A review by futurama1979
Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky

4.0

This was definitely one of the most conceptually creative sci-fi's I've read, and the execution of that concept was almost equally good. For me, the biggest thing to enjoy in this book besides the worldbuilding is the character of Red.

What a wild guy, and what a great character arc. I love descent to desperate madness arcs and his is handled so well because what people see from the outside is so different from his own narration. I usually don't like perspective switches but the one in this book was necessary and written so well.

It's the perfect length for what it is but I still found myself wishing it was longer. What an ending, though! My thoughts on this book are jumbled but basically I really enjoyed it and thought it was one of the most creative things I've read in a long time.