to do with Stalker as Annihilation has to do with its film adaptation, but just as in that case, they are both transcendent works I will be sitting with for a long time
Read this after seeing "Stalker" the film inspired by it, for the first time. They vary in a lot of ways, the setting and main character being the parts that connect.
I listened to the audiobook and it was a fast read, but did have some slow points. I liked that the focus was on the seedy, gritty characters and the black market culture spurred off the zone. I also really liked the characters discussions on humanity when discussing the titular "roadside picnic" way that the extraterrestrial contact happened; Earth just being a stop over and the aliens not caring about humans. It brought about the philosophical questions and pensive feeling of the film. I did really like the ending despite it coming about abruptly like some others have noted.
I listened to the audiobook and it was a fast read, but did have some slow points. I liked that the focus was on the seedy, gritty characters and the black market culture spurred off the zone. I also really liked the characters discussions on humanity when discussing the titular "roadside picnic" way that the extraterrestrial contact happened; Earth just being a stop over and the aliens not caring about humans. It brought about the philosophical questions and pensive feeling of the film. I did really like the ending despite it coming about abruptly like some others have noted.
Too Russian for me. Alcoholics dealing with ambiguous motives, no real storyline, too many characters that don't stay around for long. No answers or hints of them.
Russian.
Russian.
2.5 - Started off well, but got really uninteresting and boring... Had high hopes, especially after enjoying the first half of the book!
Closer to noir than to sci-fi and perfectly performed by the late great Robert Forster. Mean, funny, bleak.
challenging
mysterious
I wasn't connecting with this for the first few sections - possibly because I was feeling rushed before Book Club. I think it's a compelling First Contact story--the aliens did come but they left pretty quickly too and humanity doesn't know what they don't know about the after-effects. God damn, everyone drinks a lot in this. My favorite section is the Richard Noonan-focused section, especially his conversation with Dr. Valentine Pillman.