Roadside Picnic

First published in 1972, this science fiction novel is set years after aliens briefly visited Earth and left behind Zones filled with dangerous debris. In a town on the edge of one Zone, Redrick Schuhart works as a stalker, entering illegally to bring out artifacts that scientists and black-marketeers want. The visits themselves remain unexplained; humans pick through the leftovers as insects might after a picnic. Family life, police, and a final trip toward a sphere said to grant wishes press on Red. The book is a grounded account of scavenging and risk, not a first-contact adventure with the visitors.

Bound in printed textured green paper, cover blocked with a colour image, gilt spine titling. Monochrome picture printed endpapers. Page edges digitally printed with a green pattern. Dark green slipcase, front blocked and printed with a colour image.