Roadside Picnic / Tale of the Troika

Two wonderful short novels, utterly unlike one another in every way. I remember when this book was released in the 70s, but I didn't seek it out then & probably wouldn't have appreciated it as much as I do now (particularly TALE OF THE TROIKA, which I just wouldn't have gotten at all).

I was recently reminded of ROADSIDE PICNIC by viewing Tarkovsky's amazing film STALKER, which is a strangely (but brilliantly) realized cinematic version of the Strugatsky novel, with a screenplay by the Strugatskys themselves. I'd had STALKER on my Netflix list for a long time & did not know of the connection between the two works.

ROADSIDE PICNIC is probably the "easier" of the two novels, since it is (relatively!) straightforward, while TALE OF THE show more TROIKA is a freewheeling fantasia/satire with hints of Lewis Carroll, Franz Kafka and ... well, I don't know who else. The only thing I can really compare ROADSIDE PICNIC to in Western speculative fiction is Budrys' ROGUE MOON, where humans are pitted against an utterly alien artifact. There is something of the same feel here.

Highly recommended. show less

Roadside Picnic. This is such an odd novel - much darker than what I thought it was going to be - the places where the aliens landed are dark, scary, and has a very horror story type feel. The lead character, Red is a character that is very relatable - He isn't a perfect character - he has is faults, which makes him all the more interesting.

The surrounding characters are also quite well written. From his wife, to the guy who fences Alien Artefacts... they are all well written and totally believable.

Strangely enough, the site with the strangeness is is not really that important, even though it is the main point of the story. The story is really about Red, and how he goes through life, the choices he makes. The alien site is just a show more background. My only complaint, is the ending. It was very ambiguous, and the reader can only assume what the final outcome is.

Tale of the Troika. This is an odd story, about the bureaucracies of science - it could actually read as an allegory for how humans do science. But, even at face value - the story is good. In a strange world, where there each floor of a building is an entire world, going infinitely high (with only the lower 12 floors accessible), what happens when a group of scientist manage to get to a higher floor, and imposes their vision in this world - Its a bit surreal, and really doesn't make much sense - but the story works. The craziness of the the story got old after awhile - too much of a good think can be bad, but everything works out in the end (if a little too well).

I normally don't mention translators. But, Antonina W. Bouis did an excellent job. show less