by Marcus Sakey
A gust of wind kicked up. They both gripped 2 x 4s as the tree swayed. He loved the feeling, the gentle rock, the shush of the leaves, the way the breeze tingled on his skin. It always made him grin. When he looked at her, he was surprised to see she was smiling too, not seeming scared at all.
“Honey?” It was the mom from across the street, standing on the porch with her hands cupped around her mouth. “Where are you?”
“Oops,” the girl said. “Gotta go.” She lowered herself to the next branch, then hung from it and dropped five or six feet to the ground. “Coming!” She started across the lawn.
“Hey,” he said. “Wait.”
She turned.
“What’s your name?”
The girl smiled, revealing her braces. “Claire. What’s yours?”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This one was a beast.
In one form or another, in napkin scraps and dream fragments, I’ve been haunted by Afterlife for almost a decade. It has changed shape a thousand times, spent months hiding from me only to tug at my shirttails when I tried to turn away. Without a lot of talented help, this book would not exist, and I am deeply grateful to all who lent a hand.
Very few agents get down in the mud and help wrestle an idea, but Shane Salerno did, starting with naming the damn thing before I’d written a word. Thanks for the passion, the support, and the tireless acumen, brother—chess, not checkers. Thanks also to Jon Cassir and Matt Snyder of CAA; a tougher trifecta you’d be hard pressed to find.
My editor Alison Dasho is also my friend Alison Dasho, and it’s honestly hard to say for which I’m more delighted. She’s been a guiding voice in my work for eight books, and I hope will be for all to come. Love you, FF.
The entire team at Thomas and Mercer is exceptional, and it’s a privilege to publish with them. Special thanks to Jeff Belle, Mikyla Bruder, Gracie Doyle, Jacque Ben-Zekry, Laura Costantino, Shasti O’Leary Soudant, Oisin O’Malley, Chrissy Wiley, Laura Barrett, Gabrielle Guarnero, and Sarah Shaw.
Over last-second weekends and hours-long phone calls, through the days good and bad, via decadent dinners and inadvisable bar tabs, my friends Sean Chercover and Blake Crouch have had my back every minute. Perhaps someday one of them will write something worth reading.
Thanks to Michael Cook for terrific notes and much needed distraction and especially for being Uncle Michael.
Librarians and booksellers and teachers everywhere—you’re undersung heroes in the only war that matters. Keep fighting.
Thanks to my mother and father and brother, for loving me so completely, and for raising me to believe that both stories and people matter.
My wife G.G. is my person and my partner, my luck and my love. For you baby. Twenty years is just the start of always.
Jossie, daughter and fellow dreamer, when you’re old enough to read this book, I hope you don’t wonder what was wrong with your old man. But I’m certain that you will know then, as you do now, that I love you more than the universe.
Finally, as I said on the first page—I get to do what I love because of you, dear reader. I am so grateful. Thank you.
READER GROUP QUESTIONS FOR MARCUS SAKEY’S AFTERLIFE
Do you believe that the universe created/described by the author is ultimately hopeful or bleak? Why?
Would you take comfort in the idea that your loved ones may be physically near you, but existing in the echo?
What parallels do you see between the echo and the living world?
At the edge of the abyss, in the deepest level of the echo, we see the last sparks of life from all the shuffling husks of people rise up and disappear. What do you think happens to them? Do they flicker out entirely? Are they reborn? Sent to judgment? Where do they go?
Did you see a message of unity in these pages, or a message of individualism?
The theme of sacrifice is woven throughout the narrative. At key points, characters willingly make sacrifices—who, and to what end? What does this tell us about their moral centers?
What purpose does “living” someone’s story serve, when a character kills in the echo? Could it be a kind of cosmic check/balance system, to discourage killing for energy?
How did Brody and Claire’s relationship contribute to the ultimate resolution? Could either of them have succeeded alone against the gods in the echo?
Do you get the sense that Brody and Claire have done this all before, and will do it all again? What about their connection allows them to come together time and again in the living world?
The Disciples of Ray build a community in the echo, and care for one another. They actively seek new arrivals to offer them protection. But we never meet Ray—she’s faded before Brody arrives in the echo. Why do you think Sakey kept her off the page, when her influence is such an important part of the echo?
Was Edmund born evil, or could he have become someone else, if shown kindness before his death?
The gods of the afterlife shown here are really people, just grown enormously powerful. Do you believe that still leaves room for a true god, a divinity? If so, why would that god create or permit the echo?
Can “good” gods exist in the echo, or is the system of taking energy mutually exclusive with benevolence? If “good” gods cannot exist, is there a check on the evil ones?
If the echo were real, where do you think the best places would be? What about the worst?
If you found yourself in the echo, what would you do? What kind of life would you make for yourself there?
Who was your favorite character, and why?
The desire to uncover and understand a motivation for heinous acts is one of the themes at the heart of this novel. In fact, the question “Why?” is central to human existence. Do you look to literature to help answer that question for you? What other books, movies, or stories have given you glimpses into the “why”s essential to our humanity?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PHOTO © JAY FRANCO
Marcus Sakey’s books have sold more than a million copies and been translated into dozens of languages. He lives in Chicago with his wife and daughter.
For more information, visit MarcusSakey.com.
