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Roadside Picnic

by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky.

roadside+picnic.jpg

Roadside Picnic is a 1971 Russian Sci-Fi novel which is the inspiration for the film Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky) as well as the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series.

It follows the story of a man named Red over the course of several years as he struggles to feed himself and his family by smuggling artifacts out of "The Zone'. The Zone is a large area of altered land (and seemingly reality) left in the wake of an alien visitation, which is also an incredibly dangerous place. Set after the aliens have already come and gone, the book shows how humanity tries to understand and live with this new phenomenon in the world.

I read this a few months ago in March. The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series is one of my all time favorites & the Stalker film is too. I highly recommend it both for the fans of these other series and also for fans of science fiction. While reading the book I found many clear points of inspiration for both film & games; Red throws bolts, anomalies are encountered that are clearly replicated in game (Not so much the movie). Descriptions of artifacts found clearly match those in the game, and even the inspiration for the 'zombie stalker' faction can be seen. After playing so much of the games and reading the book I found myself clearly picturing what the characters were holding and discussing, and it was pretty exciting.

Even those who are not fans should pick it up, the book is pretty short and a simple read. The writing does have the slight "translated Russian" feel to it (Which I love) but (un)fortunately there are no "HI-DEE HO BROAH!" or "If you've got something GOOD then SPEEL THE BEANS!" to be found.

But what strikes me most is how the people in the world treat the discussion of the artifacts, and even how they work. I believe it has been discussed on the podcast (or its something that would be discussed) how games & other media treat science fiction stuff. Often times when some science phenomena is encountered or a macguffin picked up there is a long drawn out explanation of just how it all works. Looooong tracts on how the doors open, or the engine works, or the gun fires, or the liquid substance magically transforms the D.N.A. blahblahblah. In Roadside Picnic the usual version of this is "Well here is this weird thing we found. No one knows what it is supposed to do but after messing with it enough we found out we can power cars with it (somehow)", or "Oh this artifact? Its a perpetual motion machine. How? Dunno. Why? Dunno. Makes a nice bracelet though!"

Even in the dialogue is refreshing as there is very little expeditionary "Well as you know:" type speech. Characters will use slang to talk about the artifacts and then never explain exactly what they are, other characters will argue over the correct terms for them (Scientists vs Stalkers usually) and as the book progresses everyone eventually begins to just accept the nearby zone as a fact of life, speaking of it almost as if the local tourist attraction had always been there. Though little of it is explored, there is a lot of hints that one can infer large changes to how society works post-visitation (at least, society on the edge of a zone.)

At any rate, its a fantastic book and I cannot recommend it enough. Although the book is not free, and I cannot guarantee it will bring happiness for everybody, I am certain that no one will go away unsatisfied.

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I was surprised by how much I appreciated Roadside Picnic when I read it a few years back. I don't remember the plot too well (it's pretty episodic IIRC), but I remember being amazed how much STALKER echoes it in tone and visuals, and how darkly funny the novel is, and then getting blindsided by

the part where the kid slowly grows into a monkey

, which is so quietly heartbreaking.

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Wow, thanks for that link, Chris. That is not something I would have expected the NY Review of Books to do. Very awesome. Will read when I'm less sleep deprived.

I read Roadside Picnic after having played SoC and it was fascinating to see what elements exactly the game designers took from the story. I need to go play more video games based on books though I suspect that number is very near zero (at least of games worth playing). I guess I could see if that old Dune RTS is up on GOG...

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Metro 2033.

The Witcher.

Apparently it's an eastern European thing.

Dune II is an interesting example, since it just appropriates the world & factions without the characters or plot... there's also the game that was a sequel to, which is a weird adventure/strategy game hybrid (not made by Westwood).

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The New York Review of Books published a great piece comparing Stalker and STALKER, although oddly it didn't much deal with Roadside Picnic: http://www.nybooks.c...sky-video-game/

Thanks for that link Chris! It was a good read. The article mentions the book Zona which I read about a month ago. I had it shipped to me shortly after its release and that is also an excellent book to read for the hyper-fan of Stalker series (Stalker idea, stalker concept, stalker collection? To include Roadside Picnic?).

The game and the book share the most common elements, whereas I think the game and the movie share the most common atmosphere. In the book the zona can pretty much be ignored. Apart from the scientific discoveries, the occasional moulage who wanders out, and the implication that anyone who experienced the original visitation and moves away has horrible stuff happen the zone is mostly self contained. The citizens living on the edge of the zone don't have to worry it. Even the moulages just go about their own buisness, not hurting anyone, just being creepy. Red goes into the zone to get some cash, and that at the end goes back home. He may as well be commuting to a particualry dangerous mine.

Whereas in the movie, we spend the fast majority of it inside the zone itself. There is no explicit danger but it could be anywhere and Stalker sure is incredibly nervous. He moves in certain paterns and tests routes in ways only he can understand. His compainons are annoyed. If you were playing the game and showing it to a friend who'd never seen it before, he may question why you take such erratic paths through the environments. Why not simply run down the road and under the bridge? Well, you may say, because that path is not safe! It is clearer in the game because it is a game and thats what the mechanics require, that you can tell where the danger is and navigate around it. In the game you also spend your whole time inside the zone, with no outside civilization to rest in. Sure there are some 'safe' areas or simply 'safer' (I'd say there is a noticable difference in the relative levels of zone safe-ness between SOC & COP) to be found but the fact remains that you are forever trapped. As the article says, you take long walks and survive, the game is about your life in the zone just like the movie is (partially) about Stalker's life in the zone.

Metro 2033.

The Witcher.

Apparently it's an eastern European thing.

Dune II is an interesting example, since it just appropriates the world & factions without the characters or plot... there's also the game that was a sequel to, which is a weird adventure/strategy game hybrid (not made by Westwood).

I have the Metro2033 book, its pretty good! Much longer then Roadside Picnic. Nothing mind blowing but an enjoyable and dark adventure. The game does a good job with keeping with the themes and style of the book, instead of the typical book-to-game style of "This box is the same as every other box we just painted Dune on the outside".

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I can't speak to the STALKER/Metro 2033 book equivalents (although according to this thread, they're good - hurray!), but The Witcher short story collection I read indicated that the developers of the game did a good job of capturing the atmosphere and tone of the books. Especially the second game. Oh man.

The book I read was called The Last Wish. As far as I know, it's the only English-translated Witcher fiction. ): EDIT: Oh, no, I guess they're translating the actual book series, now! Haven been for... four years, apparently. Sweet.

I should maybe purchase Roadside Picnic. Sounds right up my alley.

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i liked the book

I read this after playing SoC, and it's among the best SF books I can recall. With the overall theme of the book being

greed

, it nicely echoed the first (spoilers)

I got in the game.

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i liked the book

I read this after playing SoC, and it's among the best SF books I can recall. With the overall theme of the book being

greed

, it nicely echoed the first (spoilers)

I got in the game.

There is certainly greed throughout the book, but it is mostly Buzzard and his small criminal empire he has set up. Red stalks at first semi-legally to help out his scientist friend as well as to make money to feed his wife and daughter, he even

willing lets himself be arrested only AFTER ensuring his family's financial safety for the time he is in jail

. He also stalks because it is who he is, there is a section where he mentions how that the Zone was more dear to him then all of Europe & Africa, how he would picture himself living a normal life like everyone else and how it made him sick and tired of everything.

The scientists are mostly just trying to figure out what the hell is going on with the zone and everyone else is just getting by with their lives. He ponders greed at the end of the book, but ultimately when it comes time for

The Wish Granter

he chooses to

wish for free happiness for everyone

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While Roadside Picnic is a masterwork in the genre (certainly worthy of it's own cast), considering their association, it would be fun to include Metro 2033 in these discussions. There's certainly more than enough opportunity to include discussions of the games, seeing as how they are great examples of environment as character. Metro tends to the absurd, while Roadside is more of a quiet terror. I enjoyed both immensely. Keep up the great casts.

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I really want to read this. My brother described some of the sections of this book any my first reaction was, damn, this book sounds just like Sean Vanaman narrating his experiences playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R., which is kind of incredible.

EDIT: My memory of specifics from past IT episodes is a little fuzzy, I might be naming the wrong host.

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I read this over a decade ago in the midst of my Tarkovsky binge. To be honest, I don't remember much about it other than it was not much like the film at all though it didn't compare poorly against it. I am kind of a big fan of the film, so I guess that speaks vaguely in the book's favour.

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new translation of Roadside picnic

with a brand-new translation by Olena Bormashenko and a riveting afterword by Boris Strugatsky about how the book was butchered by Soviet censors.

:o

I have no idea what version I read, but I enjoyed it very much. Interesting, though I guess appropriate, that they chose one of the film locations for the cover.

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