Metro 2034 book is a continuation of extremely successful "Metro 2033" novel written by Dmitry Glukhovsky. The story is set in ruined, post-apocalyptic Moscow, where radiation and genetically engineered chimeras made the surface completely uninhabitable by men. |
Metro 2034 timeline
Twenty years has passed since the beginning of the war, but the world above remains completely hostile to homo sapiens. However, Metro 2034 book is mainly dedicated to the events that happen one year after Metro 2033 book ending. This time, the story begins on "Sevastopolskaya" Moscow metro station, far from the prosperous trade federation "Ganza" built around the ring line.
The future outpost of Moscow metro
(by Alexey Troshin)
Philosophy behind Metro 2034 book
I must say right away that Metro 2034 book is completely different from its successful predecessor. The first novel was more about action, although it did have a good plot. This time, Dmitry Glukhovsky is trying to transmit a more serious message.
Yes, Metro 2034 novel is more about philosophy, so don't buy this book if you're just looking for more thrilling scenes. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of those in the novel, but overall it was written to make you think rather than just get excited. |
I would say that Metro 2034 book is all about choice. Choice between good and evil, ends and means, love and duty, bigger and lesser evil. Choice that can change the life of one – and choice upon which the fate of humanity rests. Choice that can't be undone.
Apart from that, the author seems to be asking that eternal question - what makes us human? Our looks? Our speech? Or perhaps that deep, moral “compass” that let us distinguish between right and wrong? Do we deserve the right to exist if we cease to be humans on the way? Questions, eternal questions. Questions with no simple answers…
By the way, you're about to meet someone who was supposedly dead in the first part. I won't give you the name of course, but be ready for a surprise. However, this character is going to be veeery different from the first part, as certain events left a heavy scar on his psyche. However, when I say "realistic", I don't mean that nothing weird is going to happen. On the contrary, there are lots of very strange events that have no reasonable explanation. Metro 2033 also had some of those, but it was much more "worldly". Most of it was either mutants – or humans, and there were only a couple of things that couldn't be reasonably explained.
Mysteries of Metro 2034
However, Metro 2034 book is full of mystical events that do not have any reasonable explanation whatsoever. It may be slightly embarrassing, I know. Several years ago I didn't like stories that weren't telling me all the answers because I was expecting to get everything "on the platter".
However, today I think that a good science fiction novel absolutely must keep something for itself, without telling you explicitly why and how it happened. And that's what I believe make Glukhovsky's universe much more "real".
