A town on its knees, dread’s bony fingers wrapping around its throat and squeezing, death rattles soon to follow.

Drugs, filth, and a lack of human decency are starving it of hope.

Introducing Simon Dooley, our trauma-driven wannabe superhero, the relentless voice of his dead mother pleading with him to “end the chaos.” Dressed in a leotard and armed only with a dozen dog poop bags, Simon’s plight will find him falling in love and going head to head with the seediest characters walking the streets.

The town needed a hero… it got Reformo.

Chasing The Dragon is set in a town where no one cares about anything or anyone anymore. It has become overrun with criminals and druggies and Simon Dooley has had enough.

Simon loves superheroes and so he decides that is what the town needs. With a leotard (sorry it’s not a leotard!!), some practice, and a name no one will forget, Reformo, superhero Simon is ready to clean up his town.

Oh, well, what can I say about this book? It certainly is completely wacky. Simon is exceptionally annoying, and what’s with the constant talking to his dead mother and all the swearing? (over-the-top amount of swearing). I am a big fan of superhero movies and the cover gave me Deadpool vibes so I was eager to read it but unfortunately I didn’t completely gel with the story.

I enjoyed the premise of the book. A young man fed up with society and him wanting to take back control and after about five chapters I did start to get into it, plus the humour helped greatly, and all the fast-paced action. There are also many twists to the plot as well.

Overall, While the book was an okay read I don’t think it was my kind of read. Sorry! I’m sure many others will love it though.

Mark Towse is an English horror writer living in Australia. He left it very late to begin this journey, penning his first story since primary school at the ripe old age of forty-five. Since then, he’s been published in over two hundred journals and anthologies, had his work made into full theatrical productions for shows such as The No Sleep Podcast and Tales to Terrify, and has penned fourteen novellas, including Nana, Gone to the Dogs, 3:33, and Crows. His debut novel, ‘Chasing The Dragon,’ was published in March 2024 by Eerie River Publishing.