Roadside Picnic

Meeting aliens is far from always romantic. The novel “Roadside Picnic” is not about gory fantastic battles. Our Earth turned out to be a place where someone unknown simply spent time, leaving behind an unnecessary heap of “junk.” And this “junk” became for the Earthlings an object of study and discoveries, as well as a source of secrets for the mastering of which one may pay with one’s life. The areas where traces of the unknown are found are called Visit Zones. Entry there is open only by passes.

But there are daredevils who are ready to break the law and penetrate into those corners where one can obtain another trinket. Such desperate adventurers are called stalkers. These people are doomed, and sooner or later they will face punishment: either from the authorities or from the Zone, which hides plenty of dangers…

The main hero, Roderick Shuhart, is different from the other stalkers. He is kind, and he has a conscience. However, all his life he lived with the flow. He earned money as he could. And stalking became his main occupation.

His long-suffering final request for the happiness of everyone resembles a desperate protest against the life he lived. It makes one think: what is it that makes a person happy?