Title: The Rise – Five Tales From the Gulp

Author: Alan Baxter

Release date: February 13th, 2026

Back in 2021 & 2022, Alan Baxter gave us two memorable collections of novellas – first with 2021’s ‘The Gulp’ and ‘The Fall’ coming the following year. It introduced us to the odd and quicky (and mysterious) remote own of Gulpepper, Australia and the folks who inhabit it – some by choice, others involuntarily.

The stories of what took place within and around The Gulp were all fantastic, all cosmically charged and the mythos the Alan infused in each story made me want more. After finished ‘The Fall,’ I kind of assumed that Baxter was done (to a degree) with the world of ‘The Gulp,’ but then earlier in 2025, Alan messaged me to ask if I’d have time to beta read the third entry in the world. Unfortunately (and sadly on my end!), I simply didn’t have the time needed to devote what Alan would adequately need, as one doesn’t simply read the stories set in the world of The Gulp – insert Sean Bean meme here if you want – one lives and breathes them. And though I couldn’t beta read the collection of five new novellas, I preordered the Kindle edition and jumped in as soon as I could, once it loaded onto my e-reader.

What I liked: As mentioned, ‘The Rise’ contains five novellas of new stories taking place in The Gulp. This one is comprised of the first four being interconnected – both in location (duh!) and in narrative – before arriving at the fifth novella which combines everything that’s taken place and wraps up the insanity that built in the first four.

The first novella is ‘Strange Leaves,’ which was hands down my favorite of the batch, purely because it starts kind of hilariously and then goes bonkers. We follow two stoners, Adam and Neil, who accidentally kill the guy they buy pot from when they confront him over him selling them weed cut with junk. Not sure what to do, they decide to dispose of the man’s body in the middle of nowhere. Things take a turn when something happens to one of them and from there, The Gulp begins to unfurl its odd ways and Baxter kicks things off with a bang. This novella sets up the rest of the stories so very well, but is also a perfect opener to ease us readers back into the world and what awaits.

The next novella is ‘Sunlight on Clear Water,’ which was another very solid entry. This one atmospherically felt at the far other end of the spectrum from ‘Strange Leaves.’ This one follows Will, who is newish to living in Gulpepper. After answering an ad to come and be trained as a woodworking craftsman, he’s fallen head-over-heels with the owners daughter, Beverley. On this particular day, she takes him to an off-the-beaten-path reservoir to do a bit of skinny dipping and to enjoy a picnic basket. Of course, with this being The Gulp, some things are revealed and the true nature of what the job posting was all about takes a wild turn. This is a classic Baxter story.

The third novella is ‘Vitulinum’ and this specific one comes with some very pointed trigger warnings prior to it beginning. Should you choose to proceed, the story follows teen boy, Connor, who lives in an abusive household. His father’s a homophobic bigot and his mother’s no better. Between Connor’s older brother, Brendan and himself, they do their best to protect their little sister Serena from their father, Frank. As the abuse rockets ever worse, we get our first introduction to the strange suit wearing character known as Winterbourne. He offers Connor a decision and because of everything that’s been going on, it appears to be a lifeline. Connor’s best friend, Lauren, is there for him and the two of them have each others backs, though Lauren’s life is very, very different. It all comes to a head when the boys have to stand up one more time for Serena and Connor is forced to decide about Winterbourne’s offer.

This novella is powerful, grotesque and a sad reality when considering a lot of the world isn’t far off from how Frank and Lydia are.

The fourth novella is ‘The Gulpepper Institute of Health and Wellbeing,’ and if you’ve ever watched or read any horror in the past that involves anything with a title close-ish to this, you’ll know things are never going to be on the up-and-up.

The story follows international superstar musician Eevie Chill, who checks in to the newly opening institute to get help for their spiraling life. Within moments of being admitted, she realizes things are not what they seem and from there Baxter lets carnage and chaos reign. This was a lot of fun and when it ended, I wondered just where things could go from there.

And that brings us to the fifth and final novella in this collection. Simply titled ‘The Rise,’ we see everything that was building through the first four come together – both in Winterbourne’s plan, but also with Chrissy, the woman tasked with ensuring the strange energy and way of The Gulp is maintained and confined. We get a return of Blind Eye Moon, the famous band from The Gulp, and we see different characters from the first four novellas band together to protect the people and the place that is Gulpepper. Once again, Baxter does an amazing job of keeping all the moving pieces in order and tying it all together to see an epic finale come to a close.

The world that Baxter’s created within The Gulp and the mythos around it always feel fresh and familiar and always deliver the perfect amount of insanity us readers expect from stories focused on world’s such as these.

What I didn’t like: As mentioned, you may decide to bypass the ‘Vitulinum’ novella,  which considering the subject matter is understandable, but also does create a bit of a character plot issue when we get to the final novella. If you’ve skipped, you’ll not have much understanding about Lauren and what she brings to the table. It’s a tough one to truly navigate, because on one hand, that novella is very, very powerful. On the other hand, it wouldn’t have near the impact if it was PG13’d for readers and Connor’s decision would’ve been rather meh. I’m not sure what the answer is, but I also think you could sneak past that novella and be confident that Lauren is a resourceful character when she arrives in the final novella.

Why you should buy this: I think it goes without saying that if you read and enjoyed the first two entries into this world, getting the third is a no-brainer.

If you’ve not visited Gulpepper yet, this is your sign to grab all three and dive into a wonderfully weird and twisted world, where the sky is always swirling and the energy is palpably different. Baxter’s done the literary world such a huge favour by creating this world and these characters and continuing to deliver such richly rewarding stories. All while creeping us out with each and every entry.

Phenomenal. And fingers crossed a fourth set of stories is coming some time down the road.