A review by wardenred
The Hanged Man by K.D. Edwards

adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“I have a plan,” I said.
“A child with a stick of dynamite may have a plan, too. It doesn’t make it a wise plan.”

Wow. This was dark as fuck and twice as awesome. Even more exciting and engrossing than the first book. I absolutely loved how the story's constructed: the stakes and the tension rising steadily from start to finish, the clues planted at exactly the right moments, the build-up to the showdown with the genuinely terrifying villain. Never a dull moment, quite literally.

The characters, again, are where the book absolutely shines. This slowly growing found family has my heart. Brand remains my absolute favorite (in Rune's own words, everybody should have a Brand), and his and Rune's exceptionally close-knit, ride-or-die relationship remains so special. And also the way Addam fits into it! While I really liked his one-on-one boyfriendly scenes with Rune, I loved that one moment when Rune and Brand were having a misunderstanding and I fully expected them to sort it out eventually. But then Addam stepped in, found the right words for each of them, made them sort it out way faster and with no collateral damage, and then gave them space to have a moment. Also, some of Addam's dialogues with Brand, as well as the comments he provoked out of Brand simply by leading his usual life? Absolutely priceless. Oops, I think I've found my new part romantic, part queerplatonic OT3...

It was also cool to see some female characters show up and become an important part of the plot. Corinne and Anna are both badass and interesting and I hope to keep getting to know them in the future installments. I guess Anna's powers are the one thing in the book I'm not 100% sure I like in terms of scope/execution, but I felt the same about Quinn's gift in the previous book, and in this one all the issues I had were addressed and turned into features. So I'm pretty hopeful that Anna's situation will get a similar treatment. 

As if exciting plot, dialogue that had me snorting even at the darkest moments, and amazing characters aren't enough, the worldbuilding here remains so compelling, too. The setting keeps growing in all directions: more history revealed, more details added, more layers explored. This is a world/society that is definitely in urgent need of bettering, and I get the feeling this is the direction the story is headed. Can't wait to see what happens next!
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