THE HANGED MAN by K.D. Edwards – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Hanged Man by K.D. Edwards
Series: The Tarot Sequence #2
Published by Pyr Books on December 17 2019
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 386
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A thrilling and satisfying follow-up to The Last Sun, The Hanged Man proves that K.D. Edwards is the real deal. The story shines with unique and complex world-building, stellar writing, and a fast-paced plot that is rounded out with humor and heart-felt emotional moments. I didn’t want the book to end!

I had Air and Fire, Shield and Jump. I had spells to protect my skin and skeletal structure, Everything I needed to leap between buildings like the little god I was supposed to be.

Last year I fell hard for K.D. Edwards’ debut, The Last Sun, and I could hardly wait to dive back into his Tarot card inspired fantasy world. Sequels are often tough to get right, but K.D. succeeds with flying colors, I’m happy to say. The Hanged Man takes all the good stuff from the first book—complex but lovable characters, exciting world-building, humor and excellent pacing—and builds on all those things, delivering another stellar entry into his series.

Note: mild spoilers for The Last Sun ahead!

For readers who are new to the series, The Tarot Sequence centers around the lives of the Scions, men and women who rule the courts of New Atlantis and are named after the twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana of the Tarot (although they will tell you that Tarot cards are based on them!) The Scions use powerful magic in the form of sigils, magic spells that are harnessed and stored in things like weapons and jewelry until the user needs them. The Hanged Man picks up soon after the events of the last book. When the story begins, Rune and Brand are dealing with the fact that Rune’s ward Max—against his will—has been forced into a marriage contract with the Hanged Man, a murderous and predatory member of the Arcana. In addition to that, Rune has been contacted by his friend Corrine Dawncreek, whose son Layne is missing. Rune and Brand suspect that the Hanged Man might have something to do with that as well, especially when they learn that Layne has a particularly rare magical ability, something the Hanged Man might want to get his hands on.

As Rune and Brand go from one clue to the next looking for Layne, they are aided by Quinn, Max, Lord Tower and many others. But the Hanged Man always seems to be one step ahead, and it’s going to take ingenuity—and magic, of course—to track him down.

And that’s really just the bare bones of the plot, which is much more complex and interesting than I’ve made it sound! I had forgotten just how much I love these characters, and jumping back into this well-written series was simply a joy. 

There are plenty of high stakes in this story, which means lots of tension, which in turn means that readers will never be bored. First, there’s the fact that Max seems to be stuck in an unbreakable marriage contract with the Hanged Man, and Rune and Brand are furiously trying to figure out how to get him out of it. What makes that so interesting is that they are looking for a legal way to free Max from the contract, although with Brand you just know that if violence becomes necessary, there is nothing that will stop him from using brute force.  Next, the disappearance of Layne and the struggle to find him before the Hanged Man can do terrible things to him is a major driving force in the story. I found both these story lines to be extremely anxiety-inducing, which is one reason I tore through this book so quickly.

K.D. also gives us a couple of side plots that, while not critical to the action, add additional layers to the story. Rune continues to obsess over the terrible abuse he suffered when the Sun Court was decimated, and I see this as an ongoing quest of Rune’s, to finally identify the people responsible and bring them to justice. And then there’s Quinn, who has the gift of prophecy, but he’s young and awkward and doesn’t really understand tact. This means that he drops prophecy bombs throughout the story that either make no sense or open up new possibilities for the characters. In fact, Quinn reveals a couple of shocking prophecies at the end of the book that literally made me gasp! I love that the author leaves breadcrumbs leading into the next book, which is a smart way to make sure your readers are 100% invested in your series.

I talked a lot about K.D.’s world-building skills in my review of The Last Sun, and once again, he’s come up with some amazing ideas. By far my favorite is the Green Docks, a hidden, magical place full of bars and brothels, made up of translocated boats and ships from all over the world. Imagine an actual ship from history that mysteriously vanished or was destroyed but never found. And then imagine that some powerful Atlantean found it and “translocated” it to New Atlantis. These stolen, historical artifacts make up the Green Docks, and Rune and Brand go to there to look for Layne and end up having some incredible adventures, which involve (among other things) fairies, magical drugs, ghosts, mermen, fantastical sea creatures, torture devices and more. As dangerous as the Green Docks were, I wanted to spend more time there, and I’m hoping K.D. revisits this setting in future books.

And one of the best things about this series? The characters. Yes, the world building is stunning, but it wouldn’t be worth a hill of beans if it weren’t rounded out with three dimensional, flesh and blood characters. K.D.’s characters continue to grow and move forward in The Hanged Man, and their relationships become more complex. Rune and Brand are still my favorites, and their relationship is definitely moving in a certain direction that I can’t talk about, but wow. Add Addam into the mix and you get a whole heap of tension! We’re introduced to the Dawncreek family, and Corrine and Anna Dawncreek in particular are set to play important roles in the next book. And of course, the Scions themselves, the rulers of the Arcana, are always interesting. Lord Tower has become a favorite character of mine, although I’m not sure I trust him completely. And Lady Death is a new character who I’m hoping comes back in the next book. I was happy to see a few really strong female characters this time around, something that was missing in the first book. And I can’t leave out Max and Quinn, who not only act as the comic relief in this story (at times), but have their own personal journeys and challenges. I love them both and I just want to give them a hug!

One thing’s for sure: the world of the Tarot Sequence is deep and complex, and if this book is anything to go by,  K.D. Edwards has barely scratched the surface. His ultimate goal is to publish a total of nine books in this world (three series with three books each), which makes this reader very happy. If you have yet to start this series, I would advise jumping in as soon as possible. This series is only going to get better, and trust me, you do not want to be left behind.

Big thanks to the publisher and K.D. Edwards for supplying a review copy. Above quote is from an uncorrected proof and may differ in the final version of the book.

And watch this space, because I have an interview with K.D. coming soon!

Read my review of The Last Sun