First published 2016
Ethan Brand stands before the lime kiln where he once worked, now transformed by his obsessive quest. Years ago, he left this New England village to find the Unpardonable Sin. Tonight he returns, claiming he discovered it within his own heart. The locals gather around this changed man who speaks of his terrible knowledge. Brand's search began as intellectual curiosity but consumed his humanity along the way. He experimented on others, treating people as subjects for his philosophical investigations. The villagers sense something frightening in his manner and words. As the night progresses, Brand faces what his pursuit of forbidden knowledge has cost him. His journey reveals how the desire for ultimate truth can destroy the very soul that seeks it.
Genres: fiction, classic-literature, literary-fiction, american-fiction, 19th-century, dark
Vibes: dark, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: dark-academia, unreliable-narrator
Setting: New England
Period: 19th-century
26 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Content warnings: mental-illness