Drake

By (author) Peter McLean; By (author) Peter McLean
Short description/annotation
A demon-summoning hitman and a murderous, chainsmoking angel battle Furies and the Devil himself in a search for redemption.
Description
Meet Don Drake. He''s a demon-summoning hit man who ''s badly in debt. He doesn''t like his job. He''d rather have a drink and stay away from murder and the supernatural, but he''ll have no peace before he''s cleared his debt. So Drake takes on one last kill job - and things only get worse for him when he discovers his victim was just a kid. Suddenly, Drake''s on everyone''s bad list. His only friends are an archdemon trapped inside an ancient artefact, and Trixie, who smokes too much and happens to be as close to a fallen angel as you can get before you''re Lucifer himself. And unfortunately for Drake, Lucifer''s around too. And he''s mad as hell. If Drake''s going to find redemption, he''s going to have to fight Peter McLean''s debut is the first in a dark, funny urban fantasy series that pits a very British antihero against universal evil.
Review quote
"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 Drunkard; I 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