Stranger Things fans don’t have to stop at the TV series. There are also several official books published by Penguin Random House that chronicle the lives of the characters — before and during the Stranger Things plotline.
Entertainment Weekly just revealed the cover of the newest edition: Flight of Icarus by Caitlin Schneiderhan.
The synopsis from the publisher reads:
Hawkins, Indiana — for most, it’s simply another idyllic, manicured all-American town. But for Eddie Munson it’s like living in a perpetual Tomb of Horrors. Luckily, he only has a few more months to survive at Hawkins High. And what is senior year, really, but just killing time between Dungeons & Dragons sessions with the Hellfire Club and gigs with his band?
It’s at the worst dive bar in town that Eddie meets Paige, someone who has pulled off a freaking miracle. She escaped Hawkins and built a wickedly cool life for herself working for a record producer out in Los Angeles. Not only is she the definition of a badass — with a killer taste in music — she might be the only person that actually appreciates him as the bard he is instead of the devil incarnate. But the best thing? She’s offering a chance for him to make something of himself, and all he needs is to get her a demo tape of Corroded Coffin’s best songs.
Just one problem: Recording costs money. Money Eddie doesn’t have. But he’s willing to do whatever it takes: even if that means relying on his old man, Al Munson. His dad just stumbled back into his life, with another dubious scheme up his sleeve, and yet Eddie knows this is his only option to make enough dough in enough time. It’s a risk, but if it pays off he will finally have a one-way ticket out of Hawkins.
Eddie can feel it: 1984 is going to be his year.
–Penguin Random House
Stranger Things‘ fourth season (when we meet and then say goodbye to Eddie) took place in 1986, so the story takes place two years before the confrontation with Vecna in the Upside-Down and at the Creel home.
Eddie Munson fans are some of the biggest fans in the fandom, so it’s no surprise that Penguin Random House and the Stranger Things franchise decided Eddie was the best character to explore next.
Other Official Stranger Things Books
There are several other books available for fans of the show who want to know more about the characters’ backstories.
- World Turned Upside-Down, a series companion book
- Suspicious Minds by Gwenda Bond, about Eleven’s mother
- Darkness on the Edge of Town by Adam Christopher, a book about Hopper’s life as a NYC cop
- Lucas on the Line by Suyi Davies Okungbowa, a YA novel about Lucas Sinclair
- Rebel Robin by A.K. Capetta, a YA novel about Robin
- Runaway Max by Brenna Yovanoff, a YA novel about Max’s life before Hawkins
So far, the two highest-reviewed books are Rebel Robin (which has an impressive 4.15 out of 5 on Good Reads, averaged from nearly 3,000 ratings) and Lucas on the Line (which has 4.24 stars and 578 ratings).
