A fine start to a series. Fans of McLean’s newer work should definitely seek this debut series out. Fans of gritty, dark urban fantasy and horror should give this one a try. Recommended.

I wasn't particularly impressed with the first book in The Burned Man series by Peter McLean, but being behind in my ARC reading, I already had the second (and third) books on my Kindle for reading and review. <em>Dominion</em> is the second book in the series.

There's nothing particularly new here in the second book. This is still an urban fantasy with a lot of the typical urban fantasy tropes. And if <em>Drake</em> (the first book in the series) felt like a rehash of a lot of popular fantasy, then <em>Dominion</em> is even more so.

Don Drake, supernatural hitman, has a job to take care of Rotman, a being who is hunting down the Earth elementals. But Rotman is really the archdemon Bianakith, which means that this is going to be a tougher job than Drake would like because Bianakith is "the foretold spirit of disease and decay whose aura corrupts everything it comes near."

In my review of <em>Drake</em> I wrote: "Drake comes across as a Harry Dresden type - male, about the same age (?) with a talent for magic and putting demons in their place. But Don Drake isn’t quite as smooth as Harry Dresden. Drake is an alcoholic gambler who gets lucky more often than not." This continues to hold true and if anything, he has become even less likable. And when you are a mostly character-driven series, having an unlikable protagonist is not helpful.

Let's talk a little bit about profanity....

I typically don't mind profanity in the literature I read. I work in professional theatre and anytime a company I work with gets a letter from a patron complaining about the profanity on stage, I tend to roll my eyes and say, "Get real." I use profanity in my own writing and in my everyday speech. Not a lot, but more than my wife would like! But this is all to say that I'm not against the use of swear words or curse words or however you might want to define some language (and the only reason I'm not giving examples is because Amazon will not let me post a review with profanity in it).

The use of profanity will go a long way in establishing what sort of character someone is and in this case, Don Drake's use of profanity goes a very long way in making me not like him. In particular, the use of the 'C' word (a vulgar term to describe a particular part of the female anatomy) was so off-putting that it took me out of the story. I immediately wanted nothing more to do with these characters.

And this made me think about the use of profanity and I realized that in my everyday life, I would not sit around with people who speak this way. I would not go out and have a drink with someone who talks about someone being a 'c***ing b**ch". In fact, I would make excuses to leave if I were with someone who spoke this way. And if I wouldn't associate with people like this, why would I ever enjoy reading a book about people like this? Perhaps, if the people in the book in question were SUPPOSED to be despicable and unlikable, then yes, but when they are the 'heroes' of the story ... ? No.

I get that there are plenty of readers out there who don't mind this. Possibly even relish it. But I'm not one and this book just doesn't appeal.

These characters don't need to be my friends, but I do need to find a reason to get behind them and root for them if I am going to read about their adventures.

Looking for a good book? <em>Dominion</em>, by Peter McLean is the second book in the Burned Man series with an unlikable main character in a setting that struggles to stand apart from other urban fantasies.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

It is dark, violent and contains a fair amount of swearing - right up my street!

Dominion is the second title in Peter McLean’s The Burned Man series. A substance known only as Rotman is hunting the Elementals, and they need help to stop it. This is a dark, dank and foul mouthed journey to find out what the Rotman is and stop it from destroying all.

Don Drake is the main protagonist. He is a partially reformed killer for hire and at times can be just as bad as the bad guys. Drake has a lot of selfish desires; self-preservation, self-gratification, self-seduce-every-hot-girl-he-can-get-near, but he also tries to do good. The problem is, he is not very good at being good and often makes the wrong choices with disastrous consequences.

Drake has two companions of sorts, an almost fallen angel called Trixie and a demon called the Burned Man who is under Drake’s control. The relationship between these three is brilliant and complicated and I loved seeing it progress. Especially as it was aided by some very interesting language choices. This is not a book for those who only say ‘ouch’ when their stub their toe.

I thought this book was simple fun. I enjoyed the darkness, relished in the language and merrily sauntered along with Drake and his buddies as they consorted with gnomes and demons and all other such fantastical creatures.

A book I would absolutely ‘insert expletive of choice’ recommend.

Lisa Jane

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Before we begin a word of dire warning. Dominion is a direct sequel to Drake. If you haven’t read book one in this series then there is a good chance that this review may continue something akin to minor spoiler. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…

In the tunnels deep under London, the Earth elementals are dying. Hunted by something they know only as the Rotman, the elementals have no one trustworthy they can turn to.

Enter Don Drake, diabolist and semi-reformed hitman, and an almost-fallen angel called Trixie. When the Matriarch tells Don that Rotman is actually the archdemon Bianakith, he knows this is going to be a tough job.

Bianakith is the foretold spirit of disease and decay whose aura corrupts everything it comes near, and even the ancient foundations of London will crumble eventually. Now Don, Trixie and the Burned Man have to hatch a plan to keep Bianakith from wiping out the elementals and bringing down the city.

But the Burned Man has other plans, and those may have dire consequences for everyone.

The past never stays buried, and old sins must be atoned for. Judgement is coming, and its name is Dominion.

At the beginning of the year I read Drake by Peter McLean. If you are looking for a novel that perfectly straddles the line between dark urban fantasy and horror, then I would suggest you give it a go. Recently, I discovered that a sequel has been unleashed upon the world. I’ll admit I was more than a little intrigued.

In book two, Don Drake returns and his life is more complicated than ever. He is still living the slightly shabby existence he was before, but his roommates are causing him no end of grief. The only ones on Don’s side are Trixie, an almost fallen angel who is falling further by the minute, and the Burned Man, a powerful demon controlled by Don. The relationships that Don has with these two larger-than-life beings is what drives this novel forward. He is utterly besotted and terrified of Trixie in equal measure. Don doesn’t know which way to turn, and Trixie never makes it easy. Meanwhile the Burned Man continues to be convivial enough to his master. Underneath all the foul language and inappropriate suggestions, he appears happy to do Don’s bidding. That said, you get the feeling that the Burned Man is playing the long game. He comes across like a confined predator, constantly testing the bars of his cage, always looking for some way to escape.

On top of these complex living arrangements there are a whole host of demons, lords of Hell, angels, voodoo priests and ancient cross dimensional beings that want a piece of our erstwhile hero. Who can Don trust when he can hardly even trust his partners? The list appears to be getting shorter by the second.

I love Don Drake; he is such a huge mess as a human being. You can almost guarantee that if there is an incorrect decision to be made that’ll be the one he chooses. It makes his life consistently interesting. His heart is in the right place, good intentions and all that, but he has some properly questionable judgement. In Dominion, Mr Drake makes the biggest mistake of his entire career and watching how he tries to remedy this monumental cock-up is fascinating. This epic faux pas is going to have some serious consequences. I can’t wait to see how this is going to change his life long term. The status quo has been well and truly shifted.

Peter McLean’s vision of London continues to be a rare treat. We get to see the dark underbelly of the city, literally and metaphorically as it turns out. The denizens of McLean’s city are a suitably grubby bunch and they’re all great fun. It makes sense the Don Drake lives in a version of London that perfectly matches his downbeat character. Dilapidated old style boozers and dingy private member’s clubs are most definitely Don’s territory.

A word of warning for the delicate amongst you. The Burned Man continues to be a foul-mouthed creature and in all honesty, Don isn’t that far behind. If adult language makes you blush, then I rather suspect this book might not be for you. Personally, I loved it. I keep The Eloquent Page free from swears but I like nothing better than the odd expletive or two. People that know me in the real world can confirm this to be true.

In a nutshell then, Dominion has absolutely everything I am looking for in a good sequel. The main characters continue to evolve and the universe they inhabit grows with them. The plot whips along a cracking pace and there are enough twists and turns to keep any reader more than happy. I haven’t even gotten around to mentioning the gnomes. Yes, there are gnomes. Just go with it, trust me. You can thank me later.

Dominion is published by Angry Robot and is available now. I heartily recommend this book and its predecessor. Don, Trixie and the Burned Man will return next May with the release of book three, Damnation. I can’t wait. I want to read it immediately.