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 … 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 is a story about storytellers, and David Arnold is among the best. The Electric Kingdom is an epic postapocalyptic tale where humanity is louder than a swarm of Flies, and hope radiates in the bleakest of places. Fearless writing and a remarkable cast of characters will send readers on an unforgettable journey.
Haunting and beautiful and absolutely fucking brilliant. If this book was born out of the shitstorm that was 2020, then the year wasn’t a total loss after all. I don’t know how a book can be so heartbreaking, and yet so full of hope at the same time. I didn’t know if I was happy-crying or sad-crying, but either way, it was worth it, and I am in awe.
With luminous compassion and ceaseless invention, Arnold has built a postapocalyptic nesting doll of a tale, full of tricky resonances and moments of grace. All the pieces of this fascinating, ambitious book work together like the chambers of some great heart. I can’t wait for teen readers to discover it and suspect it was written just for them.
Utterly unique and genre-busting, The Electric Kingdom is David Arnold at his best. I was left in awe by the stunning prose, the challenging philosophical questions, and the masterful puzzle of a plot. The moment I nished, I immediately wanted to read it again.
This is an outstanding post-apocalyptic, YA SF.
I loved the voices, the storytelling, the weaving of the different POVs… Two were in 3rd person and one in 1st. Very clever. The environment and the stress of survival made for a grim backdrop — the pandemic had basically won after all — but there are these kids, with big hearts and so much hope. It showed how much that, no matter what happens, we reset and keep on living. While we can.
I was reminded of Atwood’s Blind Assassin where you can’t imagine how these separate stories are going to meet. No spoilers, but I will say that the ending was both fulfilling and disturbing, like all good SF endings, in my mind, should be.
I had never read David Arnold before, but heard his interview on Ink Feather Podcast and felt compelled to give this novel a try. So glad I did!
Highly recommended. My top SF pick so far for 2021.
2.5*
Just a few years after a fly flu, the mutated insect has devastated the Earth, leaving little behind. This story is told mainly from Nico and Kit’s point of view with a few short chapters from an unknown character named The Deliverer. To be honest, my favorite part of the story was these chapters which are so sad, they were so short and far between.
My favorite part of the book and why I liked the Deliverer’s chapters so much is because it added so much unknown to the story. This did have me engaged because the Deliverer’s chapters were told from the first-person point of view and it was told in a way that you already knew the information. This way you are gaining knowledge about what is happening without knowing why or the background of this character. For me, I really enjoyed how much unknown was weaved into the story. Throughout, you slowly get more and more information that you can piece together. Even though you don’t know the whole story and know that you are missing information it doesn’t make the story less hard to understand. I do appreciate this about the book. I have had some books where because you don’t know what they are talking about you just get lost and miss any piece of information that would start to piece it together. This one wasn’t like that. I was still able to follow the storyline without having all the information. I was also able to piece the information together as it was given.
I also like that a lot of things were described to you, not told right out. This allows you to gather the information and come to a logical conclusion, but to be honest it felt like a middle-grade book instead of a YA. Just the terminology and thinking and actions of the characters made it not very appealing for me to read. The way that they interacted with each other felt forced and not very natural. The relationships seem very spontaneous with no logical reasons behind them. With the romantic relationships, it felt like how 5-year-olds would go up to each other and say your my girlfriend/boyfriend. I kind of got that the only reason they started dating is because there was no one else left to date and because they are teenagers so, why not. I also didn’t think the characters were developed very well. I didn’t have a very good sense of who they were and so I attained no emotional attachment to any of them.
I also think that the story lacked action. For most of the book, it was just the kids wandering through the woods. Weird because it also lacked description? So, it lacked action and describing details, which is very odd. I did really enjoy the ending and how all the loose ends were tied up and how all those little things you now understood, but to get to that point felt like a long drive. I also think that the Kit perspective could have been left out. I understood why it was added, to add another perspective to the whole situation and to tie the relationships of the characters together but his storyline didn’t add much to the book, other than words.
So overall I think it was a great idea and the ending was perfect in my book, but the main core of the story’s plot and the characters needed further working on.
A dreamy, twisty tale of an apocalypse born from good intentions and a handful of survivors attempting to escape it.
Scientists wanted to genetically modify bees to help prevent colony collapse; instead, the bees mutated and became something completely different. Not flies, though they’ll come to be referred to as such, and no longer bees, they now have a taste for flesh and swarm en masse, killing people and animals in seconds. If people aren’t instantly devoured, they get the “fly flu” and spread this disease to others, symptoms ranging from fatigue and hallucinations to…people’s bodies “emptying” themselves of their organs.
There are three main characters; Nico, Kit, and The Deliverer. The story kicks off with Nico; her father is dying so he tells her that there exists a portal, and while he doesn’t know where it leads, it’s her only hope for somewhere better. Kit’s journey begins similarly, but he’s accompanied by two friends. The Deliverer, an omniscient character whose short chapters are told in first person POV, is much more mysterious. Details are unveiled slowly throughout the book.
“The unknown can be scary. But when the known is death itself, you enter the unknown.”
The progression of the story fascinated me and kept me reading late into the night. I finished it in 3 sittings I think. Where Arnold really shines in this book though is in his characters and how he captures human relationships, especially those between child and parent. Nico’s final moments with her father devastated me, the scene heartfelt and tragic without getting too sentimental.
I really loved “The Electric Kingdom”! The writing, the characters, the satisfying ending…this might be my favorite 2021 release so far.
*I won an ARC of this book in a giveaway
There are times when we come across a novel that fills us with the need to invite the author out for coffee and pastries because only an expert can calm the maelstrom in our head. And when I say maelstrom, I mean maelstrom. Arnold takes hold of your reader hand and guides you through a chaos of emotion and plot-altering twists only to pat that hand gently at the end so you can sit and think about what he just did.
Where do I start? How do I articulate what I just read in enough coherent words to express my enjoyment and yet utterly quizzical feelings at this novel? Reader, you will be confused. You will have your heart punched. You will see hope and love and beauty all in the last scraps of humanity. You’ll question everything you read and wonder aloud your ‘buts’ and ‘what ifs’ and even your ‘what the hells.’ There are slower areas of thoughts and inner monologues but this isn’t a book you can skim. Every detail means something. Every detail affects something. Soak it all in and don’t rush it. This is one to be sipped lightly.
This is a post-apocalyptic book where “flies” swarm and devour. Those not devoured get infected by the Fly Flu and also die. The human population has been wiped out and few are left. It’s science fiction portals and dystopian survival skills wrapped up in old red leather and wound together in black cord. You should go in blind. You will not be dissapointed but bring a friend, because you’re gonna need someone to talk to when it’s all over.
Thank you Penguin Teen for the opportunity to wrap my mind around this gifted advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.
not a huge fan of this genre but enjoyed !
I really enjoyed this book! I was drawn to this book both by its fabulous cover and its description. I just love a good end of the world story and this one sounded different than others I have read. I found this book to be engaging from the start and before long it became impossible to put down. I found this book to be quite entertaining as well as thought-provoking and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to give it a try.
This book is told from several points of view. First, we meet Nico who has spent the first 18 years of her life in a locked up farmhouse with her parents and their dog, Harry. Now her mother is gone and her father says that it is time that she goes on a journey to Manchester. Kit is a 12-year-old boy who has lived his life in a movie theatre and elementary school in a small town. Eventually, he begins his own journey with two others in hopes of finding a safe zone. We also occasionally get to see the Deliverer’s point of view. The Deliverer is rather mysterious but has delivered goods to Nico’s family for years and seems to know exactly what to do at times.
The characters in this book were very well done. It was easy to care about Nico, Kit, and the rest of the characters because they were all inherently good people. There are still bad people in the world and our group of characters has a few difficult run-ins but the main obstacle is really the harshness of the world. The supporting characters were fantastic and I love that we got to see how much they care for each other and that they still have hope.
I found this book to very original. The swarms of Flies were more frightening than I could have imagined and the flu is just as deadly. This is a very dangerous world that these characters must navigate. Just when I thought I had a good understanding of what was happening, the author took the story to a whole new level. The science-fiction elements are very strong in this story and I was completely captivated by the complexity of the story.
I would highly recommend this book to others. This was a book that was very hard to put down. I loved the way that the story took unexpected turns that made me question everything that had happened before. I will definitely be reading more of David Arnold’s work in the future.
I received an advance reader edition of this book from Viking Books for Young Readers via Bookish First.
The Author, David Arnold sure knows how to write. I feel as if I’ve been part of another dimension, that has a looping roller coaster that never seems to stop. All the while the story has you completely vested and intrigued but your hanging on to the anticipation of that final loop. That final loop that ties it all together, all loose strings are tied up and all questions answered. I love premise of what brought the end of the world and the complex dystopian world building that the Author created. His writing had you seeing and feeling the environment around our protagonists. You could feel their breath, fear and almost read their thoughts. You really connect to the characters and the stories they tell and feel as if you are now a part of their group and can almost feel the loss of separation. Author Arnold has given The Electric Kingdom that certain something that a book needs that will keep you talking about, discussing and contemplating for days, weeks and years to come. This is only the beginning for Mr. David Arnold and I cannot wait to see what’s in store.
*****
The post-apocalyptic future set in 2043 all begins with the Fly Flu. And with that, the survivors that somehow did not succumb to the insufferable illness feel they are being called elsewhere, where there may be a community of survivors like themselves where they can live or a magic portal. Being alone is scary and on the way they meet others that have places they are traveling to and so they decide to walk together. Slowly they form a bond and the feelings of companionship recreate a family unit. They experience many moments good and bad along the way which all evolve to lead them exactly where they were meant to be. As I was surprised by the mind bending role of the Deliverer that kept them alive and ultimately you will find has a deeper connection and role in this story. I appreciate every single detail and description as it kept me absorbed and not wanting it to end.
The Electric Kingdom tells the story of a world in the near future ravaged by a pandemic that makes coronavirus look like a walk in the park. This pandemic is apocalyptic. Carnivorous flies, carrying a deadly Fly Flu, have devastated the world, leaving behind few survivors. The story is about a group of young survivors in New England whose parents have succumbed to the the flies or fly flu. Nico and her dog have lived in a remote farmhouse and are now on a quest assigned by her father to find a enigmatic portal in Manchester. Kit is a twelve year-old artist who has been raised in an abandoned cinema with his friends Lakie and Monty, who are trying to reach an island refuge. Loretta and Lennon were raised in the forest by two women they met in a campground, after their parents were taken by the flies. Then there is the mysterious Deliverer, who lives over and over again trying to save, or at least help, the world. These young survivors cross paths in the woods and small towns, attempting to evade the deadly swarms of flies, in their quest for safety, love and answers. The Electric Kingdom is beautifully written, mesmerizing, dark, sad, thought-provoking and strangely hopeful. The characters are wonderful and this book will haunt you.