‘Mr. Robot’ Book: Sam Esmail Offers A Glimpse Inside ‘Red Wheelbarrow’

Mr. Robot Season 3 will release sometime in 2017, but Mr. Robot: Red Wheelbarrow hits shelves Nov. 1. The book recounts Elliot’s time behind bars by way of his journal, which Hot Carla burned in the prison yard halfway through Mr. Robot Season 2. Written by Courtney Looney and Sam Esmail, the narrative will certainly contain some potential clues and spoilers for Mr. Robot Season 3. Red Wheelbarrow will also delve deeper into the relationships Elliot made in prison, with Hot Carla and Leon in particular.

During the Mr. Robot panel at New York Comic Con, Sam Esmail revealed a few tidbits about what to expect inside Red Wheelbarrow. The journal is written in Rami Malek’s handwriting. Eve Lindley (who plays Hot Carla) will be the voice of the audiobook. The Hollywood Reporter ’s Josh Wigler, who moderated the panel, also described some of the illustrations as NSFW and revealed there are treats physically hidden inside the book -- such as envelopes and a postcard -- though Esmail refused to elaborate on their importance.

Esmail also brought a teaser to the panel, an excerpt from Red Wheelbarrow read by Rami Malek and Christian Slater. We can’t release the audio, but here’s what we heard transcribed below.

Elliot: I woke up in a panic. The way you do when you think you’ve forgotten to do something. What I realize when I look back here is that I didn't forget to do anything at all. He went out and did something. As usual, he left me a treat you can see I've circled. Its Tolstoy from ‘Resurrection.’ Its one of his favorites and he checked out an old ratty looking copy out from the library at some point last night. Thought I’d flip through it just to check it out. I noticed a couple pages were torn out. Not sure what that's about. Or if it was even his doing. But I don't see them anywhere around here. So I guess they're gone. I asked him what he’s up to. Not that I believed I’d get an answer out of him. At first he tried to act like he had no idea what I was talking about. He loves to play the innocent card for kicks. Then he just said he needed to stretch his legs, and that I can't keep him cooped up like this. There was a whole spiel about animals being kept in captivity. He launched into a long story about...

Mr. Robot : If someone's going to tell the story. I'm going to be the one. You see, Gus was a polar bear locked up at Central Park Zoo. It drove him nutzo and he would swim figure eights in his tiny pool for hours. They called him the bi-polar bear. You know what they gave him to pacify his god-given desire to live as his natural self? Prozac! All im saying is I feel Gus’ pain right now. And this guy just wants to waste away in here, looping figure eights for 18 months. That's all that's going to be accomplished by being stuck in here. And there's other work to be done! We have more value than he’s ever willing to see and that makes me sad. Not as sad as that masturbating walrus. Another poor bastard that's locked away in the zoo is a walrus who just masturbated for hours on end because of his captivity. If Elliot doesn't watch out…we're going to end up...

Elliot : Okay I don't have any fear that is my fate, and even if it is I still won't be hurting anyone else. Clearly he's holding out on me right? You think so too don't you? I don't know what it is, but he has an agenda. And whatever I’m doing is keeping him from it. So that's good. I just don't know if he's found a way around me. What is he doing when he steals my time? Jesus. Read that over. “When he steals my time” These are the ramblings of a psychotic person. I can't believe this is where I am. Why can't I get through this mental block? If he knows it, I know it, somewhere. There is something in this scribbling it's right there in front of me but Idon't know the code, right? Or do you think should just ignore it? Not let him get into my head like this. Fuck. there's no [intelligible] in here, is there?

The Hollywood Reporter also got their hands on the inside cover of Red Wheelbarrow. The first thing you see is a note from Hot Carla, suggesting she and Elliot were better friends than what was shown in the series. “Not everyone will be able to understand him, but everyone should know him. Everyone should know about the person who has changed the world forever.” Does this mean Elliot told Hot Carla about fsociety?

If so, we should find out a lot more about fsociety’s true plans in Red Wheelbarrow. Sam Esmail describes the book as “Elliot unfiltered” and co-writer Courtney Looney reveals Elliot actually comes right out and tells readers that he didn’t tell the whole truth in the series.

“Obviously it’s linked to the show, but not necessarily one requires the other,” Esmail explained at the NYCC panel. “There will be stuff in there that will matter. Will you need to read it in order to understand everything? The simple answer would be yes, but understanding everything will never probably happen.”

Hopefully, Red Wheelbarrow will at least depict a more honest side of Elliot so we have a better idea of what’s actually going on inside his head in Mr. Robot Season 3.

See the rest of the inside cover here. Red Wheelbarrow hits shelves Nov. 1.