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mormengil 's review for:
Metro 2033
by Dmitry Glukhovsky
So, the first book in the Metro trilogy by Dmitry Glukhovsky. Having read the entire trilogy at this point, I am certain that the first one is a small margin above the followups in my eyes. The pacing, the tour of the metro, the mystery hanging everywhere, around each and every corner.. The brilliant claustrophobic atmosphere. The sense of wonder at the marvels of the metro, combined with the sense of dread at its horrors. And the DARKNESS.
This one does a remarkable job of making the darkness into a main character. The world of metro in this book is less of an underground system of stations and tunnels, and more of an archipelago of dimly lit islands in a devouring ocean of darkness. Later books toned down this feeling, and imho they lost something because of it, though they have their own strengths.
The main character, Artyom, is very well written. He is an impressionable human being, and his encounters leave a deep mark on his psyche. Also, the stress of his daily life seeps into his dreams and torments him in, sometimes cruel, ways. He is a great example of a character written in a realistic way. He has his core beliefs and morality, but the things that happen and the things he witnesses influence his thinking and often his determination and set him on different paths, and often temporarily change his entire outlook of things. But the key thing is, it's mostly temporary. As he digests and processes his experiences, his core being does not dissolve into the aether, as is often the case in fiction. His experiences are transformative, yes, but not in the totally unrealistic way other fiction deals in absolutes. He still has to reconcile everything with his core self.
Also, the world of metro in this book is the richest in non-human horrors and wonders it will ever be. Later books turned more anthropocentric, a fact which many readers seemed to lament, but which I am perfectly fine with.
It was a great read, and having finished all the books in this world by Glukhovsky himself, I am left to lament the lack of any English translated editions of any of the myriad books into the greater Universe of Metro 2033. I won't deny that I really would love for D.G. to return to this world in the future and maybe grace us with another trilogy. Ahh, that would be great.
This one does a remarkable job of making the darkness into a main character. The world of metro in this book is less of an underground system of stations and tunnels, and more of an archipelago of dimly lit islands in a devouring ocean of darkness. Later books toned down this feeling, and imho they lost something because of it, though they have their own strengths.
The main character, Artyom, is very well written. He is an impressionable human being, and his encounters leave a deep mark on his psyche. Also, the stress of his daily life seeps into his dreams and torments him in, sometimes cruel, ways. He is a great example of a character written in a realistic way. He has his core beliefs and morality, but the things that happen and the things he witnesses influence his thinking and often his determination and set him on different paths, and often temporarily change his entire outlook of things. But the key thing is, it's mostly temporary. As he digests and processes his experiences, his core being does not dissolve into the aether, as is often the case in fiction. His experiences are transformative, yes, but not in the totally unrealistic way other fiction deals in absolutes. He still has to reconcile everything with his core self.
Also, the world of metro in this book is the richest in non-human horrors and wonders it will ever be. Later books turned more anthropocentric, a fact which many readers seemed to lament, but which I am perfectly fine with.
It was a great read, and having finished all the books in this world by Glukhovsky himself, I am left to lament the lack of any English translated editions of any of the myriad books into the greater Universe of Metro 2033. I won't deny that I really would love for D.G. to return to this world in the future and maybe grace us with another trilogy. Ahh, that would be great.