Chasing the Dragon
by Nicholas Kaufmann
Centuries ago, St. George fought and killed a dragon—or so the legend goes.
The truth is somewhat different.
George failed in his mission, and the Dragon still walks the Earth, protected by an undead army, hiding in the shadows and slaughtering men, women, and children for its prey. Each of George's descendants through time has been tasked with killing the Dragon, and each has failed.
Twenty-five-year-old Georgia Quincey is the last of the line—the last, best hope for defeating the Dragon once and for all. But Georgia is also an addict, driven to the warm embrace of the needle by the weight of her responsibility and the loss of everything and everyone she has ever loved.
Tracking her nemesis to the small town of Buckshot, New Mexico for their final showdown, Georgia is about to discover the truth about the Dragon, a terrible secret that could put all life on Earth in peril.
Reviews - What's Being Said About Nicholas Kaufmann
Nicholas Kaufmann is one of my favorites. His books never disappoint, and Chasing the Dragon is no exception. Relentless and unflinching, Chasing the Dragon offers mayhem, meat puppets and one hell of a monster. Highly recommended!
– Brian Keene, author of Darkness On The Edge of Town and Dead Sea
Old school horror with plenty of tension, action, and hot, wet viscera for you to hook your claws into. Get ready for a bloody ride into hell.
– Tom Piccirilli, author of Shadow Season
(D)elivers gore, mayhem, and the occasional explosion . . . fast paced and technically well crafted.
– Publishers Weekly
As a horror writer, Nicholas Kaufmann knows how to move and manipulate his readers. In only about one hundred pages, Chasing the Dragon manages to deliver an ancient and angry dragon, a detailed mythology, the undead, gangs, a damaged and complex heroine, and, of course, heroin, in this gripping, fast-paced, and surprising novella.
– Paul Tremblay, author of The Little Sleep and No Sleep till Wonderland
(M)oves like a bullet. As blood-soaked and thunderous as a Sergio Leone western, and grimly referential to classic pulp horror, Kaufmann turns the screws and steadily escalates the tension. A gory, thoroughly rollicking thriller—not to be missed.
– Laird Barron, author of The Imago Sequence and Other Stories and Occultation
Nick Kaufmann's Chasing the Dragon begins with the gas pedal pushed to the floor, the engine roaring, the tires singing on the road, and does not slow down. An ancient monster, reanimated corpses, psychic visions, family legacies, blood and mayhem: Kaufmann gleefully piles horror trope on horror trope as his narrative tracks its protagonist's desperate pursuit of a killer. It is in his portrait of Georgia Quincey, though, his all-too-human heroine, that Kaufmann's gifts as a writer shine forth. A woman struggling–not always successfully–with the weight of her responsibility, the toll it has taken on her, Georgia keeps Chasing the Dragon grounded. This novella confirms the promise of Nick Kaufmann's General Slocum's Gold, even as it promises better things still.
– John Langan, author of House of Windows