Dreams of a Nobody

by Sean Thompson

Dreams of a Nobody (part 1) is the beginning of the story of Amos Kieran, a young boy chosen by his king to play a key role in bringing world peace. All Amos has to do is kill a few hundred or a few thousand people (however many the king needs to create his vision of peace) at the cost of his own life—a small price to pay for the good of the world.
This first part follows Amos on his last night before his training as King Maximino's chief assassin begins in earnest. Amos sits in a field counting stars, his favorite and only pastime, thinking about the childhood he's already lost, and trying to figure out a way to change his destiny—a task he fears is like using his imagination one last time. His last night of peace is interrupted by an unusual dove who loves the spotlight, and a man, who could very well be Death (or someone much worse), that takes Amos to task for the crimes he'll commit against humanity. Tonight, Amos faces the very real possibility of losing his life before he loses it to his job.
What choices will Amos make? And how will he go about trying to change the world and his circumstances? Can he?

43 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 9, 2014

About the author

I want to see more diversity in YA literature. I also want it to push certain boundaries (i.e. I have a lot of faith in young readers to handle certain subject matter and bring about change for the better). Dreams of a Nobody is (and will be) my small contribution toward that aim. (As you can see, I'm not all that good at talking about myself - unless you ask. Check out my ask me anything blog post and ask away.

Here's a synopsis: Dreams of a Nobody (part 1) is the beginning of the story of Amos Kieran, a young boy chosen by his king to play a key role in bringing world peace. All Amos has to do is kill a few hundred or a few thousand people (however many the king needs to create his vision of peace) at the cost of his own life—a small price to pay for the good of the world.
This first part follows Amos on his last night before his training as King Maximino's chief assassin begins in earnest. Amos sits in a field counting stars, his favorite and only pastime, thinking about the childhood he's already lost, and trying to figure out a way to change his destiny—a task he fears is like using his imagination one last time. His last night of peace is interrupted by an unusual dove who loves the spotlight, and a man, who could very well be Death (or someone much worse), that takes Amos to task for the crimes he'll commit against humanity. Tonight, Amos faces the very real possibility of losing his life before he loses it to his job.
What choices will Amos make? And how will he go about trying to change the world and his circumstances? Can he?

Reviews

[Oezay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book for free through the making connections group for a review, Thank you Sean for providing me with this book.

This novel is a bit short but aptly describes an assassins humanity, his state of mind and all his sorrows. This is the first part, so it provides us with a bit of a background for our main character, Amos. The writing style of the author is very inspiring and riveting, i really enjoyed how everything in the story was set out. I'm sure that whomever reads this will find it to be at the least interesting.

Recommended to people who like psychological,thrillers and fantasy books.

[ThaOverComer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking toward to book 2. Books written about assassins are not usually my cup of tea, but this book was well written and hard to put down. Very short, but was good!

[Lillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This novella is nothing that I expected it to be! In fact, it took reading it twice for me to comprehend what exactly was going on. And then I was like WTH!!!!

Dreams of a Nobody (Part 1) by Sean Thompson starts with a young boy counting the stars. And while he counts he contemplates the life that's been handed to him. He is being trained as an assassin for the King. He doesn't like killing, and he wants to change his fate. He calls himself Nobody because in reality he is nobody. He isn't allowed to choose his destiny or the people he kills or saves. As Nobody recounts his story to us the readers, he says

You might not like me once you know what I know, now that you know what I have to do, and that's all right. I don't like me much, either.

Heartbreaking!!!

So where does that leave Nobody? Well as the story progresses we get a sense of what his life as an assassin is like. And I really like what the author has done here. The character despite the evil he does is still inherently good and very relatable. Nobody has an encounter with a dove or flock of doves. But of course I had to ask myself and read it twice to figure out what's up with the dove! He's not your average overrated pigeon. He poops roses (did I really just write that? Yep, I did and yes he does!)

Probably my favorite scene in the book is during the last chapter and Nobody's confrontation with himself (remember the book is called Dreams of a Nobody, so is this a dream?), the evil part of himself. Think of Nobody as the angel on one shoulder and Amos (who is also Nobody) as the devil on the other. One wants to save the world, one wants to follow orders and enjoys killing. Amos is there to kill Nobody.......

Say what?!?!

Towards the end, Nobody makes this comment and it really struck home with me.

There are some people we have to meet; there are situations we have to be put in, but it's the choices we make when we meet those people and face those situations that determine the path life ultimately takes.

Doesn't that apply to all of us?

Again I really enjoyed this story! The imagery is bold, and the author paints a picture of what Nobody is seeing and doing as he dreams (or is he awake? is he more than one person? Haven't figured that out yet, if you have let me know!) The plot is suspenseful and haunting as more and more of Nobody's life is revealed. For a first story, the author nailed it! Can't wait for part two.