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sarrie's review
4.0
3.75*s
An Oath of Dogs is one of those books I like to call ‘sci-fi lite’. This would be a great book to give to a reader wanting to try adult science fiction. This has just enough to feel like it fits in the SF category but so closely follows it’s characters that it’s a relatable. It follows two characters, a woman and man who get embroiled in a murder investigation that quickly spirals into something much bigger, with very intelligent dogs. Kate Standish, who goes by Standish, as she arrives on the moon Huginn a forest rich world being logged by large corporation called Songheusser. She is accompanied by her support dog Hattie, who helps Kate with her agoraphobia. Peter Bajowski is a biologist already working on Huginn for Songheusser. He’s also grieving the death of an ex-lover who worked on Huginn, and who conveniently enough was going to be Kate’s supervisor.
The book opens with a hell of a chapter, I’d be impressed if someone wasn’t hooked by that brutal opening. From there we move to Standish as she wakes from cyro, and we’re shown immediately how important Hattie, and dogs, are important to the story. Interspersed between the chapters of Peter and Standish’s shenanigans we’re given quotes from a mysterious man and journal entries from the earliest days of Huginn. These entries and thoughts may not seem important to the plot at first but if you pay attention it can give you HUGE hints at where the story goes. Standish lands to find out her now former boss, Duncan, was reported ‘lost’ and believed to be dead and now she has his job, as well as his house. The reader knows, thanks to that brutal opening chapter, the truth about the man. We get to watch as Standish begins to step into the community, earn friends, and discover that maybe everything isn’t all right with Canaan Lake, her new little town. Not only is Duncan presumed dead but the townspeople are being plagued by a pack of rabid dogs. Dogs that seem intelligent and intent on digging up the dead around the town. They’ve been know to nose around houses and as you see later in the book, go after people.
Initially I didn’t care for Standish or Peter, but they grew on me. Standish is prickly and Peter is a bit of a wet rag. Throughout the story though they grew on me. Standish’s character seemed at times inconsistent but you could see what she was as prickly as she was. She was by no means a perfect woman or character. Peter was the same for me though I thought his character was more consistent through the novel. Once you figure out why he is the way he is, you can understand him. Past our two main characters, we see some great attempts at character depth on others but I’m not sure if I was fully convinced on some of them. I wanted more depth in some of those people, but I do like what we got.
Besides some what felt like inconsistent character behavior (which seemed to smooth out as the book went on) my other problem with the book was just the way it seemed to jump over things, again at the beginning. I felt like maybe things were trimmed or cut that would have filled in gaps or explained missing time. Things like jumps between when Standish is at home then at someone else’s house, staying there, then back at her own home. We can safely assume why and it might mention in passing, but it felt like something was missing in the execution of this. Past the half way mark this seemed to even out. I’m not entirely sure if this is due to the copy I had, how I read it, or the way the book actually is, but it did affect my enjoyment.
Other than that I liked a lot of things about this book. The focus on therapy animals, the neo-Mennonite community and their impact in Canaan Lake, the talk about the biology of the planet and the hints at the way it changed the people. In fact I think the book might be entirely worth a read just for the therapy dog and the unique neo-Mennonite community. Those are things I don't think that I've ever read about in a SF book. They bright a splash of depth and color that I really didn't expect, and honestly why I rated the book so highly. I loved the interplay of that community and the religion with how they settled the moon for Songheusser (not to mention the diary entries) and how that affected the story. I also just got excited everything Hattie was on the page, which was really most the pages.
I'd definitely read it again and really recommend this one for new readers of SF or for someone interested in some really unique and different elements.
Cover Thoughts: Initially I was not impressed with the cover, but once you get up on it and see the details, the line work it really pops. The meticulously hidden details are amazing, I love pieces like this. You don't realize what you're looking at unless you look deep. I highly recommend inspecting this cover closely. I'm not surprised either, browsing the artist's site, JOEY HI-FI, I can see this is something he excels at. The symmetry in it just makes me so happy, look at that bottom edge with the branches and smoke. How can that not make you happy?
An Oath of Dogs is one of those books I like to call ‘sci-fi lite’. This would be a great book to give to a reader wanting to try adult science fiction. This has just enough to feel like it fits in the SF category but so closely follows it’s characters that it’s a relatable. It follows two characters, a woman and man who get embroiled in a murder investigation that quickly spirals into something much bigger, with very intelligent dogs. Kate Standish, who goes by Standish, as she arrives on the moon Huginn a forest rich world being logged by large corporation called Songheusser. She is accompanied by her support dog Hattie, who helps Kate with her agoraphobia. Peter Bajowski is a biologist already working on Huginn for Songheusser. He’s also grieving the death of an ex-lover who worked on Huginn, and who conveniently enough was going to be Kate’s supervisor.
The book opens with a hell of a chapter, I’d be impressed if someone wasn’t hooked by that brutal opening. From there we move to Standish as she wakes from cyro, and we’re shown immediately how important Hattie, and dogs, are important to the story. Interspersed between the chapters of Peter and Standish’s shenanigans we’re given quotes from a mysterious man and journal entries from the earliest days of Huginn. These entries and thoughts may not seem important to the plot at first but if you pay attention it can give you HUGE hints at where the story goes. Standish lands to find out her now former boss, Duncan, was reported ‘lost’ and believed to be dead and now she has his job, as well as his house. The reader knows, thanks to that brutal opening chapter, the truth about the man. We get to watch as Standish begins to step into the community, earn friends, and discover that maybe everything isn’t all right with Canaan Lake, her new little town. Not only is Duncan presumed dead but the townspeople are being plagued by a pack of rabid dogs. Dogs that seem intelligent and intent on digging up the dead around the town. They’ve been know to nose around houses and as you see later in the book, go after people.
Initially I didn’t care for Standish or Peter, but they grew on me. Standish is prickly and Peter is a bit of a wet rag. Throughout the story though they grew on me. Standish’s character seemed at times inconsistent but you could see what she was as prickly as she was. She was by no means a perfect woman or character. Peter was the same for me though I thought his character was more consistent through the novel. Once you figure out why he is the way he is, you can understand him. Past our two main characters, we see some great attempts at character depth on others but I’m not sure if I was fully convinced on some of them. I wanted more depth in some of those people, but I do like what we got.
Besides some what felt like inconsistent character behavior (which seemed to smooth out as the book went on) my other problem with the book was just the way it seemed to jump over things, again at the beginning. I felt like maybe things were trimmed or cut that would have filled in gaps or explained missing time. Things like jumps between when Standish is at home then at someone else’s house, staying there, then back at her own home. We can safely assume why and it might mention in passing, but it felt like something was missing in the execution of this. Past the half way mark this seemed to even out. I’m not entirely sure if this is due to the copy I had, how I read it, or the way the book actually is, but it did affect my enjoyment.
Other than that I liked a lot of things about this book. The focus on therapy animals, the neo-Mennonite community and their impact in Canaan Lake, the talk about the biology of the planet and the hints at the way it changed the people. In fact I think the book might be entirely worth a read just for the therapy dog and the unique neo-Mennonite community. Those are things I don't think that I've ever read about in a SF book. They bright a splash of depth and color that I really didn't expect, and honestly why I rated the book so highly. I loved the interplay of that community and the religion with how they settled the moon for Songheusser (not to mention the diary entries) and how that affected the story. I also just got excited everything Hattie was on the page, which was really most the pages.
I'd definitely read it again and really recommend this one for new readers of SF or for someone interested in some really unique and different elements.
Cover Thoughts: Initially I was not impressed with the cover, but once you get up on it and see the details, the line work it really pops. The meticulously hidden details are amazing, I love pieces like this. You don't realize what you're looking at unless you look deep. I highly recommend inspecting this cover closely. I'm not surprised either, browsing the artist's site, JOEY HI-FI, I can see this is something he excels at. The symmetry in it just makes me so happy, look at that bottom edge with the branches and smoke. How can that not make you happy?
writerreads46's review
5.0
A lovely, hopeful ending to a creepy mystery. I thought this was going to be a planet seeks revenge novel, but like Frankenstein, the real monsters are humans. Fantastic twists!
mariahaskins's review
5.0
This is a gripping read, blending science fiction and a murder mystery with questions of faith and biology, colonialism and space exploration. The story had me hooked from the beginning, and I loved the complex characters, the mysterious and intricately imagined world where the action takes place, and the very original way Wagner uses alien (and terrestrial) plant biology as a plot point in the story.
It's a riveting read, and I could barely put it down, reading the second half of it pretty much in one go.
It's a riveting read, and I could barely put it down, reading the second half of it pretty much in one go.
tyrshand's review against another edition
5.0
What a fascinating novel! I loved the ecology of the planet, the religion that morphed from it, the fact that both main characters came off as prickly but then you get to know them... There are several interesting twists as well.
I feel like I've got a lot to say about it, but so much would be spoilery so you'll just have to read it so we can discuss it.
Though the book is a complete tale, there are plenty of questions left unanswered. I don't know if this means there will be a sequel, but, if not, these aren't the kind of questions that would be maddening. They're interesting ones to ponder and debate, rather than cliffhangers.
I suppose what stands out to me most is that even though a lot of awful things happen on this far off moon, I still picture it as breathtaking and would love to visit.
I feel like I've got a lot to say about it, but so much would be spoilery so you'll just have to read it so we can discuss it.
Though the book is a complete tale, there are plenty of questions left unanswered. I don't know if this means there will be a sequel, but, if not, these aren't the kind of questions that would be maddening. They're interesting ones to ponder and debate, rather than cliffhangers.
I suppose what stands out to me most is that even though a lot of awful things happen on this far off moon, I still picture it as breathtaking and would love to visit.
sbisson's review against another edition
4.0
Recent Reads: An Oath Of Dogs. Wendy Wagner's colony world murder mystery has supernatural overtones under its ecological themes. Can an engineer and her support dog find the answers in the forests? Complex and intriguing.
nkmeyers's review against another edition
4.0
Twice today people asked me "what are you reading?"
It was a lot of fun to say it's a sci-fi thing w neo-amish & zombie dogs on a moon in outer space that's a cross between the donner party, alive, and greenpeace.
It's a genre mashup sorta book but a good It doesn't pack a big punch like Tristan Egolf's Kornwolf, but that's okay .
It was a lot of fun to say it's a sci-fi thing w neo-amish & zombie dogs on a moon in outer space that's a cross between the donner party, alive, and greenpeace.
It's a genre mashup sorta book but a good It doesn't pack a big punch like Tristan Egolf's Kornwolf, but that's okay .
chessakat's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this science fiction mystery! I am a sucker for stories set on alien planets, especially when the flora and fauna are part of the story. Add in a questionably ethical mega-corporation, a religious sect that helped colonize the planet, mysterious and scary feral dogs and MURDER - and you've got yourself a good story. I liked that the perspective changed - seeing both out of biologist Peter Bajowski's eyes and that of newly-emigrated communications manager Kate Standish (who has a therapy dog companion, Hattie) made the story more interesting. But maybe the most interesting were the diary excerpts from the Believer woman who was part of first human convoy to the moon of Huginn. These slowly reveal the creepy story that is in the background of all the action taking place.
If you like Sheri S. Tepper, the later books in the Ender series by Orson Scott Card or even the movie Avatar, you should definitely give this book a try.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
If you like Sheri S. Tepper, the later books in the Ender series by Orson Scott Card or even the movie Avatar, you should definitely give this book a try.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
graculus's review
3.0
I was looking for a standalone book to read and picked An Oath of Dogs up when it was on sale, so I probably shouldn't complain when I found it to be readable but nothing that especially makes me want to seek out any more of this author's work. I am, however, quite hard to please at the moment so all my current reviews should be taken with a pinch of salt...
The basic premise of An Oath of Dogs is that it's about commercial colonisation of a moon which is immensely different to our own and what happens when that colonisation goes wrong - firstly by the mismanagement of supplies to its first settlers and the lengths they are subsequently driven to, then secondly by attempts to make money off the moon and the problems that causes.
One of our main characters has just landed a job there when she discovers that her immediate superior has been killed and she just got an immediate promotion. Maybe not the best news for her either, since she's still recovering from the effects of an incident that was her employer's fault and now relies heavily on an assistance dog to make it through her day-to-day life. That's also not particularly good news on a moon where dogs have a nasty habit of running wild and digging up anyone who's been recently interred in the community cemetery, not to mention attacking unwary locals.
Our other main character is the ex- of the man who was killed and whose own relationship with the company that employs everyone is ambivalent at best - this relationship is strained to the maximum when he becomes a suspect following an attack by eco-terrorists-, a group towards whom he feels quite a bit of sympathy.
Anyway, everything kind of sort itself out in the end and the truth is revealed, some of which I'd already figured out (since heavy hints were dropped earlier in the book) but it was ultimately a little unsatisfying. So, not the worst thing I've read and ideal if you want something that's not a commitment to a multi-book series, I guess?
The basic premise of An Oath of Dogs is that it's about commercial colonisation of a moon which is immensely different to our own and what happens when that colonisation goes wrong - firstly by the mismanagement of supplies to its first settlers and the lengths they are subsequently driven to, then secondly by attempts to make money off the moon and the problems that causes.
One of our main characters has just landed a job there when she discovers that her immediate superior has been killed and she just got an immediate promotion. Maybe not the best news for her either, since she's still recovering from the effects of an incident that was her employer's fault and now relies heavily on an assistance dog to make it through her day-to-day life. That's also not particularly good news on a moon where dogs have a nasty habit of running wild and digging up anyone who's been recently interred in the community cemetery, not to mention attacking unwary locals.
Our other main character is the ex- of the man who was killed and whose own relationship with the company that employs everyone is ambivalent at best - this relationship is strained to the maximum when he becomes a suspect following an attack by eco-terrorists-, a group towards whom he feels quite a bit of sympathy.
Anyway, everything kind of sort itself out in the end and the truth is revealed, some of which I'd already figured out (since heavy hints were dropped earlier in the book) but it was ultimately a little unsatisfying. So, not the worst thing I've read and ideal if you want something that's not a commitment to a multi-book series, I guess?
cakehatwombat's review
3.0
I only liked Peter when he was talking about biology, ngl. This is probs closer to a 3.5 since I really liked the setting and the work that was put into the world, I just could have done w/less from Peter's perspective (and also fewer sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, and racist moments that were def only put in to set the scene and tone even though honestly it's in a future where we have wormholes to get to other solar systems and space stations and shit, you would fucking hope that shit would have been if not eradicated then mostly discarded). Peter isn't a terrible dude he's just, y'know. Very much a dudebro. A bisexual dudebro still in love w/his dead ex-boyfriend but like, a dudebro nonetheless.
(Also Standish' fixation on Dewey's breasts is kinda uncomfortable. At first it's just bros talking about their tits but then it's like, Standish, you gotta stop bro. It's not a gay fixation on Dewey's breasts either, which would have been understandable, it's just kinda grody transphobic w/o intending to be)
(This makes it sound like I didn't really like the book but I actually did! Huginn is a cool place and I would totally read other stories set on Huginn or other sci-fi by this author)
(Also Standish' fixation on Dewey's breasts is kinda uncomfortable. At first it's just bros talking about their tits but then it's like, Standish, you gotta stop bro. It's not a gay fixation on Dewey's breasts either, which would have been understandable, it's just kinda grody transphobic w/o intending to be)
(This makes it sound like I didn't really like the book but I actually did! Huginn is a cool place and I would totally read other stories set on Huginn or other sci-fi by this author)
macroscopicentric's review
3.0
A great concept (the intersection of space travel, colonialism, and ecology) that trailed off into mysticism and a heavy-handed (even for me) anti-Songheuser motif. Started satisfyingly messily biological but tied itself up a little too neatly, while simultaneously giving unsatisfactory explanations for the weird phenomenons.
Among other things, I was disappointed in the wrap-up after Mattias’ death (the other Believers just accepted Standish all of a sudden? Did they even stop being dogs?), the conflict between the ecoterrorists and the corporation that ultimately had no conclusion, and the assumption that a large amount of the bad done by Songheuser was instrumented by a few actively evil people instead of a lot of apathetic or clueless people. The book also never really investigated Standish or Peter’s own direct impact on the planet or their (sometimes knowing, sometimes unknowing) complicity. Tying everything together, the book felt closer to anti-corporations than anti-capitalism, and it felt very weird for a book to be at “colonialism is evil and this corporation is evil” without ever going further.
Among other things, I was disappointed in the wrap-up after Mattias’ death (the other Believers just accepted Standish all of a sudden? Did they even stop being dogs?), the conflict between the ecoterrorists and the corporation that ultimately had no conclusion, and the assumption that a large amount of the bad done by Songheuser was instrumented by a few actively evil people instead of a lot of apathetic or clueless people. The book also never really investigated Standish or Peter’s own direct impact on the planet or their (sometimes knowing, sometimes unknowing) complicity. Tying everything together, the book felt closer to anti-corporations than anti-capitalism, and it felt very weird for a book to be at “colonialism is evil and this corporation is evil” without ever going further.