For a book touted as the “second-coming of fantasy” and an absolute “must-read,” Fourth Wing was something of a disappointment from the very beginning as a fantasy, the very structure of the book questionable, as Rebecca Yarros introduces the first-person, present tense POV with a forward informing the reader that the text that follows “has been faithfully transcribed from Navarrian into the modern language by Jesinia Neilwart, Curator of the Scribe Quadrant at Basgiath War College.”
The implications of this statement say a lot about the series as a whole (that the events within have already happened, that Navarrian is no longer a common language, and that this is a piece of history to be preserved and recorded). But, given the present tense narrative, which is deeply intimate and vulnerable, the frame narrative just felt like a shoo-in – one that would allow Yarros to include epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter with snippets from texts, lectures, and lessons to stand in for the bulk of the world-building.
Add in the fact that our main character, Violet Sorrengail, barely interacts with Jesinia, and isn’t seen writing or documenting her journey in any way, and the entire frame narrative structure came across as awkward and questionable, even if it does set up for an uncertain future. Considering the fact that the series is set to span across five books, I am hopeful that an answer will come to light eventually, but transcribing a narrative from first person present – one that covers exceptionally detailed and intimate events and circumstances – feels a little odd, especially when we are told, that, while Jesinia and Violet were very close before officially joining Basgiath’s ranks as new recruits, that they are no longer allowed to communicate openly with one another as they are from different Quadrants. If the narrative were written from the past tense, this could work quite well, but in its current state, leaves something to be desired for attentive fantasy readers.
To put it simply, the frame narrative sets the book up for questionable world-building from the beginning, and, unfortunately, it only goes south from there, as we join Violet Sorrengail, a brand-new recruit joining the ranks of Basgiath War College, the pride of Navarre. As the youngest daughter of General Lilith Sorrengail, Violet has a reputation to live up to – one that is ruthless, cunning, and deadly. Except, Violet wants nothing to do with war games or politics and would rather be in the Archives, recording history and shelving books. Six months before the school year is set to begin, Violet’s career aspirations shift drastically, her hand forced by her ruthless mother for no reason other than to preserve and uphold the family’s reputation. With her father, a well-respected scribe, no longer around, Violet has no choice to obey, despite being physically weak and frail due to a condition that affects her joints and ligaments and makes her especially brittle compared to the average Basgiath cadet.
With Conscription Day upon us, the reader falls into shaky step alongside Violet as she faces the parapet – a long, narrow stone bridge that’s over two hundred feet in the air. At only eighteen inches wide, crossing it is a feat in and of itself – the first test in a long journey to formally entering the Riders Quadrant, one Basgiath’s four “houses” the others being: Healer, Scribe and Infantry. There’s more than just the rain-slicked parapet though; those who cross are in for a deadly awakening, as the new cadets must train alongside hundreds of other first-year conscripts in a series of classes, trials, and tests, culminating in the Threshing – the moment every cadet waits for, the one that will finally mark them as a rider, if they survive a meeting with the very dragons that they intend to bond with.
A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead.
-excerpt from Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing
But that’s not all – battle briefs, hand-to-hand combat challenges, and the Gauntlet – an obstacle course meant to test the strength, speed, and resilience required to mount and ride a dragon that is very reminiscent of a Ninja Warrior obstacle course – await the new cadets, who must endure three years of schooling before they can enter Navarre’s war effort. All the while, death is a constant threat, as cadets are encouraged to kill one another off. If you’re weak, you’re a liability to not only yourself, but your squad and quadrant. If you’re weak, you won’t be able to bond with a dragon – and numbers dwindle every year.
Yarros provides this information – as well as history on Basgiath’s outposts, generals, and even dragons – most often through Violet’s internal monologue. In theory, the idea is engaging enough, especially paired with the simple fact that we sit alongside Violet in her classes, fall with her on the training mat, and practice on makeshift courses designed to test her strength. In practice, though, there’s something to be desired, at least as far as world-building goes. Yarros is prone to info-dumping through Violet, who often recites historical facts and texts in order to focus on a task or distract her mind from the grueling pain inflicted on her body.
I know exactly who you are and what you are, Violet Sorrengail.
-excerpt from Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing
As a scribe’s daughter, it makes sense, but the execution is lacking, as the reader is given paragraphs of relatively sparse information without any time to digest the lore thrown their way, whether it be descriptions of the locations the continent has to offer or the exact details of treaties and rebellions. When Yarros isn’t info-dumping through Violet, she’s offering the bare minimum, even when it includes the main attraction of the book – the dragons! – offering simple details on scale color and size, with the only distinguishing features about them being their tails, which are shaped like weapons: orange daggertail, black morningstartail, golden feathertail, etc. In that regard, Fourth Wing is exactly what it promises: a journey through a war college. The details are sparse, militaristic, and concise. There’s nothing lush about this world, and for me, world-building is the backbone of fantasy.
That being said, while there was something to be desired as far as fantasy world-building goes, Yarros does an exceptional job with the dragons’ personalities (I adored their sassy, headstrong attitudes and blunt sarcasm) and abilities. While the idea of forming a bond between human and dragon to gain magic isn’t necessarily new in fantasy, the pacing of the book picks up exceptionally once Violet and her fellow cadets move past introductory training and interact with the dragons during Threshing and beyond. Once a dragon picks a cadet, they become a rider so long as they can stay on their back during their first flight. For most of the Quadrant, bonding means developing an intimate mental connection with a dragon and gaining magical power once a significant bond is formed, made possible by the dragon channeling their power to their rider, which manifests on a personal level into a signet that reflects that person’s internal nature.
These magical abilities manifest in unique and exciting ways as the newly-named riders begin training in earnest to develop the skills necessary to defend and protect Navarre on the warfront; an eventuality, not a possibility, as all riders are training to support Navarre’s external wards from the opposition – another somewhat vague facet of the narrative that is only brushed on in the face of dragon school. Regardless, despite the relatively slow pacing of the first ~200 pages, Fourth Wing picks up considerably as Violet begins to train, recognizing in the process, that while her body may often betray her and is considered more fragile when compared to her peers, that she has a unique kind of strength. Not only is she clever, cunning, and a strong advocate for herself, but she is adaptable and versatile, and Yarros does a relatively good job in outlining her strengths, weaknesses, and accommodations, all of which go a long way in strengthening her own sense of self-image.
While Yarros may occasionally seem to forget about Violet’s disability – and could potentially convey the wrong idea in Violet’s resolute determination to avoid death and talk her way through chronic pain and severe injuries as something that could simply be pushed through with enough willpower and resolve – in general, Violet’s adaptivity is explored well. Over the course of the novel, Violet gains confidence in herself, demands her own agency, and is treated like an actual equal by the series’ main love interest, Xaden Riorson, who becomes one of her biggest advocates, despite being her “enemy.” It is in developing their relationship that Fourth Wing truly shines, though the initial tropes may be somewhat misleading to seasoned romance readers.
“Ask me nicely, Violence,” he whispers. “Or I’m gone.”
-excerpt from Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing
Fourth Wing has been heavily marketed as an enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance, and that is one of its biggest flaws. It is clear from the beginning that, despite what everyone thinks, these two are NOT enemies in anything but name. Navarre and Tyrrandor are natural enemies, drawn apart by a rebellion led by Fen Riorson that resulted in the conscription of 107 orphaned children marked by rebellion relics that mar their skin and solidify them as outsiders, rebels, and betrayers that defied Navarre. Violet immediately recognizes that Xaden – and the other forced conscripts of the Riders Quadrant, most of whom are the children of dissenters, forced to join or die – is not his father.
Fen Riorson may have been the reason that Violet’s older brother died six years ago, but Xaden proves, time and again, that he is compassionate, if morally grey. He has every reason to hate Violet because of her name – because of her mother – because she is technically the opposition – but he doesn’t hate her, not really. While there may be animosity and cool indifference between the two of them, there is never really any sense of hatred, though tension and suspicion both occur due to the natural opposition of their upbringing. If anything, the romance presented in Fourth Wing is deliciously forbidden, rivals-to-lovers, and it’s built on forced proximity, made possible by the dragons they bond to.
When Violet overhears a secret meeting while out collecting fauna to concoct poisons to put her at an advantage in the required sparring challenges ahead of her, Xaden becomes a shadow in her life. Meanwhile, Dain – Violet’s childhood best friend who is fiercely protective and a paragon of order –seeks to “protect” Violet by attempting, time and again, to force her into the Scribe Quadrant. While Violet is adamant in her dismissal and quick to assert agency over herself and her decisions, Xaden (and a handful of other friends made along the way), help Violet play to her own strengths.
Off page, she undergoes strength training and countless sparring matches meant to make her a little less fragile, but on page, she is disarmed on the mat over and over and over again by Xaden. It’s seductive and empowering, a display of sexual tension and anger that pushes Violet to recognize and respond to her own strengths: agility, hand-to-hand combat with short weapons, and flexibility. To survive, Violet needs to work with her body, not against it. At her core, she’s a pacifist, reluctant to land a killing blow, but in war, you survive or die, and Xaden attempts to instill and encourage her rather than stifle. Not once does he insinuate weakness, instead encouraging her new nickname: Violence.
Just because you gained power today doesn’t mean you lost agency.
-excerpt from Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing
What follows is a slow-burn, forced proximity romance, initiated in earnest when Violet bonds with Tiarn, a legendary black dragon that is mated to Xaden’s Sgaeyl. Due to the bond between dragons, Xaden and Violet are inextricably connected until death, and with that bond comes the ability to connect mentally, allowing for nonverbal communication (something naturally occurring between rider and dragon, but that extends due to the mating bond). It’s another concept that isn’t entirely new, but spices up their heated banter significantly as feelings escalate between Violet and Xaden, teetering on the edge of hatred and lust. When desire tips with a bang, spurred on by the intense emotional onslaught coming through the dragon bond, Xaden and Violet find the undeniable attraction between them irresistible, and begin a sexual and romantic relationship in earnest. It’s intensely passionate, fueled by fury and anger, and destructive. In short, it’s everything a fantasy romance reader wants, even if Violet’s internal monologue feels a touch immature at times regarding Xaden’s physical appearance. Playful, serious, and suggestive, everything about Xaden commands power, and it’s intoxicating.
There’s nowhere in existence you could go that I wouldn’t find you, Violence.
-excerpt from Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing
In a college full of cut-throat, hungry cadets thirsting for power, Violet is a clear outlier. Destiny has other plans for her though, and, as time progresses, bringing with it the start of the annual Basgiath War Games, she is forced to make a choice: survive or die. Power manifests in a flash of lightning, bringing her and Xaden closer together in an underground conspiracy that shakes her to the core, forcing her to question everything: about herself, about Xaden, and about the province she grew up in. It in in the final stretch of the novel that pacing intensifies, riding the high that is their whirlwind romance into a battle that is intense, brutal and traumatic, escalating when legend becomes real and lies come to the surface, resulting in a crash landing that ruins everything with an unnecessarily drawn out betrayal arc and the customary third-act breakup often seen in romance novels.
Ultimately, while Fourth Wing is decidedly lacking in worldbuilding and fails to live up to the fantasy hype, Rebecca Yarros pens a charming rivals-to-lovers, forbidden romantasy novel that could serve as a good introduction to readers unfamiliar with the fantasy romance genre.
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