The Folio Society has just released a special edition of Boris and Arkady Strugatsky's sci-fi classic Roadside Picnic, a hugely influential twist on a ‘first-contact’ story that was the inspiration for the Andrei Tarkovsky film Stalker.
ABOUT ROADSIDE PICNIC
Featuring the phenomenal work of award-winning illustrator Dave McKean, this Folio edition of Roadside Picnic is a design-led celebration of the Stugatsky Brothers’ sci-fi masterpiece, which also includes a fascinating new introduction by the artist.
Years after the aliens have been and gone, six landing sites, or Zones, around the world still hold the mysterious remnants of the visitation. These include dangerous but valuable artefacts and, despite the unimaginable terror of these toxic wastelands, stalker Redrick Schuhart feels compelled to keep coming back, his life dominated by the illegal trade in alien products. An unsettling and unforgettable world, the Strugatsky Brothers’ mind-bending novel is a hugely influential twist on a ‘first-contact’ story and was the inspiration for the Andrei Tarkovsky film Stalker.
Every aspect of this remarkable edition radiates the shimmering, strangely compelling qualities of the Zones. Seven colour illustrations by award-winning illustrator Dave McKean visualise the Strugatsky Brothers’ masterful storytelling with startling effect, while the binding is blocked in silver and gold foils. Two-colour printing and McKean’s intricately drawn endpapers make this the ultimate collector’s edition for science-fiction aficionados.
ROADSIDE PICNIC CONTRIBUTORS
Written by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
Illustrated and introduced by Dave McKean
Foreword by Ursula K. Le Guin
Afterword by Boris Strugatsky