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No Name
Allie has a lot on her mind. Raised by an outlaw biker gang, the world is shaded in the grays of the underworld. She values family and friends above all others. A good student, she relies heavily on her retired biker uncle Red. She loves him like a father.
A star on the track team, she goes for a training run that changes her life. When a terrifying creature born of mud, chemicals, and the DNA of a long deceased serial killer and rapist corners her on a deserted trail, deep in the woods, Allie realizes she must escape his clutches or become a victim.
Having witnessed the creature kill another runner on the trail, and the owner of a tackle shop, Allie undertakes an all-out sprint to the only place she can think of which provides safety, the gang’s headquarters. Her safety is short lived as the creature destroys her family and the only home she ever knew.
On the other side of town, a psychically gifted man named Dale, wakes to the revelation he is seeing life through the eyes of a teenage girl being attacked by a monstrous creature. He can feel the creature’s urges to do harm and a sense of dread overtakes him as he realizes the creature is alarmingly familiar. Too real of an experience to be dismissed, he knows what he has to do. Dale is spurred into action to rescue the teenager and her uncle from the clutches of a creature hell-bent on killing and raping the girl while killing anyone getting in its way.
A star on the track team, she goes for a training run that changes her life. When a terrifying creature born of mud, chemicals, and the DNA of a long deceased serial killer and rapist corners her on a deserted trail, deep in the woods, Allie realizes she must escape his clutches or become a victim.
Having witnessed the creature kill another runner on the trail, and the owner of a tackle shop, Allie undertakes an all-out sprint to the only place she can think of which provides safety, the gang’s headquarters. Her safety is short lived as the creature destroys her family and the only home she ever knew.
On the other side of town, a psychically gifted man named Dale, wakes to the revelation he is seeing life through the eyes of a teenage girl being attacked by a monstrous creature. He can feel the creature’s urges to do harm and a sense of dread overtakes him as he realizes the creature is alarmingly familiar. Too real of an experience to be dismissed, he knows what he has to do. Dale is spurred into action to rescue the teenager and her uncle from the clutches of a creature hell-bent on killing and raping the girl while killing anyone getting in its way.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 15, 2015
8 people want to read
About the author
Bryan Nowak
5 books26 followersThank you for taking an interest in me. By now, you know that I’m Bryan Nowak, and the author of the books No Name, The Dramatic Dead, Riapoke, and Crimson Tassels. I grew up in Steger, Illinois, a South Suburb of Chicago. When I was a child, we spent lots of summers in Indiana. So much so, that I consider myself to be part Hoosier. Many of my relatives still live in Indiana and it’s a frequent destination for summer vacations.
I was born in the summer of 1973. I had the good fortune of attending Eastview Elementary School. There I learned the value of a good library through our Librarian, and one of my neighbors, Mrs. Lavelle. I exhausted the library of ghost stories, and tales of monsters. One in particular I remember was the tale of the restless spirits of dead pirates. It was supposedly a true story. Years later, after the advent of the internet, I would find out that the story was well known, and the location of the story is presently a bed and breakfast in South Carolina. Reading those stories are what gave me a firm foundation of suspense and the paranormal.
Eighth grade was a pivotal year for me. This was the year I left Central Junior High School, and Northern Illinois, forever. I moved to the little lake-shore town of Excelsior, Minnesota. Till this day it still stands out in my mind as an idyllic place to live. I continue to compare every other city to its quaint grandeur.
In Minnesota I joined the US Army Reserves and the National Guard. I am a proud veteran. I went to college in Minnesota and met my wife there. Our first son was born in Minnesota. It is safe to say that I will always have a soft spot in my life for the state that I once called home.
It was during my time in the U.S. Army that I was sent to the state of Virginia. I was filling in with an active duty unit who needed some extra help. I repeated this process over and over for the next three summers. It was during these active duty tours that I learned to really love the state of Virginia and vowed it would be my home if I was unable to live in the state of Minnesota. Many years later, my wife and I moved our family to Virginia. We have been residents of Virginia ever since, with our three children.
I generally prefer horror to other genera, but I am not necessarily a purist. I like a good solid mystery to go along with it to keep you turning the pages or flicking the screen of your e-reader. I prefer a story line that doesn’t ooze blood, but I want it saturated in tension and dread. I’m a firm believer that if I can entertain you while scaring you a little, I have done my job.
I sincerely hope you enjoy reading my books. If you are reading this, then you are already paying me the highest compliment you can pay any writer. Sincerely, and from the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you.
-Bryan Nowak, Author
I was born in the summer of 1973. I had the good fortune of attending Eastview Elementary School. There I learned the value of a good library through our Librarian, and one of my neighbors, Mrs. Lavelle. I exhausted the library of ghost stories, and tales of monsters. One in particular I remember was the tale of the restless spirits of dead pirates. It was supposedly a true story. Years later, after the advent of the internet, I would find out that the story was well known, and the location of the story is presently a bed and breakfast in South Carolina. Reading those stories are what gave me a firm foundation of suspense and the paranormal.
Eighth grade was a pivotal year for me. This was the year I left Central Junior High School, and Northern Illinois, forever. I moved to the little lake-shore town of Excelsior, Minnesota. Till this day it still stands out in my mind as an idyllic place to live. I continue to compare every other city to its quaint grandeur.
In Minnesota I joined the US Army Reserves and the National Guard. I am a proud veteran. I went to college in Minnesota and met my wife there. Our first son was born in Minnesota. It is safe to say that I will always have a soft spot in my life for the state that I once called home.
It was during my time in the U.S. Army that I was sent to the state of Virginia. I was filling in with an active duty unit who needed some extra help. I repeated this process over and over for the next three summers. It was during these active duty tours that I learned to really love the state of Virginia and vowed it would be my home if I was unable to live in the state of Minnesota. Many years later, my wife and I moved our family to Virginia. We have been residents of Virginia ever since, with our three children.
I generally prefer horror to other genera, but I am not necessarily a purist. I like a good solid mystery to go along with it to keep you turning the pages or flicking the screen of your e-reader. I prefer a story line that doesn’t ooze blood, but I want it saturated in tension and dread. I’m a firm believer that if I can entertain you while scaring you a little, I have done my job.
I sincerely hope you enjoy reading my books. If you are reading this, then you are already paying me the highest compliment you can pay any writer. Sincerely, and from the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you.
-Bryan Nowak, Author
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 15, 2016
Talk about creep factor.
I just finished this book and still feel kind of icky, but satisfied at the same time. It's one of thoooose books where you never doubt that good will win out in the end. Thank God, because if it wasn't, it could be a bit traumatizing.
No name is a really bad dude that's been brought back to life. And he's evolving. That was probably the coolest part of the story. We see him learning things and becoming self aware to the point where he knows who he actually is in the end. There's only one thing on his mind - a teenage girl named Allie. She was the first person he saw when he woke up and is determined to have her.
Luckily for Allie, she's part of a biker gang family - people that can try to protect her and will lay down their lives for her. The real fun starts when the seemingly normal Dale shows up to help. Dale was the one who first put the rapist down after he did the unspeakable and is determined to do it again. With the help of certain powers he possesses, he takes Allie and her uncle on the run until it's finally time for them to make their stand.
I liked this book a lot. It went on too long in a few places, but the overall pacing was exciting. I'm glad I gave it a shot on Kindle Unlimited.
I just finished this book and still feel kind of icky, but satisfied at the same time. It's one of thoooose books where you never doubt that good will win out in the end. Thank God, because if it wasn't, it could be a bit traumatizing.
No name is a really bad dude that's been brought back to life. And he's evolving. That was probably the coolest part of the story. We see him learning things and becoming self aware to the point where he knows who he actually is in the end. There's only one thing on his mind - a teenage girl named Allie. She was the first person he saw when he woke up and is determined to have her.
Luckily for Allie, she's part of a biker gang family - people that can try to protect her and will lay down their lives for her. The real fun starts when the seemingly normal Dale shows up to help. Dale was the one who first put the rapist down after he did the unspeakable and is determined to do it again. With the help of certain powers he possesses, he takes Allie and her uncle on the run until it's finally time for them to make their stand.
I liked this book a lot. It went on too long in a few places, but the overall pacing was exciting. I'm glad I gave it a shot on Kindle Unlimited.
December 20, 2015
Take one young girl, one psychic, one biker gang, and one monster. Mix furiously. Add a sprinkle of metaphysics, a hefty dose of action, and allow to rise. Bake at a million degrees and douse with a delightful nitrous glaze and you’ll have Bryan Nowak‘s No Name.
One of my tests of whether or not I enjoy a book is just how easily I can fall into the story and imagine myself as part of it. I (usually) don’t go so far as to start yelling at the book and warning the characters about goings on, but I look for whether or not I can easily become absorbed. No Name held my attention and I only yelled at the characters to move faster a couple times.
Read the full review on my blog and then go buy a copy. It's a great read.
One of my tests of whether or not I enjoy a book is just how easily I can fall into the story and imagine myself as part of it. I (usually) don’t go so far as to start yelling at the book and warning the characters about goings on, but I look for whether or not I can easily become absorbed. No Name held my attention and I only yelled at the characters to move faster a couple times.
Read the full review on my blog and then go buy a copy. It's a great read.
November 17, 2015
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book, the first by Bryan Nowak. I'm not usually a fan of horror, but this book made me hearken back to classic horror movies of my youth like John Carpenter's The Thing.
Imagine a shapeshifting, unstoppable mass of pure malevolence being formed from a toxic pile of chemical goo. A scary thought. And then it fixates on Allie, a young girl in the wrong place at the VERY wrong time. But Allie is not a cowering wannabe victim - raised by bikers, she is strong, smart and resourceful, and has a virtual army to protect her. But will it be enough?
Also in the picture is Dale, a nondescript man with hidden telekinetic powers that whose past and present intersects with the creature, whose blobby memories are those of a serial rapist and killer that Dale though was dead and buried decades before.
Mr. Nowak's characterizations are terrific for a first-time author, and the action and mayhem that ensues from the first page to the last are very well done and entertaining as hell.
I look forward to more from this exciting new author!
Imagine a shapeshifting, unstoppable mass of pure malevolence being formed from a toxic pile of chemical goo. A scary thought. And then it fixates on Allie, a young girl in the wrong place at the VERY wrong time. But Allie is not a cowering wannabe victim - raised by bikers, she is strong, smart and resourceful, and has a virtual army to protect her. But will it be enough?
Also in the picture is Dale, a nondescript man with hidden telekinetic powers that whose past and present intersects with the creature, whose blobby memories are those of a serial rapist and killer that Dale though was dead and buried decades before.
Mr. Nowak's characterizations are terrific for a first-time author, and the action and mayhem that ensues from the first page to the last are very well done and entertaining as hell.
I look forward to more from this exciting new author!
December 5, 2018
This story has great potential, and I liked the concept. There are a number of typos/other errors and a couple of plot holes, but overall, the story is good.
April 14, 2016
4.5 stars rounded up to five.
"And Allie," J.D said, "bolt the door. No one comes in without Red or me."
- J.D, either being very optimistic or completely deluded.
Reading a new author can either be a rewarding experience or a case of 'I'll never make that mistake again.'
So any authors' first work can receive a hell of a lot of scrutiny. Although nicely presented with an engaging cover and strong synopsis, you might me thinking 'pfft! another zombie story....move along, nothing to see here...'
Except that No Name is a remarkably stylish and well written thriller, whose key strength is through the dynamic of the main characters Allie, Dale and J.D.
Then, there is the mysterious No Name of the title, though you can probably guess his role in the story. And that's part of the fun. Author Bryan Nowak gives us quite a bit of narrative, which in a lesser talent might have been a chore to work through. Fortunately, the set up is so good that when the characters use 'functional dialogue' it works because...this is thriller with a mix of sci-fi horror dropped on it in considerable quantities.
What is most pleasing about No Name for me is the way that the adult scenes are handled. The violence is well described without ever being over the top. I really like it when an author gives us the basic premise then allows our readers brain to process and decode it. When an author writes, 'so they went down the stairs and opened the door and then went outside' et cetera it is like 'why are they telling me all this worthless nonsense?'
No Name is just about the perfect length, taking the reader through a number of shocks and spills before coming to a satisfying conclusion.
I hope if the author returns to this world, that some of the other characters can be further developed.
Nicely done, Bryan Nowak!
"And Allie," J.D said, "bolt the door. No one comes in without Red or me."
- J.D, either being very optimistic or completely deluded.
Reading a new author can either be a rewarding experience or a case of 'I'll never make that mistake again.'
So any authors' first work can receive a hell of a lot of scrutiny. Although nicely presented with an engaging cover and strong synopsis, you might me thinking 'pfft! another zombie story....move along, nothing to see here...'
Except that No Name is a remarkably stylish and well written thriller, whose key strength is through the dynamic of the main characters Allie, Dale and J.D.
Then, there is the mysterious No Name of the title, though you can probably guess his role in the story. And that's part of the fun. Author Bryan Nowak gives us quite a bit of narrative, which in a lesser talent might have been a chore to work through. Fortunately, the set up is so good that when the characters use 'functional dialogue' it works because...this is thriller with a mix of sci-fi horror dropped on it in considerable quantities.
What is most pleasing about No Name for me is the way that the adult scenes are handled. The violence is well described without ever being over the top. I really like it when an author gives us the basic premise then allows our readers brain to process and decode it. When an author writes, 'so they went down the stairs and opened the door and then went outside' et cetera it is like 'why are they telling me all this worthless nonsense?'
No Name is just about the perfect length, taking the reader through a number of shocks and spills before coming to a satisfying conclusion.
I hope if the author returns to this world, that some of the other characters can be further developed.
Nicely done, Bryan Nowak!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews