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Rise
In Coopers Mills, Maine, there is a legend…
Six years after the brutal attacks in Coopers Mills, something has returned. Sheriff Kathy Wilcox has seen enough blood and death to break a person, yet she perseveres and keeps watch over her quiet corner of the North East. But the beauty and the serenity of her rural county is about to be shattered.
Ben Cutter, one of the only people to come face-to-face with the Beast of Brenton Woods and survive, has reached his full potential. In a world of lies and betrayal, he is about to set his demons free, and he doesn’t want anyone here getting out alive.
Darkness has fallen, screams fill the night sky, and the white wolf wants to devour every last pound of flesh. Return to Coopers Mills under the full moon’s light and prepare for carnage.
Splatterpunk Award-nominated author, Jackson R. Thomas returns with RISE, the sequel to 2018’s THE BEAST OF BRENTON WOODS.
Six years after the brutal attacks in Coopers Mills, something has returned. Sheriff Kathy Wilcox has seen enough blood and death to break a person, yet she perseveres and keeps watch over her quiet corner of the North East. But the beauty and the serenity of her rural county is about to be shattered.
Ben Cutter, one of the only people to come face-to-face with the Beast of Brenton Woods and survive, has reached his full potential. In a world of lies and betrayal, he is about to set his demons free, and he doesn’t want anyone here getting out alive.
Darkness has fallen, screams fill the night sky, and the white wolf wants to devour every last pound of flesh. Return to Coopers Mills under the full moon’s light and prepare for carnage.
Splatterpunk Award-nominated author, Jackson R. Thomas returns with RISE, the sequel to 2018’s THE BEAST OF BRENTON WOODS.
- GenresHorror
266 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 18, 2020
52 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Jackson R. Thomas
6 books28 followersJackson R. Thomas has lived in Colorado, New York, and now resides in Coopers Mills, Maine with his cat, Gizmo.
He loathes social media, and has worked as a janitor, fast-food slave, record store clerk, and night auditor at an unnamed hotel on Route 1.
He loves horror books, horror films, and the band, Ministry.
He loathes social media, and has worked as a janitor, fast-food slave, record store clerk, and night auditor at an unnamed hotel on Route 1.
He loves horror books, horror films, and the band, Ministry.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 23, 2020
Big thanks to Glenn Rolfe & Alien Agenda Publishing for sending me this, but also for their continued kindness in thinking of me when new releases are coming out!
‘The Beast of Brenton Woods’ was my introduction to Thomas and what an absolute blast that book was. I’m a massive werewolf fan and Thomas’ take on the legend was such a fun ride. When he returned with ‘Paradise, Maine,’ I gobbled that one up as well and was really excited to see a return to Coopers Mills.
What I liked: This one picks up six years after the events of book one. We are quickly thrust into the return of the white wolf, although this time, it is an offspring of our beastie from book one. Thomas re-introduces Kathy, the police officer to us as well as adding an assortment of cast members. There is no shortage of death and gore in the second installment and we do get some movement on the back story.
The kills are a lot of fun and when a werewolf is involved you know full well carnage will be had.
What I didn’t like: Sadly, I found this one favoured kills over story. With the first book, we knew there was a purpose. The wolf was out there and the town banded together to hunt it down and ultimately attempt to kill it. This one lacked that. It was purely the new wolf wanting revenge and going about killing people. Thomas added in a TV show travel host as a possible plot point, but other than being there to sleep with the women he met, there really wasn’t much point in him being in the book. The ending was incredibly jarring and just came to a halt. We did get an epilogue, but it felt added on and unfortunately didn’t really have much of a purpose other than possibly setting up a third installment. This was true for the character who owned a local store. She appeared to only be used to harbor a third installment. I felt just a big deflation when we didn’t get a big end battle like with book one.
Why you should buy it: If you love werewolf stuff, this one moves along at a break neck pace. We are given some outstanding deaths and it’s always fun to see what is going to happen. I’ll be interested to find out what happens in a third installment (if there is one), but for now, if you loved ‘Brenton…’ you’ll have a fun time with ‘Rise.’
‘The Beast of Brenton Woods’ was my introduction to Thomas and what an absolute blast that book was. I’m a massive werewolf fan and Thomas’ take on the legend was such a fun ride. When he returned with ‘Paradise, Maine,’ I gobbled that one up as well and was really excited to see a return to Coopers Mills.
What I liked: This one picks up six years after the events of book one. We are quickly thrust into the return of the white wolf, although this time, it is an offspring of our beastie from book one. Thomas re-introduces Kathy, the police officer to us as well as adding an assortment of cast members. There is no shortage of death and gore in the second installment and we do get some movement on the back story.
The kills are a lot of fun and when a werewolf is involved you know full well carnage will be had.
What I didn’t like: Sadly, I found this one favoured kills over story. With the first book, we knew there was a purpose. The wolf was out there and the town banded together to hunt it down and ultimately attempt to kill it. This one lacked that. It was purely the new wolf wanting revenge and going about killing people. Thomas added in a TV show travel host as a possible plot point, but other than being there to sleep with the women he met, there really wasn’t much point in him being in the book. The ending was incredibly jarring and just came to a halt. We did get an epilogue, but it felt added on and unfortunately didn’t really have much of a purpose other than possibly setting up a third installment. This was true for the character who owned a local store. She appeared to only be used to harbor a third installment. I felt just a big deflation when we didn’t get a big end battle like with book one.
Why you should buy it: If you love werewolf stuff, this one moves along at a break neck pace. We are given some outstanding deaths and it’s always fun to see what is going to happen. I’ll be interested to find out what happens in a third installment (if there is one), but for now, if you loved ‘Brenton…’ you’ll have a fun time with ‘Rise.’
April 26, 2020
I’m always happy to read stories that take place in my neck of the woods, Maine and even happier to read book 2 of the Beast of Brenton Woods, Rise! We are 6 years from the horrible events of Coopers Mills and the nightmares are still fresh with Sheriff Kathy Wilcox as she continues to fight her own demons and find a new balance in her life. It won’t be this year. Ben Cooper has come of age and ready to take over where the White Wolf failed-to bring horror and destruction to the town that has shunned his mother and him all these years. No spoilers. There are secrets revealed that propel the story along. My only minor complaint is that the werewolf doesn’t have any new moves or profound reasons for its actions. The kills and gore got a bit repetitive but the author makes up for it with excellent dialogue and scene setting that made you feel you were in the front of the action. With so many characters, none had any real depth but hey, this is a creature feature so none should be expected. I great way to spend a few days if you enjoy a lively werewolf story and a fan of the first book. I look forward to book 3 and what Mr. Thomas has in store for us next. Enjoy!
May 11, 2020
Last year I read Paradise, Maine by Jackson R. Thomas and really enjoyed it. It had gore, guts, and one evil beast intent on sadistically butchering anyone happening to be around. It was really great, so when the opportunity was offered to read Rise, I went for the jugular.
Many thanks to Glenn Rolfe for sending me a copy.
Now this is the second instalment in Thomas’ White Wolf series, and follows on from The Beast of Brenton Woods, a book I haven’t read. And I feel that this detracted from my enjoyment of this one.
Some sequels follow on from the original tale and presume the reader knows who everyone is and what happened previously. And although this book did do that, it still had elements that reminded people of the first story and what went on. These were well woven into the story and weren’t simply backsplaining.
Reading this I got a good idea of what went on in the first book, but the first-hand knowledge I lacked seemed to be the downfall of this story. Perhaps I’d still feel the same if I knew exactly what had happened previously, but sadly we’ll never know.
This is your typical werewolf tale. There’s the local town still reeling from a wolf siege six years ago now finding itself in the same place yet again. Locals fearful of the return of the beast and others profiting off the happenings. And of course the local police who will stop at nothing to bring this new monster down.
There was nothing ‘amazingly spectacular’ about this book, but I did still get some enjoyment from it. Lots of people die in horrific ways (which is always good) and the beast is given his human side when not rampaging the town in search of still-alive meat.
The novella blisters along at a great pace with very few lulls in the action. I’m not sure how many spoilers I can give, not knowing what happened in the first book (did I mention I haven’t read it?), so I’ll not be too specific.
The person who is the werewolf is suspected by the sheriff, and her quest to find him before he kills too many people is one I really got behind. Locals suspect who it is, too, and the family of the wolf-man are fully in the picture. There was some great tension as the wolf’s family member (I won’t say which one, as it could be reeking of spoilers) battles between knowing the true nature of the beast and seeing them as their – erm – family member.
As I mentioned some of the kills were nicely blood-splattered, as you’d expect. But without a thorough understanding of the town and its inhabitants, I felt myself not being too bothered when many of them were torn to pieces by a big, bad wolf.
Fans of werewolf stories and those who are familiar with the first book will dig this I’m sure. But although I enjoyed parts of it, I couldn’t really say that this is one of my favourites.
But what do I know, anyway?
Many thanks to Glenn Rolfe for sending me a copy.
Now this is the second instalment in Thomas’ White Wolf series, and follows on from The Beast of Brenton Woods, a book I haven’t read. And I feel that this detracted from my enjoyment of this one.
Some sequels follow on from the original tale and presume the reader knows who everyone is and what happened previously. And although this book did do that, it still had elements that reminded people of the first story and what went on. These were well woven into the story and weren’t simply backsplaining.
Reading this I got a good idea of what went on in the first book, but the first-hand knowledge I lacked seemed to be the downfall of this story. Perhaps I’d still feel the same if I knew exactly what had happened previously, but sadly we’ll never know.
This is your typical werewolf tale. There’s the local town still reeling from a wolf siege six years ago now finding itself in the same place yet again. Locals fearful of the return of the beast and others profiting off the happenings. And of course the local police who will stop at nothing to bring this new monster down.
There was nothing ‘amazingly spectacular’ about this book, but I did still get some enjoyment from it. Lots of people die in horrific ways (which is always good) and the beast is given his human side when not rampaging the town in search of still-alive meat.
The novella blisters along at a great pace with very few lulls in the action. I’m not sure how many spoilers I can give, not knowing what happened in the first book (did I mention I haven’t read it?), so I’ll not be too specific.
The person who is the werewolf is suspected by the sheriff, and her quest to find him before he kills too many people is one I really got behind. Locals suspect who it is, too, and the family of the wolf-man are fully in the picture. There was some great tension as the wolf’s family member (I won’t say which one, as it could be reeking of spoilers) battles between knowing the true nature of the beast and seeing them as their – erm – family member.
As I mentioned some of the kills were nicely blood-splattered, as you’d expect. But without a thorough understanding of the town and its inhabitants, I felt myself not being too bothered when many of them were torn to pieces by a big, bad wolf.
Fans of werewolf stories and those who are familiar with the first book will dig this I’m sure. But although I enjoyed parts of it, I couldn’t really say that this is one of my favourites.
But what do I know, anyway?
November 23, 2020
An awesome continuation of the first book. I wasn’t sure how Ben Cutter was going to turn out, but man was I not expecting it at all. I don’t know if or when book 3 will be out, but I hope it’s soon. Thanks Jackson R. Thomas for an amazing werewolf story.
October 9, 2020
Great werewolf series. Keeps you wanting to read more.
May 7, 2022
3.5
Rise is a fantastic, brutal, bloody werewolf story that's packed to the gills with gory, action packed death scenes. So many bodies drop in this insane little story, and it's every bit as good, if not better than the first book in the series.
Every kill featured in this novel was so damn satisfying, and each one of them gave me an old school slasher flick vibe. If you're after a brutal bloodbath of a werewolf novel, in which a tiny town becomes overrun by a savage beast, then you're in the right place.
Rise is a fantastic, brutal, bloody werewolf story that's packed to the gills with gory, action packed death scenes. So many bodies drop in this insane little story, and it's every bit as good, if not better than the first book in the series.
Every kill featured in this novel was so damn satisfying, and each one of them gave me an old school slasher flick vibe. If you're after a brutal bloodbath of a werewolf novel, in which a tiny town becomes overrun by a savage beast, then you're in the right place.
September 4, 2025
After mowing through the first book, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. Though I didn't know Glenn Rolfe will be rereleasing these books. Thanks to the Facebook group Books of Horror for that info. Now that I'm done with this book I'm impatiently waiting for the next book, not yet out.
Spoilers below...
This book picks up a few years after the end of Beast of Brenton Woods. Ben has learned he's the white wolf's child, his mother was raped. His strong mother, Susan, is just a shadow of her former self and Ben is no longer the sweet innocent kid he was when he encountered the beast. Both are now considered outcasts from the community.
Arthur's body was never found after Sheriff Wilcox killed him leaving the reader to wonder if he was indeed still living.
The story of the white wolf has made national news and a tv show minor celebrity from a monster hunting show, comes snooping around. He hooks up with the creepy store lady, Sylvia (she has a whole store dedicated to the wolf), trading sex for information.
He soon discovers Sylvia is a bit crazy when she shows him Arthur's dead carcass. Ben finds out as well and he's not happy.
Ben vowed to kill every last one of the people in his way, including his mother and the police force. Vengeance for his true father.
Ben won't live to the next book, but his seed sure will and another. Let's not forget about the girl Arthur raped in book one.
Spoilers below...
This book picks up a few years after the end of Beast of Brenton Woods. Ben has learned he's the white wolf's child, his mother was raped. His strong mother, Susan, is just a shadow of her former self and Ben is no longer the sweet innocent kid he was when he encountered the beast. Both are now considered outcasts from the community.
Arthur's body was never found after Sheriff Wilcox killed him leaving the reader to wonder if he was indeed still living.
The story of the white wolf has made national news and a tv show minor celebrity from a monster hunting show, comes snooping around. He hooks up with the creepy store lady, Sylvia (she has a whole store dedicated to the wolf), trading sex for information.
He soon discovers Sylvia is a bit crazy when she shows him Arthur's dead carcass. Ben finds out as well and he's not happy.
Ben vowed to kill every last one of the people in his way, including his mother and the police force. Vengeance for his true father.
Ben won't live to the next book, but his seed sure will and another. Let's not forget about the girl Arthur raped in book one.
June 2, 2020
This was just as good as the first book in the series. Some great werewolf action and some characters you really care about. I hope we see more in this world.
August 12, 2020
More of a 3.5 than a 4.
July 28, 2021
Deffinitly not as polished as The Beast of Breton Woods but still fast paced and fun
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews