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Nameless Chronicle #1

Risen: First Book of the Nameless Chronicle

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In the middle of nowhere, a nameless individual rises from the dark. With barely any knowledge apart from how to speak and how to kill, he finds himself in a world gone mad. Worse off, nearly everything that moves is out for his blood.
Not knowing where to turn, the wanderer traverses the desolate landscape of a ruined continent. Along his travels, his mind and body are pushed to their limits as he desperately tries to make sense of what is going on, what he is, and why he exists.
Foe after foe meets their end at his hands, yet each kill only serves to raise more questions. Is he even human? What has happened to the world? Where does his path lead?
The answer lies beyond the blood-stained horizon.

99 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 13, 2016

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136 people want to read

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M.T. Miller

9 books8 followers

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
Profile Image for Hobart.
2,734 reviews89 followers
March 16, 2016
★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
--
This kicks off with one of my favorite first chapters in months. Sure, it only takes a second or two to know what's going on in it, but it's really well done, even if it isn't a mystery (I'm not sure it was supposed to be, but it seemed that way). Risen grabbed me right off and didn't let go until the end.

Our protagonist is suffering some sort of amnesia -- he doesn't know who he is, where he is -- even when he is. He finds himself in a city that's definitely seen better days. It's pretty much the poster child for dystopian ruins -- Chicago in Divergent, for example. But with fewer people (maybe).

He enlists the assistance of a homeless man to guide him through both the culture and geography of this city and the surrounding. They encounter a street gang that seems to run just about all the city, a severely under-staffed church that seems to be just about the only place in town not run by the gang, and an extended family (of sorts) that lives outside the city.

And by "encounter," on the whole, I'm speaking of the violent type. Nameless remembers very little, but he seems to remember how to fight. Each fight does tell us a little more about the world and Nameless, so they're not just fun bits of gratuitous violence.

There's some supernatural stuff going on (not just in this city, but on the other side of the country), possibly Spiritual forces (in the religious sense), and . . . who knows what all, really?

All this is told with grim humor and a strong narrative voice that keeps the reader engaged in the story and characters -- not just in the "I wonder what's going on in this strange world" kind of way. Even knowing practically nothing about Nameless (making me a lot like him), I liked him as a character and want to read more about him.

My one complaint is length -- just about everything is too short. The story is too short, most of the scenes are, too. But I'm pretty sure that's just my wanting more for myself -- to give us longer scenes would ruin the pacing, would mess with the way Miller's constructing the series. And really, when you get down to it "I wanted more!" is more of a compliment than a complaint -- but I'm calling it one nonetheless.

A fast, gripping read that'll leave you wanting more. A perfect little palate-cleanser between heavy reads. I'm eagerly waiting for further adventures of Nameless and finding out more about him and his world.

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of Risen by the author in exchange for an honest (and, it turns out, over a month overdue) review.
Profile Image for Randy Harmelink.
934 reviews258 followers
February 18, 2017
I'm a sucker for stories related to amnesia, and this one is a winner. Starts out action-packed and then sets a good pace, with interesting characters. I'm looking forward to the second book in the series.
Profile Image for Rob McLean.
Author 9 books12 followers
December 1, 2016
Risen is in a genre I typically don't read, but gave it a whirl at a friend's suggestion. It was highly reminiscent of the Spawn comic books I read when I was younger. If you've read them, then you know what you'll be getting with Risen. Each chapter almost feels like a comic...the book has an episodic feel to it.

(moderate spoilers warning)

As for the story. There are no good guys. Excessive violence. Strange characters. Cannibals (and worse). In book format I can see it being a little too much for some folks; although, as I say, for some they'll instantly catch that comic book, over-the-top, violence and dark humor vibe. It's a graphic novel in book format really.

If you're looking for a strange trip into a world of violent and crazed characters, where things don't always make sense (but do in the end), this is going to scratch that itch.
189 reviews
April 13, 2018
Miller has written the perfect anti-hero. He's just as lost as the rest of us. Really great read. I'm going to recommend it to my Nephews. They will love it.
Profile Image for Karl Wiggins.
Author 25 books324 followers
December 22, 2017
Do you know what? This book started off great, and I was enjoying it much more than I actually expected to but (you knew there was a ‘but’ coming, didn’t you?) it just all got a bit daft.
I kept asking myself if I’d missed something. The protagonist, The Nameless I think his name was, started off being scared stiff of such modern contraptions as a lightbulb – in fact he had far less trouble working the shower than he did the light switch – and then in a few short days he’d mastered how to use a gun and was unsurprised by automobiles.
Don’t get me wrong, the writing’s actually very good, but the storyline goes flying off on a tangent as if M.T. Miller is thinking to himself, “Right, now what? I know …” and writing about whatever comes into his head without any real structure to the story or any sub-plots to keep the reader on his toes.
I don’t want to give this a 3 Star, but it honestly doesn’t deserve a 4 Star.
Shame, because there’s talent here. It just needs to be focused.
14 reviews
December 29, 2021
Excellent apocalyptic read!

This is the first book in a long time that kept me enthralled, no pun intended, from the 1st to the last page. It is well written and finely edited. Loved the storyline and the characters who are truly full of surprises. The description of events pulled me in so far, I felt and witnessed as if I were there. Hard to get me to that level of involvement even reading the classic greats!. The hardest thing for me was the book was at too short! Just downloaded #2............
7 reviews
September 2, 2018
Easy to get hooked

This was an easy, interesting read. Once I picked it up, it was hard to put down. The only downside for me is this trend of taking a story and splitting it up into several series books. I miss the days of having a clear concise ending. I want to pick up a book, enjoy the journey it takes me on and the revelation the ending brings you. I feel cheated otherwise ending with a cliffhanger.
Profile Image for Sahara Foley.
Author 20 books166 followers
June 9, 2019
From my 2016 TBR list. Slowly getting caught up. LOL.

First off, as you know from some of my prior reviews, I don’t like zombie stories. Even though it starts off by a man crawling out of a grave and being attacked, I really never got the impression it was about zombies until toward the end. Which was fine, as I have to admit, by then, I was hooked.

The writing is very simplistic, not eloquent at all, and Miller’s use of THE Nameless all the time drove me nuts. His name is just Nameless – not The Nameless. Anyway, despite that pet peeve, I really enjoyed the story. It has a unique premise and a secondary character – an armless beggar – who has his own secrets. So, there are lots of questions going through the reader's mind as they wander through this apocalyptic world.

Who is Nameless and where did he come from? What happened to the beggar and why did he lose his arms? What about the Skulls and the religious cult? What caused the dystopian wasteland to begin with? My, my, so many questions and a few answered toward the end. Yes, you have to buy the next book to find out more. And, yes, I did. Which I seldom do, so kudos on making me curious enough to want to find out.

This book is dark with violence and may not be suitable for some readers. But, if you’re looking for a different type of zombie or just plain end-of-the-world type of story, I recommend this one. I give it 4 stars.
Profile Image for A. M..
40 reviews3 followers
October 16, 2016
I was confused
Let me just start off that I was quite confused for the first two chapters. I didn’t know what was going or why and I felt like the main character, Nameless, in that everything was new to me. Maybe the book was supposed to be disorienting to start with because the character Nameless was disorientated. I’m not sure. I guess I’m writing this review regarding an older audience (so children should not read this book). I’m also trying to put it in the perspective of horror/fantasy/sci-fi readers. I found some of the most adult content didn’t add to the story and was just put into there for the shock. I don’t want to discuss it in this review, but when you read up to it, you’ll understand what I mean.

Characters
We have only two main characters in this book, Nameless and Horace. We have a pile of other characters, but I’ll get to them later. So, first I’ll concentrate on Nameless. He is a man, human I guess, who has been returned from the dead, probably by some magic. We aren’t told how or why. For some reason, he is determined to figure out why people are trying to kill him. He’s portrayed as a good man who kills and has the skill to execute people with ease. To me, personally, I found he had no depth as the main character.

The next character is Horace, who Nameless found. Horace is an old homeless man with stumps for his hands. At the start of the book, he’s selfish, but that soon changes as he and Nameless bond. He’s a character who has a little bit of wit and likes to talk. I found Horace had more depth than Nameless.

We have some other characters scattered through the book. These include; the skull faces (who are after Nameless with a vengeance), a nun of a new/old religion (which isn’t explained too much), and a village (or family) of cannibals. There are a lot of stereotypes in this book, which is ok, but again I don’t know if they helped the story.

Themes
With all the killing in the book, how can there be a theme you ask? Well, the first theme has to do with the setting and the characters. We know that it is a post-apocalyptic world because the cities are run down, and there are few and far people between. So, the theme is human society failing. What would happen if people just went berserk? Well, Miller paints a grim picture with racism bundling people together and far-right groups taking control of such a dangerous world. I certainly wouldn’t want to live in this world. We also see (near the end), that the divide between the wealthy and the have-nots has grown so substantially that the rich probably live in their world.

Another theme is compassion. Nameless shows this when he meets Horace on the streets. He doesn’t treat Horace like the others do. He sees a man needing help and he has the means to help him. This spark of compassion creates a friendship where honesty is healthy. With this compassion, we also see others help Nameless when their lives may be at stake.

Recommendation
Baring in mind that this genre is not for everyone, I gave the book an okay score. I do think elements (like the stereotypes and shocks) did subtract from the book. Risen was a quick and fun read, so if you happen to find it discounted or free, or if you can get it on some unlimited, you should try it out (adults only). But, if you don’t like horror/fantasy together, then please don’t pick up this book. There is a lot of description of killing and fights; that may entertain those who need to get rid of their frustrations.

Note about review
I downloaded this book for free from Amazon (there was a promotion in September). However, the author did request a review from me. This has not had any effect on my overall score or review.

Originally published at https://www.amaitken.com/book-review/risen-review/ on October 15, 2016
Profile Image for Amy (Lost in a Good Book).
718 reviews69 followers
March 17, 2016
Note: I was provided with a copy of this book from the author for review.

From the start Miller fills you with curiosity with a main character with no memory and a target on his back. From then on it leads you into a strange story filled with mutated people and a society that has fallen apart.

Unfortunately, I just could not get into this book. I could see where Miller has left room for the continuing series which is great, there is a curiosity to finding out exactly what happened to Nameless and more about this dystopian land he's found himself in. But while it was an ok read, I couldn't engage very well with the characters or the story. I feel like I'm the only one because other reviews are giving out three and five stars so maybe don't just take my word on it.

There was a lot I liked, Miller's writing is evocative and clever, the opening pages are vivid and descriptive; the story certainly opens on a surprise and there are a few good twists. You become used to Nameless and his strange ways, you also settle into the story and learn alongside Nameless as he discovers where he is and what he might be. With a back story provided by a beggar Nameless befriends, a brief rundown is given about how the continent has ended up the way it has. This brief explanation is actually enough for now as there are other pressing matters happening, and the vicious Skulls hunting Nameless are their own mystery to focus on.

Miller has been clever in that through Nameless' escape from these menaces we're shown a bit more of the world and where it's ended up. We also discover more things about Nameless on the way in interesting and mystifying ways. Being the first in a series it's evident that there will be more revealed later on, and Miller offers just enough to satisfy while leaving room to reveal more further down the track.

It is action packed which reinforces that idea that Nameless is always being hunted, and the scenes change quite quickly but I didn't mind that. To me it suited this strange new world where danger is everywhere, and the more you see of the Skulls you realise they are relentless in their chase and there's never a moment of peace.

It's intriguing and not without charm, there isn't a great deal of suspense or draw that keeps you reading, it's more idle curiosity to see where it will go. The mystery of Nameless is a mystery worth solving on its own; whether this is enough to propel you onto the next book I'm not sure. It's a short read which works in its favour so perhaps with each installation and more of the story is revealed an alluring tale will be told.

This review was posted on my blog https://lostinagoodbk.wordpress.com/2...
Profile Image for Heather.
1,151 reviews15 followers
May 24, 2016
Nameless retains basic knowledge through his amnesia and seems to understand pretty much everything except… electricity?! He called it sorcery. That doesn’t mesh with the rest of his knowledge.

Dialogue staggers between stilted, stereotypical, awkward, and weird. It gets worse when the author tries to write in dialect for some groups–in particular the highly-stereotyped back woods cannibals. It was kind of excruciating to read that part. Also, one of the women in the group raped Nameless at gunpoint–more than once–and his main reaction is to think of it as “[a] rough night-time romp”, even though he very clearly did not want her to do what she was doing. And when she does something to help him escape, he thinks about how much he owes her. Sorry, but you don’t get a pass on the consequences of rape just by switching the genders up or hand-waving away a ‘rough romp’.

The combat in particular slowed things down. In fiction combat is almost always used to increase the tension and pacing of a story. Not in this book. There is an odd truism regarding combat in fiction: if you try to detail too much it has the inobvious consequences of slowing the pace and confusing the reader. Think of it this way: in horror, you often leave some of the horrifics to the readers’ imagination. People fill the blanks in with what scares them most. In our combat example, consider that the more you detail your combat, the more it will push aside readers’ imaginations in favor of excruciating detail. But the truth is, this can backfire. Your audience fills in blanks as they go, and then suddenly you’re filling those blanks with something else (‘wait, I thought it was the other arm that got ripped off… now I’m confused’). Take advantage of audience imagination and pick out unnecessary details. Overly detailed combats also tend to slow things down, making it a really bad thing to use in spots where you want audience tension. Ultimately I found the combat to be boring, stiff, and entirely too detailed.

The book gives us a tease of what might be going on with Nameless and then ends, presumably to pick up in book two. It was a very abrupt end.


Original review on my site, with some extra musings: http://www.errantdreams.com/2016/05/r...
Profile Image for Kristyn - Reading to Unwind.
252 reviews19 followers
January 27, 2016
This is a quick read about a man who wakes up from the grave. He is originally trapped under the ground when he wakes up and needs to crawl out. Nameless doesn't know what is going on in the world any longer or where he is. So when the book first starts it jumps right into the action and might be confusing to the reader, but once the book gets going you are able to pick up more and more of what is going on. As a reader I was able to feel comfortable with the writing style after the first few chapters.

The author sticks close to the original concept of Nameless not knowing what is going on as you basically learn as the narrator/main character learns what is going on. The book is very fast paced and does cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. The book makes you want to keep reading to learn exactly what is going on in the world and what is up with Nameless.

The book sets it self up really well for a squeal to be produced, I will be on the lookout to find out what is going to happen next!
Profile Image for Kim.
791 reviews49 followers
February 11, 2016
I was scared that this was going to be another book about zombies, after all, it does start with a man rising from a grave. But thankfully, it’s not. While the action writing was well done with the first scene, I felt it could have been shortened a bit… only so I could get more of a later scene when The Nameless is being held by cannibals.

I don’t want to say too much about the story line, since finding out what is going to happen next is what makes this book so thrilling. It has an old west feel set in an apocalyptic new world. After the first scene it becomes very fast paced, and I was a bit sad when I got to the end, because I wanted more. But you know it was a good book when the author leaves you with this feeling.

Really looking forward to the next book in the Nameless Chronicles, and seeing what else M.T. Miller will write.
Profile Image for Anchit.
376 reviews26 followers
February 4, 2017
This book is what I would call as the *true* suspense genre.

The story is quite fast-paced and the whole story feels like one continuous flow of thoughts. I feel that this is an important aspect that the author does right. In several stories I see that there is a sudden jump between the storylines. I'm not talking about parallel storylines like how Dan Brown does it but I'm talking about those times where the author was talking about something and suddenly switched contexts even if it wasn't relevant. It just causes a break in the reading. But in this book the whole story is all a continous chain of thoughts. Very well planned.

I don't want to give away any plot elements so I won't comment on them directly but will just add that it was a thrilling read and it kept me guessing about what would happen next.
Profile Image for John.
450 reviews7 followers
March 14, 2016
I liked this book. It had a good setting, good characters and good story with a lot of potential. When I say potential I don't mean anything negative. I just feel it was like a rough draft or unfinished. Like it needed polished up.
I have to admit I was going to give this book 2 stars because I felt it needed more substance. It went from scene to scene pretty quick. I would have liked more story telling and more detail. The epilogue was so good, I had to bump it up to 3 stars. I think this series is only going to get better and I look forward to reading the next installment.
One thing I think that would take this book to another level would be making it into a graphic novel. It would definitely be a great graphic novel!
Profile Image for Ella (The Story Collector).
608 reviews5 followers
October 30, 2016
(Book #1 in the Nameless Chronicles). A nameless man climbs out of a grave, to find himself in a crazy world where people with skull-faces trying to kill him. He doesn't know who or what he is, all he knows is that he must fight to survive.

This book is non-stop, violent action, and it's only about 100 pages which makes it a very quick read. The setting is kind of apocalyptic, and the story is very intriguing (although, being so short, the plot doesn't develop that much).


I enjoyed reading Risen and I am very interested to see how the series continues.

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Striking 13.
68 reviews13 followers
April 21, 2016
Risen, the first book of MT Miller’s Nameless Chronicle, is a bloody appetiser that will convince you pretty quickly whether you have the stomach for further courses. If you make it through the opening chapter unscathed, in which our nameless “hero” is birthed from the soil and immediately sets about defending himself against a horde of literally faceless adversaries in unflinching graphic detail, you can handle anything.

Full review: http://www.striking13.com/reviews/fan...
Profile Image for Bob Platypire.
240 reviews7 followers
July 25, 2016
*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an HONEST review*

This was a quick, fun read. Different from what I was expecting, which was a pleasant surprise! At times it felt bit....I guess 'stuttered' is the best word I can come up with, but overall I really enjoyed the tale! Love that it look like there's a possibility for a sequel while still leaving you feeling fulfilled.

Bob says: 3.5 Platypires!
Profile Image for S.K. Gregory.
Author 143 books212 followers
February 5, 2016
A man digs himself out of the grave and is immediately attacked by strange creatures. He fights them off and his journey begins as he travels through a desolate world, trying to figure out what has happened and what he is.
I enjoyed the story, it kept me reading as Nameless tried to work out what was happening. The world was well described and I would recommend this book.
Profile Image for Ashley Lindsay.
78 reviews
April 18, 2016
Well written for the genre, though I would tell the author to slow down a bit. Let us enjoy and savor the ride you've crafted for us.
Graphic and visceral, it's a dark thriller that uses themes I found pretty unique. All in all an entertaining read.
Profile Image for Nikola Ilic.
3 reviews2 followers
January 29, 2016
Well written and fun
A thoroughly amusing read that delivers on every level. The book is tightly paced, not too short and not too long.
I’ll be waiting for the sequel.
434 reviews7 followers
September 30, 2016
This turned out to be a pretty decent story.The author got you right into the story line with out beating around the bush.
Profile Image for Happy.
432 reviews6 followers
May 13, 2017
Not my cup of tea. started out exciting but then entire first chapter was a really long fight. I rather get on with the story.
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