Peter McLean was born near London in 1972, the son of a bank
manager and an English teacher. He went to school in the shadow of
Norwich Cathedral where he spent most of his time making up
stories. By the time he left school this was probably the thing he
was best at, alongside the Taoist kung fu he had begun studying
since the age of 13.
He grew up in the Norwich alternative scene, alternating dingy
nightclubs with studying martial arts and practical magic.
He has since grown up a bit, if not a lot, and now works in
corporate datacentre outsourcing for a major American multinational
company. He is married to Diane and is still making up stories.
You can find Peter online athis website, on Twitter@petemc666.
“Peter McLean’s debut novel is an absolute gem that hits the ground
running, a gritty, grungy, funny, sweary noir thriller with
added demons. Don Drake is a wonderful creation. You wouldn’t
trust him with your life – he can’t even be trusted with his
own life. It’s a wonderful, headlong read and I enjoyed it
immensely. Very near the top of the half dozen best books I’ve
read this year.”
—Dave Hutchinson, author of Europe in Autumn and Europe at
Midnight“Snarky, pacy and hellishly fun. Drake is just the sort of
hero, with just the sort of life, to make you feel good about
yourself. Dark and delightful, like a naughty treat, this is a
rollicking story.”
—Francis Knight, author of the Rojan Dizon series
“McLean has crafted a refreshing urban fantasy, with a wonderfully
flawed, foul-mouthed protagonist who, despite some dubious life
choices, is not quite beyond redemption. Imagine Mal Reynolds had
dabbled in the occult and this would have been the result. Drake
features equally complex female characters, ensuring the Burned Man
is one series I shall be certain to follow.”
—Susan Murray, author of The Waterborne Blade and Waterborne
Exile
“Fug, this was good. The movement is non-stop and the characters,
myriad. The author does a great job developing characters that
reside in a fantastic world. I WANT MORE!”
—Koeur’s Book Reviews
“The plot is intriguing and the pace is fast. There is plenty of
action, in fact, frankly, never a dull moment.”
—The Speculative Herald
“A darkly funny and violent tale with black magic, fallen angels,
demons and angry girlfriends, complete with some loathsome
characters you will love to hate.”
—Books, Bones & Buffy
“Peter’s writing is refreshing as it slams you squarely between
your eyes without any preamble. I went in without any expectation
and then I just couldn’t stop myself as I went with the flow. I
really liked this dark debut from this highly talented find from
the stables of Angry Robot. Peter McLean makes an emphatic
statement of things to come in the future with this first
instalment of the Burned Man series. And I cannot wait to see where
he drives this one to, setting things up nicely for the next books
in the series.”
—Smorgasbord Fantasia
“What connects Chandler, Guy Ritchie, Harry Potter and Buffy the
Vampire Slayer? “Not much” is probably the answer, until now. A
punchy debut novel.”
—SFX Magazine“A great read.”
—A Book DrunkardI have to say, I really enjoyed this novel. When
the story first opened, I thought Drake was going to be just
another stoic Sam Spade type. Not so! Imagine if Jesse Pinkman, the
young, sensitive delinquent hero of Breaking Bad, was in the
soul-destroying business of dark magic instead of making meth.
Drake is a bang-up job indeed.”
—Village Book Review“McLean’s vision of London is a city of
violence, substance abuse and foul language. Personally, I loved it
all. I’m all for demons embracing their demonic side and if that
means them ripping off someone’s arm and then smacking them with
the wet end, then so be it.”
—The Eloquent Page“Peter McLean has written a gripping tale full of
action, mystery and death.”
—Rambles, Writings and Amusing Musings“I really enjoyed this novel
and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves noir urban fantasy
with a different twist than the usual.”
—Best Fantasy Books“The ending is a far different place from where
this book began, which is a testament to the author and the plot
threads that evolve through the book and stellar
worldbuilding.”
—Pop.Edit.Lit“The plot moves quickly and consistently to the end
where – pleasingly unpredictably – the story is left happily
concluded yet unresolved enough to welcome in the next Don Drake
adventure, which no doubt will be as entertaining as this one.”
—British Fantasy Society“The Burned Man books are shaping out to be
an interesting spin on the urban fantasy tale. You have the
elements of a classic noir story like a down on his luck guy, a
mysterious beautiful woman and a sort of mob boss figure. But then
you have the whole demonic angle to things that turns things on its
head and makes it unique.”
—The Geeky Guide to Nearly Everything“A grimy, morally ambiguous
tale, packed full of action and ideas. It’s blunt and brutal and
very compelling.”
—Geek Dad
“If you like your wizard fantasy grotty, borderline offensive and
splashed in enough sex and violence to make a Lannister blush, this
bouncing series is for you.”
—BFSA
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