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A review by mav_ka
The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards
4.0
"My name is Rune Saint John. I am, before anything else, a survivor: of a fallen House, of a brutal assault, of violent allies and complacent enemies, of life among a people who turned their back on me decades ago."
═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══
BOOK PREMISE
In a tarot-inspired setting, where Major Arcana are actual people living in a magical city of New Atlantis, we follow the fate of one Rune Saint John, the only survivor and the sole inheritor of the Sun Throne.
Rune and his partner, Brand, are private investigators for Lord Tower. They get hired to look for the missing son of Lady Judgement, yet the deeper they look, the more ancient mysteries they uncover.
WHAT WERE SOME GREAT THINGS ABOUT THE BOOK
Private investigators in action. There is always something so cool about people uncovering mysteries in books, so this plot point fed right into my preferences. As a result, the book is also very fast-paced, and action awaits at every corner. For better or worse (which I'll explain in my "and here is me complaining" part of the review :"D)
Great banter. The author is a funny, funny guy. I was laughing at almost every page. Somehow the author managed to introduce bits of humor into even tense scenes, which I appreciated.
Characters and character interactions. Literally, everything was so good. The book focuses a lot on the characters and how they react to each other, and I think the author did a really good job in that department.
Relationships where two people can still deeply and intimately care for each other without being romantically involved. I'm a person who enjoys romance in my books, and it took me many years to figure out why. Actually, it was this book that made me realize why. Turns out I just love seeing how people care about each other, on a level that goes deeper than a polite "How are you?" once every decade or so. So, seeing Rune and Brand be so in tune with each other's emotions and fears and worries was such a nice thing to see.
(Of course, I couldn't stop myself from shipping them juuust a little, but I realized I didn't need to see these two kiss in canon to be satisfied with their relationship)
LGBTQ+ friendly setting. New Atlantis is a place that views relationships a lot differently than modern humans. In fact, New Atlantis really reminded me of what I think Ancient Greece would have looked like (they have some overlapping concepts, and I do mean it as a compliment, I think Ancient Greece was cool as heck). Except New Atlantis has more magic and more technology and concepts like "talla", aka your soulmate with whom you are tied through super strong feelings (which don't necessarily need to be good feelings, mind you).
I SAID GOOD THINGS, NOW LET ME COMPLAIN A LITTLE
Okay, I didn't expect that I would need to write this section, especially given how much I loved this book, but I think I just need to vent.
I somehow went into full rant mode for some of them, so be warned if you enjoyed the book.
There were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way in the book and took away from my enjoyment.
Action scenes. There were a few great action scenes where I was literally on the edge of my seat, feeling ten thousand emotions a minute. But most of the action scenes just fell flat for me. I felt like I was reading an instruction manual sometimes, they were just so boring. There was a scene where a character cast a spell and was literally holding a small sun in the palm of his hand, and I just didn't feel anything.
And I wouldn't even complain about action scenes if the ending didn't literally consist of action scenes on top of action scenes. We are literally jumping from one fight into the next. And this brings me to the next point.
Deus Ex Machina of Rune's Sun powers heritage. This mostly occurred closer to the end (like these things usually do). Here is a thing. Every Major Arcana has an Aspect, an otherworldly form that lets them harness their cool tarot-inspired powers. Rune also has an Aspect related to his heritage, albeit it's not (yet) as powerful as other Arcanas.
Closer to the end, it seemed like whenever they were losing a fight, Rune would just jump in with his Aspect and unleash a new and previously unheard of power that manifested thanks to the ✨power of friendship✨. And that's even when he admitted that he called on his Aspect so much that he was losing contact with it! It's like an equivalent of running a marathon, getting super tired, and then realizing that, heck, let's climb a mountain while we are at it. Like ?????
I'm sorry, but it was just so funny and aggravating that this was the literal order of events:
1) Rune thinks to himself, in the book's actual words, that he's used way too much magic and is losing his connection to his Will (aka this necessary resource for calling on an Aspect or something?)
2) Rune immediately drops to his knees, screams at the clouds, and his Aspect takes care of all of their immediate problems.
I am not a fan of "characters get out of a situation thanks to a mysterious power they don't yet understand." Even if it's something the author plans on revealing later, it just doesn't work that well when you let the characters harness a power they (as readers perceive) shouldn't have.
I don't like these moments because they undermine the capability of the characters. Characters won't get out of tough situations thanks to their wit, they will get out of tough situations thanks to the mysterious powers that only the author of the book knows about. I can't applaud how resourceful and witty the characters are, I can just sigh and think how they got lucky and this shouldn't have ended this well for them.
True seers. Okay this is just a personal pet peeve at this point. Totally not related to the previous point (but kind of totally related to the previous point?).
True seers are characters gifted with magical powers of seeing the future. In this book, seers can see possibilities and calculate the best outcomes.
My personal pet peeve is this: if you have a character that can see all the possibilities of the future, why can't that character reveal all the secrets to the main character and prevent bad things from happening. The author literally addressed it in the book. When the seer character talks to our main character, he says "Time will tell", aka what I took to mean, "I know a terrible secret, but I won't tell you about it because plot reasons."
I think I'm just not happy with true seers in general, not just in this book. Like, seers are a cool concept, and they are cool to include in a story, but they are also a bit too OP so the authors need to tone down their powers a little. And for some reason, everyone thinks that the best way to do that is to have the seer willingly obscure information for mysterious reasons of "It's better this way". I just don't love these kinds of things. Give me an actual reason, godsdamnit!
Adult scenes. I was reading this book mostly in public. Need I say more :"D
On a more serious note, this book doesn't shy away from topics of sex, nudity, and... well, mostly those two. On top of that, the book requires a legitimate trigger warning: this book doesn't shy away from sexual assault, either. While it is mostly hinted at throughout the book, there is one particular scene where we get to actually see it.
I'm not very used to reading books with adult content, so some casual mentions of it were a little jarring. But it wasn't too bad by any means. Just something to look out for if you are like me.
CONCLUSION
3.8/5
I still think it's a good book. I loved the first part. It just happened that after that, I started seeing more and more things that I wasn't a fan of.
Regardless, I will continue with the series in hopes that it will improve. But if it doesn't, I might just ditch it after I finish the original trilogy.
═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══
BOOK PREMISE
In a tarot-inspired setting, where Major Arcana are actual people living in a magical city of New Atlantis, we follow the fate of one Rune Saint John, the only survivor and the sole inheritor of the Sun Throne.
Rune and his partner, Brand, are private investigators for Lord Tower. They get hired to look for the missing son of Lady Judgement, yet the deeper they look, the more ancient mysteries they uncover.
WHAT WERE SOME GREAT THINGS ABOUT THE BOOK
Private investigators in action. There is always something so cool about people uncovering mysteries in books, so this plot point fed right into my preferences. As a result, the book is also very fast-paced, and action awaits at every corner. For better or worse (which I'll explain in my "and here is me complaining" part of the review :"D)
"You saved me," Matthias said to me from behind Brand. I couldn't quite identify the expression that lit up his face, but it wasn't nearly as comfortable as plain gratitude. "You saved my life."
"If we get you killed your first week, people will make fun of us," I said.
Great banter. The author is a funny, funny guy. I was laughing at almost every page. Somehow the author managed to introduce bits of humor into even tense scenes, which I appreciated.
"But--" Addam said. His eyes watered with frustration. "I feel... I should... I should help. I feel very useless."
"The support group meets on Tuesdays," Brand said.
Characters and character interactions. Literally, everything was so good. The book focuses a lot on the characters and how they react to each other, and I think the author did a really good job in that department.
Ten minutes shy of our stop, Brand slid over and angled his phone screen at me. I took it, hit a button, and promptly shut down the web browser. I'd never been very good with technology. I tried to find my way back to the screen. A message popped up asking me if I wanted to begin a factory reset.
"For fuck's sake," Brand said.
Relationships where two people can still deeply and intimately care for each other without being romantically involved. I'm a person who enjoys romance in my books, and it took me many years to figure out why. Actually, it was this book that made me realize why. Turns out I just love seeing how people care about each other, on a level that goes deeper than a polite "How are you?" once every decade or so. So, seeing Rune and Brand be so in tune with each other's emotions and fears and worries was such a nice thing to see.
(Of course, I couldn't stop myself from shipping them juuust a little, but I realized I didn't need to see these two kiss in canon to be satisfied with their relationship)
"I really thought you'd be more impressed than this."
"Oh, absolutely," he said. "It's the same sort of pride I feel when you tie your shoes every morning, or when your spoon makes it all the way to your mouth."
I punched at his shoulder, and promptly slipped on the wet floor. He ended up catching me, like he always did.
LGBTQ+ friendly setting. New Atlantis is a place that views relationships a lot differently than modern humans. In fact, New Atlantis really reminded me of what I think Ancient Greece would have looked like (they have some overlapping concepts, and I do mean it as a compliment, I think Ancient Greece was cool as heck). Except New Atlantis has more magic and more technology and concepts like "talla", aka your soulmate with whom you are tied through super strong feelings (which don't necessarily need to be good feelings, mind you).
The bartender gave us a glance as we approached, and he swiped his way toward us with a dirty rag. He was very handsome and not wearing a shirt. He said, "Hey, love. What's your poison?"
"Something with an antidote," I joked, lamely, because he was handsome and not wearing a shirt.
I SAID GOOD THINGS, NOW LET ME COMPLAIN A LITTLE
Okay, I didn't expect that I would need to write this section, especially given how much I loved this book, but I think I just need to vent.
I somehow went into full rant mode for some of them, so be warned if you enjoyed the book.
There were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way in the book and took away from my enjoyment.
Action scenes. There were a few great action scenes where I was literally on the edge of my seat, feeling ten thousand emotions a minute. But most of the action scenes just fell flat for me. I felt like I was reading an instruction manual sometimes, they were just so boring. There was a scene where a character cast a spell and was literally holding a small sun in the palm of his hand, and I just didn't feel anything.
And I wouldn't even complain about action scenes if the ending didn't literally consist of action scenes on top of action scenes. We are literally jumping from one fight into the next. And this brings me to the next point.
"You want us to find a specific summoning circle?" I asked, "Maybe it's in a haystack. Next to a needle."
Deus Ex Machina of Rune's Sun powers heritage. This mostly occurred closer to the end (like these things usually do). Here is a thing. Every Major Arcana has an Aspect, an otherworldly form that lets them harness their cool tarot-inspired powers. Rune also has an Aspect related to his heritage, albeit it's not (yet) as powerful as other Arcanas.
Closer to the end, it seemed like whenever they were losing a fight, Rune would just jump in with his Aspect and unleash a new and previously unheard of power that manifested thanks to the ✨power of friendship✨. And that's even when he admitted that he called on his Aspect so much that he was losing contact with it! It's like an equivalent of running a marathon, getting super tired, and then realizing that, heck, let's climb a mountain while we are at it. Like ?????
I'm sorry, but it was just so funny and aggravating that this was the literal order of events:
1) Rune thinks to himself, in the book's actual words, that he's used way too much magic and is losing his connection to his Will (aka this necessary resource for calling on an Aspect or something?)
2) Rune immediately drops to his knees, screams at the clouds, and his Aspect takes care of all of their immediate problems.
"Sun Estate is yours."
"No. It's not. Sun Estate belongs to the dead. It's very haunted. I don't walk into it unless I'm armed like a tank. Or if I need money for the cable bill."
I am not a fan of "characters get out of a situation thanks to a mysterious power they don't yet understand." Even if it's something the author plans on revealing later, it just doesn't work that well when you let the characters harness a power they (as readers perceive) shouldn't have.
I don't like these moments because they undermine the capability of the characters. Characters won't get out of tough situations thanks to their wit, they will get out of tough situations thanks to the mysterious powers that only the author of the book knows about. I can't applaud how resourceful and witty the characters are, I can just sigh and think how they got lucky and this shouldn't have ended this well for them.
There were many, many boxes of mac and cheese between me and a seat on the Arcanum.
True seers. Okay this is just a personal pet peeve at this point. Totally not related to the previous point (but kind of totally related to the previous point?).
True seers are characters gifted with magical powers of seeing the future. In this book, seers can see possibilities and calculate the best outcomes.
My personal pet peeve is this: if you have a character that can see all the possibilities of the future, why can't that character reveal all the secrets to the main character and prevent bad things from happening. The author literally addressed it in the book. When the seer character talks to our main character, he says "Time will tell", aka what I took to mean, "I know a terrible secret, but I won't tell you about it because plot reasons."
I think I'm just not happy with true seers in general, not just in this book. Like, seers are a cool concept, and they are cool to include in a story, but they are also a bit too OP so the authors need to tone down their powers a little. And for some reason, everyone thinks that the best way to do that is to have the seer willingly obscure information for mysterious reasons of "It's better this way". I just don't love these kinds of things. Give me an actual reason, godsdamnit!
"True seers are not so common a community."
"Really?" Brand said. "Rune can't swing a dead cat without hitting a fucking prophecy."
Adult scenes. I was reading this book mostly in public. Need I say more :"D
On a more serious note, this book doesn't shy away from topics of sex, nudity, and... well, mostly those two. On top of that, the book requires a legitimate trigger warning: this book doesn't shy away from sexual assault, either. While it is mostly hinted at throughout the book, there is one particular scene where we get to actually see it.
I'm not very used to reading books with adult content, so some casual mentions of it were a little jarring. But it wasn't too bad by any means. Just something to look out for if you are like me.
CONCLUSION
3.8/5
I still think it's a good book. I loved the first part. It just happened that after that, I started seeing more and more things that I wasn't a fan of.
Regardless, I will continue with the series in hopes that it will improve. But if it doesn't, I might just ditch it after I finish the original trilogy.