SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
This topic is about
The Dawnhounds
Group Reads Discussions 2020
>
"Dawnhounds" First Impressions *No Spoilers*
date
newest »
newest »
Probably will start next week. Thanks for the note on formatting.
Question: Is it really a self-pub? It was published by Little Hook Press, which is owned by the author, I believe, so theoretically it was a self-publication (because the author published it themselves) but it was published by a publisher.What do y’all think?
Also, it’s 260 pages, so you have no excuse not to read it. (and I believe it’s on kindle unlimited if you have that)
I just read the first chapter last night. I think it will take a few more chapters to really get a
feel
for the world, but the opening has certainly piqued my curiosity. Looking forward to seeing how it develops.
I do have an excuse not to read it, as it's not available as ebook or audiobook in my country :(I'll probably get the paperback off bookdepository at some point, but damn, that's going to slow my progress. That's what I get for voting for a book without checking for availability first.
Weird that's it's available in Finland but not Denmark :(
Yeah, it's not on Storytel or Audible, or at the library in any format. Gaaah.
Oh, I wouldn't expect it to be in any of those places, being self/indie pub, but isn't it available to you on Kindle?
Nope, no ebook available. Guess we just aren't licensed to buy it.
Super strange, the author is active on Goodreads, maybe ask him if he can add Denmark? I've been able to get self-pubs in the past this way.
Dawn wrote: "Nope, no ebook available. Guess we just aren't licensed to sell it."I don't know if this is helpful- but I just bought a Kindle about 2 weeks ago. I live in Vietnam and bought it here, but set it up to use for the US store. I also use a VN bank card for the purchases and there are no issues; gets delivered right to the device.
You should be able to change the country for your Amazon account and just put in a friend's(or fake) US address to buy eBooks from the US store.
I just checked on Google really quick and there appear to be some walkthroughs on how to do this.
Hi Emmett,Since I pay with a Danish credit card, it doesn't matter which address I have on file on US Amazon, I can't cheat that way. It knows I'm in Denmark. I'd need an American credit card to be able to purchase it.
Perhaps Vietnam has another trade agreement with the US than we do, they are individually negotiated per country, so what works for one person might not work for someone else.
If there are illegal ways to do it then I'm not sure I want to go down that road just for one book :)
Emmett wrote: "You should be able to change the country for your Amazon account and just put in a friend's(or fake) US address to buy eBooks from the US store..."I do this all the time. Same with Amazon UK store.
I wasn't going to join in with this one as I couldn't get it on Audible, but I've found it on Amazon Jp (Japan) so I've ordered it. Looking forward to it coming in the next few days. That sucks about the Danish credit card, I used to have the same problem so I feel your pain. I buy things on the US and UK stores sometimes, but I had to make a Mastercard in order to do it, my other Japanese credit cards don't work. I wonder if there is a way to do it through PayPal? Anyway, I hope you manage to find a
way.
I just started this morning. I'm intrigued by the opening!
For whatever reason I've been having a tough time getting into this one so far, about 10% in.
Christopher wrote: "For whatever reason I've been having a tough time getting into this one so far, about 10% in."I felt similar until I got about 25% in. I'm now about halfway through and am finding the story and world very compelling!
The prologue confused me a bit but the opening chapter was rather fun. Looks like it is another (view spoiler)book for me this year. I am so glad this have fewer than 300 pages, I need some quick fun read, not tomes.
Sweet sweet notifications! Hopefully now people will join in more
Mod
Wow I loved that opening. Very interesting world building just from the guns with leeches(??). Excited to keep going tonight.
The prologue blew me away
Btw, the book description in Goodreads is spoilery.....
Just started, and I absolutely loved what I guess is the prologue and I am liking the next part but right now it seems like two different stories, it will be interesting to see how they meet up.
Silvana wrote: "Btw, the book description in Goodreads is spoilery....."The back cover of the paperback has the same text. Mutter, mutter.
I'm about 40 pages in. Hainak is an interesting setting, and I'm interested in seeing how the first couple of pages connect with its fate.
It feels self-pubby in a way that my non-editor-ness finds hard to pin down. The typos and wonky formatting (even in paper), for sure, but there's more to it than that.
I joined the group yesterday. I had just finished Robert Jackson Bennett's Shorefall, so I was able to dive into The Dawnhounds right away. I read the first 3 or 4 chapters, and while the setting is definitely piquing my interest, I struggling to really get into the story. I haven't been able to pin down why yet, maybe it'll come to me later.
3% in and wondering if the change in name spelling is indication of a split personality or if the author forgot within the first few pages how he named his character.
Oh, that was addressed in Allison's first post, confirming there are some errors.
Silvana wrote: "Oh, that was addressed in Allison's first post, confirming there are some errors."I didn't expect writing characters' names differently when I read typos.
There's one typo/mistake in the character name in the prologue, that was when my typo hackles went up. They didn't ever come down again :(
I thought the typos got better in the second half of the book, but maybe my brain just decided to ignore them after a while.
Anna wrote: "There's one typo/mistake in the character name in the prologue, that was when my typo hackles went up. They didn't ever come down again :("Yup, that was it. But meanwhile my mind is so wired to parallel dimensions and split personalities and such that at first I actually thought it was intentional to indicate another persona taking over.
I also stopped at that point, wondering if it was a typo or not. I'm so not used to horrible typos :D
The right column is not justified, either. One of our SFFBC mates can't stand that, but I can't recall who.
Chessie! This book would be hell for her haha. Or, I should say the formatting of this book would be.
Beth wrote: "The right column is not justified, either. One of our SFFBC mates can't stand that, but I can't recall who." Not to be the dumb one (again ^^'), but .. what is 'right column'?
The right edge of the text isn't aligned!
Oh no, how to explain this?... You know how most pro published books have an even edge on both sides of the text--that's called "full justification." Dawnhounds is justified on the left side, but not on the right side. (ETA: ninja-ed!)
Thank you, Anna and Beth! Yes, this makes complete sense (once I've been told ^^'). Funny thing - I had to have a look at my ebook, because I actually didn't even register that. Apparently the alignment is indifferent to me.... or is it "I'm indifferent to the alignment ..."? Today is no good English day for me.
Good news! Both work beautifully in English. Justification is something I don't normally notice either, and in fact I don't usually like it, because it can mess with spacing and that's something my eye picks up. But it is a small thing indie pub authors tend to do to show they're familiar with conventions at the very least.
I'm now half way through. I really like the worldbuilding and the idea, but I can't shake the feeling that the execution is a bit on the amateurish side. I guess with this book it all depends on how it ends.Funnily I didn't register any typos or other orthographical problems so far.
Gabi wrote: "I'm now half way through. I really like the worldbuilding and the idea, but I can't shake the feeling that the execution is a bit on the amateurish side. "Fully agree
I've seen the Dawnhounds audiobook while browsing upcoming releases, but I didn't know it had been rewritten! I just heard from someone that about 30k words have been added, and I assume it's also been professionally edited since it's tradpub. New edition comes out in ebook, audio, print on June 14th: The Dawnhounds.I loved the idea and beginning of the book, but the formatting errors really got to me, so I ended up very frustrated. I'm very interested to see what people think when they read the new release, I might pick it up myself.
My library just purchased this on Overdrive, and it looks like it may be the new version. I'm about 15% in and haven't noticed any errors. I'm also listening to the audio book, love the kiwi accent and slang.
Please leave all discussion of specific plot points, characters, and really all discussion except what you feel about the book for the full discussion thread open in a few days!
Content warnings for those who want them: (view spoiler)[ loss of a parent, police brutality, homophobia, body horror (including eyes), infestations of bugs, spores, and fungus, transphobia. (hide spoiler)]
Another quick note for people who notice formatting: (view spoiler)[ Please expect grammatical and typographical errors, ragged edges and periodic font changes. I checked with the author, this is a known issue presently without solution. (hide spoiler)]