The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Book Cover for: The Dawnhounds, Sascha Stronach

The Dawnhounds

Sascha Stronach

Gideon the Ninth meets Black Sun in this genre-bending queer fantasy debut inspired by Maori culture, Asian folklore, and sci-fi noir--where murder, resurrection, and rebellion collide on the high seas.

In the port city of Hainak, everything is alive--its buildings, its weapons, its fashion--thrumming with the pulse of a biotech revolution after a devastating war. All Yat Jyn-Hok wants is peace. Once a thief, now a night-patrolling cop, she's just trying to stay afloat after a career demotion for "lifestyle choices" and the lingering grief of a vanished lover.

That fragile balance shatters when Yat stumbles on a corpse during her patrol--and is murdered by her own fellow officers to keep it quiet. Dumped into the harbor, she should be gone for good. But an ancient, mysterious power resurrects her, granting her the ability to manipulate life force itself.

Hunted by the police force she once served, Yat finds refuge with a ragtag pirate crew as an insidious plague begins to spread through Hainak. To save the city--and herself--she must confront the corruption at its core and master her new powers before the darkness consuming Hainak swallows them all.

Perfect for fans of The Poppy War, The Dawnhounds is a lush, multicultural fantasy that blends queer romance, gritty mystery, and high-octane adventure.

Book Details

  • Publisher: S&s/Saga Press
  • Publish Date: Jun 14th, 2022
  • Pages: 352
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.92in - 6.00in - 0.88in - 0.81lb
  • EAN: 9781982187057
  • Categories: Science Fiction - SteampunkFantasy - EpicIndigenous - General (see also Indigenous Peoples of Turtle

About the Author

Stronach, Sascha: - 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.

Praise for this book

"A wonderful queer noir fever dream." --Tamsyn Muir, internationally bestselling author of Gideon the Ninth
"Fiercely queer. A strange and wondrous re-imagining of noir that takes its cues from biopunk and SE Asian mythos to create something wholly different. There's real imagination at work here--I loved it." --Rebecca Roanhorse, New York Times bestselling author of Trail of Lightning and Black Sun
"Worldbuilding at its peak. The Dawnhounds heaves with life, a tangible sense of cosmic power simmering from the waters around this port city and from the people trying to save it. Just don't call them heroes, aye." --Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends
"The Dawnhounds roots in the mind like a night garden, vital and voracious. I can't get it out of my head." --Amal El-Mohtar, award-winning coauthor of This Is How You Lose the Time War
"The Dawnhounds packs hard-hitting, mind-bending weirdness into a story that's still touching and human. If you're looking for gritty queer spec fic that isn't unrelentingly grim, you've found it." --Casey Lucas, award-winning author of Into the Mire
"The tones of Stronach and Pratchett are enormously similar. . . .Delightful." --Octavia Cade, author of The Mythology of Salt and Other Stories