An instant Wall Street Journal bestseller. Soon to be a major motion picture from Imagine Entertainment and producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer.Between life and death lies an epic war, a relentless manhunt through two worlds…and an unforgettable love story.The last thing FBI agent Will Brody remembers is the explosion—a thousand shards of glass surfing a lethal shock wave.He wakes without a … shock wave.
He wakes without a scratch.
The building is in ruins. His team is gone. Outside, Chicago is dark. Cars lie abandoned. No planes cross the sky. He’s relieved to spot other people—until he sees they’re carrying machetes.
Welcome to the afterlife.
Claire McCoy stands over the body of Will Brody. As head of an FBI task force, she hasn’t had a decent night’s sleep in weeks. A terrorist has claimed eighteen lives and thrown the nation into panic.
Against this horror, something reckless and beautiful happened. She fell in love…with Will Brody.
But the line between life and death is narrower than any of us suspect—and all that matters to Will and Claire is getting back to each other.
From the author of the million-copy bestselling Brilliance Trilogy comes a mind-bending thriller that explores our most haunting and fundamental question: What if death is just the beginning?
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I really enjoyed this book. Different from the other books by Marcus Sakey that I have read, this book really embraced a soul searching philosophy, Dante, and the basis for religion as it follows the 2 main characters through life and beyond. Truly one of the most thought provoking books I have read in a great while, all the while being an entertaining adventure. The Brilliance books were good, but the writing in this one is exceptional and I am looking forward to seeing it made into a film.
What if death is just the beginning?
The basics: A serial killer on the loose. Investigation led by detective Claire McCoy, involved in a love affair with subordinate Will Brody. A main character dies at the hand of the killer, after which we see them in the afterlife ‘echo’, a strange parallel earth with different players and rules.
The book starts in the 16th century, when a boy is shipwrecked, dies, but then wakes up to his own ‘echo’. I loved this, and looked forward to reading on, and seeing how this fitted into the 21st century plot.
I was a bit ‘hmm, not sure’ about the main story at first; I liked the author’s writing style, but was less keen on the slightly hackneyed detective characterisation (the overworked, world-weary female boss with no food in the fridge, the maverick young FBI agent who doesn’t play by the rules but gets results). Within a few chapters this didn’t matter a jot, but it was an early reaction, so I’ve recorded it. I soon became much more interested in Claire and Brody, and found their relationship believable; the emotional connection between them was perfectly described, and I cared what happened to them, which is, of course, what it’s all about.
On the cover, a comparison is made with The Matrix. If, like me, you found that particular film confusing for the sake of confusing and a bit ’emperor’s new clothes’, generally, you might feel similarly about this book. At first. I wasn’t always sure what was going on, and started to wonder if I cared. I decided to give it to 40% ~ but it clicked into place well before then. The ‘echo’ of afterlife became intermingled with real life ~ and I began to understand Sakey’s take on what-happens-when-you-die.
I jogged along, quite enjoying it, but then I got to chapter 26, at 42% ~ for me, the turning point, when I realised how brilliant this book is. 16th century Edmund’s role became clear, and I understood that this isn’t a novel about the catching of a serial killer, or a kooky idea of people in the afterlife charging around having battles with each other. It’s about the energy of the universe, the reason for the atrocities man commits against man, the manipulation of the living by powers far stronger. The layers of life, of which the waking world that we surface dwellers experience, in blissful ignorance, is just one. Awesome concept, I loved it.
Now and again I found it a little long-winded and was tempted to skip-read, but I’m so glad I stuck with it, as it’s one of those books that explodes into something else half way through. Yes, I’d definitely recommend it
A great read. Part sci fy, part horror and a keen romance between the main characters. Im guessing you wont be able to put it down, and you will think about it
long after you’ve finished. Morris is wonderful writer, but this is his best.
This is among Sakey’s best – and I consider that high praise. A unique adventure through life and death and back again. Original, thrilling, and riveting. What happens when you die? I’ll bet that this scenario never occurred to you!
Couldn’t put it down once I started! The writing has a sense of maturity and gratefully had me opening the dictionary 2 or 3 times, something I don’t get very often. The plot twists were very well done. Often they were grasped in synchronicity with the characters. Very refreshing not to be able to anticipate every plot twist so far in advance as to have a great story seem lackluster and hollow. Great development of characters and the world(s) in which the story takes place. Interesting take on life and the universe. Presents the contradictions of life/creation with out sugar coating them, yet brings a happily ever after ending of hopefulness that our lives are not futile and there is joy, peace, and meaning much greater than what we can understand during our human existence. Thank you for an excellent read and an escape from every day life that brings deep analysis and tickles the imagination as to what quantum mechanics may be building all around us that our limited perceptions can not conceive of as yet.
This was not an easy read for me as it is part sci-fi, part Dantes hell, part good versus evil and a romance. The plot takes off with Claire and Brody, FBI, trying to catch a killer.
Brody is killed and Claire us left to continue her life hunting the killer….only things go a bit different for her…..she is also killed. And reunites with Brody in a place between the living and the dead. They will meet other people, good people, and the Eaters, the group that has decided to kill. This place they are in is referred to as the echo.
This is a battle between good and evil with all taking place while the living go to work every day totally unaware of the battle in the Afterlife. If you are a big fan of sci-fi, I highly recommend it but if you are like me and not use to sci-fi or angels, demons and lots of fight action scenes, then you may want to read a chapter before deciding.
In the echo, there is no color, no scents, no real pleasure.
I felt the book went on too long and I am glad I stuck it out just for the ending. My big problem was I didn’t feel a real complete connection between Claire and Brody…and you so need to feel for them on this journey…I didnt. The author did mot make me feel it, not enough character developement between Claire and Brody before the plot took off.