If you're looking for a juvenile version of 10 Cloverfield Lane, this one might be for you. Nameless Things follows a group of hikers who become trapped in the woods when an alien object hits earth, unleashing mysterious worm-like creatures that slowly pick them off one by one.

The storyline was interesting but I didn't connect with any of the characters. They were all carbon copies of each other and oftentimes I couldn't tell them apart. The dialogue was horrendous. I had to remind myself several times this wasn't young adult.

Halfway way through the storyline had become very repetitive but I liked the ending. There was some gruesome body horror and a satisfying conclusion.

Horror set in the wilderness sounded awfully interesting, and it was for the first few chapters, but I felt as if it went down from there. It stopped being interesting and because of that it lost the horror aspect.

Story follows a few different groups who are out hiking when things go horribly wrong and they are forced to join forces against a threat they cannot control.

I liked the concept, and I do think that with revisions it can be published as a very nerve wracking and, in some cases, disgusting story considering what the antagonist is in the story.

Explosive horror novel that features comlex and not stereotypical characters. The gore level is high and probably not suitable for younger readers. I would recommend this book for Stephen King fans that need a good horror novel while waiting for something new from the master. You will not be disappointed!

“My feet squelched inside my boots, rain pelted endlessly, and I was miserable. Even more miserable than when we’d started, or perhaps miserable in a different way. “

Two friends hiking in a caldera natural park get more than they bargained for when a meteorite crashes down, cutting off their exit. As they try to find a different way out, they encounter more trapped hikers, and disgusting, monstrous organisms in the soil. So begins a race for survival, against time, as the creatures start to evolve into something even worse.

This was like “Tremors” combined with “Cast Away”; a survival thriller filled with body horror, human horror, and horrifying organisms. I was so tense at some moments, I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath until the scene was over and I would exhale so loudly I’d startle myself. I couldn’t put this story down, and stayed up way too late to read it cover to cover. I felt shakey (I’m terrified of heights) thinking about some of the climbing they attempted and realized I would not actually not be able to do half the stuff the characters tried because of my own fears. So at least I’m at peace knowing I’d just die early on in this story if it was a real event and I was actually there lol.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Rising Action Publishing for a copy!

I do think this was written well and I always appreciate a forest/hiking thriller or horror. For me body horror ect is always hit or miss. I feel like most of the characters reactions were very like under reacting as well. Overall it’s a good horror read but it’s true what the description says you must like a nick cutter type horror and those have become not my most favourite.

Ernest Jensen, a pseudonym for Australian (but Scotland-based) author Louise Jensen Duffy, has written a horror novel that unfortunately misses the mark on most levels. The reasons for this are surprisingly widespread, covering everything from unsuccessful comedy, constant lapses in dialect (more on that in a bit), and, perhaps most damning, a complete failure to provide any tension or scares.

"Nameless Things" is a book about two friends, Mike and Wade, who are hiking in a secluded caldera. They see a meteor pass overhead and seemingly crash into the ground somewhere nearby. What the meteor has delivered seems to be an invasion of tiny worms that are quickly spreading through the ground. As Mike and Wade encounter other hikers and start to find out that there's more to these worms than initially meets the eye, they enter a desperate struggle to escape their surroundings and get back to civilization and find help.

Mike, the narrator, is supposedly a gay man who has recently broken up with his partner. This is why his longtime friend Wade has brought him on the hiking trip, we're told. That's about all we ever get about either character's backstory. Mike is also, I must point out, an American man. This is important, because in the book he repeatedly refers to flashlights as "torches," says he "can't be assed" to do things, and frequently displays other such oddities of region-specific language. Jensen has apparently done little research work to ground Mike as an actual American male. Mike being such is utterly unimportant to the story being told, too, so it boggles the mind as to why he couldn't simply be Australian or British (as most other characters who pop up throughout the novel are). It's weird, sloppy, and consistently distracting.

Also distracting is the level of repetition of words, phrases, and situations. Do you like to see the word "goggle" used for looking at something? Well, you better, because it's done in nearly every chapter. This would be an easy fix and not worth mentioning if it was only a vocabulary issue, but it becomes a detractor in the book's horror elements, too. When people succumb to the invasive worms, they wriggle, itch, scream, and parish -- it's bleak stuff. The problem is it happens multiple times with no variation. This remains true when the threats grow larger. Almost every major horror moment or death happens in the same fashion. The ground moves, something pops out, people scream. There's no escalation and it makes initial scares less interesting because you just encounter them repeatedly. Throw in a random villain in the back half of the novel with no motivation whatsoever and things start to get dire.

Another issue is with the characters themselves. No one grows, no one changes, no one engages the reader and makes them root for their survival. People show up, are described as looking like a celebrity of some kind, and then they stay the way they are for the rest of their time in the book. That celebrity thing grates in a massive way, and I can't say that I've ever run into it in any other novel. This person looks like Zendaya, this person has Owen Wilson's nose, this person thinks they're a dead ringer for John Boyega... it comes across as though Ernest Jensen doesn't want their readers to have any say in how they picture the people and events of the book together in their minds. It's deeply off-putting.

I don't like being negative in reviews, but I believe in being honest when reviewing any and all work. I love horror, I want all horror to succeed, and it bums me out when something fails to live up to expectations. I'd heard early word that this book was reminiscent of the works of Nick Cutter and Stephen King, and I think the publisher doing promotion of that sort is doing their author a disservice. Sure, there are echoes of Cutter's "The Troop" here (which, in kind, was King-inspired), but that's a masterwork of the genre. Don't put that kind of pressure on an author that's still trying to find their footing. I think Jensen has the potential to deliver a horror novel worth reading, but "Nameless Things" isn't it. It felt both glacially-paced and somehow rushed, the constant gaffes in word usage stick out, and the generic parasite-of-unknown-but-possibly-alien-origin plot was generic to begin with. This one's a miss.


1.5/5

Thank you NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing for this ARC.

After a meteor strike triggers a rockslide, a group of campers, including friends Mike and Wade, find themselves trapped in Colorado's Devil’s Cup State Park. Seeking solace after heartbreak, Mike instead faces a nightmare as flesh-piercing worms surface from the ground. These grotesque creatures, however, are just the beginning, heralding something far more sinister: the Nameless Things. With no way to call for help, survival depends on outsmarting the horrors beneath their feet. But as fear fractures alliances and supplies are no longer abundant, the group is forced to confront the terror lurking in the depths and the dark truths about their own resilience.

Thoughts:
I went into Nameless Things completely blind—skipped the synopsis, dived in headfirst—and wow, I was not prepared for the sheer level of body horror. Let’s just say it’s not the best book to pair with lunch. But once I got over the initial shock of how nasty it was, I was able to continue turning the pages and enjoy the survival aspects of the journey. The bleak and grotesque atmosphere is balanced with surprising bursts of humor.

I appreciated that the story got interesting right away—things escalated quickly and were eventful, often overwhelming in the best way. However, I did feel the pace slowed too much in the middle. The characters spent a lot of time aimlessly wandering and avoiding worms, which dampened the tension a little. Still, the feeling of dread and doom never fully left, which I think makes this book a success as a horror story.

Characterization, though, is where the book faltered. The relentless death toll made it hard to truly connect with anyone since no one seemed safe for long. That being said, I understand why deep character arcs weren’t the focus—it’s hard to develop someone when you’re constantly dodging flesh-piercing worms. Still, it left some moments feeling a little flat.

The ending? Let’s just say it wasn’t my favorite, but the survival journey itself was compelling enough that I can’t say I regretted the read. If you’re a fan of sci-fi horror with some in-the-woods survival, this is worth a shot. Just maybe read it with a strong stomach.

Publication Date: March 25th, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this earc! This was one Captivating suspense novel! I’m excited to look into more of the authors work in the future.

First of all, I am very surprised and disappointed in all of the negative reviews. I’m a huge horror fan and read a lot of horror novels, horror anthologies and novellas from well-known authors to indie authors and I really enjoyed this novel. Was it an award-winning novel? No. Was it unique, fast-paced and creepy as hell? Yes.

When two friends go hiking in a Colorado forest, they slowly realize they are experiencing something unknown and horrific. As they meet other campers and hikers along the way, they slowly figure out that not all of them will make it out alive. I, personally, cannot begin to imagine how awful and terrifying it would be to die the way these characters die. As the characters figure out how to avoid becoming a meal, they realize the horror is growing, evolving and becoming more dangerous as they try to escape the deep caldera they’re trapped in.

I think the negative feedback about the characters being unlikable isn’t really fair. From my perspective, the author was trying to show how normal, nice people can become selfish, mean and angry when faced with an untenable situation. As the group of survivors is slowly culled, we see desperation and loss come out in many ways. I thought the author handled the different personalities well and I felt they were very real reactions to the situations they faced.

I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys a unique take on the horror genre and likes an edge of your seat read. I don’t ever really get scared but I do get anxious and nervous and this book took me there. It was a fun, quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I didn’t go into this novel to find the next Dracula or Janelle Eyre, I went into it looking for an entertaining and scary read. And that’s exactly what I found. I think some people try too hard to find fault instead of just going along for the ride.

Post-breakup, Mike gets invited to go camping with his friend Wade when a meteor strikes, leaving them and several other campers stranded. They soon discover that with this meteor came these strange worms and they like to bite. As the horror unfolds, it becomes a race to get out of the state park in one piece and find help.

This book wasn’t perfect but the vibes for me were immaculate. Oddly enough, I had a fun time reading this and absolutely devoured this book. I can tell that this had some inspiration from the movie “Tremors” but I didn’t mind that. This book was gory and action-packed with a lot of death.

The character development could’ve been improved but I think it was hard to achieve because.. (Removed the end due to slight spoilers in explanation. Spoiler explained version included on Goodreads).. There were several moments that felt lacking and flat due to this. Even though the character development was lacking and this book felt like a bit like free-for-all, I loved the humor. I always find myself enjoying horror books more when they contain an element of dark humor and this delivered on that for me. It was also nice to see a mixture of characters from other countries and to get some of their slang and humor in the story as well. Imperfections included, this book still has probably been my most enjoyable read of this year so far.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing for sending me an arc!

TW: body horror, death, gore, gun violence, animal death, blood, excrement, grief, murder, injury detail

Fast-paced, eerie, and oddly humorous—"Nameless Things" by Ernest Jensen takes you on a wild ride through the nightmarish landscape of Devil's Cup State Park. From flesh-piercing worms to the unseen terrors lurking beneath our feet, this debut novel had its gripping moments.

While the relentless suspense and body horror kept me intrigued, I found myself wanting a bit more to keep me hooked. The plot moved swiftly, but it lacked the deeper engagement that makes you eager to turn the next page. Despite these hiccups, I enjoyed the dark vein of humor and the unpredictable twists. This book is like a spooky rollercoaster—thrilling, but could use a little more polish on the tracks.

Overall, I definitely recommend there are already reviews out there with many different opinions, but I like it 😅

Big thanks to @netgalley and @risingactionpublishingco for this ARC.

Here is my confession:

I love a good survival trope. Give me monsters’, human or otherwise, a challenging setting, and characters fighting tooth and nail to make it through the night, and I’m sold. Unfortunately, “Nameless Things” didn’t live up to its potential.

This story of worm-like creatures wreaking havoc in a hostile, unforgiving landscape had all the ingredients for a gripping creature feature. The setup was solid, the environment was grim, and the premise hinted at relentless tension. But somewhere along the way, it lost its bite.

The characters were, to put it bluntly, flat. Not only were they unlikable, but their interactions felt forced, their dialogue so stilted and repetitive that it constantly pulled me out of the story. In a survival tale, I want to root for at least one person, to feel invested in their fight for life—but here, I didn’t care who made it or who got devoured.

The pacing, too, dragged in places. Scenes that could have been taut with tension were bogged down by unnecessary chatter and repetitive descriptions. For a book about monstrous creatures stalking their prey, the humans felt like the real obstacle to enjoyment.

That said, “Nameless Things” isn’t without merit. The ending is where it finally shines. Dark, hostile, and unapologetically bleak, it captures the tone the rest of the book seemed to be striving for. It’s the kind of conclusion that sticks with you, leaving a bitter aftertaste that feels strangely satisfying.

Unfortunately, a strong finish wasn’t enough to salvage the rest of the book for me. While I appreciated the grim world and the visceral horror of the worms, the lackluster characters and distracting dialogue made it a slog to get there.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this but it got a little bit repetitive. I think it has great potential and that the author should definitely consider continuing writing horror style novels. I enjoyed the ending, but like I said the book had gotten slightly repetitive as you progress, and I feel that there were multiple unanswered questions left once the book came to an end.

A meteor storm brings deadly giant worms to a Colorado state park

I am a sucker for the popular trope of ‘man versus the unknown’ and so started Nameless Things, the debut novel of Ernest Jensen, who also writes as Louise Jensen Duffy, with high expectations. However, even though it is reasonably solid, is ultimately disappointing, falling well short of my favourite wilderness themed horror. Even if slightly underdeveloped, for those of you seeking an easy and undemanding read blending science fiction, a dash of cosmic horror with something deadly (and hungry) lurking underground then check in for a quick bite.

Set in Devil’s Cup State Park in Colorado, Nameless Things has various hikers banding together or clashing in a battle of survival in making it back to civilisation after the ground is infested with dangerous, and very hungry worms, caused by a meteor storm. This is a familiar b-movie style plot, which although has its moments, is hindered by an incredibly annoying first person narrative which restricts getting to know any of the other characters. I was quickly bored of this testing internal monologue and felt it would have been stronger if this apocalypse were described via multiple points of view. For example, there is a scene when a little boy disappears, he is gone for a large chunk of the book before eventually turning up. I was more interested in finding out how he managed to survive on his own rather than spending time with some of the bores the reader is stuck with.

The concept of deadly and fast growing worms which can infect by contacting skin and attack by exploding out of the ground was a cool one, but it went largely unexplored. I wondered how the meteor storm escalated so quickly into the huge monsters the characters were presented with further into the story. Is some ways Nameless Things is a traditional ‘creature feature’ but there is just not enough of the creature. Masters of the genre, such as Scott Sigler and Nick Cutter, would have gone to town in bringing their beasts to life, by not putting extra flesh on the monsters felt like a missed opportunity. This is a shame, as there is excellent build up with a couple of early infections and painful deaths, followed by eye catching appearances of the creatures. They became reminiscent of the Tremors film franchise, without the humour, but the predatory exploding from the ground sequences had some kick.

The characters might not have been so annoying if we knew more about them, but the style of narrative made this incredibly difficult. Little is revealed about the narrator beyond him being gay (this is superficially mentioned in passing) and is on a short holiday with an old friend. After realising they are trapped in the park due to huge landslides Mike and Wade stumble across several other survivors and the author does a decent job of ramping up the tension with the story edging into the realms of survival thriller. They run low on food and water, quickly realising things are much more serious than they initially thought. There is also a smart sequence when they try to climb a dangerous rock face in attempting to escape.

Some of the strongest scenes were straight out of Tremors, as the group realise they can only stand or walk on rocky ground due to what lurks underneath. The kill scenes were swift and brutal but the plot is let down by incredibly obvious twists. The ending is abrupt, but is also seriously predictable, some readers may feel they were left hanging, but by this point it became obvious in which direction the narrative is heading into. This type of novel needs a person to carry the action, not necessary a hero, (where was Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward when you need them?) and this story is entirely devoid of any type of character charisma because it relies solely on the inner dialogue of one terrified guy. This is just not enough to carry what is supposed to be a horror thriller.

350 pages is way too long for what Nameless Things has to offer. There is definitely a lean and very solid novella lurking within these pages, but it requires more defined characters who do not whine all the time and more page time developing the creatures beyond peekaboo cameos.

Generally a good story, but I didn’t really mesh with the writing style. All the characters talked in similar crass ways. Just wasn’t for me. The horror elements were enjoyable, and I did like the bleak ending! The dialogue was irritating though. I’m sure people will like it, it’s always so interesting what I like vs someone else.

Nameless Things by Ernest Jensen

3.5/4 stars

Thank you to Net Galley for the arc copy of this book.

I think this was probably one of my first cosmic horror books, and it was a delight to read. This was also heavy on the body horror aspect, which was not new to me in book form, but the two together made for a wild ride.

I liked the premise, and I enjoyed the never ending sense of dread and doom all the way through the end of the book. The middle felt a little muddy and slow, but really the action in this book started right away and didn't really let up all the way through the end. And just to add, loved the ending. I love endings like this one had. I won't go into any detail to avoid any spoilers.

I don't always see books as movies in my head, but this one definitely played out like one and it was agonizing haha. That being said, I don't think this likely would ever be turned into a movie but it probably would make for a decent one. Some of the horror/action scenes were a little confusing and I wasn't entirely sure what was going on? I'm picturing 'Tremors' but I don't think that's entirely right.
This was pretty atmospheric, and I really felt like I was following all the characters through the creepy woods as they outran what was constantly chasing them.

Anyway, where this book lacked for me was the characters. Really honestly didn't like any of them, so it was hard to care what happened to anyone. The only one I cared about was Barney the dog and Josh, his owner. The main character was alright, but kind of annoying and frustrating. The rest of the characters were all rather unlikable in my opinion. I understand the times were stressful in the book, so they were on edge, but they were just annoying. I don't feel any of them were developed particularly well, unfortunately, but I also understand that some. I'm guessing they weren't all meant to be liked, but not liking any of them probably wasn't the goal either.

My other issue again was probably just the pacing. It was very quick to get into the thick of what was going on, but then a lot of the middle of the book was a lot of wandering around and avoiding the worms, etc. and it just felt a little boring sometimes. In a movie format this would be okay, but in a book it felt repetitive.

I also found some of the bickering between the Australians/British to be annoying and distracting from the story? I guess the author is both, so I get why it was in here, but it just was a bit much sometimes for me. Like it felt like it went on and on for pages at times and it could have been left out.

Anyway though, it was a fun worthwhile horror read. I was on the edge of my seat most of the time, so that's always a plus. I also enjoyed some of the darker humor/banter. It kinda gave me 'Cabin in the Woods' vibes a little bit, and that's always fun to get a taste of in other media forms.

I'd recommend this one to horror fans. It's not my favorite horror read of all time by any means, but it was enjoyable enough to pick up and read.

Thanks again to Net Galley for the ARC copy.

A fun and action packed survival horror read that will appeal to those who enjoyed books like The Ruins. The pacing was good and the characters were believable (and apparently expendable as well hahaha). There were some twists and a few storylines that I felt could have been better explored...the gun toting lunatic could have been better used IMHO. There was some gore but nothing that would require caution and the ending was not what I was expecting. I appreciated the humour that was worked into the tale as well. As someone who uses humour as a coping tool in stressful situations it felt very real to me. Overall a good read that will certainly have a spot on my recommends shelf.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me access to an advanced readers copy of this title free of charge. I'm leaving my honest review voluntarily.

3.00 stars
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After a breakup, Mike and his friend Wade embark on a camping trip to get away. What pulls you in immediately is how isolating the setting is, you're camping in the woods, with nowhere to go. After the discovery of where a meteor landed, things started to pick up. Our friends, meet a family (The Taylors) and from there the actions of the book will have you on the edge of your seat.

After our group has an unfortunate run-in with some worms, members of their group start to die one after the other in the most horrific ways. If body horror isn't your thing, I would advise you to read with caution. I'd like to think of myself as having a pretty strong stomach, but some of the scenes were a little much for me.

The book is bleak. We do meet other characters along the way, but a lot of them don't stick around for too long. What starts off as worms in the ground, becomes so much more, and stepping off the path could end their lives in an instant. I really wanted to love this one, and it did make for an entertaining read...I just like to be a bit more hopeful while reading. I feel like the entire book was a lot of leadup to our group finding their way out, only to get a devastating shock at the end of the book.

Overall, if you're into dreaful, slow-burn, body horror I would highly recommend this one!
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I would like to thank Rising Action Publishing, Ernest Jensen, and NetGalley for a copy of Nameless Things in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions formulated are my own - Nameless Things is scheduled to publish on March 25th, 2025, you can pre-order your copy today!

Other than it started off as a slow read, and needing more work on the writing it was overall really good. It kept me on a seat and would recommend to another horror book fan

I’m not sure what took me so long to read this, but wow. I finished in one night!

Yes, the dialogue needs work. Yes, some parts didn’t make a lot of sense. HOWEVER, I could not get enough of this book. The whole way throughout was nail biting, horrific, terror. I needed to know who would survive and what would happen to the group.

One by one, each character was dying off in horrible ways. Each situation was terrifying and had you on the edge of your seat. It’s been such a long time since a book made me feel like this! Also, the ending? Yeah, wasn’t expecting that at all. Pretty grim!

I highly enjoyed this story. This could have easily been a 5 star book for me if not for some of the dialogue and the lack of sense some of the scenes made.