The Hanged Man

K.D. Edwards

Dec 2019 · Pyr

About this ebook

The last member of a murdered House tries to protect his ward from forced marriage to a monster while uncovering clues to his own tortured past. The Tarot Sequence imagines a modern-day Atlantis off the coast of Massachusetts, governed by powerful Courts based on the traditional Tarot deck. Rune Saint John, last child of the fallen Sun Throne, is backed into a fight of high court magic and political appetites in a desperate bid to protect his ward, Max, from a forced marital alliance with the Hanged Man. Rune's resistance will take him to the island's dankest corners, including a red light district made of moored ghost ships; a surreal skyscraper farm; and the floor of the ruling Convocation, where a gathering of Arcana will change Rune's life forever.

Ratings and reviews

The Hanged Man is another awesome book from KD Edwards. But it had very big shoes to fill as the sequel to the Last Sun—and I don’t think it will be remembered as the best book in the series. Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? The Last Sun was one of the best books I read last year. The sequel has been much–anticipated; the wait has been long and, for non-ARC readers, it will be longer still. (This book is due to come out in about two weeks.) Inevitably, this book will be judged against the first book by many excited readers such as myself. The bar has been set very high, and I am both pleased and disappointed by the Hanged Man. I love this book for all the same reasons I loved the first one: the worldbuilding is fantastic; the characters possess depth and warmth; and there’s action too. There’s action galore, in fact. And yet... there’s a but coming. I’ve read many books in my short life—perhaps over a thousand—and written two of my own. I have a feel for the subtle undercurrents of plot. This novel suffers from the infamous “second book syndrome”; it lacks the novelty of the first book, and doesn’t touch the true conflict of this saga. The antagonist is the problem, I think. The eponymous Lord Hanged Man is certainly frightening: he’s a pedophile, an extremely powerful spellcaster, and he’s got a penchance for bloody murder and horrific punishments. Despite this, I wasn’t genuinely scared of him; I never believed he would succeed in killing Rune or his friends. Partly, it’s because he’s too impulsive; he does not plan ahead, and he has few allies. The real antagonist—the one that hurt Rune and murdered his Court—is far more calculating. And he’s still hiding in the shadows. The previous antagonists, Rurik and Ashton, were both better antagonists than the Hanged Man. Rurik, for the simple fact that he was both unbelievably strong and utterly, irredeemably evil; and Ashton, for being such a believable, human evil. By comparison, the Hanged Man is under-developed. I’m not sure what exactly motivates him: it could be power, it could be sadistic desire, or it could be money. None of the three quite fit. Moving on, I felt that the relationship between Rune and Brand grew and strengthened during this book. I really felt that Brand followed Rune because he wanted to—because he loved Rune—and not because he had no other choice. Quinn also grows as a character; Ciaran is wonderfully sardonic. Even the Tower manages to seem more human, more approachable. I felt that Max was the most underdeveloped character in this book. You get a feeling that he should be the most important secondary character; he’s the one being chased by the Hanged Man after all. Yet very little was dedicated to him. Addam, on the other hand, is a beautiful man with a beautiful soul, and you can’t help but love him. The ending could have been a little bit better executed—it’s the little details that count, and it’s these details which were so polished in the first book and weren’t in the Hanged Man. I also noticed some sentences that cut off abruptly, but I think this is because it’s an ARC and hasn’t been fully edited yet. All in all, I’m still very much in love with this series. This book had great action, some really sweet moments between the characters, and it still has that one thing that distinguishes it from the rest—originality. This story is unique. Urban Fantasy, as a genre, is dominated by too many whining teenage girls or angst-ridden boys. Very, very few books succeed in giving us male characters that are this likeable, compelling, or strong. Rating: 4.5/5 PS: I think the cover could better. The upside-down motiff doesn’t succeed in making this book seem more dark or ominous; it’s like the Hanged Man himself in that regard. I would have gone for some stronger imagery: an actual hanged man with dead, blue eyes, for example.

I waited so many weeks for this book to come out after reading the first one. It drew me in like no other. I almost couldn' set it down once I started. The emotions and sincerity all along the way kept my eyes locked to these pages until i feel asleep. As soon as i woke up i found myself reading it all over again. I'll keep my eyes out for the next book, itching for a chance to find out what happens next with rune and his not so short story.

Honestly an amazing addition to the series. Makes me want to read the next in the series while still tying up all the loose ends I was hoping would be resolved. Can't wait to read the next one!

About the author

K.D. Edwards is the author of The Last Sun, book one of the Tarot Sequence. He lives and writes in North Carolina, but has spent time in Massachusetts, Maine, Colorado, New Hampshire, Montana, and Washington State. (Common theme until NC: Snow. So, so much snow.) Mercifully short careers in food service, interactive television, corporate banking, retail management, and bariatric furniture have led to a much less short career in higher education, currently for the University of North Carolina System.