PublishedSimon & Schuster, October 2018 |
ISBN9781471176081 |
FormatHardcover, 144 pages |
Dimensions24cm × 19.5cm |
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A teenage girl and her robot embark on a cross-country road trip in this beautifully illustrated science fiction story, perfect for fans of Fallout and Black Mirror.
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.
PRAISE FOR THE ELECTRIC STATE:
"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
"A haunting illustrated novel. . . . Readers of bleak, emotionally rich dystopian science fiction will be fascinated with the way Stalenhag doles out details." Booklist (starred)
"The Electric State is a striking and strangely compelling work of science fiction gothic."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." 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." 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.
