Booklog 18/2025: Adrian Tchaikovsky: Guns of the Dawn – Audiobook

[jacey]

Audiobook narrated by Emma Newman.

No one wins a war, and that's especially true in the war between Lascanne and Denland. Emily Marshwic stands by as, first, her brother-in-law and then her little brother are called to the front to protect Lascanne from the Denlanders who have killed their own king and are now trying to force their republican politics on fiercely royalist Lascanne. First the men and when Lascanne runs out of soldiers, the women are called up, one female from each household. Emily has two ssters but one has a baby and the other is an air-head who wouldn't last two minutes in the army, so rather than send one of the female servants, she goes herself - one of the few upper class 'ladies' to go through basic training and arrive at the front- a battleground of swamps and jungles. It's grim and she's had barely enough training to wield a musket, but she learns, and learns who she can trust - a small company of officers known as the Survivors Club which includes her brother-in-law and a young battlefield warlock. Emily's perceptions of the war and who/what started it are called into question and it's only after the fighting is over that the peace can be won. Expect a lot of blow-by-blow battle scenes, emerging (steampunky) tech versus magic, and an unusual love triangle. There's not a lot of magic, just enough to make this into a secondary-world fantasy. There are some excellent supporting characters, and Emily Marshwic is a believable heroine. Emma Newman's narration is excellent.