Black Dawn

The Eurynome Code, Book 1

By: K. Gorman

Narrated by: Andrea Emmes

Genetic engineering. Conspiracy. An unstoppable attack.

Karin Makos lives a lie. Genetically engineered from birth and raised in a scientific compound to gain unnatural powers, she has since escaped and built another life, hidden from those who created her. For her, the chance to pilot a small-time scrounging vessel to remote corners of space is the dream. After years on the run with her sister and enduring the constant paranoia of living planet-side, going off-radar gives her exactly what she wants: Freedom.

That dream is shattered.

A system-wide attack decimates humanity and leaves the survivors scraping for clues. And Karin might know where to look.

But digging into her past comes with a whole new set of secrets and consequences, none of which she wants to face. Plagued by strange dreams of her sister and a sense of growing danger, Karin and the crew of the Nemina must race desperately across space to find their loved ones - and answers.

Like Firefly? Can't get enough Killjoys? Then this series is for you. Join Karin and the crew of the Nemina in this fast-paced space opera thrill ride that contains strong leads, high-octane action, and more than its share of snark.

©2020 Aethon Books (P)2020 Aethon Audio

Great story

This was my introduction to a new author, series, and narrator. The first few chapters were slow but it soon picked up. Engrossing and Andrea does a fantastic job!

Excellent start!

I wasn’t too sure going into this one, but I loved the premise in the end, and I loved the execution even more.

Strong story telling and intriguing premise

This excellent story grands your attention quickly and casseroles you through the hours with ease. A great sci fi story with an intriguing premise.
The narrator is top notch and does an great job of differentiating character voices with strong diction and excellent pacing.
I am eager to listen to the next book I'm the series.

Sci fi and magic

I can remember when sci fi and fantasy used to be shelved together in book shops. Now we have a genre crossover is SCI Fi and Fantasy Gorman delivers a solid story in this genre that falls on the fantasy with sci fi setting side of the genre

Great start

I really enjoyed this story. The narration is great. The story is very good, but warning very incomplete, setting up future books. I cant wait for the next in the series and an exploration into the MCs past and powers.

Great job marrying spacer sci-fi w/ Fantasy genres

Fantasy genres aren't really my thing. that said, i think this story was a good marring of the two (usually disticnt) genres. i enjoyed the spacer aspects but that was predominatly the setting and not necessarily an integral aspect of the plot; that is, the plot itself was much more in the fantasy realm. overall, was nice to have a story set apart from what i typically read.

Thrilling, exciting, and Utterly Brilliant!

Black Dawn is several things, a space opera, a mystery thriller, a very clever character story, a brilliant sci-fi story, and there is also a bit of sci-fi horror. Most of all though, this is just some extraordinary writing, that tells the story of a Woman, Karin Makos, who is on board a ship that goes on scrounging missions, going into different parts of space to look for locations that might have relics of the past, ship parts, other interesting things. There is a kind of ‘Firefly’ type style to this part of the story, as they are jumping around parts of the galaxy looking for stuff to sell. Karin is onboard with two other people, Marc, the owner and Captain of the ship, and Soo–Jin, the engineer for the ship. Whilst both Marc and Soo-jin can pilot, Karin has a special Navigator licence that allows them to enter restricted parts of space they wouldn’t normally be able to enter.
The story begins like a lot of stories in this genre, they are going into a site, and pillaging it for what they can, and whilst they do this, the Author gets the opportunity to give you some vital information on the three Characters, all from Karin’s perspective of course, and you get to get a feel for the Universe that they live in, as the Author uses this starting period to do some great world building. It is during these opening chapters that you are immediately hooked on the book to.
The Character writing is just exceptional, Gorman does a beautiful job of creating these three people, Marc, obviously has an ex-military background, but is now happy roaming the galaxy, looking after his ship, making enough money to survive, and to escape his past. Gorman has done a great job with him, in that he is not the usual Gung-ho idiot or Muscle bound gunslinger that seems to plague this genre, but instead, he is calm, calculating. He has experience, and he knows how to use it. Gorman has thought this character through so well, and Marc comes across as someone you have to earn his trust, but once you do, he won’t let you down, and he will do anything for you, the exact type of personality you expect for the character described.
Soo-jin is funny. She has a mouth on her, and a chip on her shoulders. She is also a skilled mechanic, with a few other skills that allow them to do some ‘interesting things’ when they are out on scouting missions. She obviously has a checkered history, and we get glimpses of it throughout the story (no spoilers here!), and it makes for a very interesting and dynamic character that is a lot of fun. She has some of the best one liners in the book.
Karin as the main character, and the person we see the story through, is a very clever and fascinating character. You quickly learn that she is different, on the run, and trying to hide from people, as there is something about her that she is trying to hide.
It is not until the story starts to unfold that you learn what this is.
The story is brilliant, as it starts off luring you into a false sense of security, (I don’t want to give too much away here), and you think you are reading a story that is similar to so many others, a character that has some ability is on the run, and is out robbing shipping graveyards, that is until there is an event that occurs, not just on their ship, but on others as well, and suddenly, things are very different.
The story moves from being a scavenger story, to a quasi-horror story, as the event involves an alien life form that attacks and just quietly, when you are reading the story in the middle of the night, it makes you look up and check the room around you.
I don’t want to give away spoilers, but Gorman has done a masterful job of writing a story that is not only utterly gripping, (once you start reading, you will have a hard time putting it down), but at the same time, creates an atmosphere of fear and trepidation. When you start reading this, you take on a whole new appreciation for the dark, and for light switches.
Whilst it is not a full on horror story, it is very cleverly done, there is an impressive level of suspense, as the story unfolds into a full-on thrill ride. This is part Sci-Fi, part Mystery-Thriller, part Horror, but it is absolutely brilliant writing and well worth the read regardless of the genre you like.
If you love a good story, with great characters, and an incredibly clever, well thought out story, with a lot of intense, intricate, and powerful storylines that not only keep you thinking, but also make you look up every now and then, to make sure you are all good, this is well worth the read.
I have not heard anything narrated by Andrea Emmes before, and this was a good first time example. She provided a wonderful narrative of the main character, really giving her the exact type of character voice that you would expect to hear from Karin (and I am not talking about her actual voice, I am talking about the tone, the way she speaks etc). Emmes did a fantastic job of conveying the main characters fear of being discovered, you could hear it in her voice, but you could also hear the power in her voice as well when she decided to use her abilities, it was very cleverly done.
As for the other characters, she provided different, but concise clear voices for other characters, including a strong male voice for Marc, and a very good child voice for a younger character. She did an amazing job with Soo-jin, in that she conveyed her humour, but also Soo-jin’s contempt at times. Emmes
The Narration was masterfully done, and if you like Audiobooks, it is well worth listening rather than reading this book, great job Andrea Emmes!!

Intriguing story and great narration

This book had a great story behind it. It’s intriguing enough to make me want to take up the next one. I want to know the details behind the main characters life and her relationship with her sister. The narration really did it for me though. She gave the right emphasis to keep drawing me in to the story. Loved it, and can’t wait for the next one!

A dark (but good) start

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started Black Dawn, but I can tell you that Black Dawn exceeded any expectations I had. Though the beginning felt a bit rough, as if I was suddenly tossed in the middle of a long running series, the story and characters quickly grew on me. A bit of past and back story is slowly teased out for each of the main characters as the plot advances, which is both an excellent hook to keep the reader interested and a bit frustrating at the same time. Even as Book 1 closes (very suddenly, I might add), most of the plot and questions from the book remain unresolved. So, this was a really excellent and strategic start to a series. The character development is really great, as the story focuses on the characters rather than strictly action and situations are often resolved through guile and quick thinking rather than brute force or violence. I can see this series turned into a sci-fi drama for television, so I can see why the publisher compared it to Firefly or Killjoys -- it shares many of the same elements.

Thank you to Aethon Books who provided me this book free of charge at my request.

interesting story, good narration

I enjoyed the story, and the narrator did a good job. Good tone, good pace ave good pronunciation.

Can't wait for the next one.