Nameless Things is a mix of survival horror, body horror, and maybe creature horror. Set in the wilderness, we follow a mix of characters as they fight to survive against an alien foe, not to mention hunger and thirst.

The book is fast-faced and filled with tension and dread. There's a sense of panic and fear in the characters and the scenes. As a reader, I was caught up in the confusion and fear felt by the characters - the sudden shift into the unknown and the terror of facing something alien and deadly.

I was happy to see a gay protagonist in a horror like this, but he needed better characterisation. There's nothing, apart from being told he broke up with his boyfriend, to let the reader know he is gay. I'm not asking for cliche or stereotypes, but maybe something that would make him distinct from his friend in the book. But I feel this book may be focusing more on the action and the fear, on the character movement and the struggle for survival. In that way, it gives the story a more movie-like feel, where the visual is more important than building the story.

But overall, I enjoyed this horror. It's a quick read. It's tense. There are edge of the seat moments. I think it achieves that it sets out do to.

Eh..... Just read The Troop by Nick Cutter.

While I understand what Jensen aimed for, it was just mid at best.

I didn't find this interesting, shocking or scary at all.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Nameless Things by Ernest Jensen (AKA Louise Jensen Duffy) took a very interesting premise, and muddied the waters with an incredibly dumb and unlikable main character, too much inner monologue of this main character, and the chapter progression of a goosebumps book. It felt like 20% of the chapters ended in “and that’s when he/she fell”. I was really looking forward to this one, as the description and even the title was a banger for me.

Unfortunately, by the halfway point of this book I started skimming for dialogue and key actions. The amount of times I had to read “I felt terrible when I woke up after sleeping on hard rock” said in 100 different ways; the amount of times the MC just “could not right now” and demonstrated less composure than a small child; the fact that the author made the decision to go on for 2-3 pages about how heavenly the coffee was that the MC finally got to drink… I almost DNF’d this book and wouldn’t blame anyone for doing so.

Rating: 2/5 stars.

I want to thank NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing for sending me a free advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing for this ARC.

Mike and his best friend Wade decide to go on a hiking trip in the caldera of Devil's Cup State Park in Ernest Jensen's first foray into horror novels with "Nameless Things:,. When a meteor crashes into the park, it sets off a landslide blocking the only trail exit out of the caldera, and, unfortunately for all the hikers inside the park, the meteor either had some alien hitchhikers or the ability to alter Earth organisms into a deadly, creeping horror.

I was initially hooked, but over time, the story just seemed incredibly repetitive. The story would make an absolutely stellar short story or 150-180 page novella, but as a novel, it falls flat, despite being a quick and easy read. The characters don't really stand out and seem like simple body fodder to add a dash of terror into what is mostly a monotonous loop of walk in one direction, get stuck, someone dies, head in another direction, and repeat ad nauseum. Again, a really tight editing into something half the length (or less) would seemingly solve this almost unnecessary repetition.

As others have noted, the language is also quite a mishmash with the American protagonist often falling into using Anglo-English expressions (torches vs flashlights being the most common). I will disagree with many of the other reviews, though, in that I see this story as much more reminiscent of Scott Smith's "The Ruins" or Stephen King's short story "Beachworld" than the movie "Tremors" (although I think a case might be made for the cult classic movie "Squirm" if you need to have a worm reference). Sadly, my hopes for the character development that made "The Ruins" so satisfying, did not pan out here in "Nameless Things". The one most positive element I will say, is that if you do push yourself through to the end, there is a great finale. It just really would have been so much better about 150 pages sooner.

A meteor strike triggers a landslide, blocking the trails leading into a volcanic caldera and trapping everyone who was hiking in the park at the time...but that's just the beginning. This is an entertaining creature feature that explores what might happen when a bunch of strangers are isolated with an unknown threat and limited supplies. I did find myself losing track of which characters were still alive (the numerous dream sequences didn't help with that.)

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy. I really enjoyed this book. Mike and Wade are on a hiking trip in Devil's Cup State Park when the meteor strikes. They along with others become trapped in the caldera with seemingly no way out as they began to realize what horrors now lie beneath the earth. The idea of being far away from civilization when a meteor strikes that unleashes unspeakable horrors is pretty terrifying.

I really enjoyed the body horror and the fight for survival. I liked that I saw both sides of humanity in the book, the good and the bad, the when push comes to shove what would you do type question.

This was a quick read, it was really easy to get through and it kept my interest the whole time.

There was one thing that bothered me though, which kept it from being 5 stars. However, as that is a spoiler I will not be adding it to the review. I like to keep my reviews spoiler free.

Overall this book was really enjoyable and a thrilling time.

I really wanted to love this, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me. The slow burn felt too slow, and to be honest, the whole worm aspect didn’t hold my interest. Sorry to say! Honestly if this wasn’t an arc reading, I would have DNF it.

Thank you to Netgalley for my arc.

When I saw the synopsis for this I instantly wanted to read it. People stuck in the woods with worm monsters? Yes! That is going to be so much fun...Only the story was really boring. I didn't care about any of the characters. They were all so flat. Things happened that should have been exciting/intense/whatever and they were just bogged down in bad dialogue. I...After the first death I thought maybe I should stop reading as it should have been fun but I was bored instead. I decided to continue on to see if it got any better, but ended up DNF-ing it along the way because it didn't. Things happened and sometimes I was like why are the people doing this? But at the same time I didn't really care because the writing didn't evoke emotions. It was not good.

One word tremors. This book was like tremors (movie) on steroids. Such a missed opportunity to name a character Burt.
Being this was Louise ( Ernest) Jensen’s first horror novel she absolutely knocked it out of the park. I laughed, cried, gasped, and there at the ending held my breath. I was so invested into what happened next.
The ending got me! My mouth dropped my heart fell out of my butt. I didn’t see that coming one bit.
To the bad part. I only had one thing I didn’t really care for. The kid. He disappeared and when the event unfolded after they looked for him there was no mention of him. They didn’t even discuss if they should keep looking for him. It was like he was never there. I would 100 percent recommend this book.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of nameless Things by Ernest Jensen.

The good things first: I liked the characters, the setting and the plot. That being said, the writing style almost made me stop reading it. It was too repetitive and spent way too much time on things that weren't important for the plot while things like character development wasn't happening and interesting situations were glanced over. The plot twists were also very predictable.

Having multiple POVs would have been interesting. It would have given the characters more depth while keeping the suspense about who will die high. It'd have helped with a lot of problems this book has.

The premise is fantastic. I love both survival horror and cosmic horror, so I was sold. Even the body horror is well done and effective. I read it all in one day, and never lost interest.

The execution is not as fantastic. After a great start in the first three or four chapters, the story quickly begins to stagnate. The characters slowly discovering bits and pieces of information (with lots of BIG leaps in logic) about their foe is perfectly fine, but it's the rest of the story that gets repetitive. There are endless scenes that can be summed up by 'we took a different trail, had to figure out how to dramatically cross a gulley, and then we hit a dead end and turned back.' Rinse and repeat, over and over. I'd completely lost track of the different trails they had tried, or were going to try, or maybe already had? And...couldn't they have moved some rocks around??

Also, the characters and dialogue could have benefited from some extra work. I didn't particularly care for any of the characters, and many were bland enough that I couldn't tell them apart. Unfortunately this meant the deaths had little to no impact.

As far as writing, the MCs overwrought internal narration gets tiresome after a while. And as others have pointed out, the American character does use a lot of non American slang, as part of some awkward and stilted dialogue.

Overall, there is a lot of promise here, with a strong concept and atmosphere. The weaker plotting and writing may deter some readers, but if you can push past that, the ending is worth the journey.

Okay read. I thought the atmosphere was great and had some real creepy moments but I think the plot got a little slow. I also did not care too much for the characters.

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.