My favorite book of all time is "Roadside Picnic" by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. It is a science fiction short novel (about 145 pages in total) written originally in Russian, but translated by Antonina W. Bouis. However, it is not like a normal western style sci-fi novel or movie. It is much more psychologically driven than what we are used to. There are are several places around the globe called "Zones". In these places, aliens have visited and left several things that seem supernatural or impossible to us. Artifacts and other objects that seemingly disobey the laws of physics and reality. Things that generate unlimited power. Things that will grab you up into what acts like a small black hole and tear you apart. A legendary object is called "the golden orb" which is said to be able to grant a humans innermost desires. There are people who traverse the "zones" to collect and sell these artifats on the black market. They are called STALKERs. The main "zone" exists in what we know as Chernobyl and its surrounding irradiated area. The story follows one of these stalkers, "Red" throughout his life and how the "zone" has changed him and other humans.
You can find a publically available translation in .txt format here:
http://moshkow.perm.ru/koi/STRUGACKIE/engl_picnic.txt
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