Ebook Review: Immortal's Discord

Title: Immortal's Discord
Series: Yes; Chaos Rising (Book 2)
Author: Ron Glick
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Ron Glick
Release Date: July 1, 2014
Format: ebook
Pages: 414
Source: author

The threat raised by Tarinel's Song has passed, but the prophecy is still unfinished. Once more, the unlikely heroes of the Eastern Realms are pulled into the path of destiny woven by this centuries' old divination. With only two verses of eight fulfilled, great portent is now given to the ancient predictions, yet still none understand when and where the elements of the prophecy will come to pass. A new dawn is coming to the Eastern Realms - a new God is destined to rise and a great tyrant is foretold to be defeated. But much must fall in the path of the prophecy, as well - including an extradimensional stronghold and even magic itself! Can the heroes of Tarinel's Song be able to reunite in time to save their world, or will the prophecy's demands be too great for mere mortals to withstand?

Ron Glick is an incredibly imaginative author, and I have had the pleasure and honor of reading and reviewing his other books, including Tarinel’s Song, The Wizard in Wonderland, Dorothy Through the Looking Glass, One, and Two. I know he has some amazing plans for the rest of the books in his three current series, and I’m excited to see where it goes.

Immortal’s Discord picks up right where Tarinel’s Song left off, with the elf Katze, his fellow elf and friend Amber, and the mage Terius, taking in all the death and destruction in Katze’s homeland.

Glick fills in a few more pieces of the complicated backstory, and gives us a clue as to what Katze is in for (hint: lots of guilt and shame). He also deftly weaves throughout the book little hints of upcoming plot points and secondary storylines.

Immortal’s Discord mainly revolves around the fate of Gooly, a dim-witted man who does not always seem to grasp what is going on. But after he unites with the sacred hand in Tarinel’s Song, strange things happen to him, and they greatly affect his friends, and everyone else in Na’Ril.

But so much more also happens. As expected, the gods of Na’Ril spend their time plotting and scheming to keep their power. But we also learn more about the mysterious Ellen, Terius’s mechanical servant in Rock Haven. Not to mention what happens to Lysa and the mage Alistaire.

Even more characters are introduced, but Glick skillfully makes them wonderfully flawed and indispensible to the story. And in this book, Glick even includes some steamy sex scenes, between a couple of characters who are first seem like unlikely partners.

This series is for lovers of fantasy and magic, who enjoy complex storytelling and a cast of interesting characters. Everyone has a motives, but often those motives must change to fit the evolving setting and dynamics.

Like in many stories, there is an all-powerful prophecy, but this prophecy has some clever riddles and twists. Glick also does a great job creating and fleshing out characters, giving each a very distinct voice and point of view.

I think the most interesting aspect, however, is the fact that no one is safe, not even the immensely powerful gods. In fact *potential spoiler alert* in the world of Na’Ril, the gods are meant to fight and kill each other off, so that only the strongest will remain to start their own family.

My one, very minor complaint, is that sometimes there is too much dialogue at once, and it can be hard to keep straight which character is speaking. Other than that, I really enjoyed reading Immortal’s Discord, and highly recommend it to fantasy readers.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this series, and seeing the next steps Glick takes in building up his story. Eventually something really big will happen, but I suspect we will have to wait until the end of the series to find out what it is.