A good survival horror novel. This reminds me of the 70's creature novels and movies. Good characters and well plotted. This book is for fans of this type of book, but maybe not for the casual, but I would certainly recommend it. Thanks to Rising Action Publishing and Netgalley for this review ARC.

While Nameless Things by Ernest Jensen has a fun B-movie concept (and that’s no knock as I love B Movies) it falters in its execution and never reaches it’s true potential. Who doesn’t love a good survival story. Secluded out in the woods, a meteor crash, the appearance of deadly creatures. Sounds fun, right? And while I did like parts, I just didn’t love it. I believe this may be the first foray into horror for Jensen, and while all the pieces are there, it was just missing…something. I’d like to thank Rising Action Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Nameless Things.

2.5 ⭐️ (rounding up to 3)

Let me start off by saying I love a good survival story. Give me weird monsters, give me nature, give me people turning against each other; just give me a “fight for survival” story. With that being said, when I read the description of this story I was HYPED. Unfortunately, this one did not live up to what I had hoped it would be. The characters are very flat and unlikable, including our main protagonist. I didn’t like a single one of them, so when it came down to the survival aspect I just did not care what happened to them (except for the dog, I cared about the dog). Their dialogue wasn’t any better, when the characters would talk it was like they were just talking to say things and it didn’t care any weight or substance to the story. The story itself seemed a bit lackluster, and I found myself wanting more to happen and more moments to happen with the worms. One thing to keep in mind is the author is from the UK I believe, so depending on where you’re from the slang might throw you off a bit, I didn’t have much of an issue and caught on pretty quick, just maybe something to keep in mind heading into this book.

I did see the potential this story had, and I feel I could see the authors vision, the execution just unfortunately did not pan out. Please note I hate giving bad reviews, but I try to be as honest as possible for both readers and the authors if they want to seek these types of reviews out especially since this was an ARC. I try to be as respectful as possible!

This book actually releases today! So happy pub day to the author. Remember, just because this book wasn’t right for me doesn’t mean it won’t be your cup of tea!

Nameless Things was entertaining from the first page. This is a story that floats somewhere between the genres of thriller, horror, and wilderness action. I liked the author's conversational, simple language, and the funny banter between the friends. They set the mood for the book and made the story feel easy to read and less pretentious (which suits this type of thriller/horror very well). I love the wilderness setting, and it served as a great backdrop for this story. I liked the main characters and felt that these were people I could get along with (yes, at times they were a bit "annoying," but remember the setting they were placed in!). This book may not be a literary masterpiece, but I don't think the author intended it to be. It's a light, entertaining book with lots of dark humor, quick action scenes that kept me engaged, and a decent ending. I was entertained. 😊

Okay I'm calling it. Time of death, 48%. 💀

This one is just not for me. I'm not jiving with the writing at all. The writing seemed all over the place in the beginning. It did somewhat smooth out but it still just wasn't working for me unfortunately.

I also didn't really like the narrator either, don't even know his name tbh this far in. I think his name is mentioned once (don't quote me). It just felt like the character was not really developed and I had zero connection with them.

At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like this but as I continued on reading, it did eventually pick up as there were some parts that dragged. It kind of feels like a continuation or another version of The Troop for me. I may not love it as much as The Troop or the Tremors but I like it enough especially the ending! The ambiguity is perfect and devastating at the same time. I can't help but feel bad for the last 3 characters. Just can't help but to root for their survival. The narration was also pretty good!

What Is It?

I haven't read anything by this author before, but I will look for him in future. His descriptions were so well-executed, they painted the scene vividly without impeding the momentum. His direct narration made it easy to see from the character's POV.

I will not give details on the plot or how it was resolved, but let me assure you that the book is the scariest and most memorable that I've read so far this year. Nameless Things was so disturbing that it still gives me the shivers, and I loved it.

Thank you to Ernest Jensen, Rising Action Publishing, and NetGalley for the free advance readers' copy. I'm under no obligation to them to make my review a positive one. But I will, because it was a great read!

I solely wanted to read this book over the location. I absolutely love Colorado even though survival horror is usually not my thing. The problem? I don't feel like the author knew Colorado at all. I looked it up after things felt off and realized the author is Australian living in Scotland so that explains the disconnect. I think this setting would have been better somewhere familiar. Survival horror is a hard genre and you really have to know the landscape to write it.

3 stars and my thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the eARC!

There are some horror novels where there's a spooky cliffhanger at the end of each chapter and it works. Then there's Nameless Things.

Mike and Wade are camping in a popular state park in Colorado when they see a meteor crash to Earth. After finding several other campers also curious about the crash site, weird things start to happen to them all because of some lil worms. Or something along those lines.

Trying to be a body horror with worms, but not doing a great job at building suspense, Nameless Things had potential. Goodreads makes me wonder if this is Jensen's first novel, and if so, I do look forward to what he might cook up in the future. But for now, meh.

"A gripping horror thriller set in Colorado's Devil’s Cup State Park where survival becomes a deadly game against subterranean terrors." << I mean c'mon, how could I not be interested?!

Unfortunately though, Nameless Things fell short for me. I never really became invested in Mike and his friend's plight, but did love how much this book gave me the ick though lol

How would I describe this book?
Tremors meets Nick Cutter's the Troop

This book wastes no time getting to the action and the adrenalin filled nightmare of a survival story keeps a fast pace until the very end and I loved (almost) every moment of it. The vivid imagery of the worms will haunt me, probably forever- I'm getting heebie jeebies as I sit here writing this. There were plenty of times where I was so stressed out/worried about the characters that I found myself literally on the edge of my seat. I found myself flying through the pages.

There was so much I loved about this book:
- Isolated woods location/ camping combined with a creature horror. Two of my favorite horror genres in one book.
- The pacing was fantastic- there were no lulls or bits that felt padded out
- The main character, Mike. I loved him he was funny and he felt very real. His inner monologue and processing of the trauma and grief of the situation was perfection.
- I liked most of the secondary characters
- The Tremors vibes- one of my all time favorite movies

Things I didn't love:
- Mike kept mentioning how he'd read a phrase/feeling in a book and never understood it until now. That was fun the first time, the third not so much.
- I felt like we didn't get enough character development for Wade who was the MCs friend.
- Mike and Wade were supposed to be American and yet they said some very non-american things. and their lack of knowledge about some of the Brit/Aussie slang was pretty unbelievable.
-There were quite a few bits of repetition of thoughts/facts
-There was a very long and unnecessary poop scene in this book- This was just gross and honestly added NOTHING to the story.

With a few small changes this book would easily be a 4 star read for me- despite my complaints this is probably one of my favorite creature horrors I've ever read.

I am just not feeling this one. I can’t get into the characters or the way the story is told. It’s not capturing my attention after multiple tries, so it’s a DNF.

I do want to thank NetGalley and Rising Action for the eARC. All opinions are mine.

Mike and his friend Wade are hiking in the Devil's Cup State Park, Colorado. Suddenly, a meteor strike and they become trapped in the ancient volcanic caldera. They encounter other trekkers and they realised that the meteor brought some flesh eating worms that infested the ground.

You should pick Nameless Things by Ernest Jensen if :
* you like body horror that left you uneasy;
* you like post-apocalyptic scenario where caracters needs to travel to safer ground;
* you like short stories with a fast pace and not a lot of in depth descriptions of caracters/environment.

I personnally taught that it was a lot of repetitions troughout the story, the majority of the plotline happened quickly and after that it is somewhat the same thing until the end. I read it quickly because I wanted to know if there was more to it at the end and I was disappointed.

⭐️⭐️

Nameless Things is a fast paced survival horror following a group of hikers in the woods, when a meteor strikes and releases an infestation of predatory worms.

While the premise sounds good, it fell short for me. Nameless Things gives off Stephen King’s Dreamcatcher vibes right from the beginning with a mix of Tremors. Unfortunately for me, that connection was all I could think about when reading and I felt there were just too many plot holes.

I know there is a specific audience who will love this. However, Nameless Things just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing for this ARC. This is an honest review.

I received this book in exchange for a honest review from NetGalley.

I liked this book. It was pretty good for a debut book. It was mysterious, scary, suspenseful, and disgusting. As someone who loves body horror this book pays off but where it falls short is in the continuity and rhythm of the plot line and the abruptness of the ending.

Along with the general fear of unknown creatures, Nameless Things brings with it the type of body horror that can only be found in parasitic infestations. When nothing and no one is safe, and the only hope revolves around escaping the confines of the surroundings you are trapped in only to discover that isn't going to be easy or perhaps not even possible, and the fear isn't the only thing eating people alive. After finishing this book I don't think I'll be camping any time soon.

Thank to and the publisher for the copy. Unfortunately I was unable to finish the story. I was excited to read Nameless Things, as it sounded intriguing. A pair of hikers end up trapped in a state park after a meteor strike causes a rock slide. It wouldn’t have been a big deal, but unfortunately they discover flesh-piercing worms in the ground. I did not have any interest in the characters and it felt very similar to a Nick Cutter novel.

This one didn't work for me. The plot wasn't well paced, the characters had no appeal, and the language was awkward. Forced myself to finish but it was a challenge.

Nameless Things
Ernest Jensen

A novel that feels like watching a fun horror movie from the 80's.
It's serving Tremors, a la Nick Cutter.
I enjoyed reading it physically more then the audiobook. I found the narrators voice to be an odd choice for the story, but that might just be a me-thing.

3.75 / 5

As an avid outdoors woman. I am now absolutely terrified to head up to the mountains this summer…. Thanks Ernest Jensen 😅

This is a perfect horror that I am looking for with the right amount of body horror. I was terrified the entire time but could not put the book down.

The scenes in this book were so graphic that I could see them all in head. It was like watching a horror movie in my head.

The main character was kind of a jerk, definitely to Josh but maybe that’s how he dealt with all this. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Genre: Horror
APK: Ebook
Pages: 291
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series or Standalone: Stand-alone

Thank you rising action publishing for a free copy of Nameless Things for a honest review.