
Member Reviews

Eh it was fine. I wouldn't go out of my way to speak up on it or speak down on it really. I didn't really care about what was happening much and it didn't grip me much throughout.

"Nameless Things", the debut horror novel by Ernest Jensen, is a dive into wilderness horror with some cosmic horror sprinkled in for good taste. This is a fairly easy novel to get through, which is due to Jensen's quick and witty writing. While I wasn't a particular fan of the chapter setup, as it offered a "villain of the week" style to the novel, which started to get old very quickly, I still had a good time with how quick the novel seemed to go. The plot is fairly quickly paced, which made for a read that you wanted to continue on with, since you were left hanging at the end of every chapter. I wish there was a bit more characterization, since we only got surface level examinations of the characters, I still found them to be enjoyable to read. The stakes got high, the horror got wacky, and I genuinely had a really good time with this novel. I'll be very excited to put it on my shelf when it gets published, adding another fun addition to my slowly growing survival outdoor horror collection.

Man vs. the unknown is an awesome horror trope. When a meteor crashes in a campground in Colorado, Mike, Wade, and a couple other campers must face off against wormlike being that eat them. But this is just the start. The Nameless Things are the real horror. A little bit creature feature, cosmic horror, and body horror make this book a great read!!!

easy and fastpaced work with the nameless things being this interesting scar.e the twists were VERY obvious but i wasn't that disappointed. the narrative plot was weird, though. 3 stars. tysm for the arc.

This was a quick and fast paced read however, I felt it lacked quite a bit.
The Nameless Thing for one seemed like an after though and that it was just there for fun and didn't have a real purpose. And second the deaths within the story were quick, lack luster, and di not leave much to the imagination. While it as good, it was just an OK read for me..

I was not shocked to learn that this author was Australian, or that she lives in the UK, based on the language used in this book, which claims to be written from the perspective of a queer American man. So much of the book is written in British English that when she finally got around to the scene where the British and Australian characters were comparing slang and swear words, and our "American" narrator was left befuddled, it was humorous for all the wrong reasons. You're telling me this man says "torch" and "trousers" and "bugger" and says things like "can't be assed" (there is no American equivalent to "can't be arsed", Ms. Duffy; you're better off saying "can't be fucked"), but he doesn't know what "bollocks" means? Ridiculous!!
I was shocked, however, to learn that Louise "Ernest Jensen" Duffy has written five books before because this one was not even close to being good. The characters weren't compelling, it was difficult to get into, and the language used was so boring and generic it felt exhausting to read for such a short book. Normally, I'd finish something this length in a day or two, but this one took me about a week because I had to keep putting it down. The only part that got any kind of an emotional reaction out of me was when I thought they might have to leave the boy's dog behind near the end.
Don't get me wrong. This book wasn't COMPLETELY terrible. It just wasn't very good. As a writing teacher, if one of my high school or college age students turned something like this in, I'd be impressed. But knowing this comes from an adult author who has written multiple other novels, I'm severely disappointed, not only in her, but in the company or companies who have agreed to publish her. Is this really what we've come to in this day and age? Is media literacy really down this much? I sure hope not.

I never knew what was about to happen at any time in this book, lol! I was unprepared for the crazy horrors that went down….part body horror, part cosmic, some dark humor…I was sucked in this story until the end. This is the first book by the author that I’ve read but I’ll definitely look for more!

I would love to have loved this but I didn't. It was a little meh and never took off. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
A fast-paced, nasty little horror thriller, this will put the fear of God into hikers, and the fear of everything else into the remainder of the audience. A delightful blend of horror, science fiction, and thriller, this book follows a cast of characters through a hike trail taken over by the titular ‘nameless things’ that crashed to Earth on an asteroid.
The book is really well done, with a lot of gore, awful deaths, searing descriptions, and a sense of menace so heavy you could cut it with a knife. It has a somewhat predictable ending, but that is somewhat to be expected in a survival novel.
The only thing I didn’t like quite as much as in other horror novels was the characterisation. There’s not much room for growth when you’re fighting for your life, but I did want to like some of the characters a bit better than I did. I thought that there was definitely a little that could be adjusted in the characters, but the action did compensate sufficiently for this.
This was a really fun horror novel, with a lot of influences that were apparent. It’s well worth the time, particularly if you’re a horror fan and you’re looking for a far more satisfying read than recent tourist horror that seems to be prevalent at the moment.

I love horror stories set in the wilderness and I also love creature features so Nameless Things sounded right up my street and it mostly delivered! The book is set in Devil’s Cup State Park in Colorado and sees various hikers come together as they try to make it back to civilization after they realize that the ground is infested with dangerous worms.
The highlight of this book for me was the worms themselves. I’m a big fan of Tremors, and the worms in this story have that vibe but weirder. I also flew through the story because of how fast-paced it was, but I do wish there had been more pauses. Not only would this have provided opportunities for more character development between the many moments of action, but slowing down would have left room for more description of the horror. But overall, Nameless Things is a fast and fun read!

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!!
I LOVED this book! It was a bit slow in the beginning but then boom I was hooked!! I finished it in one sitting! My first by this author but will not be my last!!

Thank you so much Netgalley for this ARC.
What drawn me to this book is the cover. It is so well done.
This book was pretty good. Not the best but not the worst. I enjoyed it enough.

A fun and fast-paced (if not notably well-executed) thriller along the lines of David Keopp's "Cold Storage." It reminded me a lot of one of my all-time favorite movies, Tremors--funny and a little scary/suspenseful with a likable lead character. I'd read a sequel.

This horror book just didn't catch my attention. I couldn't get into the characters and it just felt flat.

This was such a shocking book! I loved it and wanted it to continue but alas it ended. It had so much suspense. A couple of guys go camping and hiking with exciting things happening. You need to be surprised as I was so I won't tell you! I kept thinking about it for days after though. I like the way it kept going on with such crazy things happening. This type of book may not please other people but I truly enjoyed it. If anyone has other books similar to this please leave in your review and hopefully I will see what you put. If you love trudging thru the woods and having your worst nightmare come after you then it will thrill you also!

**Thank you so much to NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing for this ARC of Nameless Things by Ernest Jensen, in return for my honest opinion. Expected pub date: Mar 25 2025**
This is a debut horror novel by Louise Jensen Duffy, writing as Ernest Jensen. The Author is Australian, and living in Scotland - so I want to note that you will run into a lot of non-American slang words in this novel. I have friends from both countries, so it didn't bother me because I was familiar with the words. I've spoken with people that get really confused when dealing with slang words, so I wanted to make sure readers are aware before they begin their reading journey.
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The first couple of chapters of this book really reminded me of 'Headless' by Scott Cole, which is kind of a sci-fi/extreme horror with worms involved. There's also a bit of 'Tremors' the movie injected into this novel, with a dash of zombie animals and people. While all this sounds fantastic in theory, and I do think I can see what the author was envisioning - this novel was just so dis-jointed and hard for me to read.
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The writing felt very generic, and there was little to no character development - which I think is needed in a story like this because it has a post apocalyptic feel and it's about survival. There was no clear leader, and there was a random 'bad guy' thrown into the end of the book that just really didn't make sense. He just shows up a couple of times, does bad things - then off he goes on his way again.
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A lot of the dialogue is very melodramatic, which just takes away the horror element for me. There also isn't a lot of descriptors used for the creatures, so as much as I'm the type of reader that doesn't need a lot of detail - in this case I felt like the author never really gave a clear idea of what these things actually look like. There's a general idea, but it's just very generic.
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I think this novel could greatly benefit from an editor, and although it missed the mark for me - I think this is a novel that a novice horror reader could digest pretty easily.

3.5 Stars
I love a good horror book set in the forest. I would say this is a mix of sci-fi and horror. Absolutely rancid and nasty and had me pausing a few times with how gross it was. It was both bleak, funny and terrifying. The characters all felt real, and even when they were annoying, I was still rooting for their survival. I wouldn't say it was the BEST creature feature/alien type book i've read but it was still well written and engaging. I can't wait to see what else the author puts out.
Thank you netgalley and Rising Action Publishing for the arc!

What sets Nameless Things apart is its dual focus on survival and the fragility of human connections under extreme pressure. As the group faces dwindling supplies, rising paranoia, and the monstrous threat below, their alliances fray in ways that feel heartbreakingly real. Mike’s transformation from a man seeking solace to a determined survivor is compelling, and his harrowing journey to escape the caldera keeps the tension razor-sharp

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.