150 ratings | 83 reviews | avg rating:3.65

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Adrian Deans

Goodreads Author

Born

in Sydney, Australia

Website

http://www.adriandeans.com/

Genre

Crime, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction

Member Since

March 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/adriandeans

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Adrian Deans is a lawyer, journalist and novelist. He has been writing seriously for 30 years and in that time has seen his darkly comic speculative fiction stories gradually morph into darkly comic crime - then back to spec fiction. His novels, Mr Cleansheets (Vulgar Press, 2010) and Straight Jacket (High Horse, 2013) received some critical acclaim and Straight Jacket was optioned by Ealing Studios in the UK. The Fighting Man was his debut historical novel (High Horse, 2017), but in 2020 he blended offbeat crime with spec fiction to produce Welcome to Ord City. His latest novel, Asparagus Grass (2023), sees Adrian on the edge of science fiction and firmly entrenched among Australia's more original storytellers.

Adrian is represented by Gol ...more

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Adrian Deans’s books

Average rating: 4.11 · 192 ratings · 102 reviews · 8 distinct works • Similar authors

	Straight Jacket 4.09 avg rating — 65 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Fighting Man 4.19 avg rating — 48 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Welcome to Ord City 3.93 avg rating — 27 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Asparagus Grass 4.10 avg rating — 20 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mr Cleansheets 4.25 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 2010 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	THEM 4.11 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Political Football: Lawrie McKinna's Dangerous Truth by Adrian Deans (Goodreads Author), Lawrie McKinna 4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Fighting Man: AD 1066 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Adrian Deans's Blog

What’s So Bad About Populism?

“Frustrated voters across the world are rejecting traditional centrist politics and moving to the populist far right.”

We hear this a lot but what exactly does it mean?

In essence it means that voters in democratic countries are not happy with the performance of governments they have traditionally elected so are looking for alternative solutions.

Donald Trump is the most spectacular exemplar of this

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Adrian’s Recent Updates

Adrian Deans rated a book really liked it The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
For starters, this was superbly written: beautifully constructed and crafted. I was reminded of Donleavy, Hesse, even Camus with a touch of Vonnegut - dazzling. Especially the discussions on the meaning of history. BUT... I felt somewhat let down by t ...more
Jun 23, 2026 11:29PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Adrian Deans rated a book liked it Songwriters on the Run by Robert Forster	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
There was a lot to like about this book but a few quibbles also. The big ideas worked well: two minor league (but ambitious) songwriters get into trouble with the law (mostly undeserved) - escape from detention - need to get back to Melbourne to sort ...more
Jun 22, 2026 05:05AM · like · see review
Adrian Deans rated a book liked it Songwriters on the Run by Robert Forster	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
There was a lot to like about this book but a few quibbles also. The big ideas worked well: two minor league (but ambitious) songwriters get into trouble with the law (mostly undeserved) - escape from detention - need to get back to Melbourne to sort ...more
Jun 22, 2026 04:50AM · like · see review
Adrian Deans made a comment in the group World, Writing, Wealth — When Truth is Stranger than Fiction topic " This site has become rather odd. "
Jun 04, 2026 03:47AM
Adrian Deans made a comment in the group World, Writing, Wealth — How much creative freedom should historical fiction authors take? topic " I have a slightly different take on this. My latest novel (just sent to my agent) includes a very famous (deceased) rock star as a fictional character. ...more "
Jun 04, 2026 03:12AM
Adrian Deans made a comment in the group World, Writing, Wealth — Marketing Scams topic " Apologies if this has already been dealt with - couldn't see an obvious thread... Has anyone else been hassled recently by people offering marketing se ...more "
Feb 12, 2026 12:34AM
Adrian Deans rated a book did not like it Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I picked this up because it had Michael Crichton’s name on it. Having read the story, I no longer believe he wrote it. Obviously, it’s beyond his usual genre so some allowances must be made, but there is none of the trademark invention – none of the ...more
Jan 19, 2026 11:59AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Adrian Deans made a comment in the group World, Writing, Wealth — Favorite Book topic " The Stone Cage The Stone Cage ...more "
Sep 12, 2025 03:31AM
Adrian Deans made a comment in the group World, Writing, Wealth — Which movies have you watched recently ? topic " Just been on a couple of longhaul fights and watched a bunch of films. The best one was Deep Cover - both gripping and hilarious. "
Sep 12, 2025 03:10AM
Adrian Deans rated a book really liked it Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder by Evelyn Waugh	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is a novel I've been meaning to read for about 30 years and finally got around to it. First published in 1945, it is set mainly in the 1920s in a fading Britain at the end of her imperial glory. The characters are mainly people of great fortune a ...more
Apr 15, 2025 11:39PM · like · see review

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Aussie Readers: Goodreads Aussie Authors place request to be added to list here	181	187	Aug 11, 2019 05:00PM
Aussie Readers: * List of Aussie Authors who are members of Goodreads	5	151	Aug 27, 2019 10:09PM
Aussie Readers: September Challenge 2020 - It's a Party!	156	218	Sep 30, 2020 08:40PM
Fiction Fanatics: September POINTS Challenge	19	33	Oct 01, 2020 10:01PM
All Challenges Al...: MEMBER TASK #37: DIANA	35	31	Oct 05, 2020 07:34AM

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Adrian’s Groups

World, Writing, Wealth — 4884 members — last activity 3 hours, 3 min ago
Friends, would you care to partake in a learned discussion of current events, the global economy, writing, selling, film, and reading? Then gift us wi ...more

Apocalypse Whenever — 14049 members — last activity 40 minutes ago
The most active group for apocalyptic and dystopian stories! Join a monthly book discussion, get recommendations, or just tell us if you like canned p ...more

Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction — 6195 members — last activity Jun 28, 2026 04:20AM
The focus of this group is historical fiction set in Ancient and Medieval eras(with some post Medieval), in any geographical location. Preference is g ...more

SciFi and Fantasy Book Club — 43047 members — last activity 39 minutes ago
Hi there! SFFBC is a welcoming place for readers to share their love of speculative fiction through group reads, buddy reads, challenges, ...more

Aussie Readers — 6542 members — last activity 40 minutes ago
A group for all Australian Goodreads members (and those interested in Australia), no matter what they read!

Historical Fictionistas — 16344 members — last activity 13 hours, 38 min ago
Welcome to Historical Fictionistas! We want to experience all different kinds of HF with all different kinds of people. The more diverse, the better. ...more

THE Group for Authors! — 13061 members — last activity 21 hours, 50 min ago
This is a group for authors to discuss their craft, as well as publishing and book marketing.

The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group — 32650 members — last activity 4 hours, 32 min ago
“It was a dark and stormy night. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled across the sky. Rain spattered a mysterious, hooded stranger who peered over the ...more

Book Bloggers of Goodreads — 3034 members — last activity 21 hours, 33 min ago
This is a group for the book bloggers of Goodreads and authors seeking reviews. Book bloggers: post events, reviews, giveaways, ask questions, share l ...more

Australian Speculative Fiction — 59 members — last activity Sep 29, 2025 07:13AM
A group for readers and writers of Australian speculative fiction to connect. Speculative fiction covers science fiction, fantasy, horror, alternative ...more

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