Long-long ago, I tried playing original twice. I do not remember what exactly stopped me from completing it, but perhaps... Bad dialogues and voice acting. I do not know whether the book is any better, but in the game dialogues are horrendous. Voice acting is very often rushed or out-of-place. It can make you smile sometimes, but sometimes the jokes are forced too. In all honesty, this is more like a very bad Russian movie. And most of the new ones are like that. Its world building (let alone character building) is also almost non-existent (diaries do not help) much. So, if you are in here for the story - manage your expectations or rather do not expect anything.
If you are in for some shooting... Well, it's ok. Gameplay wise it is quite good. Some mechanics seem a bit questionable to me from "modern" perspective, but they can make the game interesting. It is also quite atmospheric (although far from realistic). So for gameplay - good. For story - bad. Since I was hoping for a good story - do not recommend. Will see if following chapters are better in that regard.
[UPDATE]
there are mechanics with charging for light and some weapons and you need to select specific items to charge them and you can't use them anytime you want. They are ok for a "survival" game, but for shooter... Not so sure. They affect overall dynamics, but thankfully situations when you have to charge them mid-fight are not that often. Stealth is sometimes... Strange as well. Or generally the AI, I guess.
