righ now i´m gonna start playing metro 2033 the game, and for a couple of years now when i play a game, i try to match it with a related book, not novelizations of the game but rather same period or place, for example i played prince of persia and read 1001 nights.

it is something that i do to try to read more and not just play games, try to expand the horizons if you will haha

so, is it good? anyone read it

thank you!

I have read some of it, but did not finish it. It is generally good, with an interesting setting and a well-fleshed out society. However, I did find it somewhat overly long and with pacing issues. I don't quite recall why I put it down, though I suspect that it was simply not engaging me anymore. Your experience may differ however, so I encourage you to at least start the book if you think it's something you will enjoy.

--nevermind, I read that the game is an adaptation and not the opposite--
(*still buys Flappy Bird, the trilogy*)

This a must-read, as is most of the Strugatsky Brothers' output. Also recommend the film adaptation "Stalker", though it's unlike the book in some ways and may be difficult if you're not amenable to Russian cinema techniques.

I had a long list of books I wanted to read, but I lost it when my HDD and back ups were all lost in quick succession. I know I had a lot of Strugatsky books on it, but I can't remember much other than:

i) I was unable to find any of them in paper or digital format (not that I even have an e-reader.)
ii) 'Tale of the Troika' was a title on the list.
iii) I was sad to read their major series wasn't finished because one of them passed away and the other couldn't bear to carry on writing alone.

Yes, Metro 2033 was very good. Nice setting and well written atmosphere.
But Metro 2034 wasn't quite as good. I think 2033 was an unexpected success, so the author had to deliver a sequel hastily, which went about as well as can be expected.

2033 is excellent, it's a critical text about the russian society, 2034 is just a money grab...

great suggestions, thank you everyone. i write down the other books that you recommend also, i will try to find that movie stalker, i need to depart myself of superheroes movies haha.

I didn´t read a lot of books but i wanna increase the number, there´s a lot of interesting stories waiting i think.

I did, and it's excellent. The world and the people in it are very dark and bleak, as would be expected from the setting.
It took me some time to get used to the writing style though (I read the English translated version).

I have most of their works in ebook format, and is reissuing some of them in printed form. I just finished [url=http://www.mhpbooks.com/books/definitely-maybe/]Definitely Maybe recently and, in a nice coincidence, today is supposed to be the release date for The Dead Mountaineer’s Inn. That was probably part of the issue I had with the book, since I read it in English. The quality of the translation has a lot to do with the final product. I've read multiple translations of certain works (Dante's Divine Comedy, Beowulf) and it's amazing how much variance are in them, as well as how appealing the work is (or isn't) in each version.

Been quite a few rereleases the last few years - and amazon seems to have a fair amount:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Roadside-Picnic-MASTERWORKS-Boris-Strugatsky/dp/0575079789

(maybe of some use to you?)
thats a viking saga though - no version is ever the same. When I was doing archaology and had to do the tours around the Arc, one thing we had to learn was the sagas. first thing we were taught was "There is no going wrong in how you tell it - as long as its thrilling and remains in line with the times it comes from".

So as long as I didnt add spaceships or anything daft, I could just roll with it.

wow now that you mention it, work on a faithfull translation of the divine comedy must be a lot of work, i didn´t read it yet, i believe i´m not on a level where i will fully enjoyed it

Everyone discovered the book because of the game, or you heard of it earlier?. i had no idea of this book but is always interesting to find out where the stories from the videogames come from and learn something in the process.

At least in my case i try to add something to the experience of the game if possible. Especially with old games, look for "behind the scenes" with the creators, the technology restraints, the influences , etc.

Especially now that i need to upgrade my machine so i cannot play the newer games as soon as they come out.

I've not read a bad translation of Beowulf, but they do vary quite a lot. I understand that liberties have to be taken, both in translating to retain original meaning and in making that meaning apprehendable to modern readers. And there is a further step required whenever translating poetry or free verse, since there should be an effort to retain rhythm and structure. I have a copy of the Seamus Heaney translation, haven't read it yet but have hopes for it to be a good one.


My favourite English translation of the Divine Comedy is the one by John Ciardi. He was a fine poet and author in his own right and does a beautiful job in bringing Dante's words over to us. And in an interesting bit of overlap with a conversation I've been having in another thread (about the game Neverending Nightmares), he also collaborated on several books with the artist Edward Gorey.