Q:

What's the Title of that Novel Where an Alien Monolith Makes the Earth Lose Electricity?

Primarily asking this question because of that new TV show "Revolution". I remember reading this novel back in the 80's about a mysterious monolith that renders all electronics in the world inoperable. The novel never explains where the monolith came from, only how civilization adjusted.

A:

Perhaps it might have been Fade-Out by Patrick Tilley?

Alien Day
The date was Friday, the third of August. For some people the day was just beginning. For others it was the end of another perfectly normal day. Then right across the world every ground and airborne radar screen went haywire
This time it had really happened. An alien spacecraft was in orbit around planet Earth. And nine weeks later civilization was on the edge of a total breakdown more devastating than any nuclear war or natural disaster

This is a mildly unlikely match because the effect of the alien arrival is to disrupt all radio communication (thus the title, Fade-Out, referring to a radio communication concept) rather than to disable all electricity.

