The Electric Kingdom
Ratings8
Average rating4
New York Times bestseller David Arnold's most ambitious novel to date; Station Eleven meets The 5th Wave in a genre-smashing story of survival, hope, and love amid a ravaged earth. When a deadly Fly Flu sweeps the globe, it leaves a shell of the world that once was. Among the survivors are eighteen-year-old Nico and her dog, on a voyage devised by Nico's father to find a mythical portal; a young artist named Kit, raised in an old abandoned cinema; and the enigmatic Deliverer, who lives Life after Life in an attempt to put the world back together. As swarms of infected Flies roam the earth, these few survivors navigate the woods of post-apocalyptic New England, meeting others along the way, each on their own quest to find life and love in a world gone dark. The Electric Kingdom is a sweeping exploration of art, storytelling, eternal life, and above all, a testament to the notion that even in an exterminated world, one person might find beauty in another.
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This dystopian novel is, in many ways, more depressing than others I’ve read. Although there’s some continuity of life—in a very odd way—there’s little hope. It’s saving grace is the writing. Although I despise jumping around from character to character, David Arnold’s writing was enough to compel me to finish. It’s not the kind of book I normally would read, and I can’t say I enjoyed it. Yet the writing is excellent and I can see how people who like this type of novel would enjoy it.
This is a warning sign for our future in the form of a post-apocalyptic dystopian novel.
Reading The Electric Kingdom was like putting together pieces of a jigsaw puzzle (note that I LOVE puzzles). There is some light romance, a theme of family, and note a slight trigger warning for sexual assault (it is not described at all just mentioned).
This book reminds me in a strange way of the 2016 movie Arrival... I won't give too much away but you should really really read this book.
Also the story of Kit calling Dakota "my Dakota" is so heart-meltingly sweet.
