This extraordinary mash-up of novel and graphic novel (pages of text alternate with pictures) depicts an alternate early 21st century America ravaged by drone-fought war, in which the surviving populace spend most of their time languidly plugged into a massive virtual reality network. Our off-grid heroine and her robot companion are on a mission, the true nature of which only gradually becomes apparent. But it’s the meticulously detailed illustrations which steal the show: eerie landscapes and run-down American towns dominated by shattered battle drones and towering Net infrastructure, at once familiar and alien. It’s not so much post-apocalyptic as apocalypse-in-progress, an unsettling glimpse of where our technology might take us.
–Donovan, Grass Roots Books & Music, Corvallis, OR
Dystopia, self-help, graphic novels– sometimes you find them on one shelf, sometimes between two covers. It’s always worth taking a browse and getting a recommendation at Grass Roots Books & Music and other independent bookstores.
