The Nomies and the Surface Protocol

by Erik Gingles

12-year-old Kate’s not the most confident kid. But when she and her younger sisters arrive home from school and find the front door open, their parents gone, and a bottomless hole in their backyard, Kate tries to take charge—until she finds herself falling endlessly into the darkness, leaving Abbie and Sarah to fend for themselves against mysterious intruders wielding long, curved knives. An ordinary June day quickly turns into an extraordinary adventure as the girls discover that their world is not quite as it seems.

While Kate navigates the wonders of the ancient civilization beneath their feet and learns of a plot by Latch 5, an underground dictator, to take over the surface world, Abbie and Sarah are spirited away by a family friend on a race across Canada, and then to Japan, in the hopes of being reunited with Kate in time to prevent the destruction of the world as they know it.

Will the girls make it in time? And have they got what it takes? With a little help from family, and the resistance, they just might succeed…

Matsumoto, Japan.
Stop Latch 5.
Before it’s too late.

367 pages, Paperback

Published May 22, 2025

Reviews

[Natasha LeBlanc · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nomies and the Surface Protocol is a Middle School read that parents and people of all ages will love! It is an adventure tale a la A Wrinkle in Time, Gulliver's Travels, or Journey to the Center of the Earth with relatable protagonists on a mission to find their parents, and hopefully save humanity, in a world they didn't even know existed right under their noses. The story is rich in description, has compelling, and sometimes morally gray, side characters, and has thrilling, high speed action and terrific tension. There is even a good dose of palate-cleansing humour that kids of all ages will enjoy. Gingles has succeeded at world-building, and the reader can easily set aside disbelief and get lost in the action. He sets the story in present day, with present day issues as the basis for the plot, bringing realism to the fantasy. The story does not rely on magic, but the wits and courage of its protagonists as they tackle the (sometimes literal) roadblocks in order to escape the arrogant villain and defeat him. This is a highly recommended read!