Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/03/26/dystopian-masterpieces-the-st.html
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I read this in a grad student class and it was one of the weirdest and most wonderful books I ever read.
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I picked it up over the summer and it is up there with The Doomed City and Roadside Picnic for pure mind blowing Sci-fi.
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Roadside Picnic affected me deeply. I went down the rabbit hole of movies, video games and other works shortly after.
Currently reading The Stars are Legion (Kameron Hurley) which for some odd reason gives me a similar vibe.
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I didn’t like Roadside Picnic because of the punk narrator.
I just wanted him the fuck off my lawn.
I know I’m in the minority.
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How long ago as previous editions were edited for western readers. The book are getting new and much better translations.
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Vaguely reminds me of Stalker? Probably some larger theme there…
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I also recommend Monday Begins on Saturday. It’s a satire of scientific institutes in Soviet Bloc countries, and more on magical realism side than science fiction. Some of their ideas are very Pratchett-like.
Roadside Picnic was also amazing. I think that in large part it is the reason why urban exploration got so popular.
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I fuckin’ love Kameron Hurley.
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Thoughtful Amazon reviews; lol…
“I loved each individual sentence that the Strugatskys composed, and even some complete scenes, but when everything was put together, I could make no sense of it. The Snail on the Slope is the most incomprehensible SFF book I’ve ever read. Even more so than Lies, Inc by Philip K. Dick.”
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Reading this book made me want some kefir.
Stalker is ‘Roadside Picnic.’ The Forest, however, acts a lot like a Zone from that story. There are many cool things in the forest that are not unlike the discoveries in Zones.
Roadside Picnic is one of my 2 favorite fiction books.
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I’ve never read the book… I will check it out! Honestly, I think reading more sci-fi/fantasy from the old Eastern Bloc might be in order.
It’s also been ages since I’ve seen Stalker, so I should rewatch it.
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Boing Boing does not lack for soviet-era dystopian and science fiction reviews.
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I will comb the archives and buy me some books… 
I always love boing boing for such things.
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I think what makes Eastern Block sci-fi so unique is the cool detachment of the narrator. Everything is so matter-the-fact and screw the feelings.
People get blown up? Yes this happens.
People get eaten by some alien technology. Saw it, moving on.
I wonder if this is a result of the supreme challenges people in that part of the world went through - from war, to famine. Where the abnormal became the normal. From Zamyatin to Strugatski and beyond.
Western dystopian fiction from the cold war on pretty much starts with the idea that the Soviet model was the ultimate dystopia. It is all Big Brother. People who already lived with Big Brother were imagining things far more bleak.
It is kinda like “People from Malibu have a hard time singing credible blues.”
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Oh, awesome! I went to high school with the translator. I knew she translated Monday Starts on Saturday; hadn’t realized she kept going with their other works.
Incidentally, I highly recommend Monday Starts on Saturday for a much lighter mood. Still oh-so-very-Soviet reality, but it’s more lurking in corners than sitting oppressively on your chest.
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