i'll admit i started reading this after a week long goon session with S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
for some reason, it always surprises me each time I read a book that was the inspiration for this or that movie, how drastically higher the quality of it is.
this book is moody and focuses much more on the tense politics of various groups trying to cope with the reality of of a brief alien visit, than traipsing through a wasteland searching for mystical doodads.
at first, this was frustrating to me, but i began to appreciate it the depth in which it was, and the novel is a lot stronger for it.
the characters are well fleshed out and believable, with no super soldiers decked out in plot armor.
you will especially enjoy the part where you learn why the book has its name.
I'd add that there's a certain vibe to how Europeans, especially eastern and southern Europeans used to depict North America and North Americans in media. That vibe is so unique and cozy, and, in my opinion, adds so much to this book. For most of these authors, the sole basis for understanding American culture was exported American media (mainly Holywood movies, a big part of them westerns). What they then did was develop their own tropes and further caricaturized this caricature they started from. It's really hard to explain, but anyone who read European comic books or watched European cartoons set in north america will understand this vibe.