Later

Author Terry Pratchett once said that we have to learn to believe small lies (like Santa Claus) as practice for “big lies” (abstract ideas like truth and justice). What kind of lies are often told to children? Which lie most molds Jamie as a child?

Jamie is 17 during his final confrontation with Therriault/The Deadlight. Do you think it’s reasonable to consider him an adult at this point? Why or why not?

It’s never explicitly stated how the deadlight got a hold of Kenneth Therriault. Why do you think the deadlight was able to enter Therriault but not Donnie Marsden, whom Jamie also pressed to reveal something he didn’t want to reveal?

Publisher Hard Case Crime specifically looks for new approaches to the traditional hard-boiled detective story, but some critics have said that Stephen King tried to do too much in making Later a Bildungsroman with horror and hard-boiled elements. Do you agree or disagree?

Compare Later to another hard-boiled detective story. How does it compare in terms of archetypes and themes?

Later has been compared to Stephen King’s It in terms of themes like growing up and confronting demons. Would you agree or disagree? Alternatively, compare Later to another of King’s coming-of-age stories like Carrie.

Professor Marty Burkett introduces the motif of fairy tales to illustrate Jamie’s conflict with the deadlight. In what ways do fairy tale archetypes and plot points come into play in the novel?

Aside from Jamie’s summoning of the deadlight during his final confrontation with Liz, in what ways does the deadlight contribute to his personal growth (or regression)?