The Discord of Gods

A Chorus of Dragons #5

by Jenn Lyons

The Discord of Gods marks the epic conclusion to Jenn Lyons's Chorus of Dragon series, closing out the saga that began with The Ruin of Kings, for fans of Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss.

The end times have come.

Relos Var's final plans to enslave the universe are on the cusp of fruition. He believes there's only one being in existence that might be able to stop him: the demon Xaltorath.

As these two masterminds circle each other, neither is paying attention to the third player on the board, Kihrin. Unfortunately, keeping himself classified in the "pawn" category means Kihrin must pretend to be everything the prophecies threatened he'd become: the destroyer of all, the sun eater, a mindless, remorseless plague upon the land. It also means finding an excuse to not destroy the people he loves (or any of the remaining Immortals) without arousing suspicion.

Kihrin's goals are complicated by the fact that not all of his "act" is one. His intentions may be sincere, but he's still being forced to grapple with the aftereffects of the corrupted magic ritual that twisted both him and the dragons. Worse, he's now tied to a body that is the literal avatar of a star - a form that is becoming increasingly, catastrophically unstable. All of which means he's running out of time.

After all, some stars fade - but others explode.

Genres: Fantasy, Adult, High Fantasy, Dragons, Audiobook, Epic Fantasy, Fiction

528 pages, Hardcover

First published April 26, 2022

About the author

Jenn Lyons lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, three cats, and a lot of opinions on anything from the Sumerian creation myths to the correct way to make a martini. At various points in her life, she has wanted to be an archaeologist, anthropologist, architect, diamond cutter, fashion illustrator, graphic designer, or Batman. Turning from such obvious trades, she is now a video game producer by day, and spends her evenings writing science fiction and fantasy. When not writing, she can be founding debating the Oxford comma and Joss Whedon’s oeuvre at various local coffee shops.

Reviews

[Megan ❀ · Rating 5 out of 5]

So ya girl was right (see below).

Pre-release review:

Me thinking about this book, knowing it's going to straight up assassinate me:

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very satisfying conclusion to the series that manages to tie up a lot of loose ends, and offers yet more revelations about the nature of the world and the being that populate it. It even ended relatively happily for the characters I was most invested in! I do feel like this is a series that would reward re-reading with close attention to detail and I'm certain I've missed things. Especially because there are so many characters and complexities it's difficult to keep track of. That said, I overall love the series and the world. It's great if you're looking for this kind of fantasy with some queer characters and interesting commentary on gender. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

[Andrei(Drusca) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good conclusion to the series that manages to tie up a lot of loose ends.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Discord of Gods is the final (!!) book in the Chorus of Dragons series. The stakes are higher than ever as plots are slotting into place and both Relos Var and Xaltorath are getting ready to enact their final plans to try and destroy the world. It is up to Kihrin, Janel, Tereath and co to try and save everyone without losing their humanity in the process. Just as chaotic, epic and satisfying as its predecessors in the series this is a finale that will not let you down!

I can't believe the series is over - it is honestly one of my favourite fantasy series (I don't think it is quite a top 5 place but very close) and is such a comfort series for me at this point. The prose is very easy to read and while the earlier books in the series are a little confusing by the time you are this far in things just make sense (or you are insane enough to understand them) and you completely fly through the book (I read it in about 2 days haha - rip revision). Out of all 5 books I think this is the one I just could not put down - the plot is literally non-stop and you just have to know what happens next!

Ultimately I think what makes this series a favoruite for me is the characters. By this stage in the series we have a big main cast with lots of POVs but I honestly love them all (even Relos Var lol T___T) and was excited for every single characters story throughout the book. My favourites are Kihrin/Janel/Tereaeth (obvs) and Galen/Qown/Sheloran. We don't get loads of character development in this book (I feel like that was book 4's role) but I love the dynamics between all the characters and Jenn Lyons is great at writing banter.

It's always kind of hard to talk about sequels in spoiler free reviews haha but just know that I loved so many moments in this book, the first half is mainly putting chess pieces into place and trying to outsmart enemies and then the climax/final battle sequence is really satisfying and very well paced (as in it din't feel rushed or dragged out for too long).

The only thing I might have liked slightly more of would have been quieter character moments - this book is packed and a lot of stuff goes down meaning it has quite a breakneck pace and I would have loved some moments for characters to reflect and spend some calmer moments with one another (I think this is also probably a symptom of robin hobb ruining me for all other style of writing lol).

I was very happy with how everything ended up - I feel like it fit the overall tone of the series well and felt optimistic. I always like coming away from books (especially finales) feeling hopeful if a little bit emotionally wrecked.

In conclusion please read this series if you haven't already :) (and if you have already started then look forward to the final book because it is an excellent satisfying finale filled with all our favourite characters, action packed battles, shocking revelations and a healthy dose of chaos and banter)

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This was a solid conclusion to the Chorus of Dragons. This had the same elements that I loved in the previous books. The casts of characters were dynamic and the worldbuilding was lush.

My only disappointment is that the finale was a little underwhelming. I love a good punchy ending to a series and this book did not feel any more epic than the previous books. However I still enjoyed spending more time with the characters.

This series is silly, queer and filled with fun adventure. Admittedly, it's much lighter than the dark epic fantasy I am normally drawn towards, but this author is just such a great storyteller. I would recommend these gender queer stories to anyone who looking for an underhyped entertaining fantasy series.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

[Ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

*taps mic*
When this series ends, I might as well go with it



No but FR I AM SO READY AND NOT READY

[Sabrina au Barca · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I know it hurts. It won't hurt forever. I promise. It won't hurt forever."

ARE YOU FUCKING SURE, JANEL????????

I wish someone would throw me into the Nythrawl Wound so I don't have to feel anything anymore and can just explode to my heart's content.

Here's a visual representation of me trying to find the will to both live and write this review


Is it a bird? Is it a plane?
No, it's my soul leaving my body!

There are very very few books that have accomplished what The Chorus of Dragons series has: drawing me into the story so much that I know for a fact that even after years I will feel like I still haven't found my way back to reality again.
If you've been following me for any amount of time you know that this has instantly become my second all-time favourite series as soon as I finished reading Ruin of Kings back in 2020.

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.

Some aspects I really appreciated in this book:

- it managed to use curse words to their full potential without feeling like they were thrown into a sentence for funsies. They fit so well into the narrative (never thought I'd say that about words that are usually not supposed to do that lol) and gave characters such as Tyentso, Senera or even Therin that little extra edge that made them feel so much more alive and relatable (even though we can all agree that Tyentso was a bit of a bitch at some point or another).

- Also the wit and humour crack me up every single time. I wish I would be able to come up with half of the stuff Lyons does because I'd be the coolest person who'd have ever grazed the surface of the Earth but alas, I have to content myself with cackling like a hyena and clapping my hands like a retarded seal while reading about the bowel movements of a magical tin robot thing.

- Jenn Lyons also managed to come up with some incredibly weird shit I never thought possible but that, at the same time, made so much sense??? (albeit sometimes in a weird way).

- The first 200 or so pages felt like nothing really happened while actually so much was happening. I've always preferred political scheming over physical action and the first half or maybe even 2/3 of the book really delivered on that front.

- High fantasy or epic fantasy or anything branch of that genre can be incredibly dense when it comes to lore, magic systems/any other system, world-building and the very extensive cast of characters. Jenn Lyons managed to give every single lore point, system, world-building aspect or character meaning and purpose. I can't think of any burning question I need answers for, no major lore or a past event that needed more explaining. It was actually the opposite: I was given answers to questions I didn't even think of asking. I was given the information I didn't even realise I needed, let alone I figured was important to the overall plot. Consider my mind blown.

- And something that I literally just realised: everything happened within a matter of days after the ending of the previous book. I know that's not really something special but it kind of is for me so that's that.

There is, however, one thing that put me off a bit. And that is the (very sudden) introduction to two new characters that also didn't seem to play much of a role in the greater scheme of things. I'm talking about Fayrin and Tave/Tyrin here. While they did serve their purposes in the few instances they were "needed" in the story, I wish we would've seen more of them and they would've had the chance to cement their place in the group. My hope is that we will see them in the next series? Please. P L E A S E

This conclusion was everything and more I could have hoped for and I sure as hell hope we will get more >:(

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Series Video Review: https://youtu.be/RylL5ESRb54

What an ending that has completely solidified this as one of my favorite series of all time. Do I wish I could have spent more time with my favorite characters, yes but I also read the last 250 pages in a 24 hour period, which I never do so honestly what more can I ask for from a climatic finish. I cannot wait to re-read this one day. Also for those who prefer the unique narrative frameworks this series has this one does not have one.

[Ash | Wild Heart Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now that is how you keep people seated til the very end. My heart was ready to give out multiple times. I'm never going to be able to let these characters go

Full review to come

[Lauren Lanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series name A Chorus of Dragons really came true with this finale….. those final few fight scenes (with dragons!!!) were awesome. This has got to be one of my favourite high-fantasy series, especially because it features an incredibly complex plot balanced out by a large cast of humorous and fiercely loveable characters.

Full review to come! :)

[Maja Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final book is A Chorus of Dragons! Can’t believe this series is already over!

While my enjoyment for this series and each individual book has had its ups and downs, I loved several of the characters. Kihrin is my child. I also took a high liking to Tereath and Tyentso. Thurvishar was pretty cool too. Janel I liked a lot but not a favourite.

Most of the ups and downs came down to the narrative of the plot. For book two I was annoyed getting almost the whole book as Janel’s backstory because I was very impatient getting on with the plot present time (I also at that time thought her backstory could have been comprised a lot, still think so). Book three did it much smoother because the “flashback” narrative wasn’t as in your face and the plot was also much more progressive. Book four was a mixed bag because I didn’t enjoy many of the flashbacks and the narration was bit all over the place.

The Discord of Gods, however, don’t follow the multi-timeline as the other books have. Sure, it’s chronicled, but uses no “flashbacks” or a “present” where the story is told to the reader. Since this is the last book, I wouldn’t have minded if it continued the narrative as the previous books.

Also, the footnotes kind of gave away from the start of the book that at least two of the characters would survive. That was a small issue through the whole series to be honest. Having characters commenting in the footnotes of the story being chronicled gives away that they are alive after the story been written.

I think I’m in a bit of a slump, and has been for quite a while. I thought this book would have taken me at most one week to read, since the other books has been quite easy to go through despite slumpy feelings. But his one took more than three weeks. I was so excited to get to this book, but when I finally did, I struggled so much getting into it. I felt the story was a bit all over the place at first with many characters and short chapters. But that could just come down to my slump and only reading sporadically. It took time getting into the book and when I finally did, life forced me away from the book. (ALSO another complaint was that for the majority of the book, it was very little Kihrin.) The book did get more solid further in.

I’m very happy I decided to pick up Ruin of Kings last year and I’m interested to see what Lyons will bring us after this.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm glad I kept going with this series. I was skeptical after book one, but the storytelling and worldbuilding here let me look past the confusion and 'Wait, what now?' moments to really enjoy myself, particularly in books three through five, when all the backstory telling is out of the way, and our main characters start to work together and uncover secrets. This last book is a non-stop rollercoaster ride of action. There are some nice character moments, and occasional moments of quiet, but for the most part, this is bouncing from character to character, fraught situation to fraught situation, and somehow the author makes it work. Like I have been with the last three of these books, confusion gave way to obsession, and I tore my way through this.

As you can see I have given this book five stars, which I think the author deserves. I think the way she handled the mess of detail and complicated character backstory and identities was admirable. Despite not being quite sure who was who, and why they were important at various times in the narrative, my emotions were always engaged, and the overall arc of the story was always clear and imperative. I also grew to love most of our final main group of characters, and really wanted them to be happy and have good lives (and second, third, fourth lives, and afterlives, etc.)

I was very unsure how this was going to end, but as the ending drew near I could feel the confidence in the narrative the author had, and felt safe enough to just barrel on through without looking up spoilers. What ended up happening makes a ton of sense in retrospect, and I'm actually more excited to re-read this whole series back to back next year than I was before.

The ending of the story also hints that there may be more stories set in this world, though this particular story is done. I would enjoy that! But I would also like to see what other wacky things Jenn Lyons could pull out of her brain.

[4.5 stars rounded up, because the author has earned it]

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I didn't think that The Discord of Gods was flawless, I still think that it was a fantastic ending to Jenn Lyons' A Chorus of Dragons series.

Link to full review:Here

My rating/score: 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads' rating system / 10 out of 10 on my own personal scoring system.

[Grace Dionne · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

What a thrilling conclusion! Jenn Lyons has created such a simultaneously wild, fun and intense fantasy series that was quite the fascinating experience

[Icarus · Rating 5 out of 5]

So.
This book.
Or more like, this series. Because this book is the finale of the best fantasy series I have ever read in my entire fucking life.
I’m going to try and structure this review, so that I don’t fall into a senseless ramble. Also, it’s going to be spoiler-free!
So:
1. The Worldbuilding
2. The Characters
3. Conclusion


1. The Worldbuilding
I have never seen worldbuilding like Lyon’s. It is so detailed, so realistic, so vibrant and lovely I want to just lay down and mentally escape to the continents Lyons inhabited with her characters.
The amount of work that must have gone into the complicated inner workings of this world are just insane to me.
Whenever you think you’ve figured out what this world was like, Lyons rips off another layer and you jaw drops to the floor. You don’t think: wow, that was so surprising, I can’t believe that happened, instead, once you’ve picked your jaw off of the floor, your thoughts will float around the question of how the fuck didn’t I see this from the start?
There are so many hints towards the making of the world of “A Chorus of Dragons” sprinkled in the first books, the beginnings of the story, that make you sit there, awestruck at the genius of Jenn Lyons.
Concepts that are introduced without much explanation in the beginning of the series, find reason in the end, not by actually being explained, but by the way of another concept being discovered, leaving the reader to connect the dots.
I had one moment, while reading this book where I let out an audible gasp, because I finally realised the meaning of the title of the whole series. The way that title makes sense for every single one of the books but gains so much meaning after reading the last instalment is just incredible.

As I am writing this review, I realise that I am struggling to find words to convey my feelings exactly. The one that comes to mind quickest is always: awe, so please forgive me if I overuse it here, it is just the feeling this series evoked in me most often.

To be honest, most of the 22 Sticky-Notes I put in my copy of “The Discord of Gods” pertain to the worldbuilding, both in the explicit sense as well as in the way it influences every decision and action of every single character.

Which brings me to me next point.

2. The Characters
Lyons started this series off with one main character and a small cast of kind-of-important side-characters. She ended it with a whole bunch of incredibly crafted characters with their own point of views and a host of side characters of which each and every one feels like their own person. This alone is an impressive feat to pull off while crafting a world as vibrant as Lyon’s. But it gets even better, because she did all this without introducing any new important character after the second book.
I never noticed this but by the time you’ve finished the second book, you know all the important characters by name, while knowing nothing about them as a person, really. That’s the part that develops so grippingly throughout the rest of the story.
If you look very closely, you can even find almost all of the important characters in the first book, explicitly or implicitly.
This was the case, even when with every book the world of “A Chorus of Dragons” seemed to keep on growing exponentially, with every single chapter revealing something new, something fresh that fit perfectly into the world created. But I don’t want to go back to rambling about the worldbuilding, amazing as it is, so I’ll try and focus on the actual characters.

Kihrin is incredible as ever, still one of my favourite main characters of all time. He goes through so much development, learns so much, has his life entangle with the memories of people he was or met in a different life. So much changes that you might want to say one can hardly recognise him. That wouldn’t be the truth though. Kihrin, that minstrel’s son from the first chapters of The Ruin of Kings still shines through. You can still spot him in every decision he makes, every word he says.
It is still very much Kihrin, just smarter, braver and older.

Janel changed less than Kihrin did, at least mentally. She is still the headstrong man we met at the beginning of The Name of All Things. She is still my idol and the only emotionally competent person in the trio. I love her to death. If I could visit Jorat and just talk to her for a while, all my life’s problems would be solved.
Okay, maybe not, but you get me.

Talea and Xivan, Jarith and Kalindra Just gave me a much-needed dose of serotonin as well as some yearning. Both of the pairs has the two sides of a grumpy, prickly murderer and their sunbeam of an significant other to keep them balanced. Even if Jarith’s light was dimmed a little somewhere along the series, it’s still a role he plays in their relationship. Their characters, their flaws, objectives and fears were so personal, that it seemed like they might get up and walk into the real world at any moment.

Thurvishar is still the nerd he always was, the friendly giant, the one you just want to have a cup of hot chocolate with and talk about nothing at all. Calm power personified. Not just magical power either, he exudes emotional strength and intense morality as well. Paired with is unfaltering belief in humanity he’s just a safe space.

Senera is maybe best described as the other side of Thurvishar’s coin. She’s done so many terrible things, that can’t be excused, not even with the fact that she was brainwashed since she’d been a child. But even if she’s a bad person, she is still a wonderful character. She’s some I wouldn’t trust to give me a lift to school, but who I would still lay my life down to save, whom I’d still trust to have my back.

The trio of Qown, Galen and Sheloran is still a constant source of happiness and also anxiety for their wellbeing. While technically, I am aware that they are older than me, through Janel and Kihrin I’ve gained a protective-brother kind of feeling towards them.

And of course, I couldn’t finish this without talking about my favourite, the love of my life, my poor darling, Teraeth. Leading up to this story, but also during the course of this book, he goes through so much shit, it actually makes me angry. The ending of “Memory of Souls” traumatised him big-time, something he is still very noticeably dealing with that throughout this book. He is starting to heal, but he’s still very far from getting there and it hurts. It hurts so much.

I could go on like this for ages, counting down each and everyone who played a part, from the soldiers to the tyrants.
Instead, in order not to bore you I’m going to just say something about the villains. The definition of who was and who wasn’t a villain changed quite a few times in this series.
What we are left with at the end, doesn’t qualify as heroes and villains. It more qualifies as people you agree and sympathise with and people you don’t.
No one is evil here, everyone is actually working towards one common goal, it’s just the means that differ. It’s just that every character answers the question of “Does the ends justify the means?” differently.

3. Conclusion
Essentially, what I admire so damn much about this series is how Lyons manages to mix things up so much, change the entire world of the series in a heartbeat, go back and forth between snippets spanning millennia, all while staying true to one heart of the story.
I know you’ll never read this, but for that, Jenn Lyons, I thank you so, so much.

I really, really hope this isn’t the last we hear of the world of “The Chorus of Dragons”

Thank you for reading this, I’ll now go back to being sad that the series is over.

5/5 Stars and I would give more, if I could

[Delaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, The Discord of Gods. The finale of A Chorus of Dragons.
After finding myself disappointed with The House of Always, I was excited to get to this one to see how Lyons would finish out the series.
Unlike the other four books in the series, this follows a very linear timeline and structure. No story within a story, bouncing timelines, or anything much fancy, besides the squabbling of two of our narrators in the footnotes, which I have always enjoyed in this series, much to my surprise. Realizing that this was going to be linear and rush headlong into the action and climax, I found myself relieved. The amount of brainpower and attention to detail, and stretching my personally goldfish sized memory for the first four books really took a lot out of me.

Imagine my surprise at being disappointed due to the way this was told linearly. I think this finale overall simply left me wanting more. After four books, I expected more from the climax, and definitely more from the very end of the series. Things don't have to be tied up entirely for me to enjoy an ending, but this one had me feeling like there was too much left up in the air.

This finale moved incredibly quickly, which in turn made the big events, losses, plot twists, etc, not feeling nearly as impactful as they should've. I kept coming back to this series for the characters, and actually have found my love for the characters waning over the books due to frustration at the confusing storytelling, which has impacted how I feel about the series as a whole. I really enjoyed The Ruin of Kings, and then felt like my enjoyment waned until it hit a low in book 4.

While I enjoyed finishing the series, seeing some of our characters happy and more or less whole, I think I was bummed that it all ended so simply in comparison to everything that had led our group to the finale. 3.5/5 stars.

A huge thank you to the lovely folks at Tor for the e-arc, all opinions are my own.

[Booksblabbering || Cait❣️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4

The grand finale.

And how tempting must it have been when someone came along with all those lovely "prophecies" that suggested that someone else might one day solve all their issues with Vol Karoth. All they had to do was make sure certain events happened, certain people were born, certain game pieces were placed just so.

Despite the epic stakes and impending doom as literal hell threatens to destroy the world, Lyons still manages to impart humour and teasing which makes you feel at home with the characters after five books of learning their innermost qualities, pain, and faults.

Honestly. The entire empire was falling apart, and Qown was discovering puberty. Which Galen was gleefully, purposefully encouraging.

Admittedly, the names, families, allegiances, and history was difficult to keep track of throughout the series, yet I managed it without major plot points through my confusion and ignorance.

People started giving them a wide berth, probably because family arguments had nothing in the "awkward” department compared to family arguments where one member had literally killed the other.

I can understand why this series isn’t for all: it’s convoluted, confusing, and filled with so many intricacies, artefacts, characters, histories, and stakes that your brain sometimes hurts keeping up.

I still stand by the fourth book being my favourite, which is a shame as I had expected the finale to surpass this. Yet, this last one felt slightly anticlimactic which feels strange to say after a five book series.

Bookstagram

[Lois Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 out of 5 stars!

An amazing (and complex) conclusion to this ambitious series!

This book is part MCU's "Infinity War Saga," "A Song of Ice and Fire," and "The Legend of Zelda" all rolled into one!

I was able to keep track with EVERYTHING that happened in this book. And yes, please make sure you're familiar with what occurred in the previous books! Nevertheless, EVERYTHING came together in the end!

Complete RTC!

[h o l l i s · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally. We have a straight-forward bit of storytelling. I’m not saying we don’t jump around a bit, with some overlapping bits from different POVs, but it wasn’t like what came before. And thank goodness for that.

Having said that, I knew the stakes wouldn’t feel very high because they’ve never felt very high. And even though we finally introduced a way to keep from everyone coming back to life, forever and ever, we still had enough of it. And as a result of that new caveat, I knew we wouldn’t lose a lot of characters. And we didn’t. In fact I think we came out ontop in a way.

In that sense though I’ll admit that everyone who has annoyed me the most.. annoyed me a little less. Maybe because we had less time (this is the shortest book of the series) for the story itself but we also had a tighter focus and a bigger ticking clock in a sense (though we still had time for repeated rehashing as certain players had to get caught up on things) as things were finally coming to a head.

And yes, the confrontation was finally here. How did that measure up? Welllll. I’ll admit I solved the final “aha!” conflict well before the reveal but there was something to do with the remaining immortals I didn’t see coming. And, of course, the whole truth behind the demons had interesting and horrible implications. But like so many of these big epic series, the final showdowns never really feel as big because they’ve been built up so long, that when it finally happens.. it’s just a shrug.

I’m not mad I pushed on in this world despite the ups and downs (mostly downs? I think? maybe it’s an even split) but I really feel this was just too convoluted for it’s own good. Tried to be so many things, do so many things, chronicle so much history and drama, and it just got so tedious and, weirdly, lowkey overwrought sometimes. But that doesn’t seem to be an opinion anyone else really shares so what do I even know. I obviously wouldn’t recommend these but hey if you ever decide to give them a try, I wish you better luck than I had! And also that you have an all-around better time, too.

2.75 stars

---

This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.

[Leontiy [princeofbookandbone] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone give jenn lyons a goddamn standing ovation

This is one of the absolute fucking best series I have ever, ever read

Superb on audio, I've binged the whole five in the last eleven days and I am now BEREFT

[Lena (Sufficiently Advanced Lena) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating; 3.5

Have I fallen out of love with this series? I'm not really sure but the last two books haven't really made the cut for me. I'll probably will reread the series in the future, because there's also so many characters that following them after a bit of time has pass is a mess.

[Віталій Роман · Rating 1 out of 5]

Напевно це шок для мене, але ця книга, як і серія, відбила бажання до фентезі. Тепер, перед тим як братися до чогось такого довгого в цьому жанрі, я детально вивчатиму питання... Друга книга, де з'явилась Джанель, і напевно перша, яку я переосмислив, це найкраще в цій серії.

[Livia · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Xivan's wake, roses bloomed.

What a beautiful way to end this series.

I know I'm reviewing this book exactly a month after finishing it, but since when are summer vacations supposed to be relaxing?

I have no TIME.

Anyway, let's skip the mental breakdown and go straight to talking about The Discord of Gods, the fifth and final book in one of my favorite series of all time.

So. This book wasn't the best in the series by far. It honestly went by pretty quickly, just because I felt like everything was anticipation. The House of Always AND The Discord of Gods are basically two books that just set up the final showdown against the dragons and, most importantly, fucking Relos Var. Was it worth the 1200 pages build up? I'm not sure, I really liked the final twists (we all know I am a sucker for the trope where we think the heroes are losing, but then it is revealed that they tricked the villain and that this was their plan all along), but I feel like the ending could have used more dramatics.

Like, don't think I am mentally unstable, but I wanted people TO DIE in this final book. I feel like in this 5 book series, across like 3000 pages, more people should have died then this. Spoiler alert, but one important casualty seems a little unrealistic to me.

When it comes to the final books in a series, I want to be destroyed. I want to throw the book across the room, wet the pages with my tears and yell until my throat is sore (or until my parents yell at me to please shut the fuck up). Everything felt too perfect in this book.

Galen climbed down off the roof and helped the other two down. Qown was especially flustered when Galen's hands ended up on his waist.
Honestly. The entire empire was falling apart, and Qown was discovering puberty. Which Galen was gleefully, purposefully encouraging.

At least this book provided us with a little something in the romance department. We all know how many stars a queer relationship can add to any of my ratings.

Apart from Galen and Qown (who still didn't have any sexy times, if you know what I mean) I really didn't care much about the other relationships, they were too gooey and sentimental for me at this point (and they were lacking a little bit of death, of course).

But maybe that's just me who has a heart of iron.

She closed her eyes and put her hand to her mouth. He watched as tears fell in glistening trails down her cheeks. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore, and he smoothed the tears from her face with his fingers.
"You know this is the part where you are supposed to kiss her, right? Grizzst said.
Senera's eyes flashed fire as she whirled to face the wizard. "You know this is the part where you should find out if you can go fuck yourself, right?"
"Oh, I would if I could, beautiful, believe me..." The armor shook his head. "Never thought I'd miss being able to shit."
Senera glanced at Thurvishar. "Are we sure we need him?"

The humor in this installment was top notch. I really feel like Jenn Lyons grew as a writer throughout this series. When comparing The Ruin of Kings, which was kind of a mess where we didn't understand half of the shit that was going on if I'm being honest (and we all love it for it) to The Discord of Gods, you can clearly see she became an expert in storytelling. The Chorus of Dragons became a complicated series where everything suddenly became very simple, and not because the author finally decided we were all idiots and decided to dumb down her series. It became simple because Lyons became a master at explaining her fucking complicated world-building and magic system.

Anyway, maybe you were just here to know if The Discord of Gods was a good conclusion to the A Chorus of Dragons series. My opinion is that it was great (not as good as The Memory of Souls though) and that it provided a satisfying ending if you like the sort of ending where everything ends a little bit too perfectly.

And if you have never read a single book in this series and are only just here by accident, here is a quick quote that pretty much sums up this 5 book series:

Tyentso returned with her people (she decided not to examine exactly when a Black Brotherhood assassin and an actual demon had become "her people," but at least Fayrin legitimately took orders from her) while everyone back at the Manol made their plans.

Don't let the length scare you. A Chorus of Dragons is deliciously queer, unique and complicated.

I loved (almost) every second of it.

I'm out.

[Gabi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a magnificent conclusion to what was really a very ambitious fantasy series. It could easily have gotten hopelessly tangled amidst the myriad characters and plot points - but this series must have been meticulously plotted and crafted, because it really felt like every loose end was covered off and explained.

The strength of this series was partially rooted, too, in the irreverent narrative voice(s). The humour and direct language, both in the prose and the dialogue, kept this from being a hopelessly dense and inaccessible story.

I loved everything about the final climax of book 5 and how everything came together at the end. Absolutely brilliant, and a very satisfying conclusion to the series.

My one (1) complaint relates to dragons. For a series named after them, they did not feature nearly enough for my tastes!

[Jenni (jenni_t_reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series so much! And this was fantastic last book!

These characters became my friends and it's the most precios thing that a book or series can offer. <3 I definitely will come back to this series one day just to hang out with these characters.

[Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great conclusion 🖤 I'm gonna miss these characters SO MUCH 🥹

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the last book in the series and my second favourite, after book 1, THE RUIN OF KINGS.

I don't even know what to say 😂 Just read the series.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic end to a fantastic series. There's like a thousand reasons I think this book is so well written. The world-building, characters, and storytelling are all incredibly detailed and well constructed. But the overall reason I enjoyed this series so much is probably best explained by this quote from Lyons' twitter:
"I wanted this to be a victory gained by a team rather than an individual, and I wanted that victory to be inextricably tied to the natures of the participants. Good doesn't triumph because evil is weak or stupid, but because the 'strengths' of evil-- to be ruthless, untrusting, powerful, calculating, self-serving, manipulative, can also be weaknesses in the right circumstances. I am not and have never been a fan of 'the ends justify the means' -- ultimately, that's what drove the whole series. Someone willing to go so far to save the world he nearly dooms it. My repudiation of that idea. My unwillingness to accept Utilitarianism."
Overall the series is a fantastic overhaul of many traditional fantasy tropes, and throughout the books Lyons manages to give the reader fantastic characters and witty humour while also addressing complex societal issues. I felt this book was an excellent conclusion to The Chorus of Dragons series, and I can't wait to read what she writes next.

[Rodger’s Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️ I friggin loved this conclusion to the series. Insanely epic magic battles between arch wizards, gods, and insane dragons? In abundance. Satisfying conclusions to character arcs? Absolutely. I may have been more lukewarm on some entries in the series but this last book made the whole journey so worth it. I also highly recommend the audiobooks, they add so much to the reading experience.

[Phee · Rating 4 out of 5]

And it’s done. A 4 star series through and through for me. The highlight was definitely the writing style and how it differed in each in instalment. I also did like the overall plot but my god the reincarnation and different connections between people did make it feel like hard work at times.
I would be very interested in what this author does in the future.