Sanet Oberholzer reviews Fourth Wing

Fourth Wing

Rebecca Yarros, Piatkus

★★★★★ (5 stars)

I’ll admit, I’m late to the Fourth Wing party. If you, like me, were wondering if it’s worth the hype, I’ll get straight to the point and say that it is. And if you have no idea what this book is remotely about, it’s probably not for you. Anyone who occasionally delves into the BookTok world or has an interest in the fantasy genre will know that this was one of the most popular books to come out in 2023. It was also one of the most divisive, garnering many five- or one-star reviews. People were not lukewarm in their feelings.

It is the first book in Rebecca Yarros’s Empyrean Series which is expected to stretch over five books. The second book in the series, Iron Flame, was released hot on the heels of the first and if rumours are anything to go on, a TV series based on the book series is planned for Amazon Prime Video.

Fourth Wing’s protagonist is 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail who fits the “chosen one” trope through and through. Admittedly, it is rather predictable. Violet spent her whole life training to enter the Scribe Quadrant: the studious, book-smart recorders of history in the kingdom of Navarre. But, when her scribe father dies, her general mother makes the executive decision that no child of hers is meant for scribe life and effectively makes peace with the fact that she’s sentencing her daughter to death by sending her to the Riders Quadrant at Basgiath War College, where she is to train to become a dragon rider. Once bonded with a dragon, riders are imbued with magical abilities that have given them the upper hand in keeping the kingdom safe from outside attacks and only the best of the best make it through. At Basgiath, you either graduate or die. And once you graduate, death seems always imminent as attacks on the kingdom’s borders are becoming increasingly prevalent.

Violet has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (which isn’t spelt out in the book, but some basic research will alert you to the fact that it’s something the heroine has in common with the author). She’s small, she’s frail, and she has a huge target on her back as the daughter of General Sorrengail who played a major role in quelling a recent rebellion.

Despite these setbacks, she beats the odds (this is hardly a spoiler — she’s the “chosen one”, after all) and ends up with not one but two love interests. And here is where things heat up. Yarros may take her time getting to it but the sexual tension in the book comes to a steaming peak towards the end of the book. And when it does there are no mild menu options; it’s flaming hot all the way.

As someone explained to me before I started reading Fourth Wing, it’s Hunger Games but with dragons — and it’s spicy. I don’t quite agree. I wouldn’t describe this series as dystopian in nature. It’s fantasy, and at times romantasy, though it does lay the groundwork for a novel series with a rebellion at its heart.

The book is not without its faults. At times the writing — and even Violet’s character — seem juvenile. But Yarros’s plot is gripping from the first page.

Once I got started, I was fully committed. Towards the end I found myself reading by my phone’s torch light in the car on the way to visit friends. Once there, I locked myself in the bathroom to finish the last few pages. It became a full-on addiction. It may not quite be Hunger Games but Yarros is the first author since Suzanne Collins to reel me in on the same level — and that’s high praise indeed.

If you like the fantasy genre or want to dip your toes into the world of BookTok, this one comes highly recommended. And if you don’t agree, you’ll at least have lots to say when you next find yourself in a heated book discussion.