The Brief History of the Dead is a 2006 fantasy and adventure novel by Kevin Brockmeier. Once Upon a Time, in a land far, far away... really far away... there existed a city. It had no name, and nobody knew exactly where it was. It was just called The City. Its unnatural lack of an actual label and location in the world may be due to the fact that it's not even found in the world. It is an afterlife of sorts, but it's not the kind of heaven or hell that most people would expect. It is simply a place where the souls of the dead wind up after departing the Earth. Needs Wiki Magic.