“ “Never adapt to the ways of evil, or you will become no better than the evil you sought to destroy.” The words of his teacher, Makoto Tanaka, kept on repeating in the
cycle of his thought. He took the life of a human being so another one may
live. However, the haunting memory will blacken his soul for a time to come. “
A passage from Randal J. Belaire’s new novel “The Resurgence: Chronicles of the Shadow Chaser”.
The story follows the rather tragic tale of Kevin Wolf at the beginning of his career and the seeming declining professional life of Arthur Brown. Arthur, being my personal favourite character of the story, is your first guide on your virgin experience into the Shadow Chaser world. The first thing you experience when starting the book is a drop right in the middle of a kidnapping with a hero swinging in to hopefully save the day….now, I am not about to ruin the experience and give away the facts on the kidnapping, or the rest of the happening short of basic description….wanna know detailed facts and cannot wait? Buy the book.
Arthur, if you must know more, is the first Shadow Chaser. The circumstances of the aforementioned kidnapping caper leave him unemployed in the ways of super heroes. Nothing shows the proper impact of this like Chapter Five;
“Arthur Brown sat like a hermit on a barstool in a local pub, alone
with his thoughts, and ignored by the patrons surrounding him. Clouded by
the aroma of whisky, and reeking with the stench of regret, Brown held the
glass in his right hand and gripped his cane with his left. On the tenth
anniversary of his final battle as the Shadow Chaser, Brown cradled his glass,
nursing the relationship with his best friend of the last five years. The battle
that ended his career also ended his capacity to walk with a normal gait. A man
who at one time required a mask to facilitate his need for vengeance and
justice; now found himself needing to consume a bottle of hard liquor to help
him forget about the unfulfilled promise he once made to his wife Claire.
Arthur Brown had aged ten years, but the alcohol abuse made him look twenty
years older. The punishment he received from the bottle was far worse than
any physical impairment he received as the Shadow Chaser. Brown no longer
cared about anybody or himself.”
The chapter goes on to show Arthur struggling with personal combat in the worlds inside and outside his head.
Enter Kevin Wolf, each great hero be it Batman or Huck Finn has a personal tragedy that drives them. Kevin is no different. His loss is one that really cannot be given away in review description so much as read.
But he has guides to lift him in his assent; Master Tanaka, martial arts mentor, Arthur Brown and….well more would yet again be telling. And his world has villans to slam him down. The quite evil Antonio Stavros and the equally dark Group of 13.
This novel begs to be a comic book.
Final verdict, Check out the sample chapters provided by Randy here to get an idea if you dig his own pulp/noir alley.
You can find Randy and the Shadow Chaser at The Shadow Chaser site
