Exploring New Atlantis with The Last Sun: A Review

I can’t remember where I first heard about The Last Sun. I think it popped up on a list of science fiction and fantasy picks for your Christmas list. Wherever it was, I was intrigued enough by the idea of a modern Atlantis to put it on Goodreads so I’d remember to check it out. I shouldn’t have worried. Once I’d seen it, I couldn’t get the idea of it out of my head, and every time I chose a new book I thought, I wonder if The Last Sun is any good? I’m so glad I finally caved and read it.

The Last Sun (2018)
Written By:  K.D. Edwards
Genre:  Urban Fantasy
Pages:  368 pages (Kindle Edition)
Series:  Book One in The Tarot Sequence
Publisher: Pyr

The premise:

In this debut novel and series starter, the last member of a murdered House searches for a missing nobleman, and uncovers clues about his own tortured past. Rune Saint John, last child of the fallen Sun Court, is hired to search for Lady Judgment’s missing son, Addam, on New Atlantis, the island city where the Atlanteans moved after ordinary humans destroyed their original home. With his companion and bodyguard, Brand, he questions Addam’s relatives and business contacts through the highest ranks of the nobles of New Atlantis. But as they investigate, they uncover more than a missing man: a legendary creature connected to the secret of the massacre of Rune’s Court. In looking for Addam, can Rune find the truth behind his family’s death and the torments of his past?

Very minor spoilers.

Discussion:  I really love characters who make an impression right from the start. Rune’s voice was just so sharp and clear, the perfect blend of snark and world-weariness to pull me along with him page after page. And Edwards managed to pull off a character who is so much more than the cynical detective with a tortured past that we’re all so familiar with already. Rune has this wonderful depth that allows him to be self-confident about what he does but also endearingly self-conscious about more personal things, like sex and flirting. And he avoids the trap of other snarky characters who don’t know when to shut up. He’s smart enough to know when to be polite and respectful, which I found to be more realistic and compelling than a character who constantly runs their mouth off and gets into trouble for it.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I didn’t love the banter. I felt like the dialogue and the relationships between characters was really the highlight of this book. Rune and his bodyguard, Brand, have this fantastically deep relationship where words literally aren’t needed, but they have fun taking each other down a peg with them anyway. And it was really great to see a gay character in a meaningful relationship with another man that involved no sexual tension or attraction whatsoever. This allowed Rune’s budding romance with Addam to thrive without ruining or changing his relationship with Brand. Maturity on all sides, if you can believe it. And, of course, Addam’s reaction to Rune’s self-consciousness and Rune’s reaction to Addam’s blatant flirting just put icing on an already hilarious and thought-provoking cake. I admire narratives where humor can share page space with deeper issues, like trauma and rape. It’s a very delicate craft, and I think Edwards handled it deftly.

The vivid world-building was another thing that drew me in and kept me reading. I actually really enjoy well-done archetypes, and the whole Atlantean society was based on a Tarot deck. I know very little about Tarot, just enough to realize there was a whole lot of subtext flying over my head, but with Rune’s descriptions, I fell in love with the world. With its privileged scions, its powerful Arcana, and its seedy underbelly, New Atlantis felt like a video game I wanted to explore with Rune as my guide. Fun fact, the Atlanteans actually took abandoned building from around the world to build their city, so not only do you get some spectacular architecture, you get some pretty cool history compressed into each new setting. I’m really excited to see even more of New Atlantis in the second book, The Hanged Man.

Unfortunately, the flip side of the worldbuilding ended up being one of my main complaints. There were times when it felt too frenetic, with too many moving parts to get a hold of. Every time I felt like I had a good grasp of the magic system, another term or concept was introduced that never really got explained. Sigils were certainly a cool way to put limits on what seemed like an unlimited power, but I’m still not clear on what the difference was between a sigil and a cantrip. There were times that I only knew what was possible or impossible because a character would very helpfully exclaim, “But that’s impossible.” And certain questions I had from the beginning were never answered or got glossed over. All in all, the world felt huge and complex, but I feel like I only scratched the surface with a pen knife when I really wanted a jackhammer.

In Conclusion: Despite my complaints, I could not put it down. I love Rune. And Brand. And Addam and Max and Quinn and the Tower. I will definitely be picking up the next book, hoping it answers some of those huge questions that were left hanging. This one should appeal to anyone who likes magic and humor alongside gritty detective stories. Although, fair warning, there are some mature conversations about rape and sex after trauma that might not be for everyone.