Roadside Picnic — 50 Years Later

This essay will contain spoilers of the plot, the themes, and my feelings and opinions on the novels Roadside Picnic and Otherside Picnic. Do not read further if you don’t wish to be spoiled.

Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky brothers is a classic work of Soviet science fiction, published in the 1970’s and having directly or indirectly influenced many well known series including but not limited to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Metro. One lesser known series it has influenced, if you couldn’t tell by the title, is Otherside Picnic (Ura Sekai Pikunikku) which is a Japanese science fiction novel series written by Iori Miyazawa and in publication since 2017. There are so far 7 volumes, all translated into English. I have recently read both of these novels and in this essay I will compare them against each other, focusing on how, almost 50 years later, Roadside Picnic continues to influence contemporary works and how they differ from the original in numerous aspects.

Both novels are fundamentally based around the idea of contact with a non-earthly entity. In the case of Roadside Picnic it is aliens in the more traditional sense, some highly intelligent beings from outside of our solar system that have visited Earth. In Otherside Picnic it is an alternate dimension or reality of sorts, a non-human space that has no clear explanation behind it. They both explore this theme of how contact with aliens affects humans, but they also strongly diverge in the presentation. Roadside Picnic is a slow-paced novel with elements of adventure and mystery, but with a focus on the big ideas. Otherside Picnic is much more focused on the action, adventure, and on the characters and their interaction, with any philosophical ideas taking a backseat. It also contains a strong mix of horror which creates a very different tone in comparison to Roadside Picnic.

Both novels somewhat delve into philosophical topics to varying degrees, but Roadside Picnic explores the ideas much more heavily. One of the key ideas explored by both novels is the idea of contact with an alien entity, specifically focused on how we humans would think, rationalize, and act in such an event. Roadside Picnic is unique in that it explores a much more dismissive view of the event—the whole story indeed is based on the plot that aliens have in fact visited Earth, but they just dropped some stuff behind and left without any hint of trying to communicate with us. It’s a very unusual trope in terms of science fiction; most Soviet sci-fi works of the time present a more optimistic, forward-looking, utopian dream of contact with aliens. I personally found the uniquely dismissive view to be a breath of fresh air. The idea that humans are, just maybe, insignificant in the grand scheme of things is an idea that the Strugatsky brothers have done an excellent job in presenting. One example is the dismissal of human life itself. Early on in the novel Red and Kirill go out into the Zone to retrieve an interesting artefact. Kirill, being inexperienced, inevitably walks into some cobweb–like anomaly but all seems fine; that is until he later dies from a heart attack, assumedly because of contact with the artefact. Red’s initial drunken reaction to the news of his friend passing away, before he realises the conversation is about Kirill, is, So someone’s dead, that’s too bad.¹ An almost complete disregard for the death, of someone he probably knew given the small town, gives us a deep insight into the character. Red has been involved with the Zone, at that point in time, for only a few years and it’s already changed him so much. The dismissal of human life is arguably best presented in the climax of the novel. At the very end when Red and Arthur reach the golden sphere, and Arthur, maybe from loosing his mind, starts skipping towards the sphere and his inevitable death, Red was cold and calm, he knew what was about to happen.² No emotion and no apprehension towards an inevitable disaster is shown. In fact Red even roared with laughter³ earlier at the thought of Arthur’s dad, Burbridge⁴ , finding out his son had died in the expedition. The automatic dismissal of another human’s death, likely gruesome as is the case with the Zone, is a clear sign of just how conditioned Red and the rest of the people involved with the Zone are to death and suffering. To someone on the other side of the globe the Visit has brought excitement, intrigue, and improved technology, but to the people near the Zone it has brought suffering, despair, and a loss of humanity. The Strugatsky’s also present how this alien contact influences humans in another manner. Throughout the novel the area surrounding the Zone becomes a business district in a sense. As scientists study the artefacts taken from the Zone they become able to apply these artefacts to improve technology. Some example include the spacecells which are tiny batteries with almost infinite energy, or the substance referred to as hell slime which is able to dissolve bones without affecting muscle or skin. The value of artefacts which have advantageous applications greatly rises, which in turn encourages stalkers to continue to venture into the Zone to bring back swag and sell it. A black market very, very quickly emerges after the Visit. In a fashion of irony, just like how the Zone disfigures, mutates and kills anyone who comes into contact with it, the black market corrupts and destroys the humanity within anyone that deals in it. One is an alien mystery, the other is a human creation; they both have similar effects on the individual. Though there are many more potential examples to highlight, it is clear that the Strugatsky’s chose to represent the idea of alien contact in a manner that shows the potential negative effects it could have on us. In a way, the brothers are highlighting the fact that the alien anomalies themselves aren’t even the real issue, but rather how we would interact with them, how we would value them, how we would act upon them, that are the real issues all along.

Whilst Otherside Picnic looks at a similar theme, it diverges from this pessimistic way of representation. Miyazawa has chosen to present the idea in a less philosophically engaging manner but rather in a more emotionally focused manner. Rather than envisioning a story where the aliens ignore our existence, Otherside Picnic is a story where the alien entities appear to be contacting us directly. The two main characters, Sorawo and Toriko, seemingly aren’t fazed much at the alternate reality but rather embrace it as an exciting and invigorating space for adventure. Similarly to how the Zone physically affects the stalkers, the interaction between our protagonists and the entities on the other side has also left them physically modified. Unlike in Roadside Picnic however, these modifications are not presented as a curse but rather as a helpful tool which enables the girls continue to survive in the anomaly-ridden world. A key theme throughout the series revolves around character development, specifically Sorawo getting to understand herself better through the Otherside. That world, although very dangerous, gives her a space that can almost be described as a home and it helps her to come to terms with her own troubled past, as well as develop her relationships with her companions and become more honest with herself. Otherside Picnic greatly differs in the way it presents the alien contact; it is much more positive and upbeat in comparison to Roadside Picnic.

A key difference between the two novels is the secondary genre; Otherside Picnic has a much stronger focus on mystery and especially on horror. Roadside Picnic does indeed have mystery surrounding the Zone, though this is never deeply explored and left extremely vague throughout the entire novel. In Otherside Picnic the mysteries are much more numerous but also much more thoroughly explored and investigated. Miyazawa has chosen to heavily delve into Lovecraftian horror which emphasizes the horror of the unknown and of the incomprehensible. This inspiration is the most evident in the ultra-blue. This specific description of a colour is used time and time again throughout the series to instill fear and extreme danger, and it shows itself in all sorts of situations; looking through a peephole in a door to see it filled with ultra-blue, the normal sky suddenly turning ultra-blue, seemingly floating in space surrounded by the ultra-blue. Sorawo herself, even after already encountering alien entities that would make a normal person go mad, described it as a far more terrifying shade of blue than my right eye.⁵ Just the use of the word terrifying to describe a colour instills in you an unnerving feeling of the unknown. I particularly found the entities themselves refreshing. Miyazawa has taken a lot of inspiration from Japanese folklore and net-lore which creates a very unique set of alien anomalies. It heavily reminds me of creepypastas, which I personally have found to be some of the most interesting and unique horror stories I’ve read. The descriptions of the entities used in the novels are interesting and varied; there is lots of creativity in how they appear to look, how they behave, what potential motives they may have. Horror is somewhat difficult to write in book form since a lot of traditional horror elements don’t map well from film to words; it is impossible to jumpscare yourself from reading as an example. However, the constant sense of mystery, uncertainty, and danger creates an always present foreboding atmosphere that threatens to ruin everything. Even whilst reading the chapters which focused more on the characters’ day to day lives I was constantly on edge because things could go wrong at any second. Roadside Picnic did leave me on edge a few times but the foreboding tone was much weaker in comparison. Miyazawa has done an excellent job in this regard, the horror of this series is unique and unlike anything else I’ve read.

The Otherside itself is, in my opinion, much more interesting than the Zone. The Zone is described as an abandoned industrial site and it’s surroundings, with anomalies and weird looking things strewn around the place. Fundamentally it is still mostly human, albeit very dangerous. However, if I had to describe the Otherside in a succinct sentence I would say: The Otherside lies perfectly within the uncanny valley, to the point where you may question whether it exists at all. Initially it appears to be a general nondescript landscape with a somewhat varied terrain characterised by larger stretches of expansive grassy flatland. One key aspect that is very quickly brough to the attention of the reader is the mind-numbing silence⁶ which perfectly sets the tone. I’m sure at one point in your life you’ve experienced extreme silence, maybe walking outside in the middle of the night; there’s a strong sense of weirdness and it really puts you on edge, as if you’re expecting a loud sound or for something sudden to happen. This experience describes the atmosphere of the Otherside really accurately. Whilst I was reading the novels, anytime the protagonists were in that world I always felt on edge and a strong sense of foreboding, as if something very, very bad is going to happen any minute. The silence is a key element to creating the uncanny valley feeling, but it is not the only one. Another big aspect to the Otherside is how randomly things appear in front of the protagonists—At some point, we had ended up in front of a ruined building.⁷ A theme which is introduced quite early in the novels but gradually becomes more apparent is that the Otherside is not a Euclidean space. Distances visually don’t look far yet travelling them seems to take forever. The way the Otherside links up to the real world has seemingly no pattern. Buildings appear out of nowhere when you turn around. The surrounding scenery changes drastically without you even realising until after the fact. It really is difficult to describe the Otherside as a normal 3D space and that in turn adds to the creepyness of it; as the reader you can’t apply your experiences to predict what exactly will or will not happen, there is always an element of the unknown with no creative limit. I think Miyazawa has created something truly unique in this setting. The idea of an alternate dimension is nothing new, but this execution is extremely well done and throughout the entire series it really put my imagination to the test. The Otherside reinforces the excellent horror atmosphere and further emphasises the mystery.

As far as characters are concerned, Otherside Picnic is far more concerned with emotion. Roadside Picnic does focus on a handful of characters well and develops them as much as necessary, but it is mostly in the dimension of their attitude to life in general. We follow Red and see his transformation from an individual who is excited and invigorated by the Zone, an individual who has goals, aspirations, and a hope for the future, to an individual who has seemingly given up on everything and doesn’t even know what to think. This sad transformation, and a glimpse at more, are present in Roadside Picnic. However, what isn’t present is a more emotionally focused insight into the characters. Otherside Picnic explores this really well in my opinion. Whilst it doesn’t cover the timeframe of Red, it does cover over a year of time and the character development is very evident. The novels are written from the first-person perspective of Sorawo and a focal development of her character involves around her feelings for Toriko. Initially Sorawo doesn’t even recognize her true feelings and emotions and lies to herself about what she is actually thinking. Throughout the series, however, we see her change her attitude and begin to be more honest with herself. She starts to question herself and her motives, which is especially apparent in: I love you too, but… Well, no, do I? I think this is a kind of love… Yeah, I love you… No doubt about that…⁸ Her inner turmoil is aptly described and gives us a real insight into her thought process. The author also doesn’t shy away from describing all sorts of thoughts that go through her head, even silly ones. A lot of authors would likely decide not to write a thought such as: What, what, what? What was with her? Was she going to bite me?⁹ in response to someone grabbing her face. It’s a stupid nonsensical idea in all honestly, but in reality we all have stupid thoughts all the time. The way the novel presents these inner dialogues in an almost unfiltered manner makes Sorawo feel a lot more relatable and real—she’s not a character who always knows what to say, behaves perfectly in every situation, always acts as cool and competent; she’s clumsy, she stutters, she has no idea what she’s doing half the time, she’s very flawed. Interestingly enough, Toriko is presented as a near-perfect character from Sorawo’s perspective which emphasizes Sorawo’s flaws even more, though as the series progresses Sorawo comes to realise that Toriko is much more flawed than she initially thought. In Roadside Picnic the very elegant, succinct, and clear prose helps to convey the philosophical ideas extremely well, and in such a context I appreciate it. However, I definitely become more invested in a story when the characters are portrayed in a more realistic fashion, with all the flaws that humans have.

In conclusion, both of these novels look at the same idea but from different angles. Roadside Picnic focuses more heavily on the larger philosophical ideas of alien contact from a pessimistic standpoint and how they break down humans who come into contact, whilst Otherside Picnic focuses more on the human and interpersonal emotions and the weirdness factor of non-human entities. I really enjoyed reading both of these novels for their intellectual and emotional aspects as well as their engaging stories. I’m excited to revisit Otherside Picnic in the future when more volumes come out; I hope that one day it will be a complete series.