Disclaimer: this article contains spoilers about the book series “Fourth Wing.”
“Fourth Wing” first hit the bookshelves back in May 2023. Since its release, it has become a best seller with more than two million copies sold worldwide, spending three months as the number one bestseller according to the New York Times. With the second book released at the end of 2023 and news of author Rebecca Yarros starting on the third book, more excitement is buzzing all over “BookTok,” the book fans side of the popular social media app TikTok.
“Fourth Wing” is an adult fantasy novel where readers follow the story of Violet Sorrengail, daughter of a high-ranked general in the Navarre’s army. Sorrengail’s family, besides her father, have all gone to Basgiath War College to become a dragon rider. Violet, on the other hand, does not wish to follow in her family’s footsteps. Instead, she has been training to become a scribe like her father.
Despite Violet’s wishes, after her father’s death, her mother becomes more inclined that Violet will become a rider. Even after Violet’s sister, Mira, argues with her mother about her decision, Violet is sent to take the entrance exam where cadets must climb 250 steps to reach what is known as the parapet. The parapet is a stone slab that is around 200 feet in the air and only 18 inches wide.
With stormy weather conditions, cadets are sure to fall to their demise if they take one wrong step. Even though Violet never wanted to be a rider, she is determined to not die.
After she goes across the parapet and joins the rider’s quadrant, her only hope of staying is not dying from other cadets like Xaden Riorson. He is a third-year who hates her family and half the other cadets think that Violet’s weak stature only means she will become a liability. Even with this, her main concern is to be chosen to become a rider. Since dragons have a mind of their own, it is likely that about a fourth of cadets will die trying to bond with a dragon and another fourth will not be even chosen to become a rider.
At this moment, Violet sees little hope of bonding with a dragon because she doesn’t see herself as strong enough to become a rider.
However, right before the selection, the class finds a young dragon is participating. She quickly finds out that some of her classmates are plans to kill off this dragon. To me, it’s a moment of true character for Viole. She can’t save herself from failure, but she is determined to save this dragon.
She follows her classmates into the woods and attempts to stand up to them which, to her surprise, scares them off completely. However, it was not her, it was the well-known dragon Tairn standing behind her who was also here to protect the young dragon. At this moment, Tairn decides that Violet is the exact kind of rider he is looking for and we find out at the end of the selection, that both Tairn and the young dragon, Andarna, have chosen to bond with Violet. This is the first time something like this has ever happened.
With the quick turn of events, Violet can find more confidence in herself and is on the road to becoming one of the greatest riders of all time. However, Tairn is a mated dragon with Sgaeyl, who happens to be Xaden’s dragon. With this new connection, readers watch the enemies-to-lovers trope unfold. But war is tough and Violet is watching her friends die in combat and training. With a five-book series and the death of a beloved character Liam in the second book, readers are worried about the deaths soon to come after Yarros herself has stated that war means not everyone can make it, especially not with a battlefield full of magic and fire breathing dragons.
I found this series through “BookTok” and though it might be bold I personally give this series a 10/10. It has what I think most fantasy books lack, which is the ability to build a fictional world that readers can understand. I am excited and nervous about where this five-book series will go. After all, there is nothing scarier than a writer who’s willing to kill off a well-loved character.