SaraPepparkaka Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Description, courtesy to Amazon: The year is 2033. The world has been reduced to rubble. Humanity is nearly extinct. The half-destroyed cities have become uninhabitable through radiation. Beyond their boundaries, they say, lie endless burned-out deserts and the remains of splintered forests. Survivors still remember the past greatness of humankind. But the last remains of civilisation have already become a distant memory, the stuff of myth and legend. More than 20 years have passed since the last plane took off from the earth. Rusted railways lead into emptiness. The ether is void and the airwaves echo to a soulless howling where previously the frequencies were full of news from Tokyo, New York, Buenos Aires. Man has handed over stewardship of the earth to new life-forms. Mutated by radiation, they are better adapted to the new world. Man's time is over. A few score thousand survivors live on, not knowing whether they are the only ones left on earth. They live in the Moscow Metro - the biggest air-raid shelter ever built. It is humanity's last refuge. Stations have become mini-statelets, their people uniting around ideas, religions, water-filters - or the simple need to repulse an enemy incursion. It is a world without a tomorrow, with no room for dreams, plans, hopes. Feelings have given way to instinct - the most important of which is survival. Survival at any price. VDNKh is the northernmost inhabited station on its line. It was one of the Metro's best stations and still remains secure. But now a new and terrible threat has appeared. Artyom, a young man living in VDNKh, is given the task of penetrating to the heart of the Metro, to the legendary Polis, to alert everyone to the awful danger and to get help. He holds the future of his native station in his hands, the whole Metro - and maybe the whole of humanity. My thoughts: A brilliant idea for a book- everything that's left of the world is now in the metro. I really felt that I was IN the Moscow Metro. I could see and feel the stations, and the tunnels between them. Vivid descriptions with just enough detail to fuel the imagination but not too much. No difference that the metro is much smaller than the world used to be, it's just as complex and has all the things in it that the world used to, and it's just as hard as it ever was to find out what really is the truth and what's just stories and legends. And if we believe in the stories, do we make them come true? Artyom has a lot to discover on his journey to the center of the metro. As an avid reader I liked the descriptions of raids to the surface of the earth to obtain more books. However, I may never feel the same about librarians. And the ending is superb, I think I can reveal as much as that it's not a happy one. But then, it takes a good Russian writer to pull off an ending like that and not leave me ( a decided fan of happily-ever-after) feel disappointed. And another thing: not a hint of romance, and I still feel like this is one of the best books I've read this year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Awesome review Sara! Wow, this book sounds right up my alley. I've already gone and added it to my wish list. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toneeh Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 I'm not into end of the world type things, but this sounds really...I'm stuck for a word, but I have already added it to my waterstones wishlist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 There's a distinct possibility that this may be my New Year present from Me to Me! Amazon may already have my order pending! *walks away whistling* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 Hmmmmyeah it might be added to my list as well, NY pressie to myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amesy Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 The game "Metro 2033" is based upon this book. or could it be the other way around? (probably book before game). The game is outstanding so I can bet the book is very good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraPepparkaka Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 Book before game, according to the blurb on the back of the book I had. I have seen reviews of this book that weren't too enthusiastic about the book but very enthusiastic about the game. I wouldn't know, I've never played it. I have also read a few reviews saying that the translation to English isn't the best in the world. All I can say is that it was an excellent translation to Swedish.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraPepparkaka Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 There's a distinct possibility that this may be my New Year present from Me to Me! Amazon may already have my order pending! *walks away whistling* Chrissy.. Oh dear. Now I'll feel responsible if you people don't like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 *signs into Amazon and orders a 'Swedish For Dummies' and 'Metro 2033' translated into Swedish* I'm going to risk the English translation I think, or I will never get to read the book. Eller kanske jag skulle kunna lära sig svenska. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraPepparkaka Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 Sounds to me you know Swedish already! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 Sounds to me you know Swedish already! I only got a little help from google translate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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