Reviews with content warning for Gore - The Dawnhounds

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The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach

20 reviews

emmjay's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

An interesting world that I think was held back at times by the writing. The writing isn’t bad, just a bit confusing. There were a lot of elements here:

pirates and biotech and fungi and magic and zombies and Gods and immortality and a religious maybe-cult and a rigged election and homophobia and police brutality

that I think the world building suffered a bit from being a little too scattered. I don’t feel like I really got a good sense of any one element of the world because there were so many. I found Yat’s pieces of the story much more compelling than Sen’s though Sen as a character was far more competent and seemed to have stronger motivation. Several of the descriptions, particularly of the magic use, became a bit repetitive while remaining a bit unclear in terms of what was actually going on in the scene. Interesting premises, I wish it had been refined and focussed so the unique world could have shone.

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rainbowcrow369's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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lolajh's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“They'd always been looking for defects in her, as if women were defective men, and women who loved women were defective women who loved men. As if anybody who loved both wasn't a part of the equation and could be sorted into one or the other without their consultation. She would never be good enough, because she wasn't the person they wanted her to be. The Kopek had never asked her to be anything except herself.”

This was great, confusing, but great. Absolutely everything happens in the last hundred pages and made a lot of the start and middle feel very slow and filler-like, but the book came together wonderfully when it did, when plot points and characters and places all connected.

Wasn’t a huge fan of the stuff with Kiada and Yat at the end just because it was so rushed, kinda predictable, and irritating to read through their interactions where Yat doesn’t recognise her.

A challenging bisexual main character, two wlw couples, a cute cat!! Cool plants!!! Cool setting!!! I love the world, it truly is a mix of Black Sun and Gideon the Ninth; I really like the integration of the gods in this, of the powers and magic, of death not necessarily meaning the end. Truly great, loved this.

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shazzy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book has wild and unique ideas that make for a great fantasy tale but I was confused during the entire read. I am not sure if I was so lost in the imagery that I missed details but scenes jumped from one thing to another in a way that made the story hard to follow.
For instance... the main character suddenly is firing a gun. Where did it come from? Couldn't tell you. It was just little details like that where you're reading and suddenly you screech to a halt and re-read the last few paragraphs to try and figure out how the characters got to point B when there wasn't a mention of point A. In order to make it to the end, you need to be ready to just accept what you're reading and move on without being too distracted by the writing style.
Also, queer representation is a plus. But, I thought the explanation of discrimination against queer folks was boring. We're all familiar with religious groups bashing gays for living in sin. I hoped with how wildly imaginative this story is that there would be a more exciting tale. Maybe the author can expand more into their ideas about that in the next books which I will read because I do like the characters and the plot.

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anxiousnachos's review against another edition

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dark mysterious

4.0

This was a very cool and weird sapphic Māori cyberpunk fungal horror and if that doesn’t hit literally every spot I need, I don’t know what will. The world is *spectacular*. It completely satisfied the cyberpunk craving I’ve had since obsessing over Cyberpunk 2077 earlier this year. It has that combination of future tech but eery, creepy vibe full of capitalist immorality that just creates the perfect cyberpunk world. I mean, people live in mushroom houses that feed on their dead skin and sweat but if it goes wrong they try to eat them?! Are you kidding me?! How fucking amazing. Is it so weird at times I’m still not sure what happened? Possibly. But it’s in the same way Tamsyn Muir writes and means I think a lot of things will get further explained (and more mysteries added…) in sequels, which I can’t wait to read.

Content warnings: graphic depictions of body horror, violence, blood and gore, homophobia, ableism, suicide, animal death, death, gun violence, addiction, self harm, war

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laurareads87's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

Maybe 3.5 stars for me, but I'm rounding up because Sascha Stronach has written a great bisexual woman protagonist and cast of diverse characters that I really appreciate.
I feel complicatedly about this one. I liked quite a bit about it: original world-building, well-executed weird, and really thoughtful representation. The system of... magic? science? is interesting and the action scenes are well written. What didn't work for me at all was the pacing -- sometimes scenes felt like they were drawn out longer than they needed to be, while at other times there seemed to be significant jumps that left me wondering if I'd perhaps missed something. All in all: reads like a debut, but a promising one; I'll read the sequel.

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Thanks to Saga Press for the free copy of this book.

- I’m not sure I actually know what to make of THE DAWNHOUNDS. It was wildly creative and inventive, filled with compelling characters, action packed, and often confusing as heck.
- I think the author leaned a little too hard into the “drop readers in without explaining the world and they’ll figure it out” school of sci-fi. Eventually I think I got a handle on it, but a lot of it still felt under-explained, especially the mythology of the gods.
- However, I really loved the writing and found it so compelling. I do think I’ll pick up the next in the series when it arrives, because although this book had some issues, I think Stronach is an author to watch.

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leahjanespeare's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

3.0

This had a lot of potential - it’s a techno-punk fantasy adventure infused with elements of Māori mythology. It’s about the queer experience, bi erasure; how to navigate a world where you are not acknowledged, not even with other marginalized groups. I was very excited to read this, but left a little confused at what was actually going on. I think there were zombies maybe, and there were definitely pirates. Maybe I couldn’t click with the writing style, but to my disappointment it lacked cohesion with all of these cool elements.

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northernzephyr's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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jourdanicus's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

I was so excited to read this book when I found it on NetGalley (where I read a free advanced copy) based on the cover and blurbs alone. "Fiercely queer?" Yes, please. A city built from mushrooms and other organic structures? Tell me more.

Immediately I was drawn in by the action. This plot moves quickly, and much of it is not explained right away. I am typically a character-driven reader so I really had to pay attention to keep up. The language in this book is so absorbing - almost poetic - that I decided it didn't matter and I had to keep going. Unlike in the character-focused novels to which I am accustomed, I didn't find myself getting to know Yat and Sen as much as following them along as Things Happened. And boy, did a lot of Things Happen!

The world in which Hainak exists is totally different from our own, but unfortunately with all too familiar social and political issues. Though not the best read if you're looking for escapism, this book is perfect for anyone who fantasizes about kicking homophobic butt with plant magic.

This story requires one to bring one's imagination. I experience some amount of aphantasia, so I felt I was missing out on imagining the world as vividly as the author intended (this probably won't be the case for most other readers). The world is totally original and creatively constructed. The story was told lyrically, almost rhythmically, with a writing style that will require forgiveness from more readers more strict about grammar.

I don't want to say too much more about this book. I went in knowing nothing other than the jacket summary. I recommend this for readers who enjoy setting- or language-focused books, and for anyone who requires excellent LGBTQ+ characters in their stories.

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