Chasing the Dragon by Mark Towse
“Small steps make climbable ladders.” - Simon
Chasing the Dragon is Mark Towse’s debut novel. This dark vigilante justice thriller releases on March 23, 2024 from Eerie River Publishing.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book. I prefer to just get into it and figure out what a story is about on my own without any spoilers. As I began reading, I realized this book is not my usual genre, so to speak. I don’t gravitate toward stories that are rooted in urban fiction or mob characters. Towse actually refers to the novel as having elements of horror, thriller, romance, crime, fantasy, and mystery with humor added to lighted the load.
By the end of the book, I was pleasantly surprised. The dark comedy feel and action scenes reminded me more of a Deadpool type of story. I found myself rooting for the main character and becoming fully invested in him. Towse wrapped up the ending nicely, and he might have even left me feeling a little bit hopeful. Reformo would be proud.
Towse enjoys interjecting humor in his books. Chasing the Dragon has a great deal of dark comedy intertwined with some serious emotions and trauma. It’s a good balance and seems to be how Simon deals with stress and abuse from his past. Towse also has a way of honing in on something and keeping the humor going through well-placed callbacks. I’m just going to say one word. Leotard.
One thing I always enjoy in a Towse book is the easy and believable banter between characters, no matter how strange the situation. It makes the story and the characters feel real. That’s the case with Chasing the Dragon. The main character Simon has a great deal of internal dialogue and sarcastic, well-timed repartee with his fellow characters. It lends to both his likability and vulnerability throughout the novel.
Simon is such a unique character. He’s a “superhero,” but he’s also a bit deranged. You get tidbits about his childhood here and there, keeping you intrigued. His background story is disastrous and sad, yet he’s filled with a hope that seems amiss. Constantly barraged by nagging thoughts from his dead mother, you can’t help but follow him on his unlikely journey to bring hope back to his seedy, corrupt town. Towse drops clues about Simon’s past to show readers a complete picture of what (and who) made Simon who he is and why he reacts so strongly (and sometimes violently) to mundane things. There are layers to him, he’s not a flat or boring character.
Whenever I read something from Towse’s catalog, I find little Easter eggs or clues to other stories. For example, a handful of chapters in I recognized a scene from a short called “Watch Me Fly” that was added as a bonus short story at the end of his book One Last Shindig. For my take on that version, you can read it here. I was excited to see that Towse expanded that character into his own novel Chasing the Dragon.
A smaller Easter egg is a phrase I’ve found in a few of Towse’s books. I’ve always loved vernacular language, and his “goat” phrase makes me think back to hearing it when I was a kid - and to reading his novella Nana. That was my first introduction to Towse, and I haven’t stopped reading his work since. I thoroughly enjoy all of the callbacks and little reminders to his other works. It keeps the characters alive in my head long after I’ve read the stories. (You can read all of my past reviews of Towse’s books below.)
Yes, there’s a lot of humor and silliness in this novel, but I believe it’s necessary to balance out the underlying theme Towse is hitting on - trauma and how it manifests itself in a person’s life. There are some very peculiar character names in Chasing the Dragon. Each of the characters, like Simon, has something they’re trying to overcome, or they’re putting on an air to seem more than they are to survive in a very tough setting. Towse does a wonderful job dropping us into the town and allowing readers to feel the desperation and loneliness of the people living there. It’s a duel story of hope and despair woven together and shown through Simon’s internal thoughts and actions.
If you’ve read Mark Towse’s books, this one is definitely different. I recommend taking a chance on it. Though my favorites of his are the pure horror stories, I did enjoy reading Chasing the Dragon and getting introduced to more Towse characters.
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WHO IS MARK TOWSE?????
Mark Towse is an Englishman living in Australia. He would sell his soul to the devil or anyone buying if it meant he could write full-time. Alas, he left it very late to begin this journey, penning his first story since primary school at the ripe old age of 45.
***Taken from Mark Towse’s Amazon author page
Eerie River Publishing is an indie publisher specializing in dark fiction.
