The Great Atlantean Battle Royalchemy

The Tarot Sequence #2.7

by K.D. Edwards

Taking place before the events of The Hourglass Throne, The Great Atlantean Battle Royalchemy follows Rune, Brand, and Max as they investigate a threat to peace among the ruling Arcana, all while Rune serves as a celebrity judge for an Atlantean alchemy competition.

The compiled version is available for free on the author's website in PDF, MOBI, and ePUB versions.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Magic, LGBT, Queer, Novella, M M Romance

73 pages, ebook

First published April 18, 2022

About the author

Author of the Tarot Sequence and the Tales from New Atlantis. Published by Pyr. Reader of Sci-Fi/Fantasy, YA, Mystery, Graphic Novels, and LGBT+.

Reviews

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mystery was a little weak, but the exchanges between the characters were great as usual and I liked the parts about Max and Layne. I’m adding an extra star because it was blessedly and almost completely kids-free and Addam-free.

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, the "mystery" was pretty lukewarm. I was waiting for a twist, but there wasn't one, lol. But it was still fun to spend more time with Rune, Brand and Max. I really love how they're incorporating Max into their family and really treating him like a younger brother. Max deserves a family who loves him and appreciates him. 🥰 And I really like that he and Layne have someone their own age to talk to, or even just not talk to but know that other person understands.

I missed Addam though. Not so much Corbie and Anna, lol. It was nice to get away from the influx of kids after rereading the last two short stories so close together.

And I think there were a couple of hints of what's to come in Book 3. Not sure if we'll see more of Ewa, the lady from Max's court, in that one or not. But I doubt this is the last we'll see of Geoffrey. And I completely forgot that Addam still doesn't know about Geoffrey's part in Christian's death. Bro, Rune, you do NOT keep secrets like that from your boyfriend. 😠 Then again, Addam hasn't come clean yet on what exactly he overheard at the end of the first book either, so there's that. Am I supposed to assume he overhead nothing more than that little tidbit? Because I'll be very surprised if that's so. I am already spoiled for one reveal, but it's been fun seeing how a certain someone is poking fun at another certain someone about a certain something. 😉

These short stories really have helped the wait between books 2 and 3, but I'm ready to see what exactly this big horrible secret is that Rune's been hiding (and really, really, really hoping it's not as horrible as the theory I've come up with. Because that would be ... there are no words). 🙈

Is it May 17th yet?

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just fucking read this series already you slags

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a delight. I love this world and characters too much. I can't barely wait for book 3 to be out and to put my paws on it, but this made the waiting sweeter.
I liked the story despite the mystery was a bit obvious. And I'm very intrigued by Ewa and her alchemy, and the fact that there's no alchemist on Rune's Court. I hope we see more of her in later books. I even wondered if she was Matthias mom or was related to her someway... I'd love to see if my suspicions go somewhere. I also liked how protective Brand has become of Addam and I love Rune's and Addam relationship (no surpirses here). I missed him here, but I also liked that this was focused in Max, Brand and Rune and how their brotherly relationship is growing. The kids in here almost didn't make an appearance, and I was truly grateful for that. The less page time Anna has, the better. I need her to hurry up and grow already.
Some days ago, I was spoiled about Ciaran's true self, but I don't really mind, I liked to see the little hints in here. I love his character and I'm looking forward to the moment everything would be revealed.
This was a fantastic treat to wait for book 3, and I loved to share my reading time with my fellow BReader friends. And, I missed that the author included here his traditional Brand's disclaimer, that's always fun to read.

[Drakoulis · Rating 5 out of 5]

More Tarot Sequence content? Sign me in !

The Great Atlantean Battle Royalchemy is a novella (that started as a short story but when KD Edwards start writing a "short" story it grows on the way and I am absolutely fine with it) giving more insight to the frail balance and relationships between various groups in Atlantean society, is full of funny and heartfelt moments between our main characters, gives hints for future plotlines and expands the already amazing worldbuilding!

Cherry on top, more Max content !

I'm counting the days until The Hourglass Throne comes out !

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one. It was nice to get a part from Max’s pov & it was blessedly Anna & Corbie free.

Short story available on the author’s website.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to immediately admit I thought this was a story about the teens at school, and it took me longer than I will ever admit to realise this was actually a riff on the Great British Bake Off. The internal scandal I went through in that moment!

I say the same thing every time but these side stories give you everything you want from free side content - rich character interactions, small moments of growth, big moments of growth, fabulous side character appearances, fun world building, some sly hints at what’s about to happen next, and even some creative spell casting! Just like the main series every moment feels like it’s bursting with something interesting, and seeing some new perspectives this time is a big win! The funniest part hands down is how right at the end Rune asks each side character if they’re going to reveal their secret, and one by one they smile, look directly into the camera and flip us off before walking right out of the scene. It’s the kind of audacity you can only get away with on one of these side stories, but oh does it work! I still don’t know if I wanted to scream or laugh, but somewhere in the middle works well enough for me!

[Meagan (FranticVampireReads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always love when Rune says yes to something before actually realizing what it entails. It just adds to all the other shenanigans that the gang gets into. I also loved that we got to see more of Layne in this one. Oh! And we got a chapter from Max’s POV!! I can’t wait to see more from him. He’s such a sweetheart and his perspective on Rune and Brand’s relationship is so interesting! All in all this was a good place to end before jumping into The Hourglass Throne and it’s getting a solid four stars.

[David Allenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in 3 hours. Such a fun short read.

[Indira Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's so gooooood.
Everybody should have an author like KD Edwards.

[Nick Vallina (MisterGhostReads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect little novella to bridge the gap before The Hourglass Throne.

I just love these characters SO much. Reading this was such a lovely little group hug with all of my friends.

[Loulou · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this, thank you for making it available. It was a joy to read!

These short stories always manage to be silly, funny and then serious, adding more depth to Rune's world and hinting at the courts we've yet to meet.

I also love that no matter what, the whole of Rune and Brand's family inevitably manages to get involved and turn up unscheduled.

Corbie makes me howl, I love how he's got Lord Tower wrapped round his finger! I really hope we see more of Ewa and her battle alchemy.

[F Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The very definition of a fun romp with lots of new tidbits to grow the mythology and character development.

[blackbirds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect thing to read to get back into Rune's world before the next book is out! I missed these characters and I can't wait!

[AMK · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun, tho more in a come for the banter and favorite characters than stay for the actual “mystery” way. But who could complain about having more Rune & Brand antics?

[Bluenikko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read from my favorite author! Love the exchange between Brand and Rune!! Can't wait for the next book!

[Kassu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brand and Rune looked at each other, doing that weird freaky ESP thing. They could be thinking about murder or cheese, you never knew.

Another extra story with a plot. Enjoyable but not as good as The Sunken Mall, or possibly I was just getting a bit frustrated with the extra stories, not getting to the third main novel.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun novella. Thank you again to the author for publishing this free of charge.

This story was a little different. I’d say it was more a mystery but with additional character building. Definitely recommend if you are reading the main series of books.

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.25 stars) I'm glad that I waited for the entire story to be out because I don't know how I would have survived waiting from chapter to chapter. This was a novella set in-between The Hanged Man and The Hourglass Throne where Rune is set to be a guest judge on a show about an alchemy competition. Of course, nothing is simple in the lives of the Sun Court, so things get suspicious very quickly. I just love these characters so much and their chemistry is so important to me. I particularly liked the kids in this one, as we get some extra Max and Layne with a surprise Max POV chapter which was delightful. Basically, this was a great little appetizer for the next novel coming soon. I can't wait!

[Rozarka · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best thing about this novella is that we could see more of Max, I missed him.

The second best thing was Ciaran, of course :)

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason I had in my head this was going to be the kids participating in some kind of school related tournament, (I am not remotely interested in tournament/contest stories) so I didn't read it immediately and forgot about it until the reference to a character introduced here in The Eidolon. Either that or I opened it and was irritated the font was hardcoded and decided to put it off till I could get around to fixing the ebook file. idk. Honestly I completely forgot it existed until the reference in The Eidolon.

Anyway, it was not that at all. I mean, there is a tournament thing, but none of our MCs are participants and it's Rune's POV (mainly). As others have mentioned the mystery aspect was a little too straightforward, but it was fun nonetheless.

Need to check if the "Holiday" one needs any css fixes before I slap that on the ereader.

[Mary Soon Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, but not quite as enjoyable (for me) as the other Tarot Sequence fiction, short or long. This may well be due to my own mood today and not anything to do with the story. I continue to love these characters, most especially Rune, Brand, and the bond between them.

About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick little side story that expands on my new favorite series, so I'm already invested, but it's also structured like the Great British Bake-Off, but with more assassination attempts. I assume anyway; I've never watched much of the Bake-Off series. Very funny, very fast-paced little story that also drops some intrigue that will probably become very relevant in the next books of the main line series. Worth a read; I actually read all of the short stories in a day. I always wish they were longer, but it's kind of refreshing to read something short that you can finish quickly.

[Calypso · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another freebie novella, available on the author's website. I read it because I came across a review of book 3 that said that the story progresses in these novellas and they are referenced in Book 3. I've no idea how crucial they might turn out to be, but otherwise this was pointless and I'd recommend it only to hardcore fans.

[Shymsal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in preparation for "The Hourglass Throne" coming out soon. It was great to visit with Rune and Co. again! As usual, I loved the snark and I loved the way Brand and Rune work together ... though the Grinch in me wants the Corbie cuteness to calm down a bit. (I have to admit that the Tower with the stuffed penguin was a cute visual, though...) Can't wait for the new book!

[K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I still love Rune and Brand, but those kids...

[Angela Boord · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love the characters, I don’t even care what they do ☺️

[Liara · Rating 4 out of 5]

so so fun

[Brook · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun adventure in a world I love and with characters I can't get enough of. Lots of great banter and little world- and character-building details. A lovely little interlude.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting short entry into the Tarot world, set a few months after the holiday short story collection. Here, we see Rune beginning to grow into his Arcana status, Brand both loosening up a bit and becoming more vigilant, and Max (their ward/brother from the Heart dominion) beginning to grow into himself. The other major characters have some token presence in this one, but the trio is the center of this story. It seems every year the Hex Arcana throws an alchemy competition and airs it - think of it like a cooking competition, with guest judges, etc. At some time prior to the opening of this Rune said "yes" to guest judging the finale before realizing what it involved or telling Brand et al about it. Well flash forward to the day before they depart for the competition (held in a translocated and converted Russian missile, naturally,) Lord Tower alerts Rune and Brand that there's been a very credible threat against the competition. So now they're also investigating the trio of remaining contestants, staff, other judges, and a herd of interns all named Brian.

I felt this was somewhat weaker entry in the series. The mystery really wasn't mysterious. The alchemy portions (thankfully brief) weren't that interesting. Some of the magic descriptions were good. The character interactions were fascinating, especially when they stand behind each other. The Saint Johns are a solid unit and they back their family and friends wholly.

That said, this gets knocked down one star (to three) because I was irritated by the very sudden character POV shifts in mid-narrative. One paragraph would be Rune's first person narrative, the next would suddenly be following Brand or Max's second person POV. This threw me out of the story at least twice.

Three stars. As always, the author posts his short stories on his website for reading.