The Discord of Gods

The fifth and final book in Jenn Lyons' A Chorus of Dragons, The Discord of Gods marks the end of our heroes' journeys in their quest to stop Relos Var and his plans to destroy the universe. As Lyons puts it, "the end times have come." This time around, there's a sense of finality hanging in the air. This is Kihrin's last chance to thwart Xaltorath and Relos Var. There's no coming back from their choices this time. This is it. While the previous, albeit lackluster, installment had left me with my doubts, I can say that The Discord of Gods did not leave me disappointed.

Plot

This book starts with an intriguing chapter that highlights a timeline that starts from over fourteen thousand years ago, from the moment S'arric and Rev'arric came to settle in this world, right up to Kihrin's journey and eventual confrontation with Vol Karoth. This emphasizes, once again, that the events of A Chorus of Dragons are not just a local, petty squabble - but the outcome of something set in motion thousands of years ago.

Kihrin / Vol Karoth / S'arric are now one. And unfortunately for us and his lovers, that means he still does not have a living body.

Unlimited power turns out to be a lot more limiting than I'd expected. Someone should really revise the god-king tales to reflect that.

While the rest of the gang now starts taking the final steps of their plans to stop Xaltorath and Relos Var, Kihrin, still in Vol Karoth's exploding star form, remains busy with his own preparations. With half the Immortals dead and new people stepping into the empty roles, there are some consequences for our characters to face. While Tyensto, Kalindra, and Jarith deal with the effects of Warmonger on Quur, the rest of the gang - including the vané, Thurvishar, Senera, Janel, Teraeth, Qown, Sheloran, and Galen go about putting the final chess pieces into place.

One thing I have disliked throughout the series, and especially in this book, is how easy it is to bring people back to life. Somehow, no one's death feels real. This is one of the things that made the ending hit not hard enough.

Coming to the very end of the book, the final chapters are a series of scenes that do tie up the plot threads logically. I do know it can be hard to do that, given how many different characters and storylines are featured in this book, but the ending did make sense. This is an advantage of how technical the magical system is, with its clearly laid out rules, culminating in a climax that concludes the main plots neatly. Unfortunately, the ending is not without its issues.

After a horrifying revelation early on in the book, the stakes should have felt much higher. After overcoming so much and encountering all kinds of nasty villains, our characters have finally reached the ultimate stages of their years-long quest. So it felt a bit underwhelming when the very final ending was way too simple a conclusion. After going through hundreds of pages, I thought it would be a little less... anti-climatic? I was expecting a bit more, but it ended quite abruptly. Moreover, we don't get to see a lot of the aftermath of the final showdown. Most series do have a chapter or two that take place sometime after the climatic event, to examine the effects of the ending on the characters. I just wanted more closure for the beautiful relationships Lyons had built, but I guess we will never get that.

Characters

Tyentso, Kalindra, Jarith

Tyentso is a great character. She was one of my favorites from The Ruin of Kings, even more so when she became the empress. So imagine my disappointment when she spends all her time running around the empire, dealing with plots that feel like small fry compared to what Kihrin and the gang are doing. I still do not see the relevance of her, Kalindra, and Jarith's storyline even after spending so much time on it since the last installment. It just felt like a separate story. Moreover, the story introduced some minor villains for them in this book, but they hardly seemed dangerous enough to pose a real threat.

Kihrin, Janel, Teraeth

These three have a fantastic dynamic, and it makes my little heart happy whenever we have them all on the same page. I love the unyielding trust they all have in each other - no matter what, they always stand by each other and back them up.

And when it comes to a contest between Kihrin and Vol Karoth, or Kihrin and Relos Var, or Kihrin and the rest of the whole fucking universe, I will bet on Kihrin every time, and I will win. You forget that at your peril.

Somehow, nothing comes as close to their scenes in The Memory of Souls. I really wish we had gotten more of them in the last two books, where the focus has really shifted away from the main characters. However, Lyons does utilize the time we have with them well.

Xaltorath and Relos Var

Beginning as the wicked, deceptive Suless and ending up as a monstrous demon queen, Xaltorath has had quite a journey. You gotta admire the girl, she has ambition. Even Relos Var fears her. The House of Always gave us an interesting reveal about her and the Devoran Prophecies, and this book builds up on that.

Relos Var shows up a lot more in this book, and there's never a dull scene with him around. I have loved Lyons' portrayal of him as the villain. He is not evil just for the sake of it but truly believes that what he is doing is completely right, which makes him all the more terrifying.

These were the last few moves of the whole game, the crescendo to a musical score that Relos Var had been building for over a thousand years. This was when he was most dangerous. Now, Relos Var would lie. Now, Relos Var would kill. Now, Relos Var was capable of anything.

The others

I loved how Senera, although annoying at first, has grown on me throughout the series. She and Thurvisher complement each other perfectly in a beautiful relationship, similar to Galen and Sheloran's platonic love or Terindel and Valathea's passionate marriage. Lyons did make some great couples. Mightily empowered with quite a few resources at their disposal, a lot of the characters have come pretty far in their journeys. Once again, I wanted some more closure with how some of their relationships turned out after the end of the book.

Worldbuilding

This book spends a lot of time finally tackling the questions we have been asking since The Ruin of Kings. Where do demons come from? What are demons? How do Xaltorath's plans actually work? What are Relos Var's true intentions? It was delightful to finally get those answers, unearthing truths that have not seen the light of day for thousands of years.

S'arric was popular. Rev'arric was smart. Eventually, Rev'arric came to loathe that difference.

I also loved how prominently the dragons featured in this installment (and the series as a whole) and how closely they tied into the existing magic system. There are some very epic scenes with dragons towards the end. All I can say is, A Chorus of Dragons has definitely earned its name :)

As a whole, I have had the most fun with the magic system of this entire series. I'm a fan of what Lyons has done with the usual tropes of the chosen one, and how she turned the concept of prophecies upside down with this one. All along, I've always enjoyed reading about all the rituals and soul-swapping, about the dragons and the cornerstones, about the creation of immortals and their artifacts.

I do feel that there are some aspects of the worldbuilding which could have been used better. For instance - what about the other houses of Quur? What do those families do? What about other demons, apart from Xaltorath? I feel that there is still a lot of the world to be explored, but maybe Lyons would consider returning to the universe one day for a spin-off?

Writing Style

The prose remains as witty and evocative as ever. Let me share this really impactful quote that lives in my head rent-free.

"Power is a mountain, Senera. A mountain that humanity climbs to feel safe or give our lives meaning or, I don't know, just bolster our self-esteem. People will never stop climbing, never stop trying to be the one who reaches the top. Never stop trying to make sure that no one else can climb up there and throw them rolling back down. And yet, someone always does. I'm not saying it's wrong to fight them, but keep doing it the way you are, and the inevitable result is that you're going to look down one day and realize the person at the top of the mountain is you. And then you'll have to ask yourself if all the bodies you climbed over to get there were justified. If all the deaths were worth it. If the answer is yes, then you'll have simply replaced what you were fighting. And if the answer is no, then what the hell were you even doing?"

The Discord of Gods is the only book in the series that follows a completely linear narration. Although the different narrative styles are sometimes hit and miss, thankfully, this one makes it pretty easy to follow the plotline, which already has a lot going on with it.

Honestly, the first part of the book felt somewhat slow. After a few hundred pages, things do speed up significantly. Unfortunately, the pacing problem persists - things were just happening, one after the other, and too quickly for the characters to breathe.

In Conclusion

A Chorus of Dragons is a series that explores the ideas of fate, destiny, and how far you can go to achieve your goals, even if it comes at a huge personal cost. Its villains are capricious and merciless, without any boundaries to their cruelty. Often dark at times, this is not a series for the faint-hearted. While it has had its ups and downs, it is a beast of its own. It makes its readers work for it.

The ending was bittersweet. While it seemed logical enough, it did come off as a bit underwhelming given the scope of this grand series. I felt a pang of sadness when I finally reached the last page and got to The End. We've been on a hell of a ride with this cast of characters and their crazy adventures. It is hard to say goodbye to Kihrin, Janel, Teraeth, and Thurvisher. I'll miss them - and even miss the crazy immortals, demons, and kings and queens.

I'll always look back at my time reading this chaotic adventure with fondness :) If you don't mind some pacing issues while reading five HUGE books but love complex worldbuilding and lovable, chaotic, characters trying to navigate a world full of politics, magic, and danger, this is the series for you.