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angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
4.0
The world has fallen into disrepair. Mutants roam the surface, and a band of humans eeks out an existence in the subway system in the former Soviet Union. A sort of adventure narrative as this group wanders the underground system and surfaces periodically. Visiting former areas of prominence. Combating tribalism and monsters. Extremely atmospheric and I found it engaging and enjoyable.
lidotchka's review against another edition
5.0
★★★★★ - It took me time to really enjoy this book but continuing my reading was definitely worth it.
I know, I am giving a 5-star review to a book a kinda struggled reading. Yes, the first 200 pages were painfully boring, I hated them and almost stopped my reading. However, I decided to continue and I am so glad I did.
After this dull start, the book was amazing. A lot of things actually happened (my main complaint is that it was very slow to really start and get into the story. That's why I didn't like the first 200 pages). It was a long time I hadn't been that invested in a story and that's the reason why I think this book deserves a 5-star review.
I now started to read [b:The Gospel According to Artyom|18910881|The Gospel According to Artyom (Metro #1.5)|Dmitry Glukhovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1437654972l/18910881._SX50_.jpg|56808773] which is an epilogue of [b:Metro 2033|17274667|Metro 2033 (Metro, #1)|Dmitry Glukhovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1379621430l/17274667._SY75_.jpg|5729918]. Will I read [b:Metro 2034|6667916|Metro 2034 (Metro, #2)|Dmitry Glukhovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1346448276l/6667916._SY75_.jpg|56209203] though? I am not sure yet. I read a lot of things about this second book, saying it was very boring and that nothing happened. I don't wanna ruin the love I have for [b:Metro 2033|17274667|Metro 2033 (Metro, #1)|Dmitry Glukhovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1379621430l/17274667._SY75_.jpg|5729918] by reading a boring sequel. So I'll see.
However, I definitely recommend reading [b:Metro 2033|17274667|Metro 2033 (Metro, #1)|Dmitry Glukhovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1379621430l/17274667._SY75_.jpg|5729918] to anyone who enjoys post-apocalyptic literature. This book is worth it!
I know, I am giving a 5-star review to a book a kinda struggled reading. Yes, the first 200 pages were painfully boring, I hated them and almost stopped my reading. However, I decided to continue and I am so glad I did.
After this dull start, the book was amazing. A lot of things actually happened (my main complaint is that it was very slow to really start and get into the story. That's why I didn't like the first 200 pages). It was a long time I hadn't been that invested in a story and that's the reason why I think this book deserves a 5-star review.
I now started to read [b:The Gospel According to Artyom|18910881|The Gospel According to Artyom (Metro #1.5)|Dmitry Glukhovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1437654972l/18910881._SX50_.jpg|56808773] which is an epilogue of [b:Metro 2033|17274667|Metro 2033 (Metro, #1)|Dmitry Glukhovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1379621430l/17274667._SY75_.jpg|5729918]. Will I read [b:Metro 2034|6667916|Metro 2034 (Metro, #2)|Dmitry Glukhovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1346448276l/6667916._SY75_.jpg|56209203] though? I am not sure yet. I read a lot of things about this second book, saying it was very boring and that nothing happened. I don't wanna ruin the love I have for [b:Metro 2033|17274667|Metro 2033 (Metro, #1)|Dmitry Glukhovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1379621430l/17274667._SY75_.jpg|5729918] by reading a boring sequel. So I'll see.
However, I definitely recommend reading [b:Metro 2033|17274667|Metro 2033 (Metro, #1)|Dmitry Glukhovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1379621430l/17274667._SY75_.jpg|5729918] to anyone who enjoys post-apocalyptic literature. This book is worth it!
martynasbookclub's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
willrefuge's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 / 5 ✪
Reviewed on https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/
A metaphysical journey combines with a thrilling, coming-of-age adventure. A post-apocalyptic Russia overrun by mutants. With the addendum of a mysterious enemy, Metro 2033 is complete. And yet… in joining these three elements, Metro just can’t decide what it wants to be.
I’ve played the game—a few times, in fact—but none of them prepared me for the journey Dmitry Glukhovsky weaves. Actually, I read through a good portion of this book while playing Metro Exodus, though none of this caused me to lose touch with the tale. Part of it has to do with Exodus; the story element isn’t as strong as it’s been in the previous two games—but I’ll have to review it to talk about this. Which… maybe? Anyway, one of the main reasons I was able to get through a related, though distinctly unique game while reading 2033 lies in what it is as a story. And just what it tells.
Metro 2033 tells the story of Artyom, a young man trapped in the Moscow Metro. Above him, the world is gone. Ruined. Changed by nuclear war. He was but a boy when the bombs fell, but remembers their sound and fury well. Even better than he remembers the world before. Better still than he recalls his mother’s face, her voice.
Since then he has lived in the metro tunnels, along with but a fraction of the human race, those few that survived alongside him. When he was young still a rat swarm overran his home station, Artyom alone saved when his mother pressed him into a soldier’s hands. At the start of 2033 he lives in VDNKh with his stepfather, Sukhoi, the very soldier who led him to safety all those years before. It is not an overly safe life, the constant fear of being overrun by rats, mutants, fascists, communists, or succumbing to either starvation or radiation—but is a quiet one, nonetheless. And one that is shattered with the arrival of Hunter.
Long story short, Hunter gives Artyom a mission—to deliver a message to Melnik at Polis—should he not return to the station within a day. While the reason for this wasn’t super clear at the time, from the context of later conversations (and the game, of course) it becomes clear that VDNKh is close to being overwhelmed by an unknown threat. What follows is the story of Artyom’s journey, a meandering trial of terror and tears, set in a destroyed world, populated by the remnants of humanity. He is witness to the best and worst and most human of humanity: smugglers, cannibals, killers, survivors, the faithful as well as the deceived. All and more.
While 2033 was quite the tale, it wasn’t what I’d call… engrossing. Sure, there was a story. A really good one, at that. It just wasn’t what I expected. Instead of a post-apocalyptic action-thriller, I’d classify 2033 as a metaphysical experience set in a post-apocalyptic world, with elements of mystery, thriller and scifi epic.
Stories dominate the text. The main, overarching one is Artyom’s. But his is not alone. Instead, imagine if you had a main story that was constantly interrupted by other legends, lore and second- or third-hand tales of the metro, all told by people the lead character meets in his own journey. Tales that often interrupt the main story—and while providing interesting lore—accomplish little more than distracting from the primary adventure itself. This is what 2033 gives the reader. A muddied, confusing jumble of tales that somewhere at its heart bear a diamond core.
The deep, thought-out world is more than enough of a reason to read Metro 2033. It’s more than just an adventure, a thriller, a mystery, yet somehow, as it tries to include all of these elements, loses all of them. It is certainly worth reading—I did enjoy the book more than the game (helped by the fact that I didn’t die every couple minutes and have to repeat a section)—though nowhere near the experience I was hoping for.
Reviewed on https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/
A metaphysical journey combines with a thrilling, coming-of-age adventure. A post-apocalyptic Russia overrun by mutants. With the addendum of a mysterious enemy, Metro 2033 is complete. And yet… in joining these three elements, Metro just can’t decide what it wants to be.
I’ve played the game—a few times, in fact—but none of them prepared me for the journey Dmitry Glukhovsky weaves. Actually, I read through a good portion of this book while playing Metro Exodus, though none of this caused me to lose touch with the tale. Part of it has to do with Exodus; the story element isn’t as strong as it’s been in the previous two games—but I’ll have to review it to talk about this. Which… maybe? Anyway, one of the main reasons I was able to get through a related, though distinctly unique game while reading 2033 lies in what it is as a story. And just what it tells.
Metro 2033 tells the story of Artyom, a young man trapped in the Moscow Metro. Above him, the world is gone. Ruined. Changed by nuclear war. He was but a boy when the bombs fell, but remembers their sound and fury well. Even better than he remembers the world before. Better still than he recalls his mother’s face, her voice.
Since then he has lived in the metro tunnels, along with but a fraction of the human race, those few that survived alongside him. When he was young still a rat swarm overran his home station, Artyom alone saved when his mother pressed him into a soldier’s hands. At the start of 2033 he lives in VDNKh with his stepfather, Sukhoi, the very soldier who led him to safety all those years before. It is not an overly safe life, the constant fear of being overrun by rats, mutants, fascists, communists, or succumbing to either starvation or radiation—but is a quiet one, nonetheless. And one that is shattered with the arrival of Hunter.
Long story short, Hunter gives Artyom a mission—to deliver a message to Melnik at Polis—should he not return to the station within a day. While the reason for this wasn’t super clear at the time, from the context of later conversations (and the game, of course) it becomes clear that VDNKh is close to being overwhelmed by an unknown threat. What follows is the story of Artyom’s journey, a meandering trial of terror and tears, set in a destroyed world, populated by the remnants of humanity. He is witness to the best and worst and most human of humanity: smugglers, cannibals, killers, survivors, the faithful as well as the deceived. All and more.
While 2033 was quite the tale, it wasn’t what I’d call… engrossing. Sure, there was a story. A really good one, at that. It just wasn’t what I expected. Instead of a post-apocalyptic action-thriller, I’d classify 2033 as a metaphysical experience set in a post-apocalyptic world, with elements of mystery, thriller and scifi epic.
Stories dominate the text. The main, overarching one is Artyom’s. But his is not alone. Instead, imagine if you had a main story that was constantly interrupted by other legends, lore and second- or third-hand tales of the metro, all told by people the lead character meets in his own journey. Tales that often interrupt the main story—and while providing interesting lore—accomplish little more than distracting from the primary adventure itself. This is what 2033 gives the reader. A muddied, confusing jumble of tales that somewhere at its heart bear a diamond core.
The deep, thought-out world is more than enough of a reason to read Metro 2033. It’s more than just an adventure, a thriller, a mystery, yet somehow, as it tries to include all of these elements, loses all of them. It is certainly worth reading—I did enjoy the book more than the game (helped by the fact that I didn’t die every couple minutes and have to repeat a section)—though nowhere near the experience I was hoping for.
jpdrake1221's review against another edition
4.0
Read this because I loved the games. The book was very good and it remains an interesting and different take on post-apocalyptic life, but there are points where it meanders. A lot of it is Artyom trying to discover his purpose and what everything around him means, and I can't knock good character development, but it kicks the quest down the road and the real "climax" literally occurs in the last 2-3 pages.
mvelz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
ktkaiser's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
baby_goes_apehit's review against another edition
1.0
Antikommunistische, bürgerlich-heroische Incel-Literatur
Diese Metro-Menschheit ist zum Aussterben verdammt, denn anscheinend gibt es keine Frauen mehr. Unser Incel Protagonist trifft auf über 800 Seiten nur Männer - und von denen bleibt auch keiner länger als einen halben Tag an seiner Seite.
Die meisten Gefahren der Metro bleiben zusammenhang- und konsequenzlos. Zumindest in diesem ersten Teil. Die anderen werde ich nicht lesen, daher gibt es keine Gelegenheit für Erfüllung für mich.
Whack
Diese Metro-Menschheit ist zum Aussterben verdammt, denn anscheinend gibt es keine Frauen mehr. Unser Incel Protagonist trifft auf über 800 Seiten nur Männer - und von denen bleibt auch keiner länger als einen halben Tag an seiner Seite.
Die meisten Gefahren der Metro bleiben zusammenhang- und konsequenzlos. Zumindest in diesem ersten Teil. Die anderen werde ich nicht lesen, daher gibt es keine Gelegenheit für Erfüllung für mich.
Spoiler
Die Prämisse ist ja eigentlich nicht schlecht, aber leider stolpert unser unbesiegbare Held von einer Misere in die nächste, nur um auf den letzten 15 Seiten zu erkennen, dass seine schier unbegrenztes Glück daher rührt, dass er "der Auserwählte" sein muss...Whack
davinci10038's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
jenhurst's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting premise and world but I don’t think a book is the best medium for this story to be told. I’ve heard it’s a game and it’s apparently a good one. I think that would be a lot better or a tv show.