The Dawnhounds

Written by Sascha Stronach

Narrated by Anna Coddington

Gideon the Ninth meets Black Sun in this queer, Māori-inspired debut fantasy about a police officer who is murdered, brought back to life with a mysterious new power, and tasked with protecting her city from an insidious evil threatening to destroy it.

The port city of Hainak is alive: its buildings, its fashion, even its weapons. But, after a devastating war and a sweeping biotech revolution, all its inhabitants want is peace, no one more so than Yat Jyn-Hok a reformed-thief-turned-cop who patrols the streets at night.

Yat has recently been demoted on the force due to “lifestyle choices” after being caught at a gay club. She’s barely holding it together, haunted by memories of a lover who vanished and voices that float in and out of her head like radio signals. When she stumbles across a dead body on her patrol, two fellow officers gruesomely murder her and dump her into the harbor. Unfortunately for them, she wakes up.

Resurrected by an ancient power, she finds herself with the new ability to manipulate life force. Quickly falling in with the pirate crew who has found her, she must race against time to stop a plague from being unleashed by the evil that has taken root in Hainak.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jun 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781797141237

Sascha Stronach

Sascha Stronach is a Maori author from the Kai Tahu iwi and Kati Huirapa Runaka Ki Puketeraki hapu. She is based in Wellington, New Zealand, and has also spent time in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, which have all inspired parts of the fictional worlds she creates. A former tech writer, she first broke out into speculative fiction by experimenting with the short form. The Dawnhounds, her debut novel, won the Sir Julius Vogel Award at Worldcon 78.

Reviews for The Dawnhounds

[Benjamin Bernstein · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Read this next! Profoundly shamanic and wildly inventive fantasy. One of the most enjoyable novels I've ever read. Highly recommended!

[Jenna Vaughn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a very odd book. Sometimes hard to follow but interesting all the same. It's over that might be better reading in written form.

[Christian Hood · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I had a hard time getting through this one. Intriguing world and characters for sure, but I had a difficult time with the writing style and following the plot. It could just be it's one of those books that's better read physically or on ebook rather than an audio. But I do think the narrator did a really fantastic job with tone and cadence. I could tell that a lot of heart went into this one and it definitely played with some cool ideas. I just had a hard time following it. Worth a try for anyone looking for queer fantasy but this one was not for me.

[Moira · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not having read either of the books this is compared to, I can only think of it as the other side of the medal to This Is How You Lose the Time War, only with more focus on the world and conflicts rather than the romance. I struggled a bit through it, as it took me a while to get into the world and understand the characters, but I'm glad I persevered and I think I will continue with the rest of the series. I will probably read the next one, instead of listening to it, as I think that would have helped me through the world building.