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New Dawn Fades
"The Noyim are a race of perverts, corrupt of body and of mind! You should be happy there."
Thus did Bey’s grandfather send him into exile. And Bey has indeed been happy – until now.
Because now Bey’s in deep trouble. His rich young friend Sanja Gwahnal is dead, killed by contraband biological technology, and suddenly everyone has Bey in their sights.
The Commonwealth – Bey’s own people – are pushing him to spill the name of Sanja’s bi-tech dealer. The dealer has other ideas. He’d like Bey silenced – permanently.
The locals are pushing him to blame Sanja’s parents for the on Noyan, children decide if their parents live or die, and Sanja Gwahnal was approaching the age of Choosing...
And then things start to get complicated.
What do traditionalist terrorists want with him? Was Sanja really involved with fanatics determined to keep Noyan free of foreign influence? And what was his relationship with a known agent of the Commonwealth’s arch-rivals, the Autarchy of Gallask?
New Dawn Fades is a novel of colonialism and conspiracy, of clashing cultures and technologies – a murder mystery on a world with a moral code like no other.
Thus did Bey’s grandfather send him into exile. And Bey has indeed been happy – until now.
Because now Bey’s in deep trouble. His rich young friend Sanja Gwahnal is dead, killed by contraband biological technology, and suddenly everyone has Bey in their sights.
The Commonwealth – Bey’s own people – are pushing him to spill the name of Sanja’s bi-tech dealer. The dealer has other ideas. He’d like Bey silenced – permanently.
The locals are pushing him to blame Sanja’s parents for the on Noyan, children decide if their parents live or die, and Sanja Gwahnal was approaching the age of Choosing...
And then things start to get complicated.
What do traditionalist terrorists want with him? Was Sanja really involved with fanatics determined to keep Noyan free of foreign influence? And what was his relationship with a known agent of the Commonwealth’s arch-rivals, the Autarchy of Gallask?
New Dawn Fades is a novel of colonialism and conspiracy, of clashing cultures and technologies – a murder mystery on a world with a moral code like no other.
468 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 7, 2025
NEW DAWN FADES, by Kevin Rattan, is the best book I've read this year (It's December.). It is a SF mystery that I have at length decided is a fair one, since although none of the Point Of View characters figure out who did it, there are just enough clues that the reader can, barely. Who committed the initial murder is not the only mystery, however. Set on a world where the oldest settlement has one culture while two competing empires have others, and I'm not even getting into subcultures, it takes many points of view to tell the story. Each chapter also has an epigraph giving additional insights. The Rt. Hon.(later on) Beynan Hotep na Massowic (friend of the murdered man), Justice Beth of the Family Court, Regulator Jodan Hyrom, Michael the Restaurateur (and gangster), Samuel (founder and leader of traditionalists), Amaya Gwahnal (mother of the murdered man), and the honorable Moyem Jimawn, Knight Bachelor, Senior Novice in the Most Noble Order of Grand Imperial Servitors, Worshipful Hetman in the Imperial Navy, Cultural Attaché with the Autarch's Mission to Noyan, Officer, Gentleman and sometime spy each have their own perspective. There is a list of Dramatis Personae to help the reader keep everyone straight. However, Bey (not the sharpest knife) and Beth (definitely sharp) are the two we will become most familiar with, representing the main colonizing force and the main traditional colony respectively. The Noyim have a unique culture, descended from Nullists (anti-natalists), who believed it immoral to bring new life into the world since that life could not be asked if it wanted to be born. Obviously, only apostates who were willing to have children could leave a descendant culture, which compensates by having each child, upon their 20th birthday, state whether they are glad to have been born or not—and the consequences of a negative decision are dire to the culpable parents. I wish there could be a sequel to this book, but the author has said No.
The proofreading is slightly imperfect. I received an ARC so I might write this voluntary review.
The proofreading is slightly imperfect. I received an ARC so I might write this voluntary review.
October 26, 2025
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.
Very interesting but dense story. Many characters are deeply introduced one after the other. Each has a backstory, political views, job issues and strong feelings about the way the planet Noyan should be run. There is a murder and each character is deeply convinced that one another is guilty. So we start following each of them running their investigation to prove their point. I'm terrible at remembering names, I got lost in the story a few times, I wish I had found the DRAMATIS PERSONAE earlier, not when I finished the book!
The author does not explain the difference between bitech, Gallaskian and Noyan technology, it's up to you to understand which one looks like early XIX century Earth, which one is more XXI century AI robotics centered and which grows from genetically engineered cells. It's brilliant but again, confusing at times. Only when I reached half of the book could I follow enough of the plot to find it a page turner. It would make a great film. I'm glad I sticked to it and read it to the end.
Very interesting but dense story. Many characters are deeply introduced one after the other. Each has a backstory, political views, job issues and strong feelings about the way the planet Noyan should be run. There is a murder and each character is deeply convinced that one another is guilty. So we start following each of them running their investigation to prove their point. I'm terrible at remembering names, I got lost in the story a few times, I wish I had found the DRAMATIS PERSONAE earlier, not when I finished the book!
The author does not explain the difference between bitech, Gallaskian and Noyan technology, it's up to you to understand which one looks like early XIX century Earth, which one is more XXI century AI robotics centered and which grows from genetically engineered cells. It's brilliant but again, confusing at times. Only when I reached half of the book could I follow enough of the plot to find it a page turner. It would make a great film. I'm glad I sticked to it and read it to the end.
October 18, 2025
He had been happy until now as there is trouble coming for him. They want information from him and he needs to decide what he should do. Get ready for a very interesting read and find where it will lead you
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and I was pulled into his tale
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and I was pulled into his tale
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews