In this debut novel and series starter, the last member of a murdered House searches for a missing nobleman, and uncovers clues about his own tortured past.Rune Saint John, last child of the fallen Sun Court, is hired to search for Lady Judgment’s missing son, Addam, on New Atlantis, the island city where the Atlanteans moved after ordinary humans destroyed their original home.With his companion … home.
With his companion and bodyguard, Brand, he questions Addam’s relatives and business contacts through the highest ranks of the nobles of New Atlantis. But as they investigate, they uncover more than a missing man: a legendary creature connected to the secret of the massacre of Rune’s Court. In looking for Addam, can Rune find the truth behind his family’s death and the torments of his past?
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A fast, fun urban fantasy in a wonderfully original world, full of slam-bang magic and interesting characters.
The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards is one of the most entertaining books I’ve read this year. It’s funny, exciting and heartwarming. I have an iffy relationship with Urban Fantasy, but decided to pick this one up based on the characters and the premise. Both delivered.
Briefly, Rune Saint John is ‘the last Sun’, the last surviving scion of his house. He and his companion/bodyguard, Brand, make ends meet by hiring out to the other houses for whatever the job requires. In this instance, they’re looking for a missing person, the scion of another house.
The job is complicated at the very beginning by an unexpected house guest. Further issues arise during interviews with the brothers of the missing scion, one of whom has unusual insight. Then there’s the creature of legend running around flinging powerful magic at Rune and Brand. Throw in a power struggle, a summoning gone wrong and secrets buried since the night Rune’s family was wiped out and there is enough story here to keep the pages turning at a fast clip.
I loved so many aspects of this book, but I think perhaps the characters were my favourite part. The relationship between Rune and Brand is fascinating and fun. They’re closer than brothers and often have as little respect for each other’s space as siblings might. But they also understand where each other’s strengths lay and are able, sometimes under sufferance, to stand back and let the other do their thing. It’s a great partnership and based on that alone, I’d be content to read continuing adventures regardless of backstory and what’s to come.
I adored Matthias’ role. As the unexpected houseguest, he’s a delightful complication that serves to remind Rune of where he came from and not always in the most pleasant way. Matthias also has a story of his own and I hope we get more of him in future novels.
I was also really intrigued by Addam, their missing scion. His role became something completely unexpected and I loved the reversal. He’s almost the dude in distress or the prince in the high tower and comes with his own bag of tricks and complications. The interplay and budding romance between Addam and Rune is, at turns, sweet and hilarious and is another story thread I’m eager to see continued. There are too few gay heroes in Fantasy/Urban Fantasy and I loved the way K.D. Edwards handled the issue of sexuality in that it was a non-issue. Yay for enlightened societies!
The world-building is deft. New Atlantis is the island home of the Atlanteans, a race of extraordinary people gifted with the ability to manipulate ambient magic. Some magic is summoned and stored into sigils, while other spells seem to be innate, small things everyone can do such as produce a light. Each house also has their own unique brand of magic and Rune coming into his ‘aspect’ is one of the highlights of the story. As an orphaned scion, it’s clear Rune hasn’t had the same guidance or backing as many of his contemporaries, so every goal is harder won.
The magical battles are numerous and exciting. One of my few quibbles was that they were perhaps a little too numerous. But I did enjoy the different combinations of spells and the way the author established what worked and what wouldn’t, while occasionally leaving his characters in the balance.
While I’m on the subject of quibbles, I’d have liked to have seen more female characters. I enjoyed the camaraderie between all the guys, but missed having a female character in an important role. Not just someone with influence in the Atlantean society, but someone important to the immediate group of Rune, Brand, Addam, and Matthias.
Refreshingly, what I didn’t have any issues with was the narrative style. Urban Fantasy often loses me somewhere between the wisecracking and the world-building. I like funny books and I like speculative fiction. What I don’t seem to like is funny books where the hero is so busy thinking they’re the most hilarious and amazing thing to happen in this particular world, that they miss a hole in the pavement, fall through and accidentally start the apocalypse. ‘The Last Sun’ is not that book. I laughed out loud a number of times, but appreciated the author’s restraint. The book isn’t always funny. Sometimes it’s extremely moving and even a little horrifying. The depth and breadth of emotion is more akin to epic fantasy and the world-building is always clear. I understood what was going on without either starting a flow chart or having a character simply say, ‘Trust me.’
The Last Sun is a skillful debut for K.D. Edwards and I really look forward to seeing where the ‘The Tarot Sequence’ takes us. This book holds a complete story, but one that is also obviously designed to go somewhere. I have high hopes for The Hanged Man, due out in January 2019.
Reviewed for SFCrowsnest.
Holy bloody hell. Where do I even start with talking about the new love of my life? K D Edwards is my new favourite person. This is an incredibly original, fast paced, gritty, tense urban fantasy that I devoured. The only thing I disliked about it, is that it ended.
Major trigger warnings!! This book is more than I expected. I freaking loved this book. This is a book is a must read! Low heat level and not angsty.
Audiobook review
I have found a new love in Urban Fantasy and was soooo excited to finally start The Tarot Sequence series. It was utterly amazing!
It threw me right in the middle of a very well-developed magical world that still managed to make it feel like home. The Last Sun is K.D. Edwards’ debut novel and the 1st installment of the series and I’m blown away by how imaginative and unique it is. Our hero, Rune Saint John is the “last sun” – last surviving scion of his house. Together with his bodyguard/companion, Brand, they take on odd jobs similar to PI work (find missing people). These jobs are very adventurous and magical with lots of action. I was turning the pages non-stop to find out what was going to happen next to our dynamic duo.
“A normal job went like this: I went somewhere I shouldn’t, I tried not to get caught, and if I did, Brand shot someone in the head. It was a good day when the corpse had pizza money”
The companion relationship between Rune and Brand was so full of love and their banter was hilarious! I enjoyed so many things about this book, but for me, the characters/relationships really drew me in. They were all sassy but in different ways. I love, love, love a “found family” story and K.D. Edwards adds lots of lost souls for Rund and Brand to watch over.
“You want us to find a specific summoning circle?” “Maybe it’s in the haystack. Next to the needle”
I was fascinated by how imaginative every part of this book was. From the magic, fire-breathing dragons, goblins, and fairies, to the Atlantean culture – a race of extraordinary people gifted with the ability to summon and manipulate magic. These were just a few things on how brilliant and well-crafted the world-building was.
I found the writing style easy, fun and very, very compelling with a low heat level and no angst. I highly, highly recommend this series -> I’m off to read The Hanged Man right now.
And let’s not forget the fantastic narrator, Josh Hurley. Josh Hurley is a new narrator to me and I hope he does more in the MM field. The narration was fabulous and he made the characters come alive.
This book is like nothing I have ever read, and I mean that as praise! Totally original! The characters and their powers are unlike any other series I have read… and though I’m sure I’ve missed reading several series overall, I’ve been reading this genre for decades. The story line is original, the characters are original, and the situations they are in are also original. I could not put this down! How refreshing to read a fantasy book that is unlike any other series out there! I initially got this from our local library, but loved it so much that when it was offered as an E-book I instantly bought it. Eagerly waiting for book 2!
This is a highly enjoyable read: take the witty noir of Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man, kick it to an alternate present day, add equal portions of action and magic, garnish with a sprig of romance, and you have The Last Sun. A great recipe.
Absolutely sensational. Edwards takes all the familiar pawns of urban fantasy and makes royalty of them in his debut. We’re invited into an alternative, historical world of staggering breadth and realization. The central characters, Rune and Brand, combine the loyalty of Frodo and Samwise with the sacrilege of a pairing like Tyrion and Bronn. When thrown in beside fascinating magical systems, breathtaking prose, and a relentless plot — this is the tale of Atlantean magic we didn’t know we wanted.
Sharp dialogue, plus characters you want to follow around just to see what happens next… What’s not to love?