Roadside Picnic by Russian brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky is set in a dystopian world that, in the aftermath of an alien invasion, has been segmented into ‘zones’ which are littered with mysterious artifacts and strange phenomena. A black market trade has grown from the scavenging and sale of these forgotten objects, but gaining access to a zone is highly illegal and incredibly dangerous, such that only those brave or desperate enough to become ‘Stalkers’ make the journey.
First published in 1972, Roadside Picnic remains a prescient novel whose depiction of government-controlled zones filled with invisible dangers and tantalising treasures continues to resonate with the human condition and its desire for understanding the unknown. Exploring themes of greed, morality and the price of progress, protagonist Redrick Schuhart finds himself struggling to make sense of his life.
Making the same Stalker living that seemingly claimed the life of his father when he was a child, he must confront his own decisions to continue to follow on an ill-fated path to the future. Risking his own health and freedom for riches and understanding, and sacrificing a relationship with his estranged daughter.
Roadside Picnic is a gripping and thought-provoking novel that challenges the reader to question their own values and beliefs, and to consider the implications of humanity’s relationship with the natural world.
Now, Roadside Picnic is destined to grip readers in a whole new way, with this newly released design-led Folio Society edition, bound in blocked and printed textured paper with seven double page spreads and colour illustrations from award-winning illustrator Dave McKean (who also illustrated the Folio Society’s print of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods and Richard Mattheson’s I am Legend).
The illustrations transport you to the iridescent and haunting landscape of Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s inspired vision of a post-invasion wasteland. Inviting you to reflect on the deeper meaning of the Zone as a metaphor for the human psyche, exploring the idea that what we find inside the Zone is merely a reflection of what we bring into it.
Guiding you in, past the tantalising printed page edges that bleed into a swirling frame around the story’s prose, is a heartfelt foreword from Hugo and Nebula award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin. Setting you up for an adventure into this timeless classic of science fiction that continues to inspire and captivate.
The Folio Society edition of Arkady & Boris Strugstsky’s Roadside Picnic, foreword by Ursula K. Le Guin and illustrated by Dave McKean, is exclusively available from foliosociety.com
