Solarium – Braden Matthew – Book Launch

Join us for the release of ‘Solarium’ by Braden Matthew!

Tickets £2, attendance free with a purchase of the book, complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be served on arrival and copies of ‘Solarium’ will be available for purchase and signing throughout the evening.

Bib is a mute, antisocial philosophy student with a compulsive addiction to reading. Hiding from society in an underground apartment, Bib scribbles in a journal his bizarre dreams that happen to coincide with the sudden disappearance of those around him. Gradually, Bib is forced out of his underworld to investigate an absent civilization, one where only the poor and social outcasts run free, where the city has reverted to an anarchic state of nature. 

The world, as Bib discovers, has drastically changed. Feeds Mobs, a corporate tycoon and avant-garde scientist, has designed a device— “The Human Theatre”—that links human minds to endless channels of desire. After the device goes public, millions of people become entranced, unable to “unplug” and return to the world of reality. Books are no longer read, transportation halts, businesses close, borders shut, the world falls into a deep sleep. Within The Human Theatre, a single channel entitled “Bibliophile” is forced upon young viewers, teaching them to think of reading as a psychological disorder. In response, a seditious group of literary minds named the Society of Bibliophiles (the S.O.B.) begin spreading an illegal novel through the country, rewriting the channel to revolt against what they see as dangerous propaganda. 

The world of Solarium depicts a degenerative society, with themes dealing explicitly with racial guilt, sexuality, and trauma. As Bib seeks to understand his condition, he looks to the past. While on the surface, Solarium depicts a story about a passive and manic academic, lying beneath is a passionate confession of shame, guilt, and desire.