Separated by ten thousand years, a team of scientists and their test subject must work together to save the human species--before it's too late . . .
With humanity facing imminent extinction, the Centauri Project scientists use technology originally designed for interstellar travel to send a test subject ten millennia into Earth's future. Marooned in an uninhabited wilderness, microbiologist Nicholas Hindman searches for evidence of remnant populations. He has a protocol to follow and is determined to do so to the bitter end--though he knows he's probably searching in vain, stranded on an uninhabited planet silently orbiting the sun.
Meanwhile, back in 2068 AD, a devastating hyperpandemic has quelled all talk of interstellar travel and thrown the future of humanity into grave doubt. Four surviving members of the Centauri team board a vintage solar-powered sailing yacht for a harrowing and unlikely journey in search of a second test subject. Their destination is a small volcanic island north of Sicily rumored to harbor that rarest of creatures: a woman capable of getting pregnant, thereby ensuring this generation of Homo sapiens isn't the last. But first they must make it halfway across the post-apocalyptic globe, risking heatwaves, oceanic megastorms, murderous gangs, deranged cult leaders, a volcanic eruption, and the dangerous microbes that continue to circulate through the planet's atmosphere.
A finalist for the Prism Prize for Climate Literature, The Afterlife Project encompasses a desperate quest for the key to the future of humanity, an impossible love story, and a search for meaning across the inconceivable vastness of geological time.
"Smart, achingly beautiful, and (yes) important: a gripping novel of climate cataclysm with a cast of characters I cared about deeply." --Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Flight Attendant
"A super-smart, super-fun page-turner about a scientist trying to survive alone on Earth in the deep future--and the love of his life trying to travel through time to find him. I can't think of a single page that didn't make me pause to admire a sentence, an image, or a particularly fascinating idea. I loved this book." --Angie Kim, New York Times-bestselling author of Happiness Falls
"The Afterlife Project isn't just a story about the end of the world as we know it--it's an exploration of beauty, and love, and hope in the darkness. If you were a fan of Cloud Atlas, you won't want to miss this one." --Janelle Brown, New York Times-bestselling author of Pretty Things
"This beautiful and heartbreaking book reminds us of what we have, and what we stand to lose. Unforgettable." --Danielle Trussoni, New York Times-bestselling author of The Puzzle Master
"Weed delivers a highly intriguing storyline pulled off through creative worldbuilding and plausible technology . . . a tale that feels wholly original and movingly conveys the full weight of the circumstances while providing a riveting read in the process." --BookLife by Publishers Weekly
