Sir Richard Francis Burton awakens on the banks of a vast and mysterious river—naked, bewildered, and very much alive. But Burton is not alone. Stretching endlessly along the river’s shores are billions of people drawn from every era of human history, all resurrected into a strange new world with no clear purpose and no memory of how they arrived. Food appears from enigmatic devices, death is no longer permanent, and unseen powers seem to govern everything from afar.

Driven by curiosity and defiance, Burton sets out to uncover the truth behind this impossible existence. Along the way, he encounters a cast of historical figures—some famous, some infamous—all struggling to make sense of their second lives. As societies begin to form and fracture, tensions rise, alliances shift, and the question of who—or what—created this world becomes ever more urgent.

Blending adventure, philosophy, and speculative imagination, To Your Scattered Bodies Go launches the Riverworld saga with a bold and unsettling premise. It is a journey into the unknown, where the greatest mystery is not just how humanity was reborn—but why.