From Roberts’ blog:
In a world where we have been genetically engineered so that we can photosynthesise sunlight with our hair hunger is a thing of the past, food an indulgence. The poor grow their hair, the rich affect baldness and flaunt their wealth by still eating. But other hungers remain . . . The young daughter of an affluent New York family is kidnapped. The ransom dermands are refused. Years later a young women arrives at the family home claiming to be their long lost daughter. She has changed so much, she has lived on light, can anyone be sure that she has come home? Adam Roberts’ new novel is yet another amazing melding of startling ideas and beautiful prose. Set in a New York of the future it nevertheless has echoes of a Fitzgeraldesque affluence and art-deco style. It charts his further progress as one of the most important writers of his generation.
You know how I like to complain about cover art being boring, derivative and blandly figure-centric? Well, you won’t be hearing any of those complaints today. Lovingly kitschy and spot on for the tone and setting of the novel.
Love it.
Anyone else reminded of the art deco poster mock-ups from Rapture? Perhaps I just have Bioshock on the brain this week…
Bioshock was my first response, too. Though I think we both have Infinite to thank for that.
Skyoshock, you mean? Still haven’t a clue what to think about that. On the one hand, I adored Bioshock, I did and I do, and it’d be great to see Ken Levine and Irrational Games take the franchise back after the drudgery of 2K Marin’s identikit sequel. But would I rather they went back to the well for that or came up with some new thing to rival Rapture? The latter, by a country mile.
And on one hand, from what little we can tell from the trailer, they seem to have. Except they’ve come up with an awesome new thing, and someone somewhere has decided: “Bioshock sold, thus this must also be that,” and lo, Bioshock Infinite.
Anyway. New Adam Roberts – that’s something to look forward to, whatever Infinite’s fate.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Aidan Moher, Mieneke van der Salm. Mieneke van der Salm said: RT @adribbleofink: New Blog Post – The cover for BY LIGHT ALONE by Adam Roberts (@arrroberts) is great! http://bit.ly/dk6P2P <– Awesome! […]
It does kind of look like a 1940’s Readers Digest book ;)
[…] subvert the tropes completely – and to marvellous effect. Witness the Art Deco retro-futurism of Adam Roberts’s By Light Alone, the (now admittedly dated) hi-tech obtuseness of Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s cyberpunk redRobe, […]
[…] By Light Alone by Adam Roberts (Artist/Designer: Unknown) […]