# Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

13 Hacker News commenters recommended Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a masterpiece of haunting, excellent science fiction. Some find it depressing, and one critic calls the central concept only ok.

## Why people recommend it

- Called a masterpiece (2 comments): "Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky is also a masterpiece." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47317424)) "In my opinion, Roadside Picnic is a masterpiece" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48396637))
- Excellent science fiction (2 comments): "easily the best sci-fi I have read this year" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49911676)) "Roadside Picnic which was extremely good" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49911624))

## What people warn about

- Only an ok concept (1 comments): "The novel is an ok sci-fi concept" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48395540))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir](https://hackerapproved.com/p/project-hail-mary.md): 117 recommend
- [There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/there-is-no-antimemetics-division.md): 98 recommend
- [Blindsight by Peter Watts](https://hackerapproved.com/p/blindsight.md): 96 recommend
- [Dune by Frank Herbert](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dune.md): 82 recommend
- [Accelerando by Charles Stross](https://hackerapproved.com/p/accelerando.md): 71 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1613743416?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9781613743416) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky", https://hackerapproved.com/p/roadside-picnic/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).