A Review: Bonds of Chaos by Zack Argyle
At last, the dramatic conclusion to the Threadlight Trilogy by Zack Argyle! Who lives, who dies, and does the story properly close out a series that has been a top-shelf experience?
Now that Chrys, Alverax, and Laurel have reunited in the battle against the gods and their maleficent plot to dominate the world, they must seek out the only remaining asset to help them reform the core seal and lock away the gods for good: an amber threadweaver. But the Heralds are no fools, and they have plenty of surprises in store for the band of heroes.
The character work in this final installment is stellar. I didn’t expect much character growth in this novel because the end was nigh. Still, Argyle continued to deliver, pushing his characters to grow and become stronger individuals so that they solve the conflict at large but also become better friends and family to each other.
In a natural extension of the previous two novels, their themes of sacrifice and redemption are strong in this story. Again, Alverax’s journey gripped me most, but I didn’t expect to also love the direction that Laurel’s character went in. Together, Alverax and Laurel had to face the darkest moments, and the bond they formed over it was fantastically executed.
While the story did employ a plot device I don’t usually enjoy, it was delivered in a way that didn’t greatly offend my sensibilities as a reader, and it tied together some of the story’s loose ends.
The final showdown between the Heralds and our heroes was a joy to read. While the scale of the conflict was quite large, the focus was mostly narrow, focusing on the key events rather than the battle itself. In the moment, I had fun, but after finishing the story, I thought there might be more I would have liked to see.
Unfortunately, Argyle seems to have shut the door for any subsequent novels in the series. Unless there’s something I missed, the author’s ending felt like a pretty definitive conclusion to the stories that can be told in this world—at least in the way that we’ve seen them so far. And that’s a bit of a shame because I’d love to have seen the door left just a crack open for a potential sequel trilogy or for my imagination to develop my own follow-up headcanon.
Even so, as an ending, Bonds of Chaos was a marvelous ride, a fitting end to a grand trilogy that I’d recommend to any epic fantasy fan who enjoys hard magic systems, a world full of mysteries, and flawed characters searching for a way to make things right again.
If you’re a fan of stories like the Threadlight Trilogy, you’ll love diving into the world of Continua. And, lucky for you, your first adventure is free!
