As the Holiday season approaches, we’re bringing back our Geek Pick of the Week. Each week leading up to Christmas, we’ll be highlighting a cool product we’ve found that we feel would be the perfect gift for geeks of all kinds. Use these to help fill in your own wish list or find the perfect gift for the nerds in your life.
Stranger Things is a big deal in our household. My girlfriend and I both love it and were glued to both seasons, and my stepdaughter has taken to it on an entirely different level. If you know how much I love Star Wars, that’s roughly akin to how much Stranger Things has affected her. As such, we’re always excited to learn more about the show and when Del Rey sent their new book (the first of many in partnership with one another), we dove into it quickly.
Partly a coffee table style book, filled with stunning art and behind the scenes photos, Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down provides a surprising amount of information on the show and all involved. This, truly, presents itself as the ultimate companion book to the series. Just from its cover, meant to look worn and evoke the feeling of those old school library books from days gone by, you can tell they went all out for this thing.
Inside, you’re given details on just about everything you could want. From concept art, to comprehensive guides to the show’s various influences (often with side-by-side pictures), and breakdowns on how the Duffer Brothers brought the show to life…it has just about everything you need. It also details alternate storylines, things that could have been (like Eleven and Steve were both originally going to die in Season 1), and gives insight into how the story has evolved over time. In this way the book makes for an engaging, and informative, read if you want to sit down and start from the beginning. The “coffee table” element to it also makes it easy to pick up, flip to random pages, and find something worthwhile.
Best of all, it has neat surprises hidden throughout for fans to discover. An obvious one is how the cover of the book can be flipped over and you have Will’s drawing of the Mind-Flayer monster on the back of it (poster style). Another fun thing, is a Morse Code decoder is included on the back, a replica of the one Eleven uses with Hopper in Season 2. Look closely, and throughout the book you’ll find Morse Code hidden on the pages. When decoded, these secret messages offer up hints/teases of stuff from next year’s Season 3. For fans who are used to diving deep into the show and looking for clues everywhere, it’s a fun addition that elevates this book beyond what could have been a simple cash grab.
If you are, or know, a Stranger Things fan this should fall pretty high on your shopping list for Christmas. I loved going through it, when I could pry it away from my stepdaughter, and know I’ll be getting plenty of use out of it until the next season finally arrives.
Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down is available now from major retailers and online.
-Jordan
