In the deep woods of Enfield, an autumn windstorm has unleashed a horror that has been trapped for over 100 years. For decades, the beast and its lair have hungered. Now the people of Enfield have to deal with a supernatural hunter with an insatiable appetite for humans.
A hunter that is disturbingly good at what it does.
As people start disappearing, Officer Tom Henderson finds himself thrust from the role of a rural police officer into that of a savior. Improbable eyewitness accounts tell him that the beast he has to face is merciless. And now, Tom will discover how deep his courage truly runs.
Ron Ripley is a husband and father surviving in New England, a place which seems to be getting colder every day. He grew up across from a disturbingly large cemetery where he managed to scare himself every night before going to bed. Mostly because of the red lights that people put in front of the headstones. Those things are just plain creepy to a kid.
Ron enjoys writing horror, military history and driving through the small towns of New England with his family, collecting books and giving impromptu lectures on military history to his family, who enjoy ignoring him during those dreadful times.
Wow, what a story! THE ENFIELD HORROR TRILOGY definitely wins my commendation for implacability in horror [a necessary criterion for me] and oh!! that powerful, knock-out ending! I couldn't stop turning pages. I've been a huge fan of Ron Ripley since reading the outstanding BOYLAN HOUSE TRILOGY, and this one is just as good. Don't miss it--but do read in the sunlight.
The Enfield Horror Trilogy is written by Ron Ripley. I have read quite a few of his books now and have to say this is probably my least favorite of all of them. I don't know what it was but I was just not a big fan of it. The book is about this cabin and a dragon that is released from it and the havoc it causes upon the humans in the surrounding areas. Now the search begins to figure out how to stop it of course. During this time you follow the journey of Tom, Israel, Henry, Kyle and Turk the dog for the most part. I do like the characters but the character development is just not there.
The story is a bit too simple in my eyes and doesn't have any twists or turns really in it. You basically wait for them to figure out how they will be able to end this dragon and if they can at all while the body count gets higher and higher. I just didn't find much in this story, there is also not a lot of background in it. In the "bonus story" they hint a little bit on it but not really.
So all in all this one is just ok to me, not his best work if I am honest but I am still a fan of Ron Ripley and his books.
Two unsuspecting men stumble upon an old lodge, one that has been closed up for years. But with a wicked storm, the lodge’s front door is open by its raging power and the breaking of a large tree branch, making the lodge easy to enter. However, if the men know what kind of ancient evil they were about to awaken, they may have changed their minds. I will admit, at first, I didn’t think I was going to care for this story, but the more I got into the more I wanted to read. Ron Ripley takes his readers into an unusual type of horror; one with an ancient evil left by the Japanese after a treaty had been broken. This ancient evil has attached itself to an old hunting lodge once used to entertain the Japanese by former president Teddy Roosevelt—it didn’t work. The author creates a horror that will chill the reader to the bone and a story that is well worth the read.
I've been captivated by this author since devouring THE BOYLAN HOUSE TRILOGY. THE ENFIELD HORROR is the first of a trilogy also, set in a bleak New Hampshire landscape where the residents are hardened and taciturn from decades of hard winters, and a failing economy. Up in the woods, violent storms have uncovered a long-abandoned hunting lodge. Abandoned, but not uninhabited, the lodge appears newer and newer, attracting the attention of hikers. Unfortunately for area residents, that which had been confined deep inside the lodge has now been released, and it's very, very hungry.
THE ENFIELD HORROR presents an entity new to me, sentient and willful. I anticipate the next entries in the trilogy.
I loved the idea but the execution was terribly disappointing. It was supposed to be a thriller but the author didn't even manage tension and there's the blatant nonchalance about, and I'll be intentionally vague, this blood thirsty creature running around the small town. At one point we've got the old farmer seeing it approaching his barn, simply tells it not to eat his cows, it agrees and they go back to their evening. Overall it was a disappointment but if you need to read something mindless to kill time and can get it for free go for it.
This is different than the other books I’ve read by Ron Ripley. Most of his books deal with ghosts whereas this one is about a Japanese dragon. Though the content was different than his usual, the story was still very good and the characters in-depth and great. If you want to learn about a legend of a dragon taking on people in modern times give this a read, you won’t regret it!
I upgraded my initial 2 stars to 3. I did like the book, it was interesting, but found out too late that this was only the novella-length preview i.e. first of a short trilogy. But I think I am intrigued enough to get the full size trilogy later on just to see how all of this ends.
Well I wasn’t expecting that! I thought I was getting some creepy story out in the woods. What I got was a fully fledged Japanese dragon with an appetite for human flesh and an attitude problem lol. Haha I just wasn’t expecting it. Overall I enjoyed it but found it a little strange I can’t quite put my finger on why! I would have liked a li more on the mythological side to explain it all a little better I think. I do like this author his books always find a way to surprise me.
I was taken by surprise by this book. Once I started reading I had a hard time putting it down! The bonus chapters were just that bonus giving more insight into the story. This is my fist time reading a Ron Riley novella and I will definitely be reading more. He is placed on my list of favorite authors right up there with Steven King! Mr. Ripley I am now your number 1fan!
Have enjoyed all Ron Ripley books. I like his ghost stories better. Maybe I've just seen or heard too many fantasy monster stories of books lately. He has good character development without getting long winded and boring.
This took me a while to read. It must have been quite a few months before I finished. I don't really remember a lot about it. I didn't care enough to go back and try to jog my memory.
Ron Ripley's work is incredibly entertaining. I like his style, which is not-too-wordy, yet still gets across the scary and frightening. I love Ron Ripley's books. I'm his #1 fan.
I loved all of Ron Ripleys books...I have only a couple more to read unfortunately..I'm sadden to be finishing these books as I have enjoyed them so much ❤❤❤❤
Have enjoyed all the books i have read by the author found this story a bit predictable through the book but a surprising ending glad the dog and the farmer survived !
THE ENFIELD HORROR TRILOGY, like the first trilogy that I read from author Ron Ripley, is really one single novella, about 120 pages in length. It is also, like THE BOYLAN HOUSE TRILOGY, excellent and original. This time around, following a big hurricane-like storm that knocked down a large number of trees in and around Enfield, NH, two locals stumble upon an old isolated hunting lodge, close to town but hidden by thick forest, that everyone had forgotten about years ago. There is something creepy about the lodge, and before you can say don't open the door, our two local yokels do. And in doing, so free an ancient, red scaled, green-eyed 7 foot long Japanese dragon. And then the fun starts as the blood begins to run.
Being a novella, there are few players, really only 4 main characters and we get very little of their backstory. The most interesting of these, and the one we get to know the best is Israel Porter, a 68 year old widowed farmer who is arguably the main character/hero of the tale. Israel, a couple of local cops and a middle aged Professor of Eastern Mythology are all that stand between the dragon and the town and beyond.
THE ENFIELD HORROR TRILOGY, which sounds like a Lovecraftian tale but isn't, is a highly original (when was the last time you read a horror tale where the monster was a Japanese dragon?) horror tale, suffused with bits of humor lighten the mood in places. Like THE BOYLAN HOUSE TRILOGY, the writing is very good, the pacing excellent and the overall effect is one of a tale well told.
And (or but) also like BOYLAN HOUSE TRILOGY, I wish that the author had taken more time to develop the backstories of all the characters and the dragon and the lodge. Simply doing that, and adding nothing more to the plot, would, IMO, have enriched the novella and turned it into an even more effective full-length novel. Regardless, in its present form, THE ENFIELD HORROR TRILOGY is a solid, interesting and well constructed unusual horror novella. Like the very best stories, the reader is not exactly sure what form the ending is going to take until the very end.
Highly Recommended.
JM Tepper
disclaimer: The author sent me an e-copy of this novella upon my request after I had read and enjoyed THE ENFIELD HORROR TRILOGY in exchange for an honest review.
When I take notes on a book I’m reading, I try to keep track of names of characters and what they’re up to. In this case I had a long list of names without much information next to each. Ripley tries to give names and at least a line of characterization before killing someone off, which made this tale feel much more thickly populated than it is. I think it was a good choice in trying to outline and give personality to the massive numbers of deaths going on, although it occasionally made it difficult to figure out who was a longer-term character we were meant to care about.
Most of the book consists of Ka-Riu and the lodge destroying everyone they can get their hands on. Professor Bennett (a woman despite her male first name, Kyle) asks why a dragon king would be in this situation, and this never gets answered. As she searches mythology and her peers for answers, the only clue she obtains indicates that it will take a goddess to kill a dragon. (Making for an actual deus ex machina, assuming that works.) I will say I think there was enough other material to keep the reader from feeling short-changed, but I do wish we could have learned more about what the deal was with the lodge.
When two friends, out hiking, discover an old lodge deep in the woods near Enfield, they unleash a mystical hunter with a thirst of blood. After a hundred years, the beast, Ka-riu, is now on the hunt, and it’s good at what it does. Rural cop, Tom Henderson, finds himself thrust into a role he’s unprepared for—the savior of his town. With the help of an old farmer, Henderson must go head to head with the ancient Japanese demon, aided in its thirst for blood by the malevolent spirit of the cabin itself. In his hour of greatest challenge, Henderson finds out what he’s really made of. The Enfield Horror Trilogy by Ron Ripley is a frightening melding of western and oriental myths in a tale that will make you think twice the next time you venture down an unfamiliar trail in the woods. Well-developed characters and a plot that will freeze the blood in your veins, this is horror at its finest. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.
Many loved Ripley's previous works but said something was wrong with this one. Since it was my first book by the author, I figured I had nothing to compare it to, so I'd not be disappointed.
I was.
Don't get me wrong, the story was very original. The Enfield Horror took place in a New England town, where everyone knows everyone. But no one knew there was a strange lodge hidden in the woods. Not until a storm came and opened up the area, allowing it to be spotted- but the lodge wasn't the problem. Well, not the real problem.
I really wanted to enjoy this story. It was different, it was filled with action and there was no rhyme or reason to any of it. It was funny from time to time and quite realistic when it came to the way the townsfolk and sheriff handled things. What I did not like was the ending...
This book was great fun....not your usual monster story. I love the way Mr. Ripley writes, it's very fast paced and still the characters were well rounded. I love monster stories, vampires, werewolves, zombies, anything... This monster was none of those but terrifying. I read this beginning in one sitting, so I just went ahead and ordered the trilogy. It's worth it, if you're a fan of good horror fiction.
The end was unexpected. I really have to say I was hoping for a different outcome. As a trilogy it isn't a long read, I finished in a few hours. Super excited that it was released early. There is a link to the bonus scene which is a great add on. Waiting for the next set of books.
Not the type of book that I would normally have read! That being said I was unable to put the book down!!! I've been waiting for the new one to come out since I finished Blood Contact!! Excited to read the rest of the story.