I landed on a 2.5⭐

This is due to how the characters react to most situations. It's also very light on the disgusting factor, in my opinion. The writing at points is not my favorite either. It also felt like a prologue to a more significant series at hand. I personally would have a hard time recommending. The audiobook was okay.

Happy Publication Day to this brutal survival horror read!

Thank you Dreamscape Media & Ernest Jensen for this audiobook.

Packed with plenty of action, gore and gross moments, the characters endure a whole lot of nightmarish hurdles. As a group of people begin to find eachother, the question becomes who will survive on the path to safety?! Each death that happens is graphic and although I didn't feel myself connected emotionally to any character (but the dog), each is developed vividly that I felt I could imagine exactly who they were.

I felt some areas lacked pace but in general there was alot that happened in such a short time, that those areas may be exactly what others crave.

The narration was excellent and the narrator really brought the characters and story to life.

Overall this book was a really good read. Perfect for those that are craving a unqiue blend of cosmic and survival horror that promises plenty of unsettling moments!

The premise of this book was so good. I was thoroughly creeped out several times, and the body horror was nasty (in the best way) but it felt a bit anticlimactic, to me. The ending was totally not what I expected but I'm not mad about it. Overall, this was a pretty good read.

This was a ride from start to finish. I couldn't stop the "WHAT" that came out of my mouth when I realized the audiobook was over.

This book had the makings of something great but unfortunately, I don't think it really clicked in the way the author intended. The premise had so much promise but the characters were insufferable, made choices that didn't seem to make sense given their circumstances and I was kind of rooting for the worms to get them all- except the dog.

I don't think the narrator did the book any favors, as his cadence felt off but maybe it wouldn't have mattered since I couldn't connect with the book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC audio.

I went into this thinking it was a thriller and quickly found out it is a full blown horror novel which was a pleasant surprise! I enjoyed this for the most part, I liked how we jumped right into the action with minimal buildup - I am not a slow burn person so I really liked that it got started right away. There is some really well-written body horror in here right from the start and I was really excited to see where it would go.

Unfortunately, I didn't love the rest of the book as much as I did the first 25%-ish. It felt like this could have used one more round of edits as the writing was a bit repetitive at times. There were also a lot of different characters to keep track of and I had some trouble remembering everyone. Most of all, I think this suffers from the fact that I've already read The Troop by Nick Cutter, a book that is both very similar to this one and, imo, a better-developed version of the same concept. However, I did like the ending - I thought it was a bit predictable by that point but I still thought it was appropriate and satisfying.

However the biggest thing that kept me from fully enjoying this was the audiobook narrator. I do not think this narrator was well-suited to this book. He had this lighthearted, almost sardonic tone for most of it that really just did not suit the main character for me. Moments that were supposed to be tense ended up just feeling unserious? It took me out of it a lot. And the accents and voices for other characters were really poorly done. I'm not normally put off by a narrator like this but in this case I'd really wished I had been reading it instead of listening.

Thanks NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for the ARC!

The narration wasn’t really for me., it sort of conflicted with the tone of the book. There were also some editing issues and parts of it seemed rushed while others lagged behind.

Nameless Things by Earnest Jensen is a relentless, grotesque ride into apocalyptic horror that grips the reader from the very first page and never lets go. If you’ve ever wondered what it might feel like to be trapped in a world where the very fabric of reality itself unravels, this book will show you, in agonizing detail. As if the worms weren’t enough—yes, worms—this 5-star apocalyptic package delivers on its promise of skin-crawling terror and more.

I have decided to not finish this book at roughly 50% through. I was truly captivated when it began and was super intrigued to see where it would go, but I kept losing interest as the story went on and found myself forgetting to pay attention, which caused me to have to keep rewinding. The character development was not there enough for me to care about the characters fate, and the story itself got a big repetitive. I think it’s an extremely interesting concept for a book, but I just couldn’t get into it.

Though it wasn’t for me, I do absolutely think there are many readers who would love this one!!

"A Chilling and Atmospheric Horror Novel"

Ernest Jensen’s "Nameless Things" is a haunting and deeply unsettling horror novel that grips you from the first page. With an eerie, almost surreal atmosphere, the book weaves a tale that is as psychological as it is supernatural. Jensen’s prose is sharp and evocative, drawing readers into a world where reality twists and nightmares feel just a breath away.

Mike's long time friend invites him on a hiking trip, Mike agrees as he has just come out of a long term relationship and needs to take his mind off his painful brakup. The trip becomes a living nightmare with the landing of a meteor not far away.

One of the novel’s greatest strengths is its slow-burning dread. Rather than relying on cheap jump scares, Nameless Things builds tension through unsettling imagery, creeping paranoia, and a growing sense of isolation. Set in Devil's Cup state park, Colorado. Mike's journey feels raw and real, making his descent into terror all the more impactful.

That said, the book’s ambiguity might not be for everyone. Some plot points remain deliberately vague, and certain moments leave more questions than answers. While this adds to the book’s eerie charm, readers who prefer neatly wrapped-up narratives may find it frustrating.

"Nameless Things" is a must-read for fans of cerebral horror—dark and deeply unnerving.

4/5✨ First of all I want to say thank you to NetGalley, Ernest Jensen and Dreamscape Media for providing me with an advanced audiobook copy of “Nameless things”. I think the premise of this book had a lot of potential with both cosmic horror and body horror elements regarding “worms”. The beginning of the book started really strong with the main characters trying to survive and unknown danger, but throughout the book the plot became weaker. I found myself wanting more horror scenes and I think the book was mainly based on the relationships between the survivors. The development of the main characters personalities is important but it became the main plot, putting the horror plot in second place. Nonetheless i found the story interesting but i would’ve like to find it scarier too.

I was very intrigued by the summary but it didn't quite live up to my expectations.
The first thing I noticed was the writing style. The writing style was very modern, often referencing real life, I don't see this style often and it was a interesting choice.
The story itself was a easy read but it had its issues to me personally. I noticed a repetitive pattern throughout the story and a lot of missed opportunities for added fear. In the beginning Particularly, I found some moments where it was supposed to be shocking, but it seemed to be glossed over and the lack of emotions from the characters really threw it off. I feel if more time was given to the character depth alone it would have been a huge difference. I do think this got better towards the end and I would be interested in trying a future book from this author.
I listened to this as audio and the narrator did a fantastic job! I really think he helped this book a lot for me personally as his voice is very well suited to this story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing company for this book!

Sadly, the story didn’t click for me, and I couldn’t stay engaged. The narrator, Tim Lounibos, has a deep voice that really draws you in.

A very special thanks to Dreamscape Media for the ALC.

I really enjoyed this book, but it took some time for me to get into it. The 20% mark is when I feel the story started to pick up and became genuinely immersive. Overall, I like the characters (not you Dan Taylor), and think the Nameless Things themselves are an interesting concept.
The narrator's enunciation is very clear, which is great, although the tone is a bit flat? Similarly to the book itself, I think the 20% mark is where this narrator starts to fit the vibe a bit more.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audiobook!

Pursued by eldritch alien horrors, a man and his companions struggle to escape from a national park with their lives and sanity. I was never fully invested in the characters and the horror elements seemed derivative and histrionic to me. The character arc was decent, but the journey was trying too hard. I could have been wanting more than it meant to give so a lighter read might be satisfying.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy. These opinions are my own.

I went into The Nameless Things intrigued by its premise, but unfortunately, I struggled to fully connect with the book. One of my biggest challenges was the audiobook narration—whether due to tone, pacing, or delivery, it made it harder for me to stay engaged with the story.

Beyond that, I found it difficult to connect with some of the characters, which made the emotional stakes feel less impactful. While the book had moments of intrigue and strong atmosphere, I often found myself disengaged, and finishing it became a bit of a struggle.

That said, I can see how the book might work better for others, especially in a different format. If you enjoy atmospheric storytelling and don’t mind a slower, more abstract approach to character development, this might be worth a read—but for me, it fell short of expectations.

As a long time avoider of the natural world and all of it's pitfalls and inherent dangers, Nameless Things is just another terrifying reason to add to my ever-growing pile of why one should never go camping. Mike is all in his feelings over a recent breakup with a longtime boyfriend, and for some reason decided to clear his head with a little nature in a camping trip with his longtime childhood friend, Wade. While hiking, they run into a family. Next thing you know, an meteor strikes nearby, they find terrifying worms, and the wife gets sick with a mysterious illness and dies. The father and son, an Australian couple, and Mike and Wade all try to make their way back down the trail to get help. But soon, they realize that the troubles in their campsite have spread much further than their little group, and with a ticking clock and fading daylight, man of that family is starting to look ill in a very familiar way.

Nameless Things was an entertaining horror. If you like Stephen King, Robert McCammon, Richard Matheson, I think you'd like this. It was giving a lot of Dreamcatcher vibes in the beginning, but definitely came into a story on its own as things progressed. The audio experience was also pretty good. I felt like the narrator would appeal to the target audience of this book; what I affectionately call midwestern dad horror. I could see listening to this one with my dad. And I also personally appreciated that the everyman main character, Mike, was also a gay man, which is rare in this genre.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was a bit graphic at some times, scatological (sometimes quite literally) at others, but I'm certain those elements would a appeal to someone, and I don't think these moments were gratuitous. I'm certain I'll think about this book the next time someone mentions the idea of camping to me.

I received this audiobook arc from NetGalley. This book was decent. I don’t normally like stories of people trapped in the woods, but this one was better than most. It made me anxious to see what would happen, but I’m still left wondering by the ending just what the worms were. I did like the writing and would read more from this author.

I received an advance audiobook copy of Nameless Things by Ernest Jensen.

Creepy, disgusting, nightmare inducing.

This story was well written. It's categorized as a horror? Yep. Nailed it.

I enjoyed the narrator and the narration was well done.

This is supposed to be a work of horror about an infestation of lethal worms that appear to have arrived on a meteor. It sounded promising, but the execution was lacking.

In a post-apocalyptic or disaster work, it is so important to have characters that you can connect with, root for, and that you'll be sitting on the edge of your seat hoping they survive. But there was zero development or depth to these characters. They weren't likeable, but weren't written to be unlikeable, and they were painfully flat. The group of characters were all men save for one woman, and it was impossible to remember who was who. The dog was the only character that I cared about, and it had very little page time.

Without strong characters, a book has to have something else to support it - a strong plot, interesting setting and descriptions, or even vibrant writing. But this book was also lacking all of these things. The author told us everything, from emotions to actions, to the point where everything was bland. There were also errors throughout the writing, including accidental tense changes. The author also chose to start new chapters in the middle of scenes quite often, which added nothing to the tension but became frustrating.

I can't recommend this book to anyone, though if you are going to read it, the audiobook narrator was good. My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to read this work, which will be published March 11, 2025. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Here's what I liked about Nameless Things: The imagery, especially when Dan has a worm coming out of his face. That was super gross and had me completely disgusted. As a big fan of Nick Cutter, I enjoyed the comparison and could see why his name was used in marketing this book. I also liked that the dog and kid survived.

That said, I'm not a huge fan of the way Ernest Jensen writes. He seemed to get hung up on certain phrases, like when he's talking about that one guy's beard and calling it facial foliage multiple times. The narrator was speaking as if he was writing down his story for people to read later. Not normal past tense, but like he'd already lived past this and was recounting everything to a friend. Then we get to the end and find out that it's basically the end of the world, so why was it written like that? It really seemed like he was recounting the events to someone, but with everyone else facing imminent doom... No one else is around to talk to him. Except the dog and the kid who already lived through it.