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Dragon Day
"He promised himself that the next time he found himself in a similar situation, he would really do it: really reach out and assert himself with his fist."
Meet Toby Sharpe, a naive, pimple-faced freshman studying at a stridently progressive university outside of New York City. Aimless and insecure, Toby falls under the wing of Thomas Wallingford, a charismatic English professor beloved for his Marxist politics and laid-back attitude. However, Wallingford's woke activism and postmodern pretentions mask a darker secret, one that leads Toby and those connected to him down a path to ruin.
Dragon Day is a tragicomic glimpse at America's culture war and social atomization. Matthew Pegas' debut novel offers a cutting and satirical look at the rise of the alt-right and their antifa counterparts, the incel mindset, and the factors that radicalize young men.
"It was funny, a sharp satire of academia, a great character study of outcast college students and how they can be radicalized, and it has a solid thriller plot. If I were to pitch this in a single line, I’d call it The Secret History if it was written by Michel Houellebecq." — Ben Arzate, author of Elaine and The Story of the Y
"Dragon Day is a deeply absorbing tale of psychological vulnerability and predatory manipulation, as well as being a scathing take on academic corruption and intellectual chicanery...it is also perhaps the first piece of contemporary fiction to grapple honestly with the rise of the ‘alt-right,’ and its manifold implications for the present and future of the West.” — Andy Nowicki, author of The Columbine Pilgrim and Heart Killer
"Remember the quiet kid in class, the one you always willfully ignored? This is his story. Dragon Day is destined to become an incel classic." — James Nulick, author of Valencia and The Moon Down to Earth
"Where once the ideological fate of the youth followed from the social leanings of an actual house on a college campus, Matt Pegas presents the energizing potential of the memetic Internet as launching an arms race to control political vitality. Both the virtual world to which one awakes and on-campus social hubs must stamp out any sense of beauty as fast as possible as they offer up their own visions." — Timothy Wilcox, PhD, PreCursor Poets
Meet Toby Sharpe, a naive, pimple-faced freshman studying at a stridently progressive university outside of New York City. Aimless and insecure, Toby falls under the wing of Thomas Wallingford, a charismatic English professor beloved for his Marxist politics and laid-back attitude. However, Wallingford's woke activism and postmodern pretentions mask a darker secret, one that leads Toby and those connected to him down a path to ruin.
Dragon Day is a tragicomic glimpse at America's culture war and social atomization. Matthew Pegas' debut novel offers a cutting and satirical look at the rise of the alt-right and their antifa counterparts, the incel mindset, and the factors that radicalize young men.
"It was funny, a sharp satire of academia, a great character study of outcast college students and how they can be radicalized, and it has a solid thriller plot. If I were to pitch this in a single line, I’d call it The Secret History if it was written by Michel Houellebecq." — Ben Arzate, author of Elaine and The Story of the Y
"Dragon Day is a deeply absorbing tale of psychological vulnerability and predatory manipulation, as well as being a scathing take on academic corruption and intellectual chicanery...it is also perhaps the first piece of contemporary fiction to grapple honestly with the rise of the ‘alt-right,’ and its manifold implications for the present and future of the West.” — Andy Nowicki, author of The Columbine Pilgrim and Heart Killer
"Remember the quiet kid in class, the one you always willfully ignored? This is his story. Dragon Day is destined to become an incel classic." — James Nulick, author of Valencia and The Moon Down to Earth
"Where once the ideological fate of the youth followed from the social leanings of an actual house on a college campus, Matt Pegas presents the energizing potential of the memetic Internet as launching an arms race to control political vitality. Both the virtual world to which one awakes and on-campus social hubs must stamp out any sense of beauty as fast as possible as they offer up their own visions." — Timothy Wilcox, PhD, PreCursor Poets
148 pages, Paperback
First published May 31, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 16, 2021
It was funny, a sharp satire of academia, a great character study of outcast college students and how they can be radicalized, and it has a solid thriller plot. If I were to pitch this in a single line, I’d call it The Secret History if it was written by Michel Houellebecq.
August 30, 2024
Started on Friday May 17th 2024 and finished on Monday May 20th 2024
An introverted student is molded into a bomb.
Chapters alternate between two perspectives although one is mostly speculative and a projection created by a deep understanding
Clean and addictive prose
The kind of book that makes you want to go through it in one sitting and is formatted breezily to entice you into that. The chapters are so engaging and tight with great flow that it doesn’t give you a reason to set it down.
Great dichotomy in the central characters with their journeys mirroring each other in opposite trajectories
Fast pacing that escalates the closer you get to the ultimate event
Unforgiving instances of thematic violence and gore
Effective uses of dramatic irony
Allegories that parallel real life events
Contemporary Dostoyevsky tale down to the central characterizations
Political paradigm assessment of the past 10 years
Scrutinizes the Trojan horsing of dark intentions behind silly masks
The addendum to the book is also very satisfying. It informs the reading with a ton of historical context and was a great companion to the overall vision
An introverted student is molded into a bomb.
Chapters alternate between two perspectives although one is mostly speculative and a projection created by a deep understanding
Clean and addictive prose
The kind of book that makes you want to go through it in one sitting and is formatted breezily to entice you into that. The chapters are so engaging and tight with great flow that it doesn’t give you a reason to set it down.
Great dichotomy in the central characters with their journeys mirroring each other in opposite trajectories
Fast pacing that escalates the closer you get to the ultimate event
Unforgiving instances of thematic violence and gore
Effective uses of dramatic irony
Allegories that parallel real life events
Contemporary Dostoyevsky tale down to the central characterizations
Political paradigm assessment of the past 10 years
Scrutinizes the Trojan horsing of dark intentions behind silly masks
The addendum to the book is also very satisfying. It informs the reading with a ton of historical context and was a great companion to the overall vision
September 24, 2021
An interesting read. Picked it up during a sale the publisher had going on - as the description and blurbs sounded interesting enough to make up for the bland title/artwork. There was more going on here than I expected - the term "incel" is mentioned a couple times in the description, which seems odd since while the main character does brood about his ex-GF (who he dated the summer before his first year of college, when she decided she needed some space, and he frequently sees her around campus), he doesn't say much about a lack of luck with women in general. It'd be more accurate to say the characters have suffered some abuse, which leads them to question their masculinity.
This is tough to describe without spoiling anything, but both far-left and far-right politics are involved, and both receive a good amount of mockery. As others mentioned, there's also a thriller-type narrative going on, which kept me engaged. A good debut, worth checking out.
This is tough to describe without spoiling anything, but both far-left and far-right politics are involved, and both receive a good amount of mockery. As others mentioned, there's also a thriller-type narrative going on, which kept me engaged. A good debut, worth checking out.
May 7, 2025
Better than marketed, especially cover-wise that doesn’t convey how realistic it is. It’s not fantastical or too mythological philosophy-wise as initially drove me away. It’s about a university festival where a bomb was hidden in a metal & paper mâché dragon and the story of the guy, Charles, who vaguely knew the supposed culprit: Toby.
I went into this book expecting a funny, light tone when it’s rarely that. The intro is ironic about Toby thinking he’s the shit except his D is lacking, while campus banter happens about the uselessness of lettuce. Yet after this, things are pretty serious.
Charles is a dif POV about another earl-aughts bullied geek now in a biz-like frat. He’s praised a bunch by the professor who perhaps raped Toby (T isn’t sure cuz his head was mostly in a locker. Damn, that got graphic—not sure how I never seen it come up even as a plot point on pod summaries/reviews).
Charles and the prof all work on a thesis about what the phallus represents in lit, which is well-tread territory, but there’s the funny addition of being able to formulate the author’s length based on close reading. They take this very seriously, a la incels would though it’s framed through a somehow feministy way. I’m explaining all of this horrible, but you know how academics spin the tiniest assumption into fake-deep BS.
At first, Toby seems pretty well-rounded, focused on improving his mind and body (moderately). He’s into Nietzsche/Yeates poetry as much as pull-ups. Clove cigarette smoking is crazy though, haha. You’d think that means fingerless gloves and a faux hawk but naw. Just reserved and meek, trying to pump himself up sometimes about his looks.
Zoe is a girl who’s gone cold on him, adding to his constant worry about being a pussy. He’s jealous of Ronnie who’s good at everything, including taking Zoe’s attention. He fantasizes about beating up all these people who belittle him yet, even in daydreaming, knows he’d get his ass kicked.
I guess you could call this a campus novel, set in SJWy 2015. It’s the same time I went to college. Yet I’ve never been to one where you had to hand-deliver a proposal to be accepted by your major, especially when it’s as non-competitive as basic English undergrad. So I wonder if that’s a regional, different era thing or just plot device.
I wouldn’t call this book satire because it’s not over-saturated at all: It’s just how college is and it’s not presented in a make-fun-of-them way, just matter of fact: kids protest ___. Nor is there hardly any “incel” stuff like people claim, more so relatable outcast feelings and a progression of the hot-shot gay professor’s abuse of power.
One of the main things I would say is this book feels more reflective than in-the-era phrasing-wise. Like I was in the LGBTQIA club at a Miami uni during 2015 yet never heard the phrase “non binary” back then vs trans or queer, nor anyone talking about Palestinian even with the heavily Jewish and international populations you would think bring it up/clash. As mentioned, critical race theory was more in season. And “white supremacy” or (crypto) “fascism” weren’t the phrases used nearly as much as today (despite Antifa) versus “alt right” or “nationalist” even if used incorrectly (as they still are today).
The talk of politics isn’t bogging the pace or annoyingly reductive on either side. Def very present around the halfway point but this is a fast read. Wording is casual with “like”s and “whatever”s peppered in conversationally. Yet land is written about dreamily “verdant valley” to “dusty shales” and the dissociation of highway-side picnics. There’s subtle alliteration everywhere making for a fast flow.
The prof being a truly charismatic, cultish leader grooming Toby, not just sexually but molding him into his political manifesto, is good witnessed through Toby & Charles’ alternating POVs. (The professor also has a son named Matt, which is maybe a joke about the author’s name and how we only see him in a pic, chewing on a toy train. Again, maybe some comedy but this feels more…thrillery or unsettling.)
The mention of occult symbols seems like it should have appeared sooner than 75% in and not been like, “Oh yeah, that was a weird memory,” and more male vs female implications could have been slightly foreshadowed via the prof’s comments.
Maybe I would’ve liked a tad more about Toby’s fam but the tension towards the end and character development (jostling confidence to lack thereof) is immersive. I’m not surprised by the end and, in a broad way, predicted it from the start, which is fine but JSYK. Lastly, I would’ve liked a scene of the prof rather than a summary of what happened to him in an epilogue—even if the scene was an old memory that relates to now and thus is looked upon differently.
I went into this book expecting a funny, light tone when it’s rarely that. The intro is ironic about Toby thinking he’s the shit except his D is lacking, while campus banter happens about the uselessness of lettuce. Yet after this, things are pretty serious.
Charles is a dif POV about another earl-aughts bullied geek now in a biz-like frat. He’s praised a bunch by the professor who perhaps raped Toby (T isn’t sure cuz his head was mostly in a locker. Damn, that got graphic—not sure how I never seen it come up even as a plot point on pod summaries/reviews).
Charles and the prof all work on a thesis about what the phallus represents in lit, which is well-tread territory, but there’s the funny addition of being able to formulate the author’s length based on close reading. They take this very seriously, a la incels would though it’s framed through a somehow feministy way. I’m explaining all of this horrible, but you know how academics spin the tiniest assumption into fake-deep BS.
At first, Toby seems pretty well-rounded, focused on improving his mind and body (moderately). He’s into Nietzsche/Yeates poetry as much as pull-ups. Clove cigarette smoking is crazy though, haha. You’d think that means fingerless gloves and a faux hawk but naw. Just reserved and meek, trying to pump himself up sometimes about his looks.
Zoe is a girl who’s gone cold on him, adding to his constant worry about being a pussy. He’s jealous of Ronnie who’s good at everything, including taking Zoe’s attention. He fantasizes about beating up all these people who belittle him yet, even in daydreaming, knows he’d get his ass kicked.
I guess you could call this a campus novel, set in SJWy 2015. It’s the same time I went to college. Yet I’ve never been to one where you had to hand-deliver a proposal to be accepted by your major, especially when it’s as non-competitive as basic English undergrad. So I wonder if that’s a regional, different era thing or just plot device.
I wouldn’t call this book satire because it’s not over-saturated at all: It’s just how college is and it’s not presented in a make-fun-of-them way, just matter of fact: kids protest ___. Nor is there hardly any “incel” stuff like people claim, more so relatable outcast feelings and a progression of the hot-shot gay professor’s abuse of power.
One of the main things I would say is this book feels more reflective than in-the-era phrasing-wise. Like I was in the LGBTQIA club at a Miami uni during 2015 yet never heard the phrase “non binary” back then vs trans or queer, nor anyone talking about Palestinian even with the heavily Jewish and international populations you would think bring it up/clash. As mentioned, critical race theory was more in season. And “white supremacy” or (crypto) “fascism” weren’t the phrases used nearly as much as today (despite Antifa) versus “alt right” or “nationalist” even if used incorrectly (as they still are today).
The talk of politics isn’t bogging the pace or annoyingly reductive on either side. Def very present around the halfway point but this is a fast read. Wording is casual with “like”s and “whatever”s peppered in conversationally. Yet land is written about dreamily “verdant valley” to “dusty shales” and the dissociation of highway-side picnics. There’s subtle alliteration everywhere making for a fast flow.
The prof being a truly charismatic, cultish leader grooming Toby, not just sexually but molding him into his political manifesto, is good witnessed through Toby & Charles’ alternating POVs. (The professor also has a son named Matt, which is maybe a joke about the author’s name and how we only see him in a pic, chewing on a toy train. Again, maybe some comedy but this feels more…thrillery or unsettling.)
The mention of occult symbols seems like it should have appeared sooner than 75% in and not been like, “Oh yeah, that was a weird memory,” and more male vs female implications could have been slightly foreshadowed via the prof’s comments.
Maybe I would’ve liked a tad more about Toby’s fam but the tension towards the end and character development (jostling confidence to lack thereof) is immersive. I’m not surprised by the end and, in a broad way, predicted it from the start, which is fine but JSYK. Lastly, I would’ve liked a scene of the prof rather than a summary of what happened to him in an epilogue—even if the scene was an old memory that relates to now and thus is looked upon differently.
October 30, 2022
Charles Jason and Tobias “Toby” Sharpe are students at an elite North-east American university whose lives intersect through their interactions with Thomas Wallingford, a messianic professor and fraternal ‘figurehead’.
A horrible crime is visited upon Toby for which we quickly learn Wallingford is responsible, revealing the truth about a figure who presents himself as a wholesome family man.
Everything about Wallingford is bogus. His philosophy. His politics. His personality. His sexuality. His turpitude would stretch credulity, except for the energy he deploys to mask it, which renders him all too human.
Toby is under no illusions about Wallingford’s true nature. But Charles, an older and more ambitious student, is in the grip of Wallingford’s spell. Interestingly, however, these positions are soon reversed. Charles, once the doting protégé and errand boy, becomes suspicious and resentful of Wallingford, while Toby—Wallingford’s victim—becomes ever more drawn to him.
By the time Toby is victimised the second time, however, the writing is on the wall for both young men. Charles—having unmasked and confronted his former mentor—is kicked out of his PhD program. Toby spirals into a state of hopelessness and despair, setting the stage for the novel’s Dragon Day climax.
There is much to commend this book. First, the prose is lean. No words are wasted. The book can be read in one sitting.
Second, it has the ring of authenticity. Reading it, I felt sure the author studied in an institution resembling the fictional Lockden, and encountered the characters who feature—albeit in an exaggerated from—in the book there.
Third, the book gives due respect to the complex emotions being abused doubtlessly elicits. Pegas takes no shortcuts, and does not attempt to draw a simplistic abuser/abused dichotomy.
If I had to offer one critique of what I found to be a fine read, it would be concerning the narration. This is done by Charles, who bases his recounting of the story on “the brief but revelatory time” he spent with Toby. Perhaps Pegas felt the story had to be—at least in part—told in the first person.
I think this threw up unnecessary complications. The story switches from first to third person narration every couple of pages. We are also left to wonder how Charles knows certain things (e.g. that Toby is unhappy with the size of his penis as we learn in the first paragraph).
An omniscient third person narrator, switching the focus between the two characters, might have worked better, and obviated the need for what reads like a mea culpa in the book's introduction.
This is an issue of form. Globally, Dragon Day delivers an intriguing story and tackles large themes without descending into polemic or black and white absolutism. An excellent debut.
A horrible crime is visited upon Toby for which we quickly learn Wallingford is responsible, revealing the truth about a figure who presents himself as a wholesome family man.
Everything about Wallingford is bogus. His philosophy. His politics. His personality. His sexuality. His turpitude would stretch credulity, except for the energy he deploys to mask it, which renders him all too human.
Toby is under no illusions about Wallingford’s true nature. But Charles, an older and more ambitious student, is in the grip of Wallingford’s spell. Interestingly, however, these positions are soon reversed. Charles, once the doting protégé and errand boy, becomes suspicious and resentful of Wallingford, while Toby—Wallingford’s victim—becomes ever more drawn to him.
By the time Toby is victimised the second time, however, the writing is on the wall for both young men. Charles—having unmasked and confronted his former mentor—is kicked out of his PhD program. Toby spirals into a state of hopelessness and despair, setting the stage for the novel’s Dragon Day climax.
There is much to commend this book. First, the prose is lean. No words are wasted. The book can be read in one sitting.
Second, it has the ring of authenticity. Reading it, I felt sure the author studied in an institution resembling the fictional Lockden, and encountered the characters who feature—albeit in an exaggerated from—in the book there.
Third, the book gives due respect to the complex emotions being abused doubtlessly elicits. Pegas takes no shortcuts, and does not attempt to draw a simplistic abuser/abused dichotomy.
If I had to offer one critique of what I found to be a fine read, it would be concerning the narration. This is done by Charles, who bases his recounting of the story on “the brief but revelatory time” he spent with Toby. Perhaps Pegas felt the story had to be—at least in part—told in the first person.
I think this threw up unnecessary complications. The story switches from first to third person narration every couple of pages. We are also left to wonder how Charles knows certain things (e.g. that Toby is unhappy with the size of his penis as we learn in the first paragraph).
An omniscient third person narrator, switching the focus between the two characters, might have worked better, and obviated the need for what reads like a mea culpa in the book's introduction.
This is an issue of form. Globally, Dragon Day delivers an intriguing story and tackles large themes without descending into polemic or black and white absolutism. An excellent debut.
November 30, 2024
MR. OMAR KING REVIEWS DRAGON DAY BY: MATTHEW PEGAS 11/29/24
Hello Everyone,
Mr. Omar King here.
I will be reviewing Dragon Day By: Matt Pegas.
Where do I begin with this?
Well.. for starters if any of you have a physical copy or a PDF/E-Book copy of this book you know that this book is not some fantasy novel. There is no majestic quest in this book. Hell there isn't a Prince or Princess or Goblin in this book.
No-no.
This book is far-far from Majestic or Fantasy. This book is bleak, satirical, and poignant. Taking place at a university campus. Where Toby goes through a path of ruin, led by the English Professor Thomas Willingford, ugh, that louse. This man has got to be the most pretentious and cheap and evil son of a bitch I have ever read. Excuse my language and excuse my French, but this guy makes me so MAD! His terrible hubris reminds me of a certain individual (that shall remain nameless, if those who know me in person, then you know who I am writing about) that makes me want to bang my head on a wall over and over and over and OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!!
Golly, Matt has done a great job writing this novel and keeping me on the edge of my seat. What a talent he is.
It was/always will be my pleasure reading this Dragon Day (not a fantasy book).
Hello Everyone,
Mr. Omar King here.
I will be reviewing Dragon Day By: Matt Pegas.
Where do I begin with this?
Well.. for starters if any of you have a physical copy or a PDF/E-Book copy of this book you know that this book is not some fantasy novel. There is no majestic quest in this book. Hell there isn't a Prince or Princess or Goblin in this book.
No-no.
This book is far-far from Majestic or Fantasy. This book is bleak, satirical, and poignant. Taking place at a university campus. Where Toby goes through a path of ruin, led by the English Professor Thomas Willingford, ugh, that louse. This man has got to be the most pretentious and cheap and evil son of a bitch I have ever read. Excuse my language and excuse my French, but this guy makes me so MAD! His terrible hubris reminds me of a certain individual (that shall remain nameless, if those who know me in person, then you know who I am writing about) that makes me want to bang my head on a wall over and over and over and OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!!
Golly, Matt has done a great job writing this novel and keeping me on the edge of my seat. What a talent he is.
It was/always will be my pleasure reading this Dragon Day (not a fantasy book).
August 19, 2022
Really enjoyable book. Gave me mid 90s to mid 00s vibes stylistically. Not sure if this was intentional but a number of things gave me this impression (in a good way).
1. The book has a fast and twisty plot that has some really unexpected turns. It's based on a university campus and this made me think of many of the slasher/thriller movies from the late 90s early 00s era.
2. The 'baddie' is a nihilistic accelerationist type, who is revealed to be even worse than we believe.
3. Charles acts as the 'journalistic authority' which gives the books a 'based on a true story'/it could happen anywhere credibility that is reminiscent of the era.
4. Pegas likes to lean into dramatic irony which was also common at the time.
Other commentators have commented on the political insights. I would only add to that, it is not obvious or in your face. You have to consider the implications carefully. Your impressions will change as you read the book.
Really enjoyable. Reminded me of the braver, exciting work I was reading in my formative years.
1. The book has a fast and twisty plot that has some really unexpected turns. It's based on a university campus and this made me think of many of the slasher/thriller movies from the late 90s early 00s era.
2. The 'baddie' is a nihilistic accelerationist type, who is revealed to be even worse than we believe.
3. Charles acts as the 'journalistic authority' which gives the books a 'based on a true story'/it could happen anywhere credibility that is reminiscent of the era.
4. Pegas likes to lean into dramatic irony which was also common at the time.
Other commentators have commented on the political insights. I would only add to that, it is not obvious or in your face. You have to consider the implications carefully. Your impressions will change as you read the book.
Really enjoyable. Reminded me of the braver, exciting work I was reading in my formative years.
July 23, 2021
This is a very well written and engrossing novella by one of the more talented new authors of transgressive literature. It's basically a thriller that satirizes elements of both the youthful far left and the far right that have been notably present in the American political scene since around the rise of Trumpism. I read it very quickly because I couldn't stop once I started. Highly recommended!
January 17, 2026
This was written by one of the co-hosts of the “New Write” podcast, one of my favorites. I was slightly trepidatious about reading the book, because after listening to the pod for a couple years, Matt (parasocially) felt like a friend, and you are afraid of reading the book of a friend because you might not like it. But those fears were unwarranted because I absolutely loved this book. It is a relatively short novel, made shorter by the fact I was so engrossed and could not stop reading. It’s set on a college campus, following a young shy nerdy loner type of freshman as he gets involved with a radical leftist English professor and his secret fascist movement. The story is equal parts gripping thriller and satirical comedy. It’s like Fight Club meets Dead Poets Society meets Bronze Age Mindset.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews