Book Review: The Last Sun by K. D. Edwards

“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 backs on me decades ago.

Among those who matter I am known and notorious. I am the Catamite Prince; the Day Prince; the Prince of Ruin. I am the last scion of my dead father’s dead court, once called the Sun Throne, brightest of all Arcana, now just so much ash and rubble.

These are my accounts.”

The Last Sun by K. D. Edwards may not be the book a reader expects. At first glance, it might seem a magical realist mystery, but the horror, brutality, and pain of the book make it more of a dark fantasy. While set in the modern human world, the main characters are not humans, but Atlanteans. Atlanteans in the Tarot Sequence are reminiscent of the Tuatha de Danann, powerful otherworldly creatures steeped in magic and tied closely with the fae. Noble families, known as Arcana, that personify the major arcana of Tarot rule the Atlanteans. Knowledge of the Tarot is not necessary to enjoy the book, but certainly is helpful. Not only do the noble families have powerful hereditary magic known as Aspects, which are based upon the symbolism of the arcana, but Edwards plays with expectations for the role and nature of the Arcana, such as having a Lady Justice who does not protect, but does avenge. A reader not versed in Tarot may well not notice some of the more nuanced commentary.

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