The Brief History of the Dead

The Brief History of the Dead (2006), a post-apocalyptic fantasy novel by Kevin Brockmeier, follows the story of humans trapped in purgatory between the living and the dead, and what happens when their mysterious city starts to shrink. Nominated for numerous awards, it won the 2006 Borders Original Voices Award for Fiction. Brockmeier is an American author of literary and fantasy novels. He also writes short stories for children. He received his MFA in 1997 from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where he taught after he graduated.

Two storylines run concurrently through The Brief History of the Dead, and so there are two protagonists. The first is Laura Byrd, a scientist working in an Antarctic research station for Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola wants to use polar ice to manufacture its soft drinks since the ice is melting anyway. However, before long, Laura’s radio stops working and the power fails. Coca-Cola hasn’t sent any help. Her supplies are running low, and if she doesn’t find food and fuel soon, she’ll die.

Luka Sims is a resident in the City, which is where people go when they die but there are still people on Earth who remember them. The people in the City don’t move on until everyone on Earth has forgotten them. Luka owns and edits the City’s only newspaper; he’s always looking for his next story. When he learns that the City is shrinking and no one can explain why, he realizes he must solve the mystery before he perishes forever.



Laura goes looking for her fellow researchers, Puckett and Joyce, who left the research station weeks ago in search of an emperor penguin colony, whose migratory patterns they planned to study. Finding their base camp is Laura’s only way to get back home. However, when she reaches their camp, the Ross Ice Shelf research station, it is empty. Laura doesn’t know what this means, but she understands that it doesn’t bode well.

Meanwhile, the City is in crisis mode. People used to live in the City for around thirty years; now they’re fading away in hours. Soon, Luka believes he is the only person still living in the City. He goes on a quest through the streets, praying to find someone else to talk to; he stumbles upon a blind man. The blind man has no idea what is going on, either, but they plan to solve the mystery together.

Luka and the blind man find other people hiding out in the City. As they talk, sharing their experiences, they realize they all have one person in common—Laura Byrd. Thanks to Laura, they’re all still alive, but it doesn’t explain why everyone else is gone. Luka doesn’t want to believe it, but he wonders if Laura is the only person still alive on Earth.



Back in Antarctica, Laura is still piecing together what has happened to her fellow researchers. She can’t contact anyone over the radio; she feels like the last person on the planet. Little does she know that she is the only person on the planet. Every other human has perished. Laura must unravel the mystery before she dies, too.

Laura discovers that everyone on Earth contracted a deadly virus called The Blink. When someone gets The Blink, their eyes turn red and they can’t stop blinking. The victims die within hours, if not minutes, and there is no cure. The Blink moves through the air and water, which explains why everyone else on Earth is dead. Laura understands that she is either immune to the virus or she hasn’t been exposed to it because she has been stranded in the research station alone.

Back in the City, Luka and the others also learn the truth about the virus. Others who knew Laura arrive now that they have died, and the situation becomes clear—the moment Laura dies, the City vanishes forever. Executives from Coca-Cola arrive and hold private meetings about Laura and the fate of the Earth. They admit that their polar work contributed to spreading The Blink, but they are not responsible for causing The Blink in the first place. This is small comfort to everyone who is now dead thanks to their negligence.



Meanwhile, Laura is lost and confused. Her supplies are at a critical level, and she knows she doesn’t have long left to live. She is not sure she wants to live, anyway, since there’s no one else left. She finds the penguin colony and spends time watching the animals—animals that are blissfully unaware that the last human is about to die.

Laura eventually dies, and the truth about Coca-Cola’s involvement is revealed. The virus spread through their bottling plant, but no one ever discovered who created the virus in the first place. Although Laura worked for Coca-Cola, she didn’t enjoy the drink; she survives for so long because she didn’t drink it. Ironically, everyone else died because the government said tap water was to blame, and so they all drank nothing but Coca-Cola.