Roadside Picnic

Roadside Picnic is my first read of the Strugatski brothers, and frankly I was blown away. This novel from 1977 is quite different from anything else I have read from that time period. The story starts after an alien presence has "visited and left" There apparently was no contact, they simply came and departed, as the Strugatski brothers say, like a "Roadside Picnic" However the junk that got left behind has had strange effects on the environment. Turning these sites (there were six, but only the one is dealt with)into something akin to a toxic dump, yet the artifacts are sought after for the advancement they offer.

"Red" Schuhart is a "stalker" those misfits that dare to venture into these areas, sometimes at the loss of their life and or sanity, to collect these sought after artifacts. The novel follows Red through eight or so years of his life.