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Tra il 1954 e il 1969 il governo svedese fa costruire il più grande acceleratore di particelle del mondo, un’enorme struttura circolare sotterranea, estesa per decine di chilometri nelle profondità della campagna attorno al lago Mälaren. La gente del posto chiama questo portento della tecnologia di fine secolo “il Loop”.
Vent’anni dopo, la vita quotidiana di un gruppo di ragazzini scorre sullo sfondo di immense costruzioni industriali, avveniristiche e desuete allo stesso tempo, vecchie Volvo station-wagon e goffi robot artropodi, sterminati macchinari dismessi e misteriose sfere di metallo arrugginito – malinconia e tecnologia.
I dipinti iperrealistici della Svezia suburbana anni Ottanta di Simon Stålenhag hanno raccolto reazioni di stupefatta ammirazione su Internet. Eccoli pubblicati in un volume che combina l'innocenza infantile dei bambini di Niccolò Ammaniti con le atmosfere sci-fi vintage di Stranger Things.
Vent’anni dopo, la vita quotidiana di un gruppo di ragazzini scorre sullo sfondo di immense costruzioni industriali, avveniristiche e desuete allo stesso tempo, vecchie Volvo station-wagon e goffi robot artropodi, sterminati macchinari dismessi e misteriose sfere di metallo arrugginito – malinconia e tecnologia.
I dipinti iperrealistici della Svezia suburbana anni Ottanta di Simon Stålenhag hanno raccolto reazioni di stupefatta ammirazione su Internet. Eccoli pubblicati in un volume che combina l'innocenza infantile dei bambini di Niccolò Ammaniti con le atmosfere sci-fi vintage di Stranger Things.
134 pages, Hardcover
First published September 25, 2014
About the author
Simon Stålenhag
15 books909 followersKonstnären och författaren Simon Stålenhag är mest känd för sina digitala målningar som ofta visar vardagliga scener med fantastiska inslag. Efter sitt genombrott 2013 har Stålenhag publicerat två böcker om ett alternativt 1980- och 90-tal på Mälaröarna utanför Stockholm. Ur varselklotet (2014) och Flodskörden (2016) har hyllats både i Sverige och utomlands. Den ansedda tidningen The Guardian korade Ur varselklotet till en av tidernas bästa dystopier, i sällskap med Franz Kafkas Processen och Andrew Niccols Gattaca.
Simon Stålenhags evokativa och filmlika bildspråk har väckt uppmärksamhet även i film- och datorspelsvärlden. Han har verkat som konceptillustratör och manusförfattare i ett flertal projekt. Stålenhag har medverkat i Searching for Sugarman (regisserad av Malik Bendjeloull) och i datorspel så som Ripple Dot Zero (2013).
Simon Stålenhags evokativa och filmlika bildspråk har väckt uppmärksamhet även i film- och datorspelsvärlden. Han har verkat som konceptillustratör och manusförfattare i ett flertal projekt. Stålenhag har medverkat i Searching for Sugarman (regisserad av Malik Bendjeloull) och i datorspel så som Ripple Dot Zero (2013).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 680 reviews
December 2, 2016
I'd like to think this book LOOKS like my novels FEEL.
What do I mean by that? I'm not precisely sure. TALES FROM THE LOOP is an art book, a handsome matte collection of a dreamy alternate 80s. There's a bit of text, but the text is mostly besides the point. Really, TALES FROM THE LOOP is about the images: hyper-realistic paintings of Swedish life with decaying robots, inquisitive dinosaurs, rundown hovercraft, and well-worn androids. It feels like our world, but just a little strange. Sometimes this strangeness is magical, and sometimes this strangeness is off-putting, and sometimes, deliciously, it is both.
I read it first on my own, paging through slowly, and then I paged through it again with my eleven-year-old son, who found it an even more wistful experience than I did.
Lovely.
What do I mean by that? I'm not precisely sure. TALES FROM THE LOOP is an art book, a handsome matte collection of a dreamy alternate 80s. There's a bit of text, but the text is mostly besides the point. Really, TALES FROM THE LOOP is about the images: hyper-realistic paintings of Swedish life with decaying robots, inquisitive dinosaurs, rundown hovercraft, and well-worn androids. It feels like our world, but just a little strange. Sometimes this strangeness is magical, and sometimes this strangeness is off-putting, and sometimes, deliciously, it is both.
I read it first on my own, paging through slowly, and then I paged through it again with my eleven-year-old son, who found it an even more wistful experience than I did.
Lovely.
August 21, 2023
“Some days are like jittery, malicious clockwork—sometimes things freeze mid-movement and we age several years in a few seconds.”
“Unsettling” is apparently the effect Simon Stålenhag’s amazing realistic narrative art-books have on me. And yes, reading this book in one sitting after midnight with only tablet screen ghostly illuminating the dark room pretty much guarantees the pervasive feeling of uneasiness, but I’m certain that even in the broad daylight that subtle sense of creepy wrongness etched with nostalgia would remain.
The artwork, done in hyper-realistic photographic painting style, combining nostalgic pastorality and jarring insertions of futuristic machinery (and an occasional dinosaur), is again the main focus here, while the story provides the context in an oddly memorable way, with no linear storyline but rather journal-like recollections of childhood memories in alternative Sweden of the 1980s (well, with magnetic lines transport, robots and possible gateways to other timelines and dimensions, the world where schoolwork and magnetic pulses are equally normal), sketchbook pages and a few informational clippings.
There’s no real plot, just sparse word sketches that are absolutely perfect for creating the atmosphere.
Like in The Electric State, it’s the oddest combination of mundane and fantastical that creates such wonderfully jarring contrasts. Children play among abandoned futuristic machinery in the shadow of ominous towers connected to the world’s largest particle accelerators dominating the bleak countryside, with an occasional dinosaur and a stray robot. And it’s all hauntingly, desolately beautiful.
Unflinching 5 stars. I think I like this even more than The Electric State.
And now I need to get to the rest of his books. And get a hardcover of this one because, let’s face it, from my friends’ photos it is infinitely cooler than the ebook version.
———
Buddy read with Dennis (his review) and Trish (her review)
——————
My reviews of all Simon Stålenhag’s books:
- The Electric State
- Tales From the Loop
- Things From the Flood
- The Labyrinth
“Unsettling” is apparently the effect Simon Stålenhag’s amazing realistic narrative art-books have on me. And yes, reading this book in one sitting after midnight with only tablet screen ghostly illuminating the dark room pretty much guarantees the pervasive feeling of uneasiness, but I’m certain that even in the broad daylight that subtle sense of creepy wrongness etched with nostalgia would remain.
The artwork, done in hyper-realistic photographic painting style, combining nostalgic pastorality and jarring insertions of futuristic machinery (and an occasional dinosaur), is again the main focus here, while the story provides the context in an oddly memorable way, with no linear storyline but rather journal-like recollections of childhood memories in alternative Sweden of the 1980s (well, with magnetic lines transport, robots and possible gateways to other timelines and dimensions, the world where schoolwork and magnetic pulses are equally normal), sketchbook pages and a few informational clippings.
There’s no real plot, just sparse word sketches that are absolutely perfect for creating the atmosphere.
Like in The Electric State, it’s the oddest combination of mundane and fantastical that creates such wonderfully jarring contrasts. Children play among abandoned futuristic machinery in the shadow of ominous towers connected to the world’s largest particle accelerators dominating the bleak countryside, with an occasional dinosaur and a stray robot. And it’s all hauntingly, desolately beautiful.
Unflinching 5 stars. I think I like this even more than The Electric State.
And now I need to get to the rest of his books. And get a hardcover of this one because, let’s face it, from my friends’ photos it is infinitely cooler than the ebook version.
———
Buddy read with Dennis (his review) and Trish (her review)
——————
My reviews of all Simon Stålenhag’s books:
- The Electric State
- Tales From the Loop
- Things From the Flood
- The Labyrinth
May 14, 2023
Another fine work by this Swedish artist and author. What is it with me and the Swedes? Or are they just generally brilliant? Will have to keep an eye on that.
This time the story is actually set in Sweden. Where, in an alternate timeline, the government has built the world’s largest particle accelerator, which is located somewhere underground in Munsö, formerly a small island west of Stockholm. The locals simply call the facility The Loop. And the people working there are conducting some mysterious experiments, the results of which can be seen all across the landscape.
Not only are there some cool magnetic ships and other futuristic vehicles, but several robots have gotten away from the facility as well. And there are also some animals that seem to have fallen out of time.
Stålenhag recounts a childhood spent in this strange environment that was created by the Loop and its scientists. Though contrary to his book The Electric State this one here does not so much tell a cohesive story, but through several loosely connected anecdotes paints a picture of a time and place that never was. The writing has once again a certain melancholic undertone, and is interspersed with many strange and fantastical moments, as well as a couple of eerie ones. I liked it very much, but prefer the more traditional storytelling that he uses in his later work.
The art, on the other hand, once again deserves full marks. Stålenhag’s paintings are simply amazing, as you can hopefully see from the couple of pictures that I have included in this review. The real thing of course looks even better. In part because of the poor upload quality here, and also because it’s difficult to see the finer details in these little images (the book itself is rather huge). It’s hard to decide which one I like better in terms of the artwork, this or The Electric State. They look very different, but still somehow familiar. There are some signature elements, that make both easily identifiable as Simon Stålenhag works. The Electric State shows a more modern world, which has fallen into a post-apocalyptic state. This here, on the other hand, has this beautiful rural landscape that meshes very well with the somewhat unpolished looking futuristic machinery. Both books look absolutely brilliant, and deserve nothing less than five stars for the art alone. I just can’t decide which one I like better.
Storywise, though, as I said before, I prefer The Electric State. And the story is also the reason why this here is more like a 4.5 stars for me. But there is a second book in the Loop universe, which of course I will also read. So we’ll see where this goes.
2023 buddy (re)read with Trish and Nataliya. Still loving it. And they quite liked it as well. :)
This time the story is actually set in Sweden. Where, in an alternate timeline, the government has built the world’s largest particle accelerator, which is located somewhere underground in Munsö, formerly a small island west of Stockholm. The locals simply call the facility The Loop. And the people working there are conducting some mysterious experiments, the results of which can be seen all across the landscape.
Not only are there some cool magnetic ships and other futuristic vehicles, but several robots have gotten away from the facility as well. And there are also some animals that seem to have fallen out of time.
Stålenhag recounts a childhood spent in this strange environment that was created by the Loop and its scientists. Though contrary to his book The Electric State this one here does not so much tell a cohesive story, but through several loosely connected anecdotes paints a picture of a time and place that never was. The writing has once again a certain melancholic undertone, and is interspersed with many strange and fantastical moments, as well as a couple of eerie ones. I liked it very much, but prefer the more traditional storytelling that he uses in his later work.
The art, on the other hand, once again deserves full marks. Stålenhag’s paintings are simply amazing, as you can hopefully see from the couple of pictures that I have included in this review. The real thing of course looks even better. In part because of the poor upload quality here, and also because it’s difficult to see the finer details in these little images (the book itself is rather huge). It’s hard to decide which one I like better in terms of the artwork, this or The Electric State. They look very different, but still somehow familiar. There are some signature elements, that make both easily identifiable as Simon Stålenhag works. The Electric State shows a more modern world, which has fallen into a post-apocalyptic state. This here, on the other hand, has this beautiful rural landscape that meshes very well with the somewhat unpolished looking futuristic machinery. Both books look absolutely brilliant, and deserve nothing less than five stars for the art alone. I just can’t decide which one I like better.
Storywise, though, as I said before, I prefer The Electric State. And the story is also the reason why this here is more like a 4.5 stars for me. But there is a second book in the Loop universe, which of course I will also read. So we’ll see where this goes.
2023 buddy (re)read with Trish and Nataliya. Still loving it. And they quite liked it as well. :)
November 11, 2022
Stunning artwork and very realistic that at first glance, I thought were photographs. The story takes place in the Swedish countryside and follows a boy's life in the 80s where there are abandoned robots and machines everywhere. Prehistoric animals roaming the streets were strange, but why not. Feels a bit like Star Wars meets Jurassic World.
I'm just in awe, the author and artist Simon Stålenhag is so incredibly talented.
You can view the art on the author's website here. https://simonstalenhag.se/tftl.html
I'm just in awe, the author and artist Simon Stålenhag is so incredibly talented.
You can view the art on the author's website here. https://simonstalenhag.se/tftl.html
June 4, 2022
Extremely low-key but eerie and dark science fiction. So minimalist, and it makes us ask far more questions than we'll ever have answers to. It's an art book, mostly, but I got the biggest kick out of the text.
In actual fact, the tiny snippets of text are really short stories that seem to be a slice of coming-of-age-Sweedish life with a handful of experiences while growing up, but the matter-of-fact inclusions of electromagnetic floating machines, precisely balanced robotics, and an enormous super-collider beneath the island that keeps doing weird stuff like FOLDING SPACE AND TIME kinda makes this ominous as all hell.
But for those who grew up in the Eighties in the Loop, it was all pretty normal.
I could lose myself in this forever. I'm really surprised and pleased by this. There are SO many mysteries. :)
In actual fact, the tiny snippets of text are really short stories that seem to be a slice of coming-of-age-Sweedish life with a handful of experiences while growing up, but the matter-of-fact inclusions of electromagnetic floating machines, precisely balanced robotics, and an enormous super-collider beneath the island that keeps doing weird stuff like FOLDING SPACE AND TIME kinda makes this ominous as all hell.
But for those who grew up in the Eighties in the Loop, it was all pretty normal.
I could lose myself in this forever. I'm really surprised and pleased by this. There are SO many mysteries. :)
May 2, 2021
Absolutely phenomenal art work and vignettes attached to most of the paintings. It's sci-fi but feels whimsical (Which is something I personally normally associate with Fantasy). Looking at the art it feels like you're looking at a photograph. EG it's somehow believable, despite its fiction.
August 30, 2018
We walked in long lines through winter nights, and you could see little points of light go on and off in the darkness - cigarettes smoked by teenagers who had gathered around their wrecked memories, like a requiem.
We made our nights our days, squinted at the horizon, and sighed. Way over there, the morning dawned.
Tales from the Loop is absolutely extraordinary - the art is gorgeous, the writing is sparse but used to great effect, and the world Simon Stålenhag has built is inventive and sparks the imagination.
I don't quite know what genre this type of work is but I'm growing to love it - it's weird, alternative history, combined with bleak and often melancholy moods, told in a straightforward way as something completely matter of fact until the reader/listener/viewer starts to realise something just isn't quite right. It fits alongside Welcome to Night Vale, the Portero novels and SCP stories in those ways, while adding the quiet, snow-covered and empty calmness of Stand Still, Stay Silent. It's an odd little genre, but one that I'll keep searching for more of.
We made our nights our days, squinted at the horizon, and sighed. Way over there, the morning dawned.
Tales from the Loop is absolutely extraordinary - the art is gorgeous, the writing is sparse but used to great effect, and the world Simon Stålenhag has built is inventive and sparks the imagination.
I don't quite know what genre this type of work is but I'm growing to love it - it's weird, alternative history, combined with bleak and often melancholy moods, told in a straightforward way as something completely matter of fact until the reader/listener/viewer starts to realise something just isn't quite right. It fits alongside Welcome to Night Vale, the Portero novels and SCP stories in those ways, while adding the quiet, snow-covered and empty calmness of Stand Still, Stay Silent. It's an odd little genre, but one that I'll keep searching for more of.
April 19, 2020
The reason I started this book is that I heard great praise on the TV series, and I was curious what is based upon. And if it has one great asset, that is the atmosphere: alien, strange and eerie.
The book consists in a series of childhood memories, all of them revolving around the strange buildings, robots and different other equipments which were part of the Loop, the world's largest particle accelerator. There are a lot of drawings supporting the narrative, and these are great indeed. It will form an image in your head that will be hard to forget.
Other than that, there is no plot, no action, just recollection of various events which shaped the childhood of our narrator.
However, from bits and pieces and with the proper development, I can see why it was chosen for TV.
I’ll most certainly watch it at some point.
The book consists in a series of childhood memories, all of them revolving around the strange buildings, robots and different other equipments which were part of the Loop, the world's largest particle accelerator. There are a lot of drawings supporting the narrative, and these are great indeed. It will form an image in your head that will be hard to forget.
Other than that, there is no plot, no action, just recollection of various events which shaped the childhood of our narrator.
However, from bits and pieces and with the proper development, I can see why it was chosen for TV.
I’ll most certainly watch it at some point.
April 16, 2023
If a book starts as ominous as this, you can imagine the goodness that is to come:
In this narrative picturebook, the author / illustrator tells of how, in an alternative 1954 Sweden, the government constructed the world's largest particle accelerator - nicknamed The Loop. The construction was situated underground but obviously that didn't stop whatever happened, which meant that the stuff the scientists and engineers harbored down there got out at least partially. And some was definitely not meant to get out. Thus, at least some of the mysterious an ominous experiments became part of the landscape and people's everyday lives. Therefore, now (from the point of view of the book), it's the 1980s and we see machines standing around or hovering over places while we follow the author's retelling of his childhood.
Yep, there are animals as well and by animals, I mean that we get dinosaurs here! *whoops* (They got me more excited than the animal-machine hybrids even.)
The bit that sets this book apart is the fact that it's not one big story but several small tales that are connected via the overall arch. I quite liked this not only because it was a bit different, but also because it meant we could get several different POVs.
Mood-wise, this is very close to The Electric State, which I've already read in that it has a certain gravitas to it. It's eerie and even unsettling in many cases and that's kind of the author's signature style.
To think that this only got to exist thanks to a crowdfunding campaign!
All in all, I didn't like this quite as much as the last one I've read by the author, but it's still great and the art alone is worth it and almost without equal.
In this narrative picturebook, the author / illustrator tells of how, in an alternative 1954 Sweden, the government constructed the world's largest particle accelerator - nicknamed The Loop. The construction was situated underground but obviously that didn't stop whatever happened, which meant that the stuff the scientists and engineers harbored down there got out at least partially. And some was definitely not meant to get out. Thus, at least some of the mysterious an ominous experiments became part of the landscape and people's everyday lives. Therefore, now (from the point of view of the book), it's the 1980s and we see machines standing around or hovering over places while we follow the author's retelling of his childhood.
Yep, there are animals as well and by animals, I mean that we get dinosaurs here! *whoops* (They got me more excited than the animal-machine hybrids even.)
The bit that sets this book apart is the fact that it's not one big story but several small tales that are connected via the overall arch. I quite liked this not only because it was a bit different, but also because it meant we could get several different POVs.
Mood-wise, this is very close to The Electric State, which I've already read in that it has a certain gravitas to it. It's eerie and even unsettling in many cases and that's kind of the author's signature style.
To think that this only got to exist thanks to a crowdfunding campaign!
All in all, I didn't like this quite as much as the last one I've read by the author, but it's still great and the art alone is worth it and almost without equal.
July 28, 2021
A fantastic and fragmentary collection of snapshots and memories that form a unique exercise in world-building, leave room for the reader to imagine their own stories.
If you prefer more narrative (albeit sans text) The Electric State is also amazing.
If you prefer more narrative (albeit sans text) The Electric State is also amazing.
October 20, 2019
‘HIstorias del Bucle’ (Ur Varselklotet, 2015), del sueco Simon Stålenhag, nos traslada a una Suecia alternativa en la que el gobierno construyó el acelerador de partículas más grande del mundo. El acelerador subterráneo estuvo en activo entre 1969 y 1994, y con él empezaron a suceder rarezas relacionadas con el espacio-tiempo. El propio Simon nos narra sus recuerdos, a través de microrrelatos, como si realmente todo esto hubiese sucedido, con una cierta nostalgia ochentera. Pero el punto fuerte del libro son las ilustraciones, pinturas de corte realista absolutamente magníficas. Paisajes cotidianos con máquinas ultramodernas, maquinaria abandonada, dinosaurios, robots, etc., dotan al libro de una ambientación excelente.
January 23, 2023
3.5 Stars
This is incredibly hard to rate. The artwork is absolute perfection. The written vignettes are a little dry, with some more interesting than others. This is still worth looking at if only for the pictures.
This is incredibly hard to rate. The artwork is absolute perfection. The written vignettes are a little dry, with some more interesting than others. This is still worth looking at if only for the pictures.
August 24, 2023
Actually magnificent! A mesmerising journey into an alternative reality that is uniquely imaginative and beautiful. Who knew the Swedish 80s could be this haunting.
Tales from the Loop is hard to put into a category: it's not quite a graphic novel, not quite an art book and not quite a novel. The best I can describe it as it a visual adventure – fragmented texts and descriptions meet stunning, hyper-realistic paintings that take us to the childhood memories of an alternative version of the author, who recalls a time in Sweden that is similar to ours if it wasn't for these machines, robotic towers and creatures I'm not going to spoil for you.
A testimony to the power of atmosphere. It's fascinating, because there isn't really a plot – we learn that the government has built the "world's largest particle accelerator" on a small island close to Stockholm, but we only find out as much as the protagonist knows, which isn't much, considering he was still a child back then. So instead of a political intrigue, we get memories of kids playing, adventures young boys go on and sons bonding with their fathers.
The haunting effect is created by how close this is to what we know. The whole experience (and because the visuals are so stunning, this truly is an experience!) is so impactful due to the fact that the reality presented to is is reminiscent to our world: kids exploring the outsides isn't a big deal, but in here they're not climbing trees, but machines; hints at strange and potentially scary things going on right next to these innocent people's lives.
There's no way I'm not going to read everything Stålenhag has put out so far. I'm so glad there's more!
Tales from the Loop is hard to put into a category: it's not quite a graphic novel, not quite an art book and not quite a novel. The best I can describe it as it a visual adventure – fragmented texts and descriptions meet stunning, hyper-realistic paintings that take us to the childhood memories of an alternative version of the author, who recalls a time in Sweden that is similar to ours if it wasn't for these machines, robotic towers and creatures I'm not going to spoil for you.
A testimony to the power of atmosphere. It's fascinating, because there isn't really a plot – we learn that the government has built the "world's largest particle accelerator" on a small island close to Stockholm, but we only find out as much as the protagonist knows, which isn't much, considering he was still a child back then. So instead of a political intrigue, we get memories of kids playing, adventures young boys go on and sons bonding with their fathers.
The haunting effect is created by how close this is to what we know. The whole experience (and because the visuals are so stunning, this truly is an experience!) is so impactful due to the fact that the reality presented to is is reminiscent to our world: kids exploring the outsides isn't a big deal, but in here they're not climbing trees, but machines; hints at strange and potentially scary things going on right next to these innocent people's lives.
There's no way I'm not going to read everything Stålenhag has put out so far. I'm so glad there's more!
August 9, 2020
Hace un montón de años descubrí en tumblr el arte de un ilustrador sueco llamado Simon Stålenhag. Desde el primer momento me enamoró su estética: pintura realista de fantasía que mezclaba la ciencia ficción con el retrofuturismo, y que era capaz de crear mundos con una mitología absolutamente propia y reconocible en la que convivían humanos con apariencia ochentera, androides con sentimientos, maquinaria inventada con aspecto soviético... y dinosaurios.
Empecé a coleccionar todas las imágenes suyas que encontraba y hasta llegué a comprarme una impresión original de una de sus obras, que cuelga desde entonces en todas las habitaciones por las que he pasado. Pensé que se quedaría en alguien famoso en su país y popular en internet... pero ha dado un salto mortal y, de repente, los libros de sus ilustraciones se han editado en todo el mundo y hasta se ha hecho una serie inspirada en su universo, ‘Historias del bucle’ (en España en Prime Video).
Lo que hasta ahora habían sido para mí imágenes sueltas sin contexto (que yo interpretaba como la supervivencia del ser humano tras la invasión y huida de una raza alienígena) está ahora perfectamente ordenado y explicado. En este libro cada ilustración está acompañada de un pequeño texto que explica la historia de una generación de niños crecidos en un entorno escandinavo, en una zona antiguamente industrial en la que, durante años después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, se estuvo desarrollando una tecnología ficticia que experimentaba con la materia y con maquinaria innovadora. Estos niños ochenteros asisten al eclipse de un entramado empresarial al que su región se dedicó durante décadas y del que ellos sólo conocen su final y sus leyendas.
Me ha encantado poder bucear en profundidad, con detalle y con gran calidad en las ilustraciones de este artista. Y me ha encantado, también, entender qué significa para él cada elemento de ese mundo que yo había interpretado unidireccionalmente de una forma totalmente distinta.
(#HistoriasDelBucle de #SimonStålenhag: editado por #RocaEditorial en 2020 y traducido por #JuliaOsunaAguilar, #CitaALaTraductora).
Empecé a coleccionar todas las imágenes suyas que encontraba y hasta llegué a comprarme una impresión original de una de sus obras, que cuelga desde entonces en todas las habitaciones por las que he pasado. Pensé que se quedaría en alguien famoso en su país y popular en internet... pero ha dado un salto mortal y, de repente, los libros de sus ilustraciones se han editado en todo el mundo y hasta se ha hecho una serie inspirada en su universo, ‘Historias del bucle’ (en España en Prime Video).
Lo que hasta ahora habían sido para mí imágenes sueltas sin contexto (que yo interpretaba como la supervivencia del ser humano tras la invasión y huida de una raza alienígena) está ahora perfectamente ordenado y explicado. En este libro cada ilustración está acompañada de un pequeño texto que explica la historia de una generación de niños crecidos en un entorno escandinavo, en una zona antiguamente industrial en la que, durante años después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, se estuvo desarrollando una tecnología ficticia que experimentaba con la materia y con maquinaria innovadora. Estos niños ochenteros asisten al eclipse de un entramado empresarial al que su región se dedicó durante décadas y del que ellos sólo conocen su final y sus leyendas.
Me ha encantado poder bucear en profundidad, con detalle y con gran calidad en las ilustraciones de este artista. Y me ha encantado, también, entender qué significa para él cada elemento de ese mundo que yo había interpretado unidireccionalmente de una forma totalmente distinta.
(#HistoriasDelBucle de #SimonStålenhag: editado por #RocaEditorial en 2020 y traducido por #JuliaOsunaAguilar, #CitaALaTraductora).
March 16, 2025
Beautifully illustrated and hauntingly nostalgic for an alternative past: “fleeting memories from a time that never was.”
I read this as a large format hardback, and that’s really the only way to read it. Each turn of the page reveals another gorgeous illustration of an alternative version of 1970’s Sweden around the islands of Mälaröarna. This is a landscape littered with the remains of hi tech machinery related to “The Loop” - a massive underground particle accelerator that has long since been decommissioned. The illustrations are interspersed with diary snippets of what it was like as a child growing up in that area.
There’s no plot. Just a slow burn of captivating pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that gradually grow into a wonderful sense of time and place.
I read this as a large format hardback, and that’s really the only way to read it. Each turn of the page reveals another gorgeous illustration of an alternative version of 1970’s Sweden around the islands of Mälaröarna. This is a landscape littered with the remains of hi tech machinery related to “The Loop” - a massive underground particle accelerator that has long since been decommissioned. The illustrations are interspersed with diary snippets of what it was like as a child growing up in that area.
There’s no plot. Just a slow burn of captivating pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that gradually grow into a wonderful sense of time and place.
April 12, 2021
Hikayesinden çok çizimleri ile ön plana çıkan oldukça ilginç bir deneyimdi Döngü'den Hikayeler.
Stranger Thingsvari ortamı elbette ki 40'ına merdiven dayamış olanlar için keyifli bir nostalji. Yer adlarını okumak ve takip etmek zor ancak her biri IKEA mobilyası olabilecek nitelikte. Okuyan herkesin malumu resimler inanılmaz güzel. Her birini ayrı ayrı duvar kağıdı yapsam diye düşünüyorsunuz. Kasabanın köhneliği ile teknolojinin oluşturduğu kontrast çok net. Horizon Zero Dawn gibi epik bir ortam. Hele hava kararmadan hemen öncesi ışığı resimlere nasıl güzel yansıtmış anlatamam.
Ancak hoşuma gitmeyen tarafı hikayede bir süreklilik yok. Daha doğrusu hikaye yok. İki sayfanın dörtte üçünü kapsayan bir görsel ve yanında onunla ilgili bir paragraf yazı. Açıkçası eserin edebi hiçbir değeri yok. Bilgisayar ve playstation oyunu oynayanlar bilir her oyunda ilk eskizlerin, karakter denemelerinin, ortamların ve yerlerin olduğu "artwork" adında bir bölüm bulunur. Sanki bu kitap bir filmin veya oyunun "artwork" kitabı gibi.
O kadar kitap okurum, ilk kez Döngü'den Hikayelerin kapağını kapattığım zaman şunu düşündüm. Sanki bu kitap okuyucuların keyif alması için değil de okuyucular yazarın yeteneğini takdir etsin diye basılmış gibi.
Her ne kadar standart olmayan boyutlarda kitaplardan hiç hoşlanmasam da bu seri için aksi düşünülemezdi. Kayıp değildi ancak kazanımdı da diyemem.
Herkese keyifli okumalar!
Stranger Thingsvari ortamı elbette ki 40'ına merdiven dayamış olanlar için keyifli bir nostalji. Yer adlarını okumak ve takip etmek zor ancak her biri IKEA mobilyası olabilecek nitelikte. Okuyan herkesin malumu resimler inanılmaz güzel. Her birini ayrı ayrı duvar kağıdı yapsam diye düşünüyorsunuz. Kasabanın köhneliği ile teknolojinin oluşturduğu kontrast çok net. Horizon Zero Dawn gibi epik bir ortam. Hele hava kararmadan hemen öncesi ışığı resimlere nasıl güzel yansıtmış anlatamam.
Ancak hoşuma gitmeyen tarafı hikayede bir süreklilik yok. Daha doğrusu hikaye yok. İki sayfanın dörtte üçünü kapsayan bir görsel ve yanında onunla ilgili bir paragraf yazı. Açıkçası eserin edebi hiçbir değeri yok. Bilgisayar ve playstation oyunu oynayanlar bilir her oyunda ilk eskizlerin, karakter denemelerinin, ortamların ve yerlerin olduğu "artwork" adında bir bölüm bulunur. Sanki bu kitap bir filmin veya oyunun "artwork" kitabı gibi.
O kadar kitap okurum, ilk kez Döngü'den Hikayelerin kapağını kapattığım zaman şunu düşündüm. Sanki bu kitap okuyucuların keyif alması için değil de okuyucular yazarın yeteneğini takdir etsin diye basılmış gibi.
Her ne kadar standart olmayan boyutlarda kitaplardan hiç hoşlanmasam da bu seri için aksi düşünülemezdi. Kayıp değildi ancak kazanımdı da diyemem.
Herkese keyifli okumalar!
January 3, 2019
Okay I will admit there was a small part of me that bought this book just to annoy my brother. Petty I know but anyone who has an older brother or sister will agree with there are times it just has to be done.
You see he has been raving about the art of Simon Stalenhag for years now - sending me screen shots and hyperlinks going on about his unique vision and style. However his printed work is rather limited and when you do find it, its rather expensive.
So yes I found a copy of this book and I most certainly bought it. However I was amazed at the art work (my brother is no fool and certainly has a great eye). Not only that but there is a sort of story that goes with the images - more of a series of memories which were documented but still it gave a sense of realism to some quite unique and bizarre images.
The question is now how long will it take me to find a decent priced edition of its sequel as I will admit its rather an intriguing and fascinating book and it would appear this next volume picks up where this one left off.
You see he has been raving about the art of Simon Stalenhag for years now - sending me screen shots and hyperlinks going on about his unique vision and style. However his printed work is rather limited and when you do find it, its rather expensive.
So yes I found a copy of this book and I most certainly bought it. However I was amazed at the art work (my brother is no fool and certainly has a great eye). Not only that but there is a sort of story that goes with the images - more of a series of memories which were documented but still it gave a sense of realism to some quite unique and bizarre images.
The question is now how long will it take me to find a decent priced edition of its sequel as I will admit its rather an intriguing and fascinating book and it would appear this next volume picks up where this one left off.
September 25, 2019
La Fotoreseña completa en http://inthenevernever.blogspot.com/2...
July 10, 2020
Nagyon ritkán fordul elő velem, hogy a feldolgozást előbb látom, mint az eredeti művet, de a Tales from the Loop esetében ez így történt. És milyen jó, hogy így történt! A sorozat nagyon jó, ami azt illeti, jobb, mint a könyv.
A sorozat nagy erőssége a laza, de összefüggő történetek egymásutánisága. A könyvben ez igazából nincsen meg. Kísérletek vannak rá, de látszik, hogy első kötet. Inkább hasonlít egy robot- és kütyüadatbázishoz (ezen a ponton életem párja igen jól mulatott rajtam), mint az ezeken alapuló, ezekhez kapcsolódó történetekhez, ahol a fókusz a történetre helyeződik át inkább - ahogy ez a sorozat esetében történt.
Stålenhag-nak elképesztően erős hangulatú képei vannak, azt hiszem, az is könnyedén tud azonosulni velük, aki a posztindusztriális kor szülötte (bár nem tudom, ez milyen mértékben alkalmazható Kelet-Európára). Elég lehántani a rajzairól a robotokat és máris könnyedén megkapható az a lepusztult ipari környezet, ami pl. a volt szovjet blokk országait jellemezte, azaz sokszor még most is jellemzi. Sajnos ehhez a legtöbb esetben nem társul egy Mälaren-tó szigetekkel, sem skandináv táj fenyőkkel, de az ilyen akadályokon az ember könnyedén átlendül, pláne akkor, ha aktivizálni tudja gyermeki énjét. Rajzaiban, tájaiban könnyű elmerülni, azonosulni velük, a hangulatuk magával ragadó, a képei élnek, olyan szinten, hogy az ember hallja a hó ropogását a talpa alatt és érzi a szelet a hajában.
A sorozat az alaptörténeten túl tényleg csak érintőlegesen táplálkozott a könyvből, felismerhető itt egy motívum, ott egy robot, merítettek a Things from the Floodból is. Amit teljes egészében átvettek - szerencsére, jegyezném meg -, az Stålenhag képi világa, amit lenyűgöző hűséggel reprodukáltak. Ez a lebilincselő képi világ az, ami vonzóvá teszi Stålenhag könyveit, és többször-megnézőssé a sorozatot, amely sorozat egyébként kötelező a Stålenhag-rajongóknak.
A könyv formátumának egészen radikális csökkentése a magyar kiadásnál nem kedvezett az összhatásnak, kár volt, még akkor is, ha értem az ehhez vezető anyagi megfontolásokat.
A sorozat nagy erőssége a laza, de összefüggő történetek egymásutánisága. A könyvben ez igazából nincsen meg. Kísérletek vannak rá, de látszik, hogy első kötet. Inkább hasonlít egy robot- és kütyüadatbázishoz (ezen a ponton életem párja igen jól mulatott rajtam), mint az ezeken alapuló, ezekhez kapcsolódó történetekhez, ahol a fókusz a történetre helyeződik át inkább - ahogy ez a sorozat esetében történt.
Stålenhag-nak elképesztően erős hangulatú képei vannak, azt hiszem, az is könnyedén tud azonosulni velük, aki a posztindusztriális kor szülötte (bár nem tudom, ez milyen mértékben alkalmazható Kelet-Európára). Elég lehántani a rajzairól a robotokat és máris könnyedén megkapható az a lepusztult ipari környezet, ami pl. a volt szovjet blokk országait jellemezte, azaz sokszor még most is jellemzi. Sajnos ehhez a legtöbb esetben nem társul egy Mälaren-tó szigetekkel, sem skandináv táj fenyőkkel, de az ilyen akadályokon az ember könnyedén átlendül, pláne akkor, ha aktivizálni tudja gyermeki énjét. Rajzaiban, tájaiban könnyű elmerülni, azonosulni velük, a hangulatuk magával ragadó, a képei élnek, olyan szinten, hogy az ember hallja a hó ropogását a talpa alatt és érzi a szelet a hajában.
A sorozat az alaptörténeten túl tényleg csak érintőlegesen táplálkozott a könyvből, felismerhető itt egy motívum, ott egy robot, merítettek a Things from the Floodból is. Amit teljes egészében átvettek - szerencsére, jegyezném meg -, az Stålenhag képi világa, amit lenyűgöző hűséggel reprodukáltak. Ez a lebilincselő képi világ az, ami vonzóvá teszi Stålenhag könyveit, és többször-megnézőssé a sorozatot, amely sorozat egyébként kötelező a Stålenhag-rajongóknak.
A könyv formátumának egészen radikális csökkentése a magyar kiadásnál nem kedvezett az összhatásnak, kár volt, még akkor is, ha értem az ehhez vezető anyagi megfontolásokat.
July 1, 2021
In Simon Stålenhag’s world the Facility for Research in High-Energy Physics was a particle accelerator, a 25km ring constructed under the Swedish countryside by their national Riksenergi agency during the 1960s, and operational until the project was terminated in the mid-90s. Its nickname, among the people who lived in the villages and isolated farmhouses above it, was ‘the Loop’ and this book—a series of paintings, linked by text—is a look back at Stålenhag’s own childhood growing up in Mälaröarna in the 1980s. Except, of course, that this is fiction and none of it really happened.
The effect of these pictures, though, is extraordinary: simultaneously futuristic and nostalgic. The local children spend their days among rusting machines abandoned in fields, pools of oily water, discarded androids. Beyond, gigantic constructions loom up out of the mist. The artwork itself is superb, from whole landscapes-with-cooling-towers, to snowflakes falling through a beam of light from one of the walking machines. These are like real memories of anybody’s childhood—not a ‘story’, not a narrative, but more a collection of random, fleeting, images which give a general overall impression of how things were.
In fact, that’s what I liked most about Tales from the Loop—and, for me, helped make it so realistic—precisely that it isn’t a conventional narrative, but a very different way of doing fiction which leaves you to join up the dots for yourself (the so-called ‘dinosaur sightings’ for instance: there’s a huge clue that these aren’t at all what they seem). A wonderful book.
The effect of these pictures, though, is extraordinary: simultaneously futuristic and nostalgic. The local children spend their days among rusting machines abandoned in fields, pools of oily water, discarded androids. Beyond, gigantic constructions loom up out of the mist. The artwork itself is superb, from whole landscapes-with-cooling-towers, to snowflakes falling through a beam of light from one of the walking machines. These are like real memories of anybody’s childhood—not a ‘story’, not a narrative, but more a collection of random, fleeting, images which give a general overall impression of how things were.
In fact, that’s what I liked most about Tales from the Loop—and, for me, helped make it so realistic—precisely that it isn’t a conventional narrative, but a very different way of doing fiction which leaves you to join up the dots for yourself (the so-called ‘dinosaur sightings’ for instance: there’s a huge clue that these aren’t at all what they seem). A wonderful book.
February 8, 2016
Simon Stålenhag never grew up. He kept his imagination and creativity from his childhood and created these beautiful and mysterious paintings about retro-futuristic Swedish landscapes. How about that for a niche? His paintings are collected in this book and have a short narrative which explains just as much as it fills you with new mystery. The book really takes you into Simon’s fantasy world and leaves you wishing you never grew up as well. This book is well worth the price and deserves a nice and clear place in your bookshelves so it’s always in sight.
February 8, 2021
Çok beğendim.
Çizimler muhteşemdi, bilimkurgu temalı sanatsal çizimleri çok seviyorum. Hikaye ve çizimler bana Andrei Tarkovsky'nin Stalker filmini anımsattı. Hikaye ve çizimler birbirlerini tamamlayarak bir eser ortaya çıkarmışlar.
Çizimler muhteşemdi, bilimkurgu temalı sanatsal çizimleri çok seviyorum. Hikaye ve çizimler bana Andrei Tarkovsky'nin Stalker filmini anımsattı. Hikaye ve çizimler birbirlerini tamamlayarak bir eser ortaya çıkarmışlar.
June 30, 2026
Die Kombination aus still daliegenden, nordischen Landschaften und Retro-Science-Fiction-Elementen trifft bei Vielen, mir eingeschlossen, einen Nerv. Die Illustrationen in Tales from the Loop sind extrem gut, wenn auch sehr unterschiedlich und nicht durchgehend die mystische Stimmung von The Electric State erzeugend. Es findet viel Worldbuilding statt, gibt jedoch keine konkrete Handlung, sondern einen Rückblick auf fiktive Kindheitserinnerungen. Das ist nicht schlecht, hat mich aber nicht gefesselt. Man bekommt weiterhin Lust auf mehr Simon Stålenhag, ich würde aber für alle, die sich ihm das erste mal widmen wollen, eindeutig The Electric State empfehlen.
We walked in long lines through winter nights, and you could see little points of light go on and off in the darkness—cigarettes smoked by teenagers who had gathered around their wrecked memories, like a requiem. (S. 125)
May 22, 2025
I dig everything about Stålenhag's art. Realistic settings plus something weird on every page. They draw you inside their imaginary existence. Innocence facing the mechanically uncanny. Mundanity juxtaposed with the extraordinary.
Recommended for fans of sci-fi art, fans of Shaun Tan, and maybe even fans of Salvador Dalí. In other words, i think you'll ingest more with your picturebrain than with your wordbrain.
The Cybernetic Bison Boar [Stålenhag, p.106]
Look at p.122 of this book and tell me if you're not reminded of this painting by Dalí, ie, "The Weaning of Furniture Nutrition"*
Look at the books tab on Shaun Tan's website and message me if you don't see similarities in Stålenhag's style.
*I'm just now finding out that Dalí was pro-fascist and pro-Hitler and pro-Nazi?! ... ... ... fuck!
If Stålenhag and/or Tan are also fascist fuckheads, please let me know.
Recommended for fans of sci-fi art, fans of Shaun Tan, and maybe even fans of Salvador Dalí. In other words, i think you'll ingest more with your picturebrain than with your wordbrain.
The Cybernetic Bison Boar [Stålenhag, p.106]
Look at p.122 of this book and tell me if you're not reminded of this painting by Dalí, ie, "The Weaning of Furniture Nutrition"*
Look at the books tab on Shaun Tan's website and message me if you don't see similarities in Stålenhag's style.
*I'm just now finding out that Dalí was pro-fascist and pro-Hitler and pro-Nazi?! ... ... ... fuck!
If Stålenhag and/or Tan are also fascist fuckheads, please let me know.
January 5, 2020
Para los fascinados por La Zona, tal y como nos la imagináramos mientras leíamos Picnic junto al camino o la rodara Tarkovski en Stalker, es inevitable sucumbir ante las ilustraciones de Stålenhag; esa mezcla entre cotidianidad y tecnología avant la lettre, a veces desde una óptica maravillosa, donde lo extraordinario fuera ordinario, y otras desde una perspectiva decadente, como si nuestro capitalismo postindustrial hubiera sesgado el potencial de un futuro que estaba ahí pero ya no será. Robots irrumpiendo en la plácida vida de los suburbios, inmensas torres de refrigeración rompiendo la línea del horizonte, máquinas de levitación magnética mezclados con dinosaurios que han penetrado en nuestro presente, androides abandonados en vertederos y esferas metálicas oxidándose bajo los pasos elevados de una autopista.
Este libro hace honor a lo que había visto por internet y, sin duda, es un disfrute para quien desee tener la secuencia artística completa. No puedo decir lo mismo de los textos de acompañamiento, amagos de historias que apenas proporcionan a las imágenes un contexto un tanto pueril y castrador. El potencial evocador de las ilustraciones era tan fuerte que, me temo, el Stålenhag escritor no está a la altura. Quizás en otras manos más experimentadas esos microrrelatos de acompañamiento podrían haber sumado. Sin embargo, en la mayor parte de los casos restan. Aunque siempre cabe pasar de ellos.
Este libro hace honor a lo que había visto por internet y, sin duda, es un disfrute para quien desee tener la secuencia artística completa. No puedo decir lo mismo de los textos de acompañamiento, amagos de historias que apenas proporcionan a las imágenes un contexto un tanto pueril y castrador. El potencial evocador de las ilustraciones era tan fuerte que, me temo, el Stålenhag escritor no está a la altura. Quizás en otras manos más experimentadas esos microrrelatos de acompañamiento podrían haber sumado. Sin embargo, en la mayor parte de los casos restan. Aunque siempre cabe pasar de ellos.
October 4, 2019
4.5/5
Que suerte tenemos que Roca se haya atrevido a publicar historias del bucle. A medio camino entre artbook y una especie de colección de relatos, el libro funciona con un equilibrio precioso. Los relatos más que relatos en si, son pequeñas narraciones que nos describen sucesos o ambientes del Bucle, el hecho de ir acompañados de preciosas ilustraciones solo hace que crear una atmósfera aún más rica.
Se nota que el autor ha trabajado mucho en el lore de la historia, y parece hasta casi real.
Que suerte tenemos que Roca se haya atrevido a publicar historias del bucle. A medio camino entre artbook y una especie de colección de relatos, el libro funciona con un equilibrio precioso. Los relatos más que relatos en si, son pequeñas narraciones que nos describen sucesos o ambientes del Bucle, el hecho de ir acompañados de preciosas ilustraciones solo hace que crear una atmósfera aún más rica.
Se nota que el autor ha trabajado mucho en el lore de la historia, y parece hasta casi real.
October 1, 2020
Очень грустно(
October 1, 2023
Una excelente colección de dibujos de lo que podríamos llamar "cyberpunk rural": escenas de campos suecos donde pasean robots o donde graneros se combinan con estructuras metálicas de uso incierto.
No esperéis historias elaboradas como las de la serie de televisión, aquí los textos no son más que pequeñas escenas "cotidianas" que sirven de excusa para las ilustraciones.
No esperéis historias elaboradas como las de la serie de televisión, aquí los textos no son más que pequeñas escenas "cotidianas" que sirven de excusa para las ilustraciones.
September 29, 2019
Como album ilustrado, es una maravilla. Aunque me habría gustado más que fuera una historia seguida, la forma de contar las pequeñas anécdotas hace que le de un aire de realismo que me ha encantado. Y por supuesto, las ilustraciones son de 10 <3
March 31, 2023
Amazing and haunting. This is an art book that I would consider sci if. A collection of paintings by the author with a story to go with them. It is a memoir of a fictional childhood in Sweden in a town with decrepit machines everywhere and a huge underground science facility. The paintings are both beautiful and melancholy. There is a tv series that was made based on the book and it is great too.
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