Microreview [book]: The Hourglass Throne by K.D. Edwards

Rune’s past, present, and the potential of his future combine for a literal fight against Time.

Rune St John has been through a lot in the Tarot Sequence so far. Last Scion of a fallen House on the Island of New Atlantis (the island formerly known as Nantucket), he and his inseparable Companion Brand have gone from near rags to literal riches, fighting to restore the House of Sun to full flower. But even as both are coming to terms with the challenges of a House restored, New Atlantis is rocked to the core by a scion of a House long thought gone and their dangerous magics long since forgotten--the power to manipulate Time itself.

The Hourglass Throne is the third in the Tarot Sequence series.

It has been a pleasure to watch what has changed, what has evolved, and what has changed over the first three novels.. This is both internally and on a metatextual level as well. As a writer, Edwards started with a promising debut novel, The Last Sun, and expanded on and developed that potential in the second novel, The Hanged Man. The Last Sun featured a Rune and Brand at frankly their lowest point, living on the margins of New Atlantis society, working smarter as well as harder to try and make their way. The Hanged Man showed Rune with some more respect and power and authority...and more to protect, and forced to deal with some rather nasty opposition seemingly ready to strip away what little he had accumulated. The slow spiral of power and authority and social rank spiral up together with the writer skillfully bringing new and larger challenges for Rune and Brand to face.

And yet, for all of that, many things remain constant and the same and should. The tight, intimate Companion bond with Brand continues to be one of the best things in the entire series to read. Falling into their banter and relationship was like meeting two old friends once more and I rediscovered and reified my delight with them as characters. Also remaining constant and in the forefront is the novel and world’s commitment to being a world where people’s sexuality and gender identities are free to be what they want to be, to be what they truly are. The novel (like its predecessors) do not venture beyond the bounds of New Atlantis to America and elsewhere, so we don’t know if the rest of the world is less benighted than our world can be in such matters, but in New Atlantis, Rune’s relationship with Addam, with Ciaran’s genderfluidity, and other hallmarks of diversity (gender and race particularly) are unmistakably front and center. I might be a straight as an arrow white guy, but New Atlantis is the sort of world that I want stories in, as an expected default.

There are really interesting parallels and resonances with the previous first two novels, and also shows how Rune has changed between the three novels. In the first novel, the opening is Rune raiding the Heart Throne with a shoestring team of people of similar power levels, for relatively low personal stakes. The Hanged Man features a set piece with Rune and Arcana taking on the holding of a stolen battleship, Rune clearly outpowered by his fellow Arcana but scrappy and inventive in order to punch in their weight class. Here, in this third third novel, early on, Rune is point man investigating something going very wrong at a rejuvenation clinic. He has an array of sigils, backup and is a valued and considered member of the team. Rune has come a long way thus far, but the excellently plotted and described action sequences, even as they’ve leveled up in power and danger, are as always well executed and described. There has been an evolution in the level of those threats, and the quality of the writing keeps the threats and the combats and conflicts on scale and blocking we can not only comprehend, but we can follow. But the real joy for me was to see how scrappy Rune has had to transfer that cleverness to higher level threats.

I am keeping the nature of the antagonist oblique as possible because part of the joy in the novel is the uncovering of the antagonist, the source of their power, and their goals. How that antagonist connects with previous episodes in Rune’s life and draws that together is well done at all. The threat to Rune, to New Atlantis in general, is quite real, and Rune’s confrontation with that threat, and the costs it has to make that happen, are high.

The novel is a major milestone in Rune’s life. It is part of a long sequence that is exploring Rune and Atlantis. That said, we get some really key answers and pieces to the puzzle of Rune and Brand’s life. Primarily and very particularly, we dig deeply into the Inciting Incident of Rune’s life--the fall of the Sun House and the death of his father. That Fall is definitely a source of trauma, and Rune having to engage and with and process his own feelings, and even role in that drama is a strong and abiding thread in the book for reasons that would be highly spoilery. We’ve seen Rune at his most hardscrabble, we see Rune as up and coming, and we see Rune come into his own in The Hourglass Throne. However, with all of that, Rune remains Rune and having to deal with the shadows of his past that cover him still and how he has to come to terms with that is a dark but necessary strand. Although seeing Rune go through the wringer is sometimes tough, it provides a completion of the character’s arc and their story going back to before the first scene of the first novel.

Is everything perfect? No, I think a couple of the consequences of the denouement aren’t quite highlighted enough, especially given the costs of what it takes to defeat the antagonist and their plans. Also, while Edwards does a really good job in tying in the first book and its raw Rune at his lowest to this book, the second book feels slightly more of a sidequest, retrospectively and I think some more connective material between second and this one. Perhaps future volumes will help backfill that a little. These are episodes in Rune’s life, after all, and a deep exploration into his life. A marathon, not a sprint.

Rune winds up with what in romance terms is a Happy For Now (HFN) in this third book in the series.. It’s clear that part of Rune’s arc is complete, but his life is definitely not over, and there is much more to see and say and learn about him. That said, this is a series that is providing forward momentum and not stinting on growing and developing its protagonist and the people around him. Rune St. John has come a long way from the hardscrabble outcast brought in on an operation by Lord Tower, he is a Power in his own right now, and that will bring a whole new set of concerns and problems for him to face. I have strongly enjoyed Rune and Brand’s journey thus far and where it will go next.

The Math

Baseline Assessment: 6/10

Bonuses: +1 for continued strong worldbuilding

+1 for vivid and relatable characters

+1 for good development and real consequences and growth in the characters and the world.

Penalties: -1 for some of the consequences ot the denouement not quite explored well enough in my opinion

Nerd Coefficient: 8/10

Reference: Edwards, K.D. The Hourglass Throne [Pyr, 2022]

POSTED BY: Paul Weimer. Ubiquitous in Shadow, but I’m just this guy, you know? @princejvstin.

Microreview [book]: The Hanged Man, by K D Edwards

The Hanged Man by K C Edwards broadens and deepens and improves the quasi Urban Fantasy story of expatriate Atlanteans living on the island formerly known as Nantucket.

The Last Sun introduced us to a fascinating world of Atlanteans, their world gone, living on the occupied island of Nantucket. A world where the most powerful Atlanteans carried terrible magical power, Rune, last heir of fallen House Sun, became wrapped up in the machinations of other, great Houses, and slowly coming into his own power in the process. An unusual sort of urban fantasy, The Last Sun was notable for its invention, its strong character focus, and the queer friendliness of Atlantean society.

Now in The Hanged Man, K.C. Edwards continues the story of Rune, and Brand, his bonded Companion, and their slowly accumulating set of friends, lover, and allies. The focus starts with Max, whom in a bit of linguistic trickery in The Last Sun Rune has been bound to raise from a young man to adulthood as his guardian. It turns out Max had been previously promised in marriage to the mysterious and powerful Hanged Man.And the Hanged Man is now aiming to collect Max for that purpose. Rune will not allow his charge to fall to that fate, and so a tale is told.

In The Last Sun, we were dropped headfirst into Rune and Brand’s world and their lives on New Atlantis (aka Nantucket). There was, I noted, a distinct lack of explanation of how we got here, Edwards preferring to focus on the immediate story rather than spending a lot of time explaining how and why Atlanteans exist and how we got to this point. I admired this forthrightness even as I wanted to know a lot more about the background. In The Hanged Man, we begin with a Prologue that clears up for me a lot of the questions I had in the backstory of the Atlanteans and how they wound up to diminished but still potent on the island of Nantucket. In two pages, I had a lot of my questions cleared up and launched me into the book. It also has the salutary effect of making it easier for new readers to start here rather than the first novel. I think that misses the opportunity to see the world from the beginning, but time is a limited resource, and between this prologue and how the author layers in references to the first novel, one could conceivably start the Tarot Sequence here.

That possibility of starting here is accentuated by the tonal shift between the first novel and the second novel. By and large, the first novel features Rune and Brand as relatively (by the standards of perception of the rest of their society) as low powered urban fantasy protagonists. Rune is from a fallen House, the last scion of it, and has a paltry portion of the power that he would have if his House had not been destroyed when he was young. Even with his good relationship with Lord Tower (and by now you can guess the Tarot theme to the Great Houses of Atlantis, yes?), he’s not quite in squalor, but he does have to hustle a bit in order to eat.

In The Hanged Man, thanks to events in the first novel; Rune is starting to come more into his own power and that talent is recognized, even as he starts off in circumstances only somewhat improved from the first novel. However, the novel ramps up quickly in terms of the magic and power we see, and power is temporal as well as magical. It reminds me of a similar shift in gears between Where Oblivion Lives and Carved From Stone and Dream by T Frohock, where the second novel definitely changes the formula and the power levels, bringing more and much more powerful magic and powers into play. Edwards gamely shifts into this gear change well, and it gives a different look at New Atlantis than as seen in The Last Sun. Rune is still relatively underpowered compared to his allies, because of his impoverished status, but he makes up for it with loyal allies and friends, and, even called out in the narrative, an inventiveness that is born of his relatively low power level. Rune and Brand HAVE to be scrappy and punch above their weight, be it exploring the haunted ruins of House Sun or facing off against the minions of the titular Hanged Man. So when we see the high octane magic, we get a true sense of the heritage, power and lost legacy that Rune has lost as the last scion of a fallen House.

Another instance where The Hanged Man improves visibly and significantly on its predecessor is including more female characters into the mix, female characters with depth, backstories and power and potency. The previous novel really relies on the Rune and Brand relationship, and thrives on that relationship. The book, it should be noted, is dude-heavy as a result, albeit queer-dude heavy. In this book, there is a change up by adding more female characters to the mix, starting with Corinne, a former Companion whose hiring of Rune and Brand propels much of the plot revolving around Max, and continuing on with a sheaf of female characters. Gloriously, this culminates with Lady Death, a young frost mage of power, beauty, confidence, and absolutely willing to mix it up, even with someone as potent as The Hanged Man. We get to meet a lot of the Major Arcana in this second novel, and she is far and away my favorite new character.

Fans of the first novel, though, should not be worried. The Rune and Brand relationship, Arcana and Companion is here, as strongly written and explored as it was in the first novel. This novel provides lots more touchstones for that relationship to work. Rune’s ward, Max, yes, of course, is the major touchstone, but also Addam, Rune’s new lover, is something the relationship explores. Also, when Brand starts interacting with other Major Arcana in a sustained way, that also shows change, growth and the depth of the bond between them. Some of the plot of the novel, too, explores what it MEANS to be a Companion, to be magically bound to an Atlantean, and Edwards explores that as well.

And that is really where the strength of the plotting of the novel lies. For all of the interesting magic and action beats and the cool set pieces that Edwards sets up in the narrative (and there are some really inventive and memorable things, especially the Battleship), the novel runs and runs and really develops from the characters, their interactions and their choices. That simple “trick” in the first book that gave Rune a ward leads, basically, to the concordant series of actions and reactions that ricochets throughout this novel. The titular Hanged Man is an antagonist, and still all of his choices and actions flow from his character. The conflict that Rune forces here and the action all sides take make sense. And no doubt, the events of this novel, the choices made (including a huge one by Rune) is going to pay itself forward on future plotting.

One nit: this novel significantly complicates the relationship map of the Tarot Sequence verse and a character sheet or guide would be useful especially for new readers. In short, though, The Hanged Man is an improvement and leveling up of an already intriguing and character focused book to carve out an interesting space in Urban Fantasy that is uniquely his own. With all of the revelations, changes and worldbuilding in this novel, I look forward to what Edwards can do going forward with these characters.

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The Math

Baseline Assessment: 7/10.

Bonuses: +1 for rich and inventive expansion of worldbuilding, +1 for significant improvements in character balance from the previous novel

Penalties: -1 The Book probably could use a Dramatis Personae or other guide given the complexity of the world at this point.

Nerd Coefficient: 8/10 well worth your time and attention

Reference: Edwards, K.D. The Hanged Man [Pyr, 2020]

POSTED BY: Paul Weimer. Ubiquitous in Shadow, but I’m just this guy, you know? @princejvstin.

Microreview [book]: The Last Sun, by K.D. Edwards

K.D Edwards' The Last Sun is an intriguing Urban Fantasy that uses genderqueer characters and the story of Atlantis to tell an intriguing magic-infused story.

In a world very much like ours but where Atlantis existed, and existed into the modern era until the survivors of its fall emigrated to a new home in the New World, a scion of a fallen House is wrapped up in mystery and intrigue, as rivalries, schemes and long set plans collide with that scion’s destiny and coming into his true power.

Rune Sun is the last of his kind. House Sun, his tarot card named noble family, has long since fallen and he is the only survivor. A  sword fighter and a sorcerer, he lives doing odd jobs here and there, a down on his luck existence especially given the wealth and power of his peers, and of his life, long ago. It is doing one of those odd jobs, against another noble House, that Sun gets hooked into an intrigue that extends across New Atlantis. That hook, too and just might provide an opportunity for Rune to prove and show his capability and true abilities. If it doesn’t wreck his homeland or get him killed first, that is.

This is the world of K D Edwards debut novel, The Last Sun

There are lovely notes of worldbuilding throughout the novel, although sometimes they didn’t quite come in the order I’d hope for or in the time I really was looking for those answers. Almost as if Quinn, the Seer, was dishing out the worldbuilding, some questions remained frustratingly out of reach and unanswered until later in the novel. I really wanted to know how the world got the way it was, I wanted to know all about how the Atlanteans lost their island home, and got to their new place. And for the most part, the answers are a bit vague, almost a bit too much. But if you are going to have an Atlantis and sink it, I want to know all about it.

Aside from those concerns, we get a New Atlantis which has an uneasy relationship with the rest of the modern  world. The hints we are given seem to suggest the history of the rest of the world has not been drastically changed by the presence of Atlantis in history but aside from some reference here and there, the outside world doesn’t matter too much to those who dwell in New Atlantis.

Instead, the worldbuilding of the novel focuses on how the magic and major figures of New Atlantis, The Arcana, work, and the structure and strictures of Atlantean society. Atlantis is a high magic society in a world where technology from the outside world works as well. We get plenty of detail and exploration of how and why magic works, and get to see it in action. The Sigil concept as a way to hold and use spells helps ground the characters and provide a tangible hold for the reader on understanding the capacities and limitations. This magic also scales and maps well with small scale action, so that we get excellent high magic and also excellent action and adventure that jumps off of the page.

That high magic we see through the sigils give those action beats in The Last Sun a Dresden Files crossed with Shadowrun sort of feel. All of the major characters have those sigils, and are very willing to use them in the many set piece engagements in the novel. The book is full of confrontations and adventures, liberally planted throughout the narrative so as to keep the tension going. The author also likes to use the action beats to inform and develop his characters, we often best see the personalities and choices and what they stand for by what they do when their lives are on the line.

There are a slew of those intriguing characters to be found fighting those battles. Above and beyond Rune Sun, the protagonist, the best of these is his bonded companion, Brand. The two of them make a duo who clearly have been together through thick and thin, and some very dark times in the backstory of the novel as well. They have a great, snarky, back and forth relationship that is a treat to read. Other characters of various social ranks and relationships come into the double planet system of these two characters and out again. Even though the point of view of the novel stays with Rune all of the time, I truly felt that Brand was his “other half”, just as his companion bond meant to invoke. Another character I particularly liked that we only see some of is Ciaran, another scion with power over Dreams, who wanders into Rune’s story but clearly has a history and agenda and life of his own beyond the bounds of the novel.

Despite the issues I had with some elements, The Last Sun makes for an intriguing and immersive debut novel, and I look forward to more novels about New Atlantis, Rune Sun and those around him.

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The Math

Baseline Score: 7/10

Bonuses: +1  For a strong set of intriguing characters

Penalties: -1 A few gaps in the world and worldbuilding frustated me a bit
Nerd Coefficient: 7/10 an enjoyable experience, but not without its flaws

Reference:  Edwards, K.D,  The Last Sun [Pyr, 2019]


Paul Weimer. Ubiquitous in Shadow, but I’m just this guy, you know? @princejvstin.