Customer Reviews
A phoenix has risen - By: Marie J. Warlow, 23 May 2008 
BURNT
by Ian Colquhoun
A review of Ian's true life story,"Burnt."
By MJ Warlow
There are many true life stories on the market but none like this, because this story is from the mouth of a typical no nonsence, straight talking Scotsman, Ian Colquhoun.
"Burnt" contains the real life account of what led to a horrific attack on Ian on Christmas eve that left him at death's doorstep.
In an attempt to start afresh & conquer his alcoholism, Ian left his home in Bonny Scotland to start his new life in Ireland. At first, the the romantic ideal we alll have of the Emerald Isle seemed to be true. Ian found the locals warm, friendly & always up for a good time drinking & watching footballl in cosy pubs. Sadly it wasn't to remain this way. One night after a party at his girlfriends house, Ian was beaten over the head with a pick axe as he lay sleeping, then he was set on fire. He was only minutes from death when he was saved by a police officer.
Ensued seven weeks of hell for his family as he lay near death in a coma. His mother had to make the agonising decision to have his badly burned legs removed. Three times a Priest was callled to give Ian his last rites. Little did his family & friends know that while in a coma, Ian was having near death experiences & powerfully symbolic dreams.
After waking from his coma, Ian's mum had the difficult task of explaining where he was & what had happened to him. Understandly, Ian suffered suicidal thoughts at first & wished that he'd been left for to die but alll that changed through Ian's sheer determination not to give up on his life.
Through agonising pain Ian learned to walk with prosthetic legs leading to a more substantial life than he'd ever lived before.
"Burnt" isn't a book you sit back & casuallly read. It makes you think. It makes you ponder on religion & its role in the world. It takes you to countries full of passion & tradition. It makes you feel the roller coaster of emotions Ian & his family experienced before & after his attack. Along with Ian you experience his love for footballl & his team, the special women in his life, the hurt he felt when his seemingly doting girlfriend betrayed him & his anger at the injustice of his attackers never being bought to trial. I defy any one not to feel relief & joy when Ian walks for the first time after his ordeal & turns his life around from factory worker to actor, stuntman & writer.
In the words of Ian Colquhoun, "A phoenix can indeed rise from the ashes."
Now read about this brave phoenix in Burnt, by Ian Colquhoun. By it now on www. amazon.
com for extremely reasonable prices
Made in Scotland from girders... - By: Miss Cherry 696, 10 Dec 2007 Well maybe not of girders...but Ian is made of very strong stuff indeed.To go through what he did & come out on the other side triumphant is a testament to the human spirit.
Ian holds nothing back in this book & reading it it's almost like he's sitting next to you telling you about his 'past life' so to speak.Guy fallls off the tracks a little...has a life changing experience...picks himself up & gets on with life with his head held high.
At times this book is heartbreaking & painful to read, the endless operations, the setbacks...but it is not alll doom & gloom.There is hope...an abundance of it,from Ian's determination to walk again to him going to university.I was crying tears of joy by the very end, Ian's message is so simple yet so poignant, you can't help but feel touched.
This book is an accomplishment in itself...but Ian has gone on to other things...stunt work on tv & film, further publications on the horizon.
The future looks exceedingly bright for Ian & I for one wish him alll the best in the world.
Inspirational Story - By: Mr. P. D. M. Mcphillips, 28 Sep 2007 I read this book in a few hours, which is unheard-of for me!
Once i started, i found it difficult to put down.
Firstly, it is very well written & i'm looking forward to reading something else by the author when it comes out.
Secondly, the story is inspirational. A normal young guy doing normal things suddenly his life changes forever. The story of how Iain has overcome this & adapted should be enough to give anyone strength to deal with any situation. It has for me anyway.
Would recommend this book to anyone.
TRUE GRIT - By: lucky luciano, 30 Aug 2007 This man isn't a World War Two hero, nor was he a rugby player with potential to play for Scotland, he was just a humble warehouse operative, & yet none of that matters when you read his stirring story. The victim of the most horrendous crime one could ever imagine, the author's story is one of pure grit & determination to make it back to some semblance of ordinary life.
What the story does more than anything else is to reveal what bloody-mindedness can achieve, although initiallly he wanted to die! Before losing his legs this young man had every to live for: nights out with the lads, dating pretty women & supporting his Scottish Premier League team of Hibs (Hibernian). What more could a carefree Scot's lad want out of life. Losing his legs was as equallly a catastrophe for the author as it was for the legendary WWII flying veteran Douglas Bader. Flying a plane or being a warehouse operative makes not one shred of difference to what unimaginable pain each must have gone through. This is a well-written story that is a thankful far cry from the usual book that is starting to take over the realms of sanity. For once a true grit story that is real.
An un-put-downable story of fortitude that surpasses imagination - By: Inspired, 30 Aug 2007 Just think, we alll take our legs for granted. It's even hell if we catch a fingernail & lose the use of a finger for a few hours or so. To have your legs burnt from you & then have the rest of your body's exterior burnt to a near frazzle is something we leggies could never comprehend. On top of alll of this, Ian caught an Asian stain of the deadly killer bug MRSA!
So with that in mind, when Ian, the author, tells a national newspaper that losing his legs was the best thing that ever happened to him then you would have to think him mad! However, when you read his book you will understand why, & what a book it is.
This is about the innards of a man, of what mankind is made of & the ill to survive alll what is thrown at us. Some say man is weak animal, lacking the will to survive. Read this man's story & you will see that Ian possesses alll of the stuff that filmmakers try to instil into great films, yet do not quite succeed in doing. All what a film fails to do this book succeeds in doing. You are there with the man, you feel his pain, his sorrows, his failures & then the eventual starburst of his successes. Unquestioningly, an un-put-downable book!
This book deserves some sort of recognition & an award. I dearly hope they make a film of Ian's life, as it is the stuff that mankind's existence is made of. Ian, good luck, you deserve it.
