Cavern: City in the Dark

by Nicholas Morine

Deep beneath the scarred and scorched surface of the Earth, the last of us remain. The Cavern is deep, dark, and damp. The city is busy, expansive, industrious. Technology has been salvaged, scavenged from the surface, and repurposed to a new fashion. Survival comes in the form of the shunt, drilled deep into the skull. A device that takes all the pain away, and lays it on the shoulders of one poor soul. The Sufferer. An old man, dying beneath the tree of tears. And when his heart breaks, it will spell doom for us all. Coal worms, flashing hooks in hand. Demons, beasts, and the threat of the undead. Shadows stalking the surface, and in the unseen shadows of the cavern city. Motors revving in high-gear, slicing across the Megapass. Revenge in all of its forms. Ancient martial arts wrestle with modern weaponry. Restless spirits seek change and a personal truth. A revolution of blood and honour begins to unravel. Cavern. The city in the dark. The last gasp. A fading light. Visit the shadow of our glory.

246 pages, Paperback

First published April 2, 2014

About the author

I am a professional novelist and writer, born in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. I currently reside in St. John's, Newfoundland.

My inspirations in the trade are: Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, Jack London, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, William Gibson, Philip K. Dick, and others.

I write action-packed genre fiction with a keen literary edge. Cyberpunk, science fiction, fantasy, horror, post-apocalyptic western. You name it, I write it.

HIGH CONCEPT / LOW ART is my credo.

Readers looking for aggressive, no-hold-barred fiction will find none better.

Reviews

[Dwayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! There really isn't much in the way of down time in this story; it's a fast-paced, edge of your seat thriller. There were echoes, at times, of The Giver, but it's most definitely *not* for YA audiences. If post-apocalyptic tales are your cup of tea, then give this book a read.

[Andrew McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another intriguing and thought provoking work of art from Morine, Cavern: City in the Dark cruises right down the apocalyptic, dystopian avenues that the author is so fluently able to navigate, pulling the reader in for an intense page-turner as the story takes them on a mental roller coaster.
It’s almost as if the reader themselves can feel the suffocating ambiance of life in the underground city as they delve deep into the world of the last known survivors of humanity. When one is placed in a dangerous situation, everything but survival and self-preservation becomes totally irrelevant, which is seen throughout the book in both the good and evil characters that we are introduced to.
The most interesting concept of Cavern is the Shunt, a form of technology that filters out all an individual’s bad thoughts and emotions, and wirelessly transmits them to one individual, who sacrificially receives the mental anguish of all the other inhabitants of the city in order for them to maintain their false sense of happiness as they continue to live in their fairy tale world.
Only a select few individuals are able to overcome the obstacle of the Shunt, and learn to become truly independent of the system in place attempting to control them; once they realize the truth, there is no going back. The question of right and wrong is constantly raised throughout the story, and the reader will find themselves rooting for the success and freedom of the few who realize the truth!
Cavern is an action-packed ride for any fan of dystopian science fiction, and once again proves the author’s ability to tell a story in a world that we do not currently live in, but could one day become a reality, adding a sense of underlying realism throughout the entire read. Once again, Morine outdoes himself, providing plenty of plot twists and developments that will keep the reader coming back for more!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicholas Morine's Cavern: City in the Dark is both horrifyingly prophetic and ridiculously thrilling. It's MADNESS! I love the intense action scenes. And, there's a tonne of action here! It's great. You should read it.