The Last Sun was far removed from my milieu until my friend Jules started gushing about it. In a game of queer telephone, their friend loved the series, got Jules to read it, and Jules talked about it so much that I wanted to read the Tarot Sequence so I could know what they’re talking about it. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve received a book rec this way, and I’m really glad I answered the call. Despite some problems, The Last Sun was a comforting read.

The Masquerade has long since fallen, and it’s all because of the mages. A cataclysm of a world war made it impossible for the magical denizens to hide any longer. After the fighting destroyed their hidden hometown of Atlantis, mages up and moved to Nantucket, Massachusetts—by which I mean they literally teleported entire buildings from famous cities, infrastructure and all, to a tiny island off the USA East Coast. If this sounds a tad mad, imagine having first hand knowledge of mage politics’ lethality, like Rune St. John. Nowadays, this last Scion of the Sun House is a private investigator and mercenary struggling to pay his cable bill. When he receives an assignment to find a missing heir, Rune gets a lot more than he bargained for as he’s plunged once again into this magical game of thrones.

The Last Sun ticks a lot of boxes for me. It’s urban fantasy, for one, and mage society is queer-normative, for another. The motif of the Arcana is a big yes. Rune has a queerplatonic life partner named Brand, who reminds me a lot of Bucky Barnes, whomst I adore. Brand serves as Rune’s Companion, and the concept behind Companions intrigues me greatly. Basically, they’re humans who are raised alongside mage children, act as the mage’s bodyguard, and share an emotional telepathy with their assigned mage. Think the bond between married Vulcans, or maybe Sentinel and Guide. Except the Guide’s the one with superpowers and the Sentinel broods over them like a hen, haha. Anyway, I love that shit.

Overall, the world-building could use some tightening. The Last Sun’s pace is quite quick, and the action is pretty non-stop. Reading a fast-paced urban fantasy was refreshing, and Edwards slips in relevant world-building as needed. However, it got a little annoying that by the end of the book, I still didn’t know all the relevant lore. Some world-building points also raised questions. Do all mages need Companions and sigils? The government consists of a Convocation, Arcana Houses, Domains, and Thrones—how does that work? I texted Jules to ask, but other readers don’t have that luxury.

There’s an incredibly confusing sentence on page 16: “We’re a society, after all, that embraces the idea of group marriage, that finds pure heterosexuality as abnormal as pure homosexuality.” The tone of the sentence made me think Edwards wanted this to be a “Yay!” moment—yay, gay is okay!—but I instead made a “eugh” noise. Saying people must prove their bisexuality…isn’t very queer-positive at all. It seems like Edwards wanted a queer-positive society, but also to discuss homophobia when convenient. For example, the rumor mill calls Rune the “Catamite Prince” for his close relationship to the older Lord Tower. Initially, my pure-of-heart, dumb-of-ass brain thought the rumor teased Rune for being a bottom who likes DILFs, and Edwards wrapped it up in a dildo joke. Rune sure likes those heavenly pillars lol. Later, I figured out the rumors were meant to be negative, for the usual reasons “catamite” is a negative term. 

In addition, Edwards sacrificed a heavier focus on character—Rune, Brand, and their friends are very cool and I wanted to spend more time with them. The Tarot Sequence is supposed to be nine books, and thank God. I wanted more scenes like Brand and Rune in the shower. I’m told the white man sausage fest eases in later books too. Good, because I love women.

The Last Sun does struggle, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. If you’re looking for an Adult gay urban fantasy with mages, I highly recommend the Tarot Sequence. The Hanged Man waits for me at the library.