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Roadside Picnic

Arkady Strugatsky

Start date: July 1, 2022

Finish date: July 31, 2022

Discussion: Science Fiction and Fantasy

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Science Fiction and Fantasy

* 2026 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reading Schedule
By Book Nerd , Purple Book Horse · 3 posts · 38 views

last updated Nov 20, 2025 07:25AM

* 2025 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reading Schedule
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last updated Jan 05, 2025 07:59PM

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What Members Thought

Jul 29, 2011 Yair Ben-Zvi rated it liked it

Shelves: favorites

Relying on a translation: What this book gets wrong (stilted, cliche dialogue that is just damn hokey and exposition that goes on for an eternity, is luckily counterbalanced by a superb conclusion to not only the story but of protagonist Redrick Schuhart. After finishing, I was left with a bleak, empty feeling, but still with a shard of rebellion left...not a great story. But what I can say is this: there are bits of great depth here. Great concept and ideas, but poor execution. Still a good rea ...more

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Jun 20, 2023 GONZA rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: otherland, posseduto

The initial idea from which the whole plot develops was great, too bad I liked the unfolding less. I probably have to come to terms with the idea that I like current science fiction much better than past science fiction, although some of the books I didn't like are acknowledged classics urbis et orbis.

L'idea iniziale da cui si sviluppa tutta la trama era fantastica, peccato che lo svolgimento mi é piaciuto di meno. Probabilmente devo scendere a patti con l'idea che la fantascienza attuale mi pia ...more

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May 19, 2022 Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-in-2022, science-fiction, russian-lit

Pay no attention to my rating if you are a sci-fi fan. You will likely love it.

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Sep 12, 2018 Tom Britz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Roadside Picnic is my first read of the Strugatski brothers, and frankly I was blown away. This novel from 1977 is quite different from anything else I have read from that time period. The story starts after an alien presence has "visited and left" There apparently was no contact, they simply came and departed, as the Strugatski brothers say, like a "Roadside Picnic" However the junk that got left behind has had strange effects on the environment. Turning these sites (there were six, but only th ...more

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Dec 11, 2021 Annette rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, 2021, local-book-group, library, audiobook, translated-to-english

Good plot. Moves along!

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Jan 08, 2023 Natalie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, classics

Roadside Picnic is a story about humans in the aftermath of an alien visit. Redrick Schuhart is a stalker: someone who visits the Zone frequently to get artifacts the aliens left when they visited and sell them for cash. The story, while somewhat philosophical, is neither about aliens nor humans reacting to the aliens themselves. Apparently this edition has a new translator and reads better than the original published in the 1970s.
The book is divided into four sections and each section is domina ...more

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