Metro 2033 MP3 CD – MP3 Audio, May 27, 2014

This review is for the novel Metro 2033 written by Dmitry Glukhovsky.The video game based on this book is one of my three favorite video games of all time... the other two being Half-Life 2 series and the Stalker series (until recently, Fallout was on that list). After many hours playing the video game I decided to read the novel. I was not sure what to expect. I am giving my impressions below.I will also let you know how similar it is to the video game in a section below (COMPARISON OF BOOK AND VIDEO GAME.)PLOT: The basic premise is that there has been a nuclear war and what's left of mankind is living in subways (probably throughout the world but nobody is quite sure.) Obviously it is the year 2033. This story takes place in the subways below Moscow.Artyom, who was a young boy at the time of the nuclear war, is the main star of the story. He is now grown up and early on he relays the story to a mysterious stalker (stalker is a very loose translation, it real means more like guide/tracker/trail blazer/fortune seeker, etc.), named Hunter, about how he opened up a way into the Metro as a young boy for whatever is out there. What's out there are mutants and/or animals that are mutated and maybe something else. Hunter, just back from his latest excursion, is getting prepared to go back out again when he gives Artyom a mission to complete. If he does not come back within a short period of time, he is to go to the Metro city of 'Polis' and seek out another Stalker, named Melnik, and give him a message. That's the basic premise but the story is much more involved than that. The story is about a journey, much the same way that Lord of the Rings is about a journey. You wouldn't summarize 'Lord of the Rings' by calling it a story about a group of halflings that take a trip across the continent to get to Mount Doom.COMMENTS:-Not all of the sentences make perfect sense. This novel is a translation from Russian and there are some inconsistencies. Occasionally something is lost in the translation.-The book is fairly long, almost 500 pages in novel form. At times it does slow down but the story is always interesting. The characters spend a lot of time philosophizing about various aspects of life and life in the metro in general. While I find some of the discussions drag on at times, ultimately these discussions add to the story.*****IMPORTANT***** A WORD ABOUT THE MAP OF THE METRO:There are some good maps of the underground on the internet. Use google. Some maps will show you the path that Artyom takes while others will give you the coordinates and alternate names of the stations. This is 'important' because the map in the book does not always follow the names in the story. The map provided in the book is the map that Artyom is carrying in the story. Artyom, at first, is unaware that his map is dated and incomplete. Therefore, if you follow along with Artyom and his map, you will become bewildered. As the story progresses, Artyom discovers that there are other stations he doesn't know about. So do yourself a favor and have one ready when you are ready to read this book!COMPARISON OF BOOK AND VIDEO GAME:The main story is roughly the same in the book and game but in reality it is not the same at all. At it's very basic, it is the same story, but how you get to the main locations is very different.Imagine, if you will... that two people were given the same basic one page outline of a story along with the basic personalities of the characters. They are then given a map of the Metro with the path that Artyom must take. Those two people are then told to write a story based on the information given to them in the outline. What you would get would be two stories that would sound the same if you summarized them but the 'meat' of the story would be quite different. That's how I would describe the difference in the story between the book and video game.PLOT SUMMARY: You start out at the same location in both the book and video game. The story starts the same and your mission is the same. Hunter arrives early on and tells Artyom that he is heading back out. He tells Artyom that if he does not return within a short period of time to leave his home and get to Polis, find Melnik and give him a message. The story of the Dark Ones, the secret underground railroad and the ending is also pretty close to the same (though not quite as adventurous as in the video game). But just about everything else in between is at the same time quite similar and very different.THE METRO UNDERGROUND: It is basically the same as in the video game. The main difference is that you will visit more locations on the map and spend more time at each location you visited in the video game. As I noted above, Artyom is carrying a map that is not up to date. This is the map that you see in your book. You will find the true map online by doing a simple search.THE CHARACTERS: You will meet most, if not all, of the characters that you meet in the video game. The characters personalities that you meet in the video game will have the same basic personalities as in the book. However, you will meet many more characters in the book. Some of the characters you meet will leave you wondering if they are real or imaginary. It's possible that some of these characters are products of the Underground's mysterious machinations.-Be prepared for some lengthy discussions. Some of them are very philosophical.-The discussions and/or experiences that Artyom has with the characters will have some similarities to the discussions in the video game but these discussions will go into much more depth.THE FACTIONS: If you have played the 'Metro 2033' video games, you will know that there are a bunch of different factions in the underground. In fact, just by looking at an online map, you will see that there are quite a few more that exist. You don't see many of them in the video games and some of these factions are only talked about in the book. Among those you will encounter will be mostly the same that you meet in the video game. Hansa (Leaders of the ring stations), the Fourth Reich and the Red Line are among those you will meet (but not the only ones).THE DARK ONES/OTHER CREATURES: The story of the Dark Ones is essentially the same in the novel as in the video game. Most of the creatures that you encounter are very similar to what is depicted in the video game, however you will meet a few other unusual beings.HOW ABOUT THE SEQUEL?:After reading this you will be ready for the next book, 'Metro 2034'. Artyom is a very minor character (UPDATE: This is not the same character, it's just another person with the name of Artyom) in 'Metro 2034.' Instead, we have a new lead character, an old man who was a train engineer before the war. Hunter, even though he drives the story, is in reality, just a minor character in Metro '2033'. He is a major character in 'Metro 2034', however he will seem quite different. You will be seeing a lot of him and that is a good thing. Hunter has been badly disfigured but somehow seems almost superhuman in this novel. This story, as of yet, has not had a game made based on it. Neither, 'Metro: Last Light' or 'Metro: Exodus' are based on this novel.'Metro 2035' is the book that the second 'Metro 2033' video game, 'Metro 2033: Last Light' is based on.CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS: 5 stars. Definitely one of the best post-apocalyptic stories written.I strongly recommend this book for fans of post-apocalyptic fiction. It is one of the best. I rarely read a book twice. I did so with this one.If you are reading this because you are a fan of the video games and you are thinking of reading the book, I would strongly recommend you do so. I had the book on my shelf for quite some time before I finally read it. The dark, oppressive tone of the game is the same in the novel. It will draw you in the same way the game does.Highly recommended for fans of the video game.Highly recommended for fans of science fiction in general.Aside from the two sequels as of the time of this review (Metro 2034 and Metro 2035), there are also numerous other novels by other authors that have been written that take place in different parts of the world based in the same universe. Also as of the time of this review, unfortunately, none of these have been released in English.There has been one graphic novel that I know of based on the Metro Universe called 'The Outpost' and it takes place in the United States.

Metro 2033 attempts to take a genre filled to the brim with generic stories and create a new and exciting perspective. For the most part it succeeds. By telling the story from a Russian perspective the author exposes the reader to ideas and customs not often heard of in American literature. Its story is creepy and feels like a genuine representation of what a post apocalyptic society would function like. This is why the story succeeds, and its supernatural elements are done extremely well and do not feel out of place.Metros strength is in its atmosphere and situations it creates. The main character Artyom is forced unto a quest whose goal does not become clear till the later third of the book. This allows the book to focus on the world around Artyom and the journey to find out the true purpose of his mission. Many of the factions in the Metro mimic real life nations with some being strictly capitalist while others adopting stricter doctrines such as communism or Fascism. The author takes these factions from real life influences but adds a unique spin to them. For example the Nazi party believes that pure blood Russians are the master race while the Nazi party of 1940’s Germany believed in German superiority. This is present throughout the book, where many of the people trapped in the metro adopt religions and doctrines from the real world but with limited information about it decide to create their own principles.The stations in Metro serve as a “safe zone” for travelers. But due to the ever present threat of rival factions and creatures the reader is never fully at peace even when Artyom is in a friendly environment. One aspect the book does well is making the reader ever tense and on edge. The book develops a sense of ever present danger and make the calmer chapters a welcome change for the reader. This is a great aspect because the reader feels the tension of the protagonist and is able to be more immersed in the book.Overall the book is well written, and the reader will rarely get bored. One issue is the book can feel a bit long since it take so long for the main quest to start. Its a refreshing step away from generic post apocalyptic fiction and tackles a smaller more personal story then books such as The Passage or The Stand. I highly recommend this book to those tired of the genre and in need of a unique perspective.

The origin of Artyom. It's probably a very well known story to many, so I won't belabor anything here. My only complaints about the book are there a few missed periods, and, in a few places, the translation of Russian to English breaks down leading to a station name not matching the provided metro map. Also, it would have been nice if they have had the map span two pages to make it easier to see the locations, as keeping track of Artyom's placement is critical to immersing yourself in the text.