One of those classics I read about but never actually read. Roadside picnic is the source material for the Stalker movie and from there, a bunch of other series, films or video games.

What is it about ?

A few years back, aliens stopped by a few places in Earth then left, leaving areas with weird physics and weirder objects which soon attracted scientifics and looters (nicknamed stalkers) trying to get their hands on the leftover objects and try to understand them, or making money selling them.

That’s pretty much the whole pitch of the story, as seen from the eyes of Redrick “Red” Schuhart, from his early days as a stalker to his last quest as a veteran and all the in-between as he tries to make sense of life in such weird circumstances.

Final word

It’s… meh.

OK, I understand the status of the book as a classic. But it just didn’t click with me.

And it didn’t help that the authors deeply objectify the very few women in the story. I was not expecting much from a book written by two men in the 1970s but it’s even worse than RUR, but 50 years later.