https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-dawnhounds-by-sascha-stronach/

An urban fantasy with a difference; the fantasy city is a port threatened by pirates from without and religious fanatics from within. Our protagonist is a gay policewoman who survives murder and gets caught up in a plot to destroy the city. I seem to have read a lot of books like this lately, but this held my attention for the duration. ( )

It was just as well that I went into this novel without a lot of preconceptions, since I'm still processing what I just read. In as much as I had expectations, I thought this was going to be some sort of post-apocalyptic story of climate collapse, but the more I read the more that this novel seemed like some sort of secondary-world fantasy; one with really sharp edges. What Stronach has going for them is good characterization, snappy dialogue, and a determined pace. Less good is that, for me, there's a tension between the over-the-top deliriousness of the setting and events, which conflict with my sense of the proper logistics of world building. Still, I liked it well enough that I'll certainly give the follow-up book a try. ( )

In a corrupt city-state, an officer who’s on the outs for being bisexual tries to uphold the law, and gets murdered for her trouble. Then she comes back and finds herself part of a greater struggle. I found it dreamlike and entertaining. ( )

This was a fun, very queer, quick read. That being said, you never really get to know anyone and often it felt like you were just watching things happen to characters that aren't really fleshed out. I also felt like the last 20% of the book was rushed and tacked on. The romance especially which was used as a last minute gotcha moment that didn't land. ( )

This is an overwhelming story - huge convoluted story, cast of many, much world-building -- and I loved it. There is so much going on, and we get such a small part of the story, that it came as no surprise that this is the first book in a planned series. As it is also Stronach's first novel, and it came out this year, I respect that I'm going to have to wait for book two, but oh, I have such hopes for it.

I described this elsewhere as 'weird-tech fantasy', it could also be equally unhelpfully pigeon-holed as a 'far future/second world science fantasy with cyberpunk overtones and superhero/magicians'. Although the tech is bio-tech, there was so much about the way it was incorporated into the story, and the way that it affected the story telling that is very reminiscent of William Gibson's early cyberpunk works.

I love that Stronach has incorporated aspects of New Zealand speech patterns, possibly against their editors preferences, given the author's note at the beginning (which, I loved so much I've read it out to multiple people).

At the superficial level, this is a city devolving into religious control, and possibly civil war. It is also an amazingly pointed commentary on policing, and our protagonist, Yat, has a whole lot of learning to do about their complicity as a police-officer. ( )