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pricklybriar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A thrilling and gratifying read. For me the idea of an alien visitation as a “roadside picnic” was really interesting and novel. I think that most often aliens are depicted as having a kind of intelligence that is very similar to us, but this is isn’t necessarily a fair assumption to make. (How do we define intelligence? Well, humans are intelligent, so whatever it is that makes us distinct from other animals. This logic seems a little circular to me.)
While I wouldn’t say this is a character-driven narrative, Red’s relationship with his family is touching, and there is some evolution in his character.
Roadside Picnic is definitely of it’s time, but still inspired and well worth reading.
While I wouldn’t say this is a character-driven narrative, Red’s relationship with his family is touching, and there is some evolution in his character.
Roadside Picnic is definitely of it’s time, but still inspired and well worth reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism
ashleymg99's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Before I read this book, I had watched Andrei Tarkovsky’s STALKER (which was intriguing, visually delightful, but too slow for me) and my boyfriend is a fan of the games.
This is the cosmic horror novel of the 20th century -Lovecraft stans can fight me. There’s something so sinister about our extreme lack of knowledge about the Zone, and the nightmarish effects it has on the environment and the people in it.
My favorite part of the novel was in the chapter from Noonan’s perspective.Valentine’s Theory of the Roadside Picnic, and the ensuing discussion about the measure of intelligent life was fascinating to me. As I said, there’s something so intriguing and yet disturbing at the idea that these aliens are so far beyond our comprehension, that we are essentially bugs and birds that are examining the mess left by beings we can never hope to understand.
Valentine sees humanity for all its flaws, and in a world where aliens have visited us, he sees the insignificance of us - we are not worth testing, or training or observing. We are simply primitive animals, “using sledgehammers to crack nuts” - picking up alien space junk that we can never hope to understand the true use of, and adapting it for a more primitive purposes.
This is a short read, and overall I was pretty engaged, but there were some slower parts (particularly the beginning of Noonan’s chapter) that struggled to capture my attention.
This is a must read for any sci-fi, cosmic horror, or dystopian fans. Also, watch Tarkovsky’s STALKER - it’s written by the same authors and tells a similar story in the same universe, but is by no means an adaptation.
This is the cosmic horror novel of the 20th century -
My favorite part of the novel was in the chapter from Noonan’s perspective.
Valentine sees humanity for all its flaws, and in a world where aliens have visited us, he sees the insignificance of us - we are not worth testing, or training or observing. We are simply primitive animals, “using sledgehammers to crack nuts” - picking up alien space junk that we can never hope to understand the true use of, and adapting it for a more primitive purposes.
This is a short read, and overall I was pretty engaged, but there were some slower parts (particularly the beginning of Noonan’s chapter) that struggled to capture my attention.
This is a must read for any sci-fi, cosmic horror, or dystopian fans. Also, watch Tarkovsky’s STALKER - it’s written by the same authors and tells a similar story in the same universe, but is by no means an adaptation.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Body horror, and Death
saraaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Misogyny, Body shaming, and Racism
gilnean's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Death, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Cursing, and Alcohol
Moderate: Blood, Misogyny, Addiction, Infidelity, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Sexism
Minor: Ableism, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Excrement, and Sexual content
sipping_tea_with_ghosts's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Enjoyed my read, even if it felt more like a collection of ideas than a complete story. Brief but bursting with interesting bits of worldbuilding and a great "what if" scenario that warrants uncomfortable questions about our existence and how unimportant we are on the potential journey of others.
The summary promises a much more epic adventure than what is actually presented in the book however - coming off as half a dozen vignettes exploring an aspect of the Zone, lacking a real sense of progression. The main character is also about as complicated and welcoming as a porcupine seat cushion. The second half of the book was much more entertaining to me since it focused on two men debating existence at a bar instead of following around the barbed personality protagonist and his mutated daughter with no personality besides kid_behavior.exe and wife with subserviant_doe.exe
So if you're going through the classics like I am, then I'd say its great on delivering those intriguing introspections but lacking in a compelling journey. For less than 200 pages though, you could do much, much worse.
The summary promises a much more epic adventure than what is actually presented in the book however - coming off as half a dozen vignettes exploring an aspect of the Zone, lacking a real sense of progression. The main character is also about as complicated and welcoming as a porcupine seat cushion. The second half of the book was much more entertaining to me since it focused on two men debating existence at a bar instead of following around the barbed personality protagonist and his mutated daughter with no personality besides kid_behavior.exe and wife with subserviant_doe.exe
So if you're going through the classics like I am, then I'd say its great on delivering those intriguing introspections but lacking in a compelling journey. For less than 200 pages though, you could do much, much worse.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, and Violence
edensbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, and Cursing
Moderate: Alcoholism and Death of parent
Minor: Misogyny and Racism
heini's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism and Racism
mandkips's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Death
inkyteacups's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The only thing an alien visit left behind are four deadly zones, littered with new technology but more deadly dangers. Going into them and coming back out alive is nearly impossible. Yet, Stalkers venture out for all kinds of goods on a regular basis. More often than not illegally ...
"Roadside Picnic" follows such a stalker: Red. It follows him for three of the four chapters, showing how his life and he himself changes. He goes from a reformed Stalker, who stalks legally, to one who turns back to a life to get the goods out for the highest bidder because life has dealt him those cards. The further the story continues, the more disillusioned he becomes. Yet ... maybe a little bit of almost childlike hope remains.
Furthermore, the story telling is fantastic. It is written in short and crude sentences, never putting a name to any of the emotions. Still you know perfectly what Red feels. The same method is used to describe any visits to The Zone, so your nerves are always on the edge when reading.
I have a full review of "Roadside Picnic" available on the blog, where I discuss writing, characters, and plot in further detail here
I have a full review of "Roadside Picnic" available on the blog, where I discuss writing, characters, and plot in further detail here
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Death
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