Fourth Wing [PDF] Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean #1)

Next book in the series: Iron Flame

Synopsis

Twenty years old Violet Sorrengail was intended to enter the Scribe Quadrant and live a calm life surrounded by books and history. The commanding general, also known as Violet’s tough-as-talons mother, has now ordered Violet to join the hundreds of applicants vying to become Navarre’s elite: dragon riders.

But death is only a heartbeat away when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle…Dragons do not form bonds with “fragile” people. They are incinerated.

Because there are fewer dragons wanting to link than cadets, most would kill Violet to increase their chances of success. The remainder, including Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and merciless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant, would kill her only for being her mother’s daughter.

She’ll need every wit she’s got simply to make it to the next sunrise.

Yet, with each passing day, the fight outside becomes more lethal, the kingdom’s protecting barriers crumble, and the death toll rises. Worse, Violet suspects the leadership is concealing a dreadful secret.

Friends, foes, and lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has a plan because there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

Review

I had heard that this book was suitable for those who had never read fantasy before, and I was hesitant, but they were correct. To say the least, the world building in this novel is stunning.

The plot of Fourth Wing [pdf] is both its best and most valuable feature. The plot and world that Yarros is creating in this first book (there are five planned) are truly excellent. The civilizations, big map, the college, battles, and even dragons are all cool. These are all major strengths of the book that kept me reading.

A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead.

Yarros definitely had certain major moments she wanted to highlight in the book, and it felt like there was an intended direction (as opposed to some books where the author is never quite sure where they are heading with the plot). Many people online have claimed that this book is addictive because the plot moves at such a fast speed and there are so many critical moments, and I have to agree.

One thing I admire about this book is that Yarros was not scared to kill off major characters. YA fantasy is frequently created to pacify the reader, maintaining your favorites and ensuring that nothing too horrible ever happens. Fortunately, Yarros wasn’t interested in making readers happy, so he was ready to risk killing off some major people, and frequently fast (no slow deaths here).

You look all frail and breakable, but you’re really a violent little thing, aren’t you?

This brings me to the aspects of the book that I despised the most. The descriptions of guys are ugly, with superficial portrayals of their “muscles,” how “handsome” they are, and how much they “turn her on.”

Many people thought this book reminded them of Harry Potter, and I can tell you that if HP used descriptions of people and sex scenes the way this book does, it would not have sold half as many copies. The descriptions and “smut” are off-putting to the majority of folks I’ve spoken to about it, and they wish they could skip it.

You May Also Like

• A Court of Thorns and Roses – Sarah J. Maas
• Haunting Adeline – H.D. Carlton
• Twisted Love – Ana Huang

I’m going to point out the fact that I despised Rebecca Yarros’ portrayal of men and am not sure why she found it necessary to include it. I hope she didn’t include it because she wasn’t convinced that the story would be good enough on its own.

Apart from the horrible portrayals of guys, the actual characters are fairly nice. Yarros has done an excellent job of writing young, passionate characters in this story. They make each other laugh and love each other, which is wonderful to see.

Defenseless women have never been my type.

The characters bonding with one another and building something that makes it actually lovely to read when they come back together was the piece that seemed most like Harry Potter to me.

Violet, our primary character, has a surprising amount of personality given that the book is written in the first person, which may sometimes be detrimental to the character as they serve as more of a vessel for the plot than true personalities. Violet is powerful, witty, and passionate, but most importantly, she is not flawless. Violet gets lucky with practically all of the initial trials and is really regarded one of the weakest throughout the entire process, unlike in many other YA stories where the main character is naturally amazing at everything. A welcome change.

The right way isn’t the only way.

The villains are occasionally extremely cruel, becoming enraged for no apparent reason and becoming ridiculously aggressive for 20-somethings. The other protagonists, on the other hand, are kind and intriguing enough to make you glad they’re there.

Fourth Wing was touted as one of the most important YA fantasy books of our generation. There is a large cast of engaging characters, an established and interesting fantasy background, and a plot that will keep you reading.

I’m a great fantasy enthusiast, and this isn’t adult fantasy; it’s more like a young adult novel with some crass moments. If you like high fantasy like Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, or The Stormlight Archive, this might not be the book for you, but if you like Sarah J Maas’ other work, you might appreciate this one a lot.