The Gatepost: A Novel

From the author of The Afterlife Project: One woman’s quest to find her father pushes her beyond the boundaries of space, time, and the human mind.

Two decades ago, Esme Weatherhead’s archaeologist father wrote a bestselling book on the use of hallucinogens in ancient Mesoamerican shamanism—and then disappeared. Convinced he’s still alive, Esme has never stopped searching for him. And when she stumbles upon notes about a hidden cave on their rural Vermont property, her quest gets a new focus.

Esme hires geological consultant Lucas St. Pierre to help locate and explore the cave, and her hunch that it has something to do with her father’s disappearance quickly pays off. Inside the winding passages they discover an ancient artifact, left there by the missing man and the indigenous healer who taught him how to access a portal to a secret underworld through the use of psilocybin mushrooms.

And when Esme and Lucas attempt to recreate their hallucinogenic pilgrimage, the journey brings them glimpses of otherworldly landscapes and even, occasionally, Esme’s father. But their discovery of the artifact hasn’t gone unnoticed. An old family friend—now a tech entrepreneur—wants to harness its power, and he’ll destroy anyone who stands in his way . . .

Perfect for fans of Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi and Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood, Tim Weed’s The Gatepost blends modern science and ancient cosmology to take readers on a mind-bending odyssey, offering glimpses into worlds beyond our own.

Praise for Tim Weed’s The Afterlife Project

“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 What Kind of Paradise

“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

“Riveting and wrenching and suffused with beauty.” ?Peter Heller, bestselling author of The Dog Stars

“Weed is a fabulous storyteller working at the top of his game. I predict this novel will become a classic.” —Joseph Monninger, author of The World As We Know It

“It’s a relatively simple idea, but Tim Weed makes it into something special with first-rate nature writing and a story that underlines how connected we all are to our human and physical environment—which can be a source of resilience even as everything falls apart.” —The Toronto Star

“The writing . . . is as lush and beautiful as the far-future Earth itself . . . The Afterlife Project provides a thought-provoking look at how beautiful the world could be without anyone like us in it.” —Washington Independent Review of Books

“Rousing seafaring adventure . . . contemplative musings on life . . . [and] a compelling romance make this a fascinating tale that is difficult to put down.” —Library Journal, starred review

“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

“This engaging dystopian tale deftly blends enthralling fiction with real-life fears.” —Kirkus Reviews

“The dangers [the characters] endure along the way are set against an unfolding and impossible love story across the vastness of geological time, as the scientists work to keep humans in existence. It may sound like an end-of-the-world tale, but it defines the strength and bravery of human beings and what they will do to preserve this precious thing we call life in the face of overwhelming odds.” —Middlebury Magazine (Editors’ Pick)

“A dark yet hopeful story that is engrossing enough to be a beach read . . . Weed reminds us why cli-fi matters.” —Seven Days

“A dystopian masterwork” — The Brattleboro Reformer

“This genre-defying novel blends literary fiction, climate science, and speculative imagination in a haunting narrative that spans millennia.” — The Vermont Journal

Tim Weed is the author of A Field Guide to Murder & Fly Fishing, Will Poole’s Island, and The Afterlife Project. A former international travel guide, Weed serves on Salve Regina University’s core faculty for the Newport MFA in creative writing and is a cofounder of the Cuba Writers Program. When not at his writing desk, he can most often be found skiing, fishing, or tending to his trees. Weed is based in Vermont but also spends time in Nantucket, Colorado, and the greater Boston area. To find out more, visit www.timweed.net.