Prior to writing novels, author Simon Stalenhag focused solely on graphic design in the video game industry. But Stalenhag had always been fascinated with things that he saw in his everyday life: sweeping vistas, beautiful landscapes, chirping birds, and wildlife (among many other things). During his stint in the video game industry, Stalenhag learned how to create science fiction imagery. Combining his newfound skills with his interests in landscapes, wildlife, and science fiction, an art style for his novel The Electric State was born. In an interview with digitaltrends.com, Stalenhag said that "It’s like I wanted to do two projects—one science fiction and one landscape—but I didn’t have time, so I had to combine them [into The Electric State]. It always felt natural to mix them together."
Whenever he creates a concept for a new project, Stalenhag always starts with music. For The Electric State, he started with 90s music. Ultimately, he focused on grunge music and Nirvana, which allowed him to tell a story about a young girl. This takes shape in the story of the novel, which follows a young girl and her robot as they travel west across the United States. On their trip, the duo witnesses the ruins of seemingly advanced society, including ruins from massive technological wars on the countryside. The two, in other words, are in a dystopian world.
As the two get closer to the west coast of the U.S., conditions worsen. They see the remains of a consumerist society obsessed with now useless virtual reality. Society is, in essence, in shambles. And the duo is ironically moving closer to danger and destruction, no further away from it. Stalenhag has personal experiences with road trips. However, instead of being a negative experience for him (as the road trip in The Electric State is for the girl), it was positive for him. Additionally, some of the traits and backstory of the characters in the novel are inspired by Stalenhag's own life. Ultimately, despite the novel's bleak setting, The Electric State is a hopeful novel and a novel about the power of love. The girl loves her tin-can robot despite not really having a reason to do so.
