Children of No One by Nicole Cushing : Review

Sadism, nihilism, poverty, wealth, screams, whimpers, sanity and madness collide in Nowhere, Indiana
For Thomas Krieg, Nowhere is a miles-long, pitch-black underground maze in which he’s imprisoned dozens of boys for the past ten years – all in the name of art.
For two brothers, Nowhere is the only place they clearly remember living. A world unto itself, in which they must stay alert to stay alive. A world from which the only escape is death.
But for an English occultist known only as Mr. No One, Nowhere is much more…and much less: the perfect place in which to perform a ritual to unleash the grandest of eldritch deities, the God of Nothingness, the Great Dark Mouth.

Children of No One by Nicole Cushing was a bit of an unusual read for me, as this was neither fantasy nor a full length novel, but instead a novella. As such, there’s a bit of difficulty for me in writing a full length review. Exploring the darker recesses of the human mind, the art of discovering human behaviour within darkness, using a black canvas, of the battle between sadism and nihilism, Children of No One is filled with thought-provoking psychological and emotional elements.

Children of No One is a a rather creepy and disturbing short story which was well written. However I would have liked to see more from the perspective of the boys and those in the maze, which is what I had been expecting.

It’s a very short read at 49 pages, though don’t expect too much from it, as there’s not enough character development or exploration into the lives of those in the maze to give the impression of a satisfying read.  Though, as readers of my blog might know, I have a tendency to read much longer novels,because of this I’m unaccustomed to such short stories and the pacing. Those who read novellas may find it more satisfactory and enjoyable than I was able to.

Release date: March 26th, 2013 by Darkfuse.