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allan4neilston's review against another edition
5.0
This is an incredible work: exotic pictures and a smashing sci-fi tale. Touching.
jbrandmd's review against another edition
4.0
It's hard to say with a book like this whether the art is there to illustrate the story, or the story is just there to elaborate on the images. Either way, this is a gorgeous, hallucinatory book. Stalenhag's images are beautiful, surreal, and utterly original. The story is darker than his previous work, but quite emotionally resonant and satisfying. All in all, my main criticism is that quite a bit of background (and even some of the climax) is not really fleshed out, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
marija_m95's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
indoorkeith's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
The world Stålenhag creates overtop our own memory of the 90s is so vast and expansive even through the limited perspective of a single character making her way across Pacifica (California) with her mute kid drone brother.
With little words and lots of grim and grotesque art, the Electric State holds a mirror to technological advances and the pain they can cause from both as a consumer grade appliance and as a weapon of war. It paints a dark alternate past that increasingly feels like a not so distant possible future given current events.
The only thing that I wanted out of this book was more of the same, but enough was provided for readers to come up with their own conclusions or create completely new stories within the same desolate and morbidly beautiful world.
With little words and lots of grim and grotesque art, the Electric State holds a mirror to technological advances and the pain they can cause from both as a consumer grade appliance and as a weapon of war. It paints a dark alternate past that increasingly feels like a not so distant possible future given current events.
The only thing that I wanted out of this book was more of the same, but enough was provided for readers to come up with their own conclusions or create completely new stories within the same desolate and morbidly beautiful world.
Content Warnings
Minor: Drug use and Sexual content
bug_lightyear's review against another edition
3.5
Read in 4h at 0.6 speed
Quite boring, apparently the book has beautiful illustrations and definitely something is missing in the audiobook
Quite boring, apparently the book has beautiful illustrations and definitely something is missing in the audiobook
crayolabird's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
4.0
In this spare yet chilling graphic novel, America as we know it has collapsed under the weight of giant machines and virtual reality headsets that first addict you and then slurp your brainpower. Or, something like that. The text leaves a lot of room for interpretation, so much so that along with the illustrations, our brains get to fill in the gaps in the story ourselves and the story is a sad one. The illustrations are so gripping and I love the images of the little robot who is journeying with our main character, Michelle, as she tries to get somewhere. We aren't sure why she's going where she's going until much later in the book and when we do, I was sincerely surprised in the best of ways.
I got this from the library because I saw that a new Netflix movie was coming out based on it. This book gave me so much to think about and my twelve year old son, that also read it, had SO many thoughts about it. It is a bit harsh and maybe he was a tiny bit too young for it (a few explicit sentences and several possibly upsetting illustrations) but I'm glad I let him give it a try. For kids growing up in a world of iphones and VR headsets, allowing your brain to go down the slippery slope of what might happen in a world were "virtual" becomes more important than "reality"can be a really important exercise.
mickeymonk's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
novelnotions's review against another edition
3.0
A short story about a young teenager and her robot traveling through a near-future dystopian US. Apparently this is being turned into something on a streaming service (Netflix?) soon and I look forward to watching it. I listened to this as a audiobook and it seems like this would have been a better physical read as there were pictures in the book to illustrate the narrative.
georgieem's review against another edition
4.5
Well I'm scarred for life.
Great art!
I've never been more terrified by a book.
Great art!
I've never been more terrified by a book.