The Things from Another World

by John Gregory Betancourt, Bob Eggleton (Illustrator)

The Things from Another World is a new official addition to the world of John W. Campbell's acclaimed sci-fi thriller "Who Goes There?", which inspired both John Carpenter's The Thing and the upcoming Blumhouse reboot of the film. More than a mere sequel, The Things from Another World is a daring expansion of the Thing story, imagining a world in which Campbell's story was a fictional account of actual events, and then exploring the terrifying implications for humanity. In The Things from Another World, a second spaceship is discovered in Antarctica, confirming the events in 1938 that inspired Campbell's story. The US military decides to unearth the ship and learn its secrets, only to discover too late that the crash site is not deserted like they believed. The horrors that are unleashed pale in comparison with what will happen if the Things are able to escape Antarctica and spread unchecked across the world.

Written by the acclaimed author John Gregory Betancourt, The Things from Another World is the first in a new trilogy of novels that explore the backstory of the Things and the future of humanity within a galaxy-wide conflict dating back millions of years.

Genres: Science Fiction, Horror

148 pages, Paperback

First published December 8, 2024

About the author

John Gregory Betancourt is a writer of science fiction, fantasy and mystery novels as well as short stories. He has worked as an assistant editor at Amazing Stories and editor of Horror: The Newsmagazine of the Horror Field, the revived Weird Tales magazine, the first issue of H. P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror (which he subsequently hired Marvin Kaye to edit), Cat Tales magazine (which he subsequently hired George H. Scithers to edit), and Adventure Tales magazine. He worked as a Senior Editor for Byron Preiss Visual Publications (1989-1996) and iBooks. He is the writer of four Star Trek novels and the new Chronicles of Amber prequel series, as well as a dozen original novels. His essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in such diverse publications as Writer's Digest and The Washington Post.

Reviews

[Irwin Fletcher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lazy sequel to John Campbell's original story that doesn't really go anywhere and just winds up being a watered down re-telling of a story we've seen many times. If you're like me and have read the original story, seen both adaptations of the source material and the prequel, played the video game, read the novelization and all that... then you're probably hoping for something more than just another story of characters going to Antartica and being taken over one by one but this is just another re-telling of that same old story.

For some reason the author decided to add a Meta angle and make this a world where the story leaked out and became the Campbell story and films. This never really leads anywhere though, the lame Meta humor I expected where people point out things they saw in the movie thankfully never came to pass. I have no idea why the author decided to go that route as all it really does is give the characters enough information that they shouldn't behave as stupidly as they do. When they find the alien in this story the general in charge knows it's probably still alive and capable of taking over the base and then the world... then just takes off and leaves a single person to stand guard over it.

All in all the story was lazy, the characters stock and any tension/momentum is usually ruined by the author who seems to get sidetracked with tangents about stuff like biscuit recipes. I wasn't really expecting much as I wasn't really blown away by Short Things but at least that had some interesting new ideas in it. This book is just a watered down version of the same old story that just makes you wish you were watching or reading one of the others.

[Matt TB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little read! Added some of the creepy tentacle fused flesh horror elements of John Carpenters film but I think it kept the style and tone of the original John Campbell novella nicely.
Looking forward to the next one!

[Keith Bowden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've waited for this new book inspired by one of my favorite stories and films, and it did not disappoint - except that I wish it were longer! Fortunately, there are two more books on the way, and they can't get here fast enough!

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've rarely felt as left out in the cold by a 'novel'. Self-described as a daring expansion, the most daring move is selling it as a trilogy - when this barely gets past the set-up stage.

Set in what can only be assumed to be an alternate timeline, where humanity has put humans on Mars but still not moved on from the iPod, various character templates find themselves in the Antarctic, digging up a crashed spaceship - made of an unknown metal. Upon finding a creature frozen in the ice, using knowledge from the canonical 1938 novella they... post a single guard and leave it at that.

Obviously things turn sour pretty quickly. You're told first-hand who is assimilated, barring one character (who serves only as a 'gotcha') with no exploration of anything more than skin-deep.

My biggest gripe? There's no psychological aspect to the story. A key component in the horror of the original novella is that the creatures behave exactly like the person they're mimicking, selfishly putting their own survival ahead of other creatures. The power of Campbell's narrative comes in the uncertainty, and the hidden knowledge of what ratio of the characters remain human. The creepiest thing Betancourt could apparently imagine was a group of 'things' turning their heads in sync - a move which spooked one of two characters who witnessed it.

At best, this is a skin-deep imitation. At worst, it's a blatant misunderstanding of the source material. In both cases, it's not the finished novel it claims to be.

[Edward Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Things from Another World is an interesting hybrid: part homage to Campbell’s iconic “Who Goes There?” and part modern reinterpretation by John Gregory Betancourt. The result is a book that’s engaging in stretches, uneven in others, but consistently fascinating for fans of the mythos.

The strongest moments come when the story leans into the paranoia and isolation that made the original tale so enduring. Betancourt captures that creeping dread well, and the expanded lore offers a few clever twists that keep the narrative from feeling like a simple retread. There’s a real sense of affection for the source material, and that enthusiasm shows.

Where the book falters is in pacing and tone. The shifts between Campbell’s stark, tight storytelling and Betancourt’s more modern voice can feel jarring, almost like two different books stitched together. Some character beats land, others feel rushed, and the tension occasionally dissipates just when it should be tightening. It’s never bad—just inconsistent.

Overall, this is a worthwhile read for fans of The Thing in any incarnation. It doesn’t fully recapture the icy perfection of Campbell’s original, but it offers enough atmosphere, lore, and creature‑feature fun to earn a solid middle‑of‑the‑road rating.

I will read the next two (this is part of the series of three), but the bar has been set a little low.

[Chuck McKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a fan of John Carpenter's 'The Thing', or the original source novella 'Who Goes There?', then you'll find this official sequel to the latter (and first in a trilogy) a creepy and entertaining read. While it doesn't add anything startlingly original to the existing lore, it does do a great job of setting up an ongoing tale that promises to expand the original story - both figuratively and literally. I'm very much looking forward to the next book in the series!

[Paul Wilkerson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A worthy successor to Campbell's 1938 novella, especially after the recent release of the expanded edition. However, its impossible not to compare this book and its predecessor to John Carpenter's film (The Thing) and find them lacking.

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun loved it

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Evoked the claustrophobic Antarctic setting well, but I was hoping for something fresher with the things themselves - maybe that’s coming in part two. The cover art is the bomb.

[Liam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good sequel to ‘The Thing’. Set in modern day, when another alien space craft is found in Antarctica. Not quite as good as the original ‘Who Goes There’ novella, but a lot of fun. I’m definitely on board for the next title in this sequel trilogy. And all the more so since it was a lost manuscript found of Campbell’s original work.