''The Electric State'' () is a 2018

dystopian A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmenta ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

illustrated novel by Swedish artist

Simon Stålenhag Simon Stålenhag (born 20 January 1984) is a Swedish artist, musician, and designer specialising in retro-futuristic digital art. His work primarily focuses on nostalgic Swedish and American countryside environments, with retro sci-fi elements. ...

. Set in an alternate technologically ravaged 1990s, it follows a teenage girl and her robot on a journey to the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contig ...

in search of her long-lost brother. In 2017, the

Russo brothers Anthony Russo (born February 3, 1970) and Joseph Russo (born July 18, 1971), collectively known as the Russo brothers ( ), are American filmmakers. They direct most of their work together, and their work has grossed more than $6.8 billion worl ...

acquired film rights to the book. They directed and produced a Netflix film of the same title.

Premise

The book is told through a series of paragraphs, linked to large illustrations. The main story follows Michelle, a teenage orphan traveling to the West Coast with a robot companion, Skip, to find her long-lost brother. Flashbacks gradually reveal Michelle's past and the reason for her separation. Intertwined with Michelle's journey are details of the novel's setting, Pacifica (later revealed to be

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

.) Pacifica is portrayed as a hyper-consumerist society in decline, with the vast majority of the population using brain-computer interfaces called Neurocasters to escape the trauma of a second

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. Technological addiction has become a widespread issue, leading to a widespread breakdown of law and order through which Michelle must travel.

Reception

Critics at

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

and ''New York Journal of Books'' gave positive reviews. It received starred reviews from both ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

'' and ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', where it was praised for the illustrations, writing, and structure of the graphic novel.

Accolades

NPR named it one of the best books of 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Electric State (graphic novel) 2018 graphic novels 2018 science fiction novels 2018 Swedish novels Alternate history novels Dystopian novels Graphic novels set in the 1990s Graphic novels set in the United States Novels about orphans Novels about robots Post-apocalyptic novels Science fiction novels adapted into films Science fiction graphic novels Swedish science fiction novels Works by Simon Stålenhag Second American Civil War speculative fiction