COMING DOWN
“Does for sky-diving what ‘Point Break’ did for surfing.” Johnny Utah
Coming Down is a novel about falling - falling in love, falling from grace, falling foul, falling apart, falling free. A story of addiction, drug dealing and sky-diving in the age of the internet. At its vertiginous centre one man’s commitment to making money and living life to excess. An amoral hero with huge appetites for women, designer clothes and drugs, guided by a criminal code that allows him free rein to exploit the real and virtual networks of the global era.
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The exhilarating drama of a gut-churning, high altitude free fall over the desert coastline of southern California provides the narrative structure for Coming Down. Each chapter brings the hero, X, closer to the earth and as he hurtles downwards his thoughts and feelings about falling provide the cement that binds the key events in his life into a revelatory whole that opens the way to understanding why he is, where he is, plunging towards the Pacific Ocean at terminal velocity.
Falling is central to Coming Down and each chapter is “book-ended” with startling biblical, literary, scientific, and journalistic extracts, both serious and humorous, about falling. Some are of only tangential relevance to the plot, others of vital importance.
“There comes a time when you believe, for an instant, that you are flying - soaring skyward and not hurtling towards the earth at immense speed - the chemistry of exhilaration warping the electrical signals discharged from all senses; your eyes, wide-open staring at the ground below, absorbing the bigger picture, poring over the detail, that now appears to be becoming more distant, silence falls and the wind on your face and hands eases.......”
“Coming Down gives a whole new meaning to getting high!” Jane Clargo
Coming Down
Available to order:
Troubador Publishing
Bookshop.org
Amazon
Blackwell’s
Book Depository
Waterstones
WH Smith
Buy as an ebook:
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International orders:
Amazon.com
Reviews (6):
A highly orginal and absorbing read. Coming Down is a unique and gripping tale of sex and drugs and.....sky-diving, with a bit of rock and roll for good measure. This is a highly entertaining book as you follow the rise and fall (or possibly fall and fall) of a young man sucked into the violent and destructive world of international drug-dealing. A highly enjoyable, roller-coaster of a read. Michael Hamilton
Rock & Roll references to keep the sharp eyed music fan smiling ……and sex and drugs as well! A right good read about a man gone wrong. The Blue Star
It is compulsive reading. Quite a tough subject but a real page-turner. And incredibly well-researched. A very good book. Sara Eppel
Best book I have read in a while. Coming Down is a gripping and nail-biting read up until the very (unpredictable and unexpected) end. The descriptive writing made every extreme situation relatable forming an unlikely affinity and support for the protagonist despite him being a very questionable character. This book is exciting, anxiety inducing and a unique read. I highly recommend it. DH
The novel combines a fast paced story about an amoral drug dealer with a passion for skydiving and living life to excess with contemplation about the meaning of falling. It is beautifully written, in parts funny, nerve-wracking even shocking but at its heart, it is a deeply intelligent book. I loved it. C Thomas
A fantastic book, it’s exciting, funny but also clever. Story telling at its best. At the centre is the high rolling lifestyle of a drug dealer but his rapidly unfolding story is linked to beautiful and lyrical passages about skydiving and all the ramifications of falling. Wonderful writing. I couldn’t put the book down and highly recommend it. Becky S
Cargo Collective 2017 — Frogtown, Los Angeles