Sunset at Zero Point Format: Hardback

From the renowned creator of The Electric State and Tales from the Loop, Stålenhag returns with his long-awaited new work of retro-futuristic dystopia within the mysterious zone of an abandoned Swedish military facility.

Beginning in 2024, yet set largely during the early 2000s, Sunset at Zero Point unfolds on a secluded Swedish island, home to a secret weapon lab that has been off-limits for years, evoking the bestselling works of Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation and Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven.

Stålenhag’s masterful storytelling and hyper-realistic art transports you to an alternate history revealing his most intimate work to date, delving into themes of masculinity, friendship, and sexuality through the lens of a queer science fiction tale. The story spans decades following two young men, stuck in the past and each other’s orbit, as fleeting moments become defining memories as they set out to explore the forbidden zone together.

Set against the backdrop of Stålenhag’s native Sweden and based on the alternate version of Mälaröarna outside of Stockholm, Sunset at Zero Point juxtaposes giant futuristic machines with the inner turmoil of its characters facing a social dystopia, crafting a narrative that is both visually stunning and emotionally resonant.

Simon Stålenhag is the internationally lauded artist and author of Tales from the Loop, Things from the Flood, and The Electric State—the narrative art books that stunned the world with a vision of an alternate 1980s and 1990s where technology had invaded the tranquil landscapes to form an entirely new universe of the eerie and the nostalgic. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden.