PublishedSimon & Schuster, October 2018 |
ISBN9781471176081 |
FormatHardcover, 144 pages |
Dimensions24cm × 19.5cm |
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Stranger Things meets On the Road in this hypnotic, lavishly illustrated novel.
In late 1997, a runaway teenager and her small yellow toy robot travel west through a strange American landscape where the ruins of gigantic battle drones litter the countryside, along with the discarded trash of a high-tech consumerist society addicted to a virtual-reality system. As they approach the edge of the continent, the world outside the car window seems to unravel at an ever faster pace, as if somewhere beyond the horizon, the hollow core of civilization has finally caved in.
Told in achingly melancholy, spare prose and featuring almost a hundred gorgeous, full-colour illustrations, The Electric State is a novel like no other.
Rights in The Electric State have already sold in thirteen territories and Deadline reports that the film rights were snapped up by the Russo Brothers' production company (Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War) with Andy Muschietti (Mama, It) attached to direct.
"A jaw-dropping science fiction artbook . . . This quiet, sad adventure is an excellent and visually stunning addition to any graphic novel, art, or science fiction collection." Publishers Weekly (starred)
"A haunting illustrated novel. . . . Readers of bleak, emotionally rich dystopian science fiction will be fascinated with the way Stalenhag doles out details-all the way to the open-ended, heartbreaking conclusion." Booklist (starred)
"An awe-inspiring vision of a species committing suicide, perhaps to be reborn as something new. [. . .] The Electric State is a striking and strangely compelling work of science fiction gothic. Providing a series of snapshots of an alternate Earth of yesteryear, it tells the story of how that world ended." New York Journal of Books
"One part art-book, one part picture-book-the mundanity of everyday relationships play out alongside science fiction imagery that is as beautiful as it is unsettling." Waypoint
"[Simon Stalenhag's] stories crawl into my brain and mess with my memory of history, time, and place. His art (photorealistic, washed out, laced in neon or icicles, nostalgic and futuristic both at the same time) gets into my eyes and stays there. [. . .] If you're anything like me, you'll take those images to bed with you for a long time and dream of Stalenhag's America - lost to sand, to drought, to war, to loneliness, and stalked always by the low, distant rumble of something terrible rising out of the earth and coming for you." NPR Books
"[The] mix of science fiction and real world pop-culture nostalgia is instantly compelling, but there are layers to The Electric State that take the story beyond surface value. [. . .] In a way, it is an extremely American story, bringing together themes like the intersection of war and technology; fire-and-brimstone religion and its effect on LGBT youth; families separated by great physical distance while still being a part of the same country." Los Angeles Times
Sas is a WAAPA graduate with 8 years experience in bookshops, specialising in Children's and Young Adult fiction. She reads fantasy when she gets the chance but you'll also find her curled up with classic literature and Silver Screen star biographies. She loves getting kids excited about new adventures and is so enthusiastic when giving recommendations that she sometimes gets tongue-tied.
Every page in this book could be a stand alone story. The design and detail of each image astounds me. Stunningly haunting illustrations lead us through a dystopian world in the search of something unknown to us. Accompanied by a small droid we are shown the world of mass technology gone wrong, until we reach our final destination.
I’ve never cried from a graphic novel before. I was left content but crying.
