Books on the universe of the computer game "Stalker" have always stood out from the rest of science fiction. This is a completely unpredictable development of several famous works of the Strugatsky brothers at once, wrapped in a “veil” of Russian national color. Books not only complement the gaming universe, they expand it thousands of times. One of these books is “The Heart of the Zone” - the second part in the cycle of adventures of the Chemist and Handful.
Exciting plot
Many books on the Stalker game universe stand out with incredible mediocrity. They not only do not open new horizons of this Universe, but even have serious problems with the logic of the plot. However, there are also many novels with an exciting plot.
The "Heart of the Zone" is what captures from the first pages. This novel is the second part, but you can start reading a book right away without even familiarizing yourself with the plot of the first book. This suggests that history, although closely connected, is not at all without independence.
The plot develops gradually. The author smoothly introduces the reader to the events. The everyday atmosphere began to develop rapidly, developing into an excellent military scene with the participation of the most mysterious groups of the Zone.
Yes, the introduction is unusual, but it is not prolonged and does not have time to get bored. Rapidly developing events smoothly flow into the trip of two teammates on an armored car, sincere dialogues and mysticism of the anomalous Zone. These two people are the main stalkers of the "Heart of the Zone." There are action scenes, and stalker romance, and elements of horror. The author tries to reveal the essence of the heart of the anomalous Zone itself, to talk about its inhuman essence, rational, cruel, but logical and capable of touching compassion.
Characters
Events are described on behalf of partners - Chemist and Handful. However, there are also new important characters, for example, the legendary Max Bolotnik. The author tells in detail the story of this mysterious person. Describing the way he thinks, he forces readers to empathize with the antihero, to understand that in his words there is a part of the truth. The reader is on both sides of the barricades - he is ill at the same time for his partners and for the anti-hero team. The reader takes a certain side and adheres to it until the very end of the book.
"Heart of the Zone" stands out not only the history of the characters, but also the history of the armored car. It would seem that this is just a car, but it is so harmoniously included in the overall plot that the reader worries about it as if this all-terrain vehicle belongs to him.
Another truth
Max Bolotnik is just as right as the main characters. He is a mercenary and is obliged to fulfill the order to kill those whom he sympathizes with. When circumstances force him to act along with his goal, he demonstrates how much Chemist respects. From Max and Chemist we get an excellent, very close-knit team that acts extremely effectively and gets out of many hopeless situations.
There is another truth in the novel “Heart of the Zone”. The one that reveals the unexpected positive aspects of the mutants and the Zone itself. True, which shows how human the fighters of the Monolith clan are and how much their union resembles a real brotherhood. The fact that other authors describe it as evil and whose actions are given a negative meaning is made in this novel as neutral as possible, and sometimes quite friendly to the main characters.
Other books
Levitsky’s novel “The Heart of the Zone” is only the second in a cycle of three works. In order for the story to be complete and fully understandable, it is recommended to read books in strict order, delving into all the mystical oddities in question in detail. This is the most important part of the plot of three books, much more important than conflicts between stalkers.