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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
This book does world building and atmosphere so well, but I found the narrative and flow to be somewhat all over the place at points; although, this could be down to bad translation. I definitely enjoyed the book and would recommend it, the three star rating is purely because this book left me wanting a lot more. So much potential for greatness!
Para quienes no lo conocen, Metro 2033 es una trilogía de ciencia ficción, distopía específicamente, que transcurre en Rusia en una situación post apocalíptica donde todo el mundo se vio envuelto en ataques nucleares y recurrieron a vivir bajo tierra, en las redes del metro/subte más cercano.
A pesar que pueda parecer la típica historia de sci-fi con un montón de recursos tecnológicos y demás, aquí no los tenemos. Es realista en el sentido de cómo estaría privada la humanidad de cosas tan básicas como el alimento, más aún de lujos.
Fuera de todo esto, tenemos a nuestro protagonista, un joven llamado Artyom, al que se le da una misión de vida o muerte prácticamente. Durante sus aventuras, va a reflexionar y filosofar de formas imperdibles. No me esperaba para nada todos los temas existencialistas que aborda el autor. Después leí que lo escribió a una muy corta edad y quedé fascinada. Y, por sobre todo, el personaje tendrá un cambio casi radical en corto tiempo.
A pesar que pueda parecer la típica historia de sci-fi con un montón de recursos tecnológicos y demás, aquí no los tenemos. Es realista en el sentido de cómo estaría privada la humanidad de cosas tan básicas como el alimento, más aún de lujos.
Fuera de todo esto, tenemos a nuestro protagonista, un joven llamado Artyom, al que se le da una misión de vida o muerte prácticamente. Durante sus aventuras, va a reflexionar y filosofar de formas imperdibles. No me esperaba para nada todos los temas existencialistas que aborda el autor. Después leí que lo escribió a una muy corta edad y quedé fascinada. Y, por sobre todo, el personaje tendrá un cambio casi radical en corto tiempo.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Es un libro raro. Como premisa es excelente, pero la ejecución puede resultar repetitiva y confusa. Todo el tiempo está pasando algo entonces no hay manera de que sorprenda por más que el enemigo sea tan dispar y a veces inverosímil.
Los capítulos del exterior son sin duda los que más me gustaron y más miedo me dieron. Sobre todo la biblioteca
Los capítulos del exterior son sin duda los que más me gustaron y más miedo me dieron. Sobre todo la biblioteca
Metro 2033 is post-apocalyptic goodness! I listened to the audio book and narrator Rupert Degas did a fantastic job with all the different voices and varying Russian accents. He perfectly sets the mood and differentiates the characters.
The setting of the book is the Moscow Metro (subway system). The earth, or at least Russia, has been ravaged by war leaving the surface radioactive and pretty much destroyed, and seemingly unlivable for human beings. The surviving humans have retreated to the Metro and are eking out livings by growing mushrooms and breeding and maintaining populations of chickens and pigs which they scavenged from the surface. Oh yeah, there are plenty of rats to eat also. The stations have become their own little fiefdoms, with passports required for travel to some. There are odd ideological factions controlling some of the stations - the Reds, the Fourth Reich, Polis (an advanced knowledge preserving group), and a number of others. Every station has different levels of resources, some have very little, and most have armed guards keeping undesirables or hostiles out.
The plot follows the trials and tribulations of protagonist Artyom, who in the beginning of the book is involved in a breech of his station's security which results in him going on a quest to another Metro station which lasts the balance of this twenty-hour long book. During his journey he visits numerous other stations and meets a number of interesting characters. He also encounters some of the odd life forms which have sprung up as a result of the radiation and chemical warfare. The most interesting of these are the librarians, some sort of sub-human mutants who roam the stacks of the Moscow library. They are creepy and bizarre.
After Artyom's journey began I got confused about the stations he was visiting as I am not familiar with the Moscow Metro. I printed out a map of the Metro so I could keep track of the stations he visited and determine his direction of travel. Later, I found an image someone created showing his path and the groups which controlled the stations he visited which made the book easy to follow.
The narrative moves along nicely and the setting is always claustrophobic and sometimes dark and terrifying. I listened to some of this walking my dogs through the woods at night which creeped me out and had me double-checking suspicious looking shadows. Probably not the optimal choice of media for walking through dark woods.
Overall, a really good post-apocalyptic book that moves along and is never boring. The complaint I read most about before starting the book was that the ending was weak. I rather liked it. I'm looking forward to eventually continuing on to Metro 2034 and Metro 2035.
The setting of the book is the Moscow Metro (subway system). The earth, or at least Russia, has been ravaged by war leaving the surface radioactive and pretty much destroyed, and seemingly unlivable for human beings. The surviving humans have retreated to the Metro and are eking out livings by growing mushrooms and breeding and maintaining populations of chickens and pigs which they scavenged from the surface. Oh yeah, there are plenty of rats to eat also. The stations have become their own little fiefdoms, with passports required for travel to some. There are odd ideological factions controlling some of the stations - the Reds, the Fourth Reich, Polis (an advanced knowledge preserving group), and a number of others. Every station has different levels of resources, some have very little, and most have armed guards keeping undesirables or hostiles out.
The plot follows the trials and tribulations of protagonist Artyom, who in the beginning of the book is involved in a breech of his station's security which results in him going on a quest to another Metro station which lasts the balance of this twenty-hour long book. During his journey he visits numerous other stations and meets a number of interesting characters. He also encounters some of the odd life forms which have sprung up as a result of the radiation and chemical warfare. The most interesting of these are the librarians, some sort of sub-human mutants who roam the stacks of the Moscow library. They are creepy and bizarre.
After Artyom's journey began I got confused about the stations he was visiting as I am not familiar with the Moscow Metro. I printed out a map of the Metro so I could keep track of the stations he visited and determine his direction of travel. Later, I found an image someone created showing his path and the groups which controlled the stations he visited which made the book easy to follow.
The narrative moves along nicely and the setting is always claustrophobic and sometimes dark and terrifying. I listened to some of this walking my dogs through the woods at night which creeped me out and had me double-checking suspicious looking shadows. Probably not the optimal choice of media for walking through dark woods.
Overall, a really good post-apocalyptic book that moves along and is never boring. The complaint I read most about before starting the book was that the ending was weak. I rather liked it. I'm looking forward to eventually continuing on to Metro 2034 and Metro 2035.
adventurous
dark
tense
Loved this book for its creepy setting, good storyline, and most of all the varying morals, beliefs, and philosophies of every individual/group that Artyom had encountered in his journey. This stays true to the Russian existentialism that's in most Russian novels that I've read so far. The only thing I disliked is that my copy had a few spelling errors and the translation could have been better, but overall I'm pleasantly surprised and very upset at the ending (in a good way!).
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Enjoyable to read but the characters Artyom meets on his journey and the world of Metro 2033 are more interesting than Artyom himself for the majority of the book.