Stranger Things prequel novel to tell story of Eleven’s mother
The world of Stranger Things is about to get bigger.
Starting this Fall, Penguin Random House will begin publishing a number of titles related to the Duffer Brothers’ Netflix hit. One is a behind-the-scenes companion novel called Stranger Things: World Turned Upside Down: The Official Behind-The-Scenes Companion, another is a as-yet-titled advice book for young readers, and the third is a prequel novel by author Gwenda Bond that will detail what happened to Eleven’s mother.
If you recall, Eleven’s mother enrolled in the MKUltra program, which eventually left her lobotomized and forced to hang out in some creepy void that’s in no way influenced by 2014’s Under the Skin. At the time, fans of Stephen King pointed out the story’s direct parallels to his iconic 1980 novel, Firestarter, namely how the Hawkins Laboratory is more or less the same place as that book’s government facility, eerily dubbed The Shop.
It’ll be interesting to see how Bond tackles the story and makes it her own. Part of the appeal of Stranger Things is how the series is mostly a pop culture scrapbook of past echoes and motifs that seemingly co-exist in this happy marriage that blurs the line between homage and robbery. So, stripped of its aesthetics could prove either disastrous or remarkably intriguing. Let’s hope for the latter.
With this book set to be published next Spring, one has to imagine it’s being tied to the release of the highly anticipated third season. As previously reported, we sadly won’t be cruising around the Midwest with Jonathan come this October, which means first quarter of 2019 is becoming more and more of a reality. Ahem, this writer predicts it’ll be a post-Super Bowl release, but who knows.
While on the topic, could we get a Steve Goes to College book, too?
