Fourth Wing

Fourth Wing

Author	Rebecca Yarros
Language	English
Series	The Empyrean
Release number	1
Genre	New adult fiction Fantasy romance Dystopian fiction
Published	May 2, 2023 (2023-05-02)
Publisher	Red Tower Books (Entangled Publishing)
Pages	512
ISBN	978-1-64937-404-2
Dewey Decimal	813.6
Followed by	Iron Flame

Fourth Wing is a new adult fantasy romance novel written by the American author Rebecca Yarros. It is the first book in the Empyrean series, following the journey of Violet Sorrengail, who is forced by her mother, General Sorrengail, to join the Basgiath War College and become a dragon rider in the kingdom of Navarre. Even though she has been trained her entire life to enter the Scribe Quadrant, Violet must endure deadly quests and competitions that push her to her limits while trying to avoid being killed by one of the most powerful riders in the quadrant, Xaden Riorson.

The book was published in the United States on May 2, 2023, by Red Tower Books, an imprint of Entangled Publishing. Its viral success within TikTok's reader community, BookTok, significantly contributed to its No. 1 ranking on The New York Times bestseller list. It won The International Book of the Year 2024 at the annual TikTok Book Awards. The book sold over two million copies in its first six months and has been translated into approximately 30 languages.

Yarros has mentioned in interviews that the idea for Fourth Wing emerged when her publisher announced that they were going to start a romantic fantasy line, prompting her to submit five proposals. After several reviews, her publisher selected the third idea, which explored the Empyrean world. The inspiration for the story stems from her fascination with dragons, her husband's military experience, and her personal struggles. Violet's physical fragility, as described in the book, was influenced by Yarros's own experience living with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting both her and her children. Yarros has expressed a desire to represent people with chronic illnesses, showcasing that they can also be heroic.

Plot summary

^{[citation needed]}

20-year old Violet Sorrengail is the youngest child of General Lilith Sorrengail, who leads the Basgiath War College in the kingdom of Navarre. Physically slight, Violet was trained her entire life to be a scribe like her late father but her mother instead orders her to become a dragon rider, something her older sister Lt. Mira Sorrengail, also a renowned rider, vehemently opposes.

Years earlier, General Sorrengail quelled a rebellion within the Navarrian province of Tyrrendor. As punishment, the rebels' children were branded with marks called relics and forced to enter Basgiath's Riders Quadrant. Violet is warned that marked ones may seek revenge on her because of her family. Upon arrival, she immediately encounters the infamous Xaden Riorson, a third-year student whose father Fen had led the rebellion and murdered Violet's older brother Brennan before being executed by Lilith. The two take an immediate disliking to each other and Violet fears he will attempt to kill her as well.

To gain entry to the War College, new cadets must cross a parapet suspended high over a canyon and in the process Violet is nearly thrown to her death by the psychopathic Jack Barlowe, who vows to kill her. After surviving the crossing, Violet reunites with her childhood best friend and longtime crush Dain Aetos, a second-year cadet. Violet joins Fourth Wing under Xaden's command, with Dain as their squad leader and befriends fellow first-years Rhiannon Matthias, Ridoc Gamlyn and Sawyer Henrick.

When training starts, Violet struggles with hand-to-hand combat because of her frailty and is targeted by marked ones. She begins learning her sparring partners' names in advance and poisoning them to give herself an advantage. One night, she overhears the marked ones having a secret meeting and is caught by Riorson, who asks her to stay quiet and in exchange shows her how to improve her fighting skills. Despite their mutual hostility and her wariness of his reputation, Violet finds herself increasingly attracted to Xaden.

During the Threshing process, Riders seek to bond to a dragon, which will allow them to develop a magical power known as a signet. However, it also means that the rider's life becomes connected to their dragon and, should their dragon die, they will as well. During Threshing, Violet sees a small, golden dragon that Barlowe wants to kill for appearing weak. Though injured, Violet defends it from Barlowe's posse and is saved by an enormous black dragon named Tairn who, impressed by her fortitude, selects her. Violet also connects with the little dragon, Andarna, and as a result becomes the first rider ever to bond two dragons. Dain kisses Violet in the aftermath but she finds that she no longer has feelings for him.

One night, Tairn awakens Violet as she is about to be ambushed by six cadets. Xaden rescues her and kills the cadets with his signet that can wield shadows. Afterwards, Xaden arranges for Liam Mairi, his foster brother and a marked cadet, to protect Violet. Violet learns that Xaden saved her because Tairn is mated to Sgaeyl, his dragon. Because of this, Violet and Xaden's lives are now interconnected: should something happen to one of them or their dragon, the other will die as well. She kisses Xaden due to Tairn's feelings for Sgaeyl, which influence their feelings as well. Barlowe again tries to kill her during a sparring session, but she escapes by purposefully triggering his allergies.

Violet and Xaden discover that they can communicate telepathically through their dragons. Later, during War Games, First Wing and Fourth Wing face off. When Barlowe attacks Liam, Violet uses Andarna's power to freeze time and saves him. Violet's anger manifests into the rare and powerful signet to wield lightning, which she uses to cause a landslide that seemingly kills Barlowe. That night, Violet and Xaden have sex. She asks why he and his cousin Bodhi were out after curfew, to which Xaden replies that they were at a nearby military base but does not explain further.

In the final round of the War Games, Xaden, Violet and a group of marked ones are ordered to travel to an outpost in Athebyne, Elsum Province. Along the way they encounter gryphon fliers of Poromiel, a neighboring nation that Navarre has been in conflict with for centuries, and Violet learns that Xaden has been secretly supplying weapons to them. Xaden reveals that the Poromish are under attack by the Venin, dark magic wielders that can only be killed with Navarrian weaponry. Since their magical boundaries (known as wards) repel them, Navarrians believe Venin to be fictitious and the government conceals their existence. The group arrive at the outpost but find it deserted. A nearby village is then attacked by Venin and they realize they were led into a trap by Dain's father Colonel Aetos, who found out about their trips to Athebyne when Dain used his memory reading signet on Violet without her knowing.

Despite the danger, Violet and her crew join forces with the gryphon fliers to defend the village. The group suffers multiple casualties including Liam, who perishes when his dragon is killed. Using her lightning powers and Andarna's ability to stop time, Violet defeats the last Venin but is seriously wounded in the process. Xaden and the survivors take shelter in Aretia, an abandoned city in Tyrrendor. After three days, Violet awakens and is stunned to discover that Brennan is alive. Xaden, meanwhile, vows to earn back Violet's trust.

Books

• Fourth Wing (May 2023)
• Iron Flame (November 2023)
• Onyx Storm (January 2025)
• Threshing Day (September 29, 2026)
• Empyrean Book 4

Characters

Reception

The book had a mostly positive critical reception. Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review, praising its worldbuilding, characters, and "sexy dark academia aesthetic". Alana Joli Abbott, in a review for Paste, praised its use of familiar tropes and compared it favorably to fantasy series like Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. The book was one of the most borrowed titles in American public libraries during 2023 and 2024.

Fourth Wing became a viral phenomenon on BookTok, where the hashtags "#FourthWing" and "#RebeccaYarros" have more than a billion views combined. Its popularity led it to reach No. 1 on Amazon's bestseller list as well as the No. 1 spot on The New York Times Bestseller list, where it stayed for 18 weeks. It has been credited as helping to popularize the "romantasy" genre, which blends elements of romance and fantasy genres.

Kimberly Terasaki of The Mary Sue wrote about a phenomenon within the fandom of portraying Xaden, a primary love interest of the protagonist, as white in fan art despite the fact that he is described as dark-skinned in the book. Yarros also commented on the phenomenon and asserted that the character is not intended to be white.

There is a review available by Tamara Saarinen from the School Library Journal, who approached Fourth Wing from the perspective of a school library. She noted that the use of modern profanity and sexual scenes make this book more appropriate for older teen audiences. That said, she did give an overall positive verdict for school libraries, claiming it would attract “romantasy” fans.

The sequel, Iron Flame, was released on November 7, 2023. The third book, Onyx Storm, was released on January 21, 2025.

Adaptations

References

External links

• Fourth Wing in your library
• Fourth Wing title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database