The Discord of Gods
by Jenn Lyons
Tor, 2022

Our story starts a little over four months previously. Also, four years previously. And four hundred years previously…and four thousand years…and fourteen thousand years.

Let’s work our way forward.

So begins The Discord of Gods, the fifth and final book in Jenn Lyons’ impressive debut fantasy series “A Chorus of Dragons.” What began as a quaint story about a young boy who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time has grown into an epic narrative spanning an entire continent, as well as time and space. With this final installment the stakes have never been higher.

Vol Karoth’s prison is no more, and Relos Var is finally making his move to end the world and imbue himself with the power of the gods. The Empire of Quur is hanging on by a thread as rebellions and riots rage across the land. The Empress of Quur is trying to get a handle on things before they spiral further out of control. The world is also still reeling from the events at the end of The Memory of Souls. Meanwhile, the demon prince Xaltorath is rampaging around causing havoc because they can. So Kihrin and his friends—yes, okay, and some of his enemies—have their work cut out for them.

Gods, dragons, demons, reincarnation, mimics, kraken, political turmoil, pirates. There’s a lot going on in this series and The Discord of Gods does precious little to catch readers up because as one character puts it, “…we’re not going to explain everything. We don’t have time. There is a lot going on right now.” There is so much happening. It feels like the author put everything into this series that she’s ever wanted to write about. This almost never works. “A Chorus of Dragons” is an exception to that rule. It all works. Everything included in the series is important to the story. Everything comes together at the end, even if readers—and the characters themselves—don’t understand every little detail. It would be easy for anyone to get lost writing a series of this magnitude and leave a thread behind. But Jenn Lyons doesn’t.

“A Chorus of Dragons” has always been about a specific point in the history of the world its set in—namely the time Vol Karoth escaped his prison and Relos Var tried to end the world—and about the people most involved in this event. The Discord of Gods wraps up enough of the main storyline to satisfy readers without answering all their questions about the world. The book, and its in-world writers Thurvishar and Senera, are not interested in expanding the story far beyond the events directly related to Relos Var’s attempt to seize power for himself. And that’s a good thing. The narrow narrative focus is what prevents the story from feeling entirely too overwhelmed with different plots, characters, and themes. Sure, the narrative sometimes takes the scenic route, especially in the earlier volumes, but it always comes back around to this one event.

Like most of the books in the series, the pacing of The Discord of Gods is brisk, which is only enhanced by the short chapters and multiple points of view. The book churns through plot. And it needs to, since there’s a lot of ground to cover. But after the emotional, character-driven, horror-filled previous installment in the series, The House of Always, this book feels like it moves even faster. This is going to work for some people, and absolutely not work for others. Then again, if you’ve made it this far in the series, it probably doesn’t matter.

The humor and sarcasm present in the earlier volumes remain a big part of the story. After all, just because the characters are facing the probable end of the world doesn’t mean they can’t have a sense of humor about it. But as entertaining as Kihrin’s friends and enemies are, the story has to end with him. What began with a young boy stumbling upon something he shouldn’t have must end with that same young man deliberately walking toward danger to save his friends. He is the Frodo to Relos Var’s Sauron. And like Frodo, Kihrin needs his friends to help him reach Mount Doom. Each of his companions has a role to play, but the success or failure of the mission rests with Kihrin himself.

The Discord of Gods is a satisfying ending to this epic fantasy series. Full of wit and levity in the face of unsurmountable odds. It’s a series that rewards patience and perseverance and it sets a high bar for Jenn Lyons to clear with her next project.

—Amberlee Venters is a freelance editor and writer living in Northern California.