

Dark Matter INK
Psychopomp
Author: Maria Dong
Classification: Novel
Categories: 👽 Science Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Deep Space, Conspiracy, and Psychological
On the penal colony of Hibiscus Station, there’s no personnel more vital than the Pomps, who direct the excavation of highly volatile crystal. Young was in training to be a Pomp until a mental break and subsequent suicide attempt derailed her…and now she’s unraveling again. But when her secret hallucinations predict a tunnel explosion that kills her entire crew, she is offered a surprise second chance to complete her Pomp training, which she accepts in hopes of paying off the penal debt that is keeping her from going home. But the more she trains, the more her paranoia takes hold. What if the tunnel collapse wasn’t an accident? And what if everyone—her new crew, the station staff, even her lover—are all part of the deadly conspiracy?
🏷️ Also available at the following online retailers: Amazon — Barnes & Noble — Books-A-Million — Bookshop.org — — IndieBound — — Walmart —
📚 Add Psychopomp to your reading list: Goodreads — StoryGraph
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Author: Maria Dong
Classification: Novel
Categories: 👽 Science Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Deep Space, Conspiracy, and Psychological
On the penal colony of Hibiscus Station, there’s no personnel more vital than the Pomps, who direct the excavation of highly volatile crystal. Young was in training to be a Pomp until a mental break and subsequent suicide attempt derailed her…and now she’s unraveling again. But when her secret hallucinations predict a tunnel explosion that kills her entire crew, she is offered a surprise second chance to complete her Pomp training, which she accepts in hopes of paying off the penal debt that is keeping her from going home. But the more she trains, the more her paranoia takes hold. What if the tunnel collapse wasn’t an accident? And what if everyone—her new crew, the station staff, even her lover—are all part of the deadly conspiracy?
🏷️ Also available at the following online retailers: Amazon — Barnes & Noble — Books-A-Million — Bookshop.org — — IndieBound — — Walmart —
📚 Add Psychopomp to your reading list: Goodreads — StoryGraph

Author: Maria Dong
Classification: Novel
Categories: 👽 Science Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Deep Space, Conspiracy, and Psychological
On the penal colony of Hibiscus Station, there’s no personnel more vital than the Pomps, who direct the excavation of highly volatile crystal. Young was in training to be a Pomp until a mental break and subsequent suicide attempt derailed her…and now she’s unraveling again. But when her secret hallucinations predict a tunnel explosion that kills her entire crew, she is offered a surprise second chance to complete her Pomp training, which she accepts in hopes of paying off the penal debt that is keeping her from going home. But the more she trains, the more her paranoia takes hold. What if the tunnel collapse wasn’t an accident? And what if everyone—her new crew, the station staff, even her lover—are all part of the deadly conspiracy?
🏷️ Also available at the following online retailers: Amazon — Barnes & Noble — Books-A-Million — Bookshop.org — — IndieBound — — Walmart —
📚 Add Psychopomp to your reading list: Goodreads — StoryGraph
"Maria Dong's Psychopomp is science fiction at its best, exploring questions large and small about how we structure our society, extract resources from nature, and survive as individuals." —Yume Kitasei, author of The Deep Sky
"This is a smart, sharp book whose dark vision of the future feels mirror-perfect to our current system." —Aimee Ogden, author of Emergent Properties
"Flawed characters, mystery and paranoia. Secrets unravel piece by piece in this richly drawn and complex sci-fi thriller." —Ai Jiang, Nebula and Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Linghun
"Claustrophobic and intense, Psychopomp is a riveting story about courage and self belief." —Eliane Boey, author of Club Contango
"Fierce, febrile, austere, and melancholy, Psychopomp keeps you rooting (and afraid) till the very end." —C. S. E. Cooney, World Fantasy Award-winning author of Saint Death's Daughter
"Psychopomp proves once again that there's no better author than Dong to both bring us into the labyrinth of the human mind and guide us out again." —Elaine U. Cho, author of Ocean's Godori
"Psychopomp pulls you into a world of secrets, lies, paranoia, and hallucinations, but it also thrums with moments of transcendent beauty. This is a book that will have you helplessly reading deep into the night." —Jennifer Hudak, short fiction author
"A riveting page-turner. Dong is clearly a master of the craft, skillfully infusing science fiction with the harsh realities of work exploitation and mental breakdown." —Renan Bernardo, Nebula and Ignyte award finalist author of Disgraced Return of the Kap's Needle
"A cinematic sci-fi thriller that cleverly combines action with tension, and certainty with doubt. A cast of complex characters propel the reader along a journey of secrets and self-discovery." —Catherine McCarthy, author of Mosaic and The House at the End of Lacelean Street
"Psychopomp is a gripping deep-space thriller packed with tension and inhabited by complex characters exploring how to live in a world designed to oppress and use them." —Angela Sylvaine, author of Frost Bite
"Psychopomp is brutal, intense, and breathtakingly introspective. Beautifully written and full of cosmic emotional gravity, this shadowy sci-fi world comes alive with vast twisting secrets and darkly intricate characters." —Amanda Cecelia Lang, author of Saturday Fright at the Movies
Product Details
Author: Maria Dong
Cover Artist: Katerina Belikova
Audiobook Narrator: Jessica Gurd
Publish Date: March 25, 2025
Format: Paperback
Language: English
ISBN: 9781958598528
Pages: 328
Dimensions: 5.5 in. | 8.5 in.
Bleak, beautiful, and timely in ways I wish it wasn't, PSYCHOMPOMP mines grief and trauma to sing of hope.

The Author
Maria Dong is the author of Liar, Dreamer, Thief and Psychopomp. Her short fiction, articles, and poetry have been published in dozens of magazines, like the Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, Lightspeed, Augur, Nightmare, Khoreo, Fantasy, Apex, and Apparition Literary Magazine, and her story, In the Beginning of Me, I was a Bird, was a finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. She is represented by Amy Bishop-Wysick at Trellis Literary.

The Cover Artist
Katerina Belikova, also known as Ninja Jo, is a Ukrainian illustrator and concept artist. Belikova specializes in science fiction and cyberpunk art.

The Narrator
Jessica Gurd is a voice-over artist, illustrator, and seasoned audiobook producer with a passion for sci-fi and fantasy storytelling.

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