Paperback, 458 pages
English language
Published Aug. 28, 2011 by Gollancz.
The novel that spawned the videogame: It's post-apocalypse Moscow. After the nuclear holocaust, a new fear is born, underground
The year is 2033, the world has been reduced to rubble, and humanity is nearly extinct, half-destroyed cities having become uninhabitable through radiation. Beyond their boundaries, they say, lie endless burned-out deserts and the remains of splintered forests. Man has handed over stewardship of the earth to new life-forms—mutated by radiation, they are better adapted to the new world. A few score thousand human survivors live on in the Moscow Metro—the biggest air-raid shelter ever built. 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, and feelings have given way to instinct—the most important of which is survival, at any price.
VDNKh, the northernmost inhabited station on its line, remains secure—but now a new …
The novel that spawned the videogame: It's post-apocalypse Moscow. After the nuclear holocaust, a new fear is born, underground
The year is 2033, the world has been reduced to rubble, and humanity is nearly extinct, half-destroyed cities having become uninhabitable through radiation. Beyond their boundaries, they say, lie endless burned-out deserts and the remains of splintered forests. Man has handed over stewardship of the earth to new life-forms—mutated by radiation, they are better adapted to the new world. A few score thousand human survivors live on in the Moscow Metro—the biggest air-raid shelter ever built. 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, and feelings have given way to instinct—the most important of which is survival, at any price.
VDNKh, the northernmost inhabited station on its line, 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. In his hands he holds the future of his native station, the Metro, and perhaps the whole of humanity.
De lo mejor que he leído en el genero, realmente atrapante, crea una atmosfera asfixiante en todo momento.
I decided to read this as I was interested in the dark atmosphere and intriging world. And in that aspect the book definitely delivered. The muscovy Metro is split into different factions with internal conflicts determining the actions of their leaders thus shaping the whole Metro. Unfortunately there are regular crises demanding cooperation of conflicting factions ... what a set up!
The introduction to the mc was also grabbing my attention. However, to establish the factions the mc has to at least pass them by which leads to a drawn out story. In my opinion it sometimes feels like the author prioritised showing of this cool world instead of writing a tense story. And I thought some scenes were really weird but that might just be me. However there were moments which stayed in my head and I really appreciated. And towards the end the book feels a bit like …
I decided to read this as I was interested in the dark atmosphere and intriging world. And in that aspect the book definitely delivered. The muscovy Metro is split into different factions with internal conflicts determining the actions of their leaders thus shaping the whole Metro. Unfortunately there are regular crises demanding cooperation of conflicting factions ... what a set up!
The introduction to the mc was also grabbing my attention. However, to establish the factions the mc has to at least pass them by which leads to a drawn out story. In my opinion it sometimes feels like the author prioritised showing of this cool world instead of writing a tense story. And I thought some scenes were really weird but that might just be me. However there were moments which stayed in my head and I really appreciated. And towards the end the book feels a bit like rushing towards the finish line.
Well if you're interested in the world you should definitely think about picking this up! Especially if you want an adventure discovering a post-apocalyptic Metro.
I thought this was just gonna be one of those depressing Russian novels, but it turned out to be a depressing Russian fantasy novel! Jokes aside, it was a fun read, though I wasn't expecting all those fantasy parts. I'm looking forward to the sequels.
The setting of Metro 2033 is very compelling - post apocalypse, the Moscow Metro system has become a microcosmic refuge for survivors. The political and economic interactions of the different groups, as well as the fates of those who are social misfits for one reason or another, form a depressingly apt metaphor for our present society.
I found the protagonist's journey to be slightly excessively capricious and Homeric, and I can't decide whether it's clever or pretentious that the author contrived to embed his argument in a mysterious conversation halfway through the book. However, the only thing that really detracted from my enjoyment of and immersion in the story was the poor (English) translation - it left the narrative feeling clunky and the characters feeling simplistic and wooden.
