Through Alien Eyes

Metro 2033: Through Alien Eyes is the debut novel by the Russian science fiction writer Sergey Semyonov, written as part of the Metro 2033 Universe. Released in December 2015, this is the sixty-seventh book in the series.

Synopsis
In the ancient city, standing at the confluence of two great rivers, the flames of a new war rage. Even twenty years after Judgment Day, people still dream of wealth and power, lust to kill and share the remains of a dead world. Is there any point in believing in a miracle when hope is almost dead? Is it worth seeking when you know almost certainly that disappointment and pain await you at the end of the road? Is a father's love to do the impossible and save the son, when the hometown looks at you through another's eyes? The eyes of death...

Ambush
A squad of Muscovites was on their way home after a successful attack on the Institute. Suddenly, they are attacked by mutants and gunfire ensues. One of the captured residents of the Institute manages to get out of the back of the "Ural" and runs away.

Meeting of Friends
Stalker Arkady, nicknamed Arkan, was sitting on the shore of the lake, fishing. After catching his prey, the hunter, having skinned it and taken the trophy (liver, which is well appreciated in the subway), went to his bunker. At the entrance, he meets his friend from the subway, the Technician, and asks him about the fate of his son, who serves in the Moscow community. Not getting good news, Arkady escorts his friend to his lodging, and they eat. Suddenly, Arkan has a seizure (not for the first time) and retires to his room for a while. After injecting himself with an ampoule of painkillers, Arkan loses consciousness. Having recovered, Arkady returns to the Technician, who tells him that the commandant of Moskovskaya has a task for the hunter. Gathering their things, the heroes set out in the direction of the subway.

Burevestnik
After walking a bit, the heroes came upon a trail of slime left by none other than Slughorn. The mutant, seeing them, began to pursue them. The technician and Arkan, having run into the nearest building, began to take cover. Having realized that Slughorn was guarding them at an entrance, Arkan has found a convenient position and has shot a worm in the head, thereby having killed it. A little while later, the heroes are spotted by a flock of crows. The friends, fighting off the mutant birds, run into the lobby of Burevestnik station. Seeing that the shabby flock has fallen behind them, Arkan and the Technician were rejoicing, but in vain. Immediately, they saw something coming out of the depths of the station. Arkan and the Technician's fears turned out to be in vain. The mutant did not go beyond the platform, and the friends hurried on, towards the Burnakovskaya residential station.

Capital and Alliance
Arriving at the station and having his documents checked, Arkady and the Technician get into a taxi-truck and, after passing through Kanavinskaya, get to Moskovskaya, the capital of the community. Arkady, having met and talked to Andrei Ivanovich, the station chief (who had already interrogated the prisoners from the Institute), goes to visit the Avtozavodsky Alliance together with the other shuttles for a time of rest. During the trip, Arkady slept. He dreamt of the past, when twenty years ago, his squad discovered survivors from Leninskaya, but who turned out to be enemies, and also found survivors at Gorkovskaya, cut off from the rest of the subway. After passing all the stations of the alliance, Arkady lands at the final Park of Culture, where he goes to a doctor he knows to get a new batch of medicine. But the doctor was not there, but his son-in-law was, and he gave Arkady the medicine. Arkady eats with the shuttles at the local canteen, helps drag his drunken grandfather home, and rushes back to Moskovskaya.

On the Road
Arriving back and meeting the group commander Denis Boguslavsky nicknamed Bogus, the Technician, Grishka nicknamed Ice and Yegor Lukichev, Arkady and them sleep in the railway barracks, and waking up, the five of them move to the surface, to the Institute. On the way, they are attacked by mutated bears. After killing several, the heroes make their way up the Chkalov Stairs and into the Kremlin. There, they go downstairs, where in an underground cave they meet the very escaped prisoner from the Institute - Diana. Bogus takes her into custody and the six of them continue their journey through the forest. There they are attacked by mutant monkeys, the grubs. Suddenly, they see a man who saves them from the grubs by leading them to his shelter under the Pechersky monastery. The group's savior turns out to be the monk Alexander.

Oddities
While the group is taking a break, Arkady leaves to confess to the monk. He says that Arkan's journey is not yet over and goes to sleep. Arkady wakes up to the shouts of Bogus, who was calling to the monk. After searching the dungeons, the heroes find the monk. Or rather, what is left of him - his remains. Having buried Alexander, the heroes sleep on, but in shifts. Soon, they are awakened by the cries of Ice. He, bitten by a bear, was being held by Lukich. While the technician gets the medicine, Ice dies.

The Institute
The group almost makes it to the Institute, but is attacked by wolves, one of whom severely injures Lukich. After encountering a group patrolling the area, they do make it to the captured Institute. Lukich is taken to the infirmary, while Diana is put in a punishment cell with two Institute men: Alexei Vladimirovich and Vyacheslav Malyukov. Later, they are taken away and shot. Bogus, having said that he had long considered Technician and Arkady to be spies for the "factory workers," and puts them in the punishment cell as well. Later, Bogus comes in and says he will shoot Diana if Arkan doesn't tell him everything about the alliance's plans. And, almost counting to five, he prepares to shoot, but...

Escape
...At this time, the institute's men attack. At the sound of gunfire, Arkady snatches a gun from Bogus and puts him in an isolation cell, closing the door. Thanks to Diana's knowledge, the Technician and Arkan get out of the Institute by secret climbing. At this time, the guard, stunned by the Technician, frees Bogus and they also escape. But only Bogus escapes. He decides to take revenge.

New Friends
After walking a bit on the surface, Arkan, the Technician, and Diana meet the two "glaziers" - Yurich and Kul. Together, they go home to a shelter under the Borsky Glassworks. Along the way, they make stops in a couple of buildings, and later go out to the Botanical Garden, where they witness a nuclear explosion: an anomaly called a memory field. After reaching the river, where Yurich and Kul are supposed to have a boat, the heroes float down the Volga. Suddenly they see someone in the water approaching the group and decide to hide from him on a small island. There Yurich is bitten by a viper and the heroes begin rowing at a rapid pace toward the pier. There, having met their own, they all run to the bunker. While Yurich is taken to the infirmary, Kul takes the trio to the bunker's commandant - Radiy Vladimirovich. He thanks them for saving his man and gives them a room. Later, everyone goes to the canteen. A little later, Arkady asks Radiy for permission to scout the area where his son may have been "killed. The commandant gives his permission and, assigning Arkan an escort, shows him the exact place.

There, Arkan suddenly has an attack and can barely be resuscitated. He is told that Anton could have been taken by the villagers who live nearby. Arkan, Technician, and Diana go to Putkovo, the village where the villagers live, passing the abandoned Oktyabrsky, taking shelter from the eagles there.

Reunion
When they reach Putkovo, they are met by locals - mutant people who have adapted to radiation and live without chemtrails or gas masks. They are taken to Vadim Stepanovich, the head of the village. He tells them that he has been waiting for them and gives them a guide to a nearby hut.

Once inside, Arkan sees his son, who is unconscious, and an old woman, who turns out to be the mother of Diana and Anton. After thanking Arkan for taking care of Anton, Elena (Diana and Anton's mother) tells him why she survived and why she turned into a gaunt old woman. Basically, it was because of the tree and its vines, which grow by the hut and through which everyone in town can be watched. It turns out that it was through the vines that Helena kept track of Arkan's journey. She was devoting her energies to treating the village's sick residents, the headman's grandson and Anton. Arkan and the Technician leave the hut, giving Elena some time alone with the children.

A New Journey
Suddenly, Bogus, who has been following them the whole time, shoots him in the leg and beats up Arkan. Denis manages to shoot Arkady before he is pushed away by Technician and thrown into the thicket. The vines there kill Boguslavsky. The dying Arkan is taken to Helena, but unfortunately she could do nothing to help the hunter. Soon, the old woman dies herself. Her and Arkady are buried on the outskirts of the village, and Anton, Diana and the Technician, after being in the village for a week, together with the shuttles go back to the glaziers. In the bunker, they see that everyone is preparing to move to Cheboksary, with whom Radiy Vladimirovich has established communication. But before that, the scouts, namely Anton, Diana, Technician, Yurich, Kul, Pal Sanych and Bredikhin with their people, are sent off on a pusher.

Arriving at the UAZ in Oktyabrsky, where everything was already ready for the journey, they, after talking about the future, went to rest in the hangar.

Epilogue
A few months later, when all the "glass workers" had already moved to Cheboksary, the action moves to Putkovo. There, in the hut where Elena, the savior of the village, used to live, Vadim Stepanovich and his grandson Sasha were there, where they put a candle for the repose of Arkan and Elena.

Main Characters

 * Arkady Igorevich Molchanov (Arkan) - the protagonist of the novel. A lonely stalker who lives far away from the rest of the people. Together with his friend Technician decides to find his missing son;
 * Andrei Tregubov (Technician) - Arkan's friend from the subway. Inventor;
 * Denis Boguslavsky (Bogus) - the main antagonist of the novel. A soldier loyal to the Moscow community. Wants revenge on Arkan and the others for their "betrayal".
 * Alexei Yurievich (Yurich) - a friend of Kul, Arkady, Technician, Diana, and Anton. Glazier. At the end of the novel went with friends on an expedition to Cheboksary;
 * Nikolai (Kul) - a friend of Yurich, Arkady, Technician, Diana and Anton. Glassmaker. At the end of the novel went with his friends on an expedition to Cheboksary;
 * Diana is the girl who escaped from the convoy of Muscovites. Anton's sister. At the end of the novel went with his brother and friends on an expedition to Cheboksary.
 * Anton is Arkady's adopted son, allegedly killed in a skirmish with glass workers. At the end of the novel, he went with his sister and friends on an expedition to Cheboksary.

Secondary Characters

 * Radiy Vladimirovich - commandant of the Borsky glass factory, who organized the expedition and then the relocation of his people to Cheboksary;
 * Brother Alexander - a monk who lives in the catacombs under the Pechersky monastery;
 * Andrei Ivanovich Bespalov - commandant of the Moskovskaya station and leader of the Moskovskaya community. He started a war with Avtozavodskii Alliance and the Institute.
 * Egor Lukichov (Lukich) - friend and deputy of Bogus's detachment.
 * Grigory (Ice) - a man from the Bars squad.
 * Valera Bredikhin (Brad) - the man who showed Arkady and the place where Anton supposedly died. Later, went together with Anton, Diana, Technician, and others on an expedition to Cheboksary.
 * Pal Sanych - UAZ driver, who went together with the heroes on the expedition to Cheboksary.
 * Elena - mother of Anton and Diana, who was considered dead.
 * Vadim Stepanovich - headman of Putkovo.

Other Characters

 * Arseniy is a resident of the village of Putkovo, a guide for Arkady, Technician, and Diana.
 * Alexei Vladimirovich and Vyacheslav Malyukov - Prisoners from the Institute, not taken with the other prisoners to the Moscow community.
 * Lev Ivanovich Kazarin - Guard of the Institute.
 * Nikolai - Shuttlecock, who was traveling with Arkady to the Avtozavodskiy alliance. Stopped at Leninskaya.
 * Petrovich - an old man who got drunk in the canteen of the Park of Culture.
 * Yuri Olegovich - Bespalov's confidant;
 * Aunt Vera - A cook at the "Glaziers".

Characters Mentioned

 * Igor Yuryevich Platygin - The head of the Moskovskoye field in the first years after the Shoah. Later, he becomes the right hand man of Andrei Bespalov.
 * Mikhail - Electrician at Moskovskaya.
 * Victor - Commander of Arkady's group in the first years after the catastrophe.
 * Senya - A young fighter from Victor's detachment.
 * Vadim - A fighter from Victor's detachment.
 * Pavel - A fighter from Victor's detachment, who saves little Diana from death.
 * Ilyichev - A doctor at the Park of Culture, who supplies drugs to Arkady.
 * Victoria Molchanova - Arkady's pregnant wife, who died during the Shoah.

Main Setting
The main setting of the novel is post-nuclear Nizhny Novgorod and partially the Nizhny Novgorod subway. Also described are such places as the city of Bor (Bor Glassworks), Oktyabrsky, the village of Putkovo, a bunker in Sormovo, the Sedakov and Gorshkov Institutes. Cheboksary is mentioned.

Interesting Facts

 * The second December cover in a row by Yana Polovtseva.
 * The title of this novel coincides with one of the Russian titles of Stephen King's short story "I Am the Doorway".
 * The first full-fledged novel about the last hitherto undescribed Russian subway (Nizhny Novgorod).