The Electric Kingdom

David Arnold

Feb 2021 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

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.

Ratings and reviews

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.

Well, this was certainly mind twisting. It starts out just before the end of the world due to the flies (but not really flies) that eat people and bring the flu, killing off the majority of human life and ends with a new kind of life that was really cool. Certainly not what I expected and I will be thinking about this for a bit, trying to get my head around the concept. Told in three viewpoints, Nico (traveling with her dog Harry to fulfill her father's plan in the land of Manchester), the Deliverer (an enigmatic being clad in a space suit and has lived many lives), and Kit (a young lad who seems to know things). I like how it didn't immediately have tons of action so that you could get to know and care for the characters. The buildup was good too for the unraveling of all the mysteries. The flies were creepy though and I hope they never show up in this world. I really liked this book and I am glad it ended the way it did. It was full of hope.

Gripping and Hopeful The premise of this book as well as the cover were enough to request an ARC of this exciting novel. The characters felt so real to me and each had his or her strengths and dreams, despite their dire circumstances in which most of human life had been wiped out by a genetically altered bee. This is a tale of found family and first loves intricately woven together like a beautiful pattern in nature. It's a tale of survival and hope as the characters seek to find refuge and what they believe are their destinies. The writing is lyrical and often poetic and although at times this novel dragged a bit, I never wanted to stop reading and stayed up well past my bedtime to finish. I needed to know who was the Deliverer and to see if my guess was correct. This book brought out all the emotions--happiness, anger, fear, anxiety--and helped me have hope for our current pandemic situation that humanity will pull through this and come out stronger on the backside. The ending is spot on perfect for this timely novel.

About the author

David Arnold is the New York Times bestselling author of The Electric Kingdom, Mosquitoland, Kids of Appetite, and The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik, which has been optioned for film by Paramount. He has won the Southern Book Prize and the Great Lakes Book Award, and was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start for his debut. His books have been translated into over a dozen languages. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with his wife and son.

Learn more at davidarnoldbooks.com and follow him on Instagram @iamdavidarnold and Twitter @roofbeam.