39 pages • 1 hour read
William ForstchenOne Second After
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2009A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
John Matherson
John is a middle-aged widower with two teenage daughters. A former colonel and teacher of military history at the Army War College, John lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina, and teaches history at nearby Montreat College. He is six-foot-four, with a bulky build.
Though he projects a no-nonsense attitude to his former army colleagues, John is also a doting father. He reflects on his own character as, “Tough, damn good at what I did, well respected by my men, and yet complete jelly when it comes to my girls” (26).
After the EMP burst hits, John finds himself trying to keep the community from reverting to savage behavior simply to survive. Because of his military and professional background, the town council seeks John’s advice. By the end of the story, he is put in charge of defending the town. Thanks to his strategic planning, Black Mountain’s survival rate post-EMP strike is much higher than anywhere else in the region.
Makala Turner
Makala, named after a Hawaiian flower, is an attractive nurse stranded in Black Mountain after the EMP blast: “She was tall, even without her heels on. Five ten or so, slender, blond hair to shoulder length” (76). The former supervising nurse for a cardiac surgical unit in Charlotte, Makala proves invaluable when disease strikes the small community.
She nurses John through a life-threatening infection and helps care for his diabetic daughter when her insulin supply runs out. Makala becomes John’s love interest and gives him good advice when he loses perspective during the town’s EMP crisis. She acts as his conscience at several critical points in the story. By the end of the novel, Makala steps into the role of director of emergency treatment for Black Mountain.
Washington Parker
Washington is an African American man in his early sixties who is the head of campus security at Montreat College. Students view him as a rent-a-cop until the EMP blast thrusts him into the role of peacekeeper. Washington becomes John’s second-in-command during the early efforts to maintain order in the town.
A former marine and drill sergeant, Washington always addresses John as colonel. He is instrumental in turning college students into soldiers and preparing them to fight the Posse gang. Washington dies during the battle because he refuses to watch from the sidelines. The whole town and all the students at the college mourn his passing.
John’s Family
Grandma Jen is John’s mother-in-law. A rich, aging Southern belle, Jen possesses nerves of steel as she helps care for her family during the EMP crisis. Elizabeth is John’s 16-year-old daughter. She becomes pregnant with her boyfriend Ben’s child. After Ben is killed during the Posse battle, Elizabeth names her son Ben and raises him with the help of her family. Jennifer is John’s diabetic 12-year-old daughter. After the EMP burst, Jennifer’s insulin supply dwindles to nothing. Four months later, she dies and is buried in the family backyard so that she will not feel alone.
John’s canine family members are two golden retrievers named Zach and Ginger; John often refers to them as “the two idiots” because of their rambunctious behavior. Zach is mortally wounded during a house break-in, and after being euthanized by Jen, his carcass is given to the neighbors as food. After Jennifer’s death, John shoots Ginger to provide nourishment for Elizabeth during her pregnancy.
Community Leaders
Charlie Fuller, the director of public safety, takes charge of the town when martial law is declared. He is devoted to the welfare of everyone, but the job takes a toll on his health and spirits. He is killed in the Posse battle.
Kate Lindsey, the town mayor, keeps a cool head when the town is struck by the EMP crisis. She takes a back seat to governing town affairs so Charlie can administer martial law.
Doc Kellor, the town general practitioner, advises the council on health matters. He accurately predicts epidemics before they occur and tries to stretch the town’s dwindling medication supply to help as many people as he can.
Dan Hunt, the college president, works with John and Washington to prepare students for combat. He eventually allows himself to starve to death so the young soldiers can have the food they need to defend the town.
