Metro 2033: The novels that inspired the bestselling games
Mar 2010 · Hachette UK
4.6star
960 reviewsreport
Ebook
488
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About this ebook
A chilling piece of Russian dystopian fiction and the basis of three bestselling computer games Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light, and Metro: Exodus
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.
Readers are hooked on Metro 2033:
'The Russians have a skill in writing apocalyptic, nightmarish stories . . . Claustrophobic, dark cul-de-sacs of danger and terror, Metro 2033 is a world of uncertainties and fear . . . I never realised that you can read a book through your fingers as you wait for the horrors to leap out from the ruins and the dark' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Frankly it is the best post-apocalyptic sci-fi I have ever read . . . the story operates on a number of different levels, is tightly plotted, very descriptive and real . . . The ending is a twist and a shocker that left me feeling empty and hollow for a few days afterwards' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Those Russians know how to write dystopian, post-apocalyptic, creepy horror . . . Life in the metro is brutal, raw, dirty, dangerous, but also deeply human . . . a fantastic, immersive read' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'The creatures, the world, the Metro, the people are all very well though out and built . . . The ending hit me out of nowhere, completely unexpected on my part. Just. What a twist' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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.
Readers are hooked on Metro 2033:
'The Russians have a skill in writing apocalyptic, nightmarish stories . . . Claustrophobic, dark cul-de-sacs of danger and terror, Metro 2033 is a world of uncertainties and fear . . . I never realised that you can read a book through your fingers as you wait for the horrors to leap out from the ruins and the dark' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Frankly it is the best post-apocalyptic sci-fi I have ever read . . . the story operates on a number of different levels, is tightly plotted, very descriptive and real . . . The ending is a twist and a shocker that left me feeling empty and hollow for a few days afterwards' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Those Russians know how to write dystopian, post-apocalyptic, creepy horror . . . Life in the metro is brutal, raw, dirty, dangerous, but also deeply human . . . a fantastic, immersive read' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'The creatures, the world, the Metro, the people are all very well though out and built . . . The ending hit me out of nowhere, completely unexpected on my part. Just. What a twist' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Ratings and reviews
4.6
960 reviews
Sebastian Berg
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March 30, 2017
Dunno where to begin, I had high hopes before heading in to the metro, but nothing could bring me to really enjoy the book. I felt the progress was slow and nothing really ment something. All events would've been occurring even without our protagonist.
1 person found this review helpful
Ricki Guldborg
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January 23, 2024
as a slow reader it took me a long time to finish it, but it truly was a great story 90% of the time. at the end most of the event began to blend together and it was hard for me to establish what exactly happened. I've seen a lot of reviews saying that too many lucky circumstances fall upon Artyom. While I do find most of them believable, especially after the end, I must say that there is too much "and this happened" writing. if something happens out of pure nothingness it really feels cheap. fortunately I only noticed those once or twice. It was the book I read while using public transportation and it kept me engaged for those weekly trips. after I've read another book I'll definitely read 2034.
Ian Evans
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September 18, 2020
Thrilling, atmospheric, chilling and heartbreaking are just some of the words I'd use to describe this novel which depicts mankinds desperate struggle for survival after a nuclear apocalypse. Artyom is a likeable and sympathetic protagonist thrust into a lead role in which he must traverse the subterranean Moscow metro where the last survivors live. When I think about it there's not much really I can compare this book to but it is a gripping tale of desperation and longing that keeps you wanting more. It does have a tendency to be a bit wordy and self reflective which can make parts of the book drag but overall a really enjoyable read. Will definitely be looking to get the sequel in the future
1 person found this review helpful
About the author
Dmitry Glukhovsky is a Journalism and Foreign Relations graduate of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He won THE ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD OF THE EUROPEAN SCIENCE FICTION SOCIETY in 2007. In addition to his native Russian, he speaks English, French, German, Hebrew and Spanish.
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