Fourth Wing
by Rebecca Yarros
A suspenseful, “new adult”* fantasy novel, Fourth Wing follows twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail on her journey through the most prestigious war college in the mythical Kingdom of Navarre, where elite fighters learn to ride dragons and wield magic. Every cadet in the Riders Quadrant at Basgiath War College has been training all their lives—except Violet. Unlike her peers, Violet has never wanted to ride a dragon or go to war. She wants to be a Scribe, like her father. Unfortunately, her father has died, and her terrifying general of a mother now insists that Violet follow her two elder siblings and become a Rider. With almost no preparation and a physical disadvantage due to her short stature and brittle body, Violet is nevertheless thrust into a brutal and unrelenting environment. Not only that, but rumor has it that dragons annihilate “weak” candidates in a burst of flame, leaving only a scorch mark. She hopes that her childhood friend Dain can help protect her, and she fears being killed by other cadets. There are only so many dragons, and many more potential riders. To make matters worse, many of the other cadets are willing to kill her because they passionately hate her mother, and a beautiful but deadly man, Xaden Riorson, tops that list. Despite all these obstacles, Violet remains determined to persevere. She will not die today.
Despite the length of Fourth Wing, which comes in at over five hundred pages, Yarros makes every detail count. If something is mentioned, it will likely come back. That’s not to say that the novel is predictable—it isn’t, at all—but there’s a surprising economy to it. It’s the epic scope of the tight and perfectly-paced story that makes the book long. And never boring.
Following a tried and true structure, Yarros gives us everything we need to know about the war and the Rider’s Quadrant—there’s a lot to catch up on and things move quickly—by following Violet and other first-year students. Unlike other novels that feature magic schools, this one manages to make the classes that we see absolutely fascinating. Again, every detail is relevant to the plot, not just exposition for its own sake. Authors often fall into the trap of letting a teacher explain everything, but in this case, we know we’re not getting the whole story. We’re left wondering what leadership is leaving out, which adds even more suspense. It’s clear that whatever they’re hiding is important to some kingdom-wide problem, but the characters don’t have enough information to piece it all together until the end.
The novel returns again and again to the danger of underestimating both friends and enemies. What seems to be naïveté on Violet’s part is actually a huge source of strength for her—she often thinks like a Scribe, meaning that her memory is excellent and she gathers ideas from everything she has read and heard. This allows for some plot twists that remain surprises precisely because her strengths are not always obvious. I often found myself wondering how the hell she was going to survive some task or obstacle. There are other twists and turns around Violet’s lack of ruthlessness. In the very beginning, Violet’s sister tells her not to make friends, to make alliances instead. Here, again, Violet is different. She’s looking for trust among people she actually likes. This is both a strength and a weakness, as there’s not a lot of room for trust in the Riders Quadrant. She doesn’t want to be like the killers who hunt her, constantly evaluating who is likely to get ahead and who is a weak link. But how else can she survive? Is she underestimating her enemies or saving her own soul?
Fourth Wing gains even more suspense by detailing the sheer variety of ways Violet and her friends could die, beginning with a harrowing first test just to get into the building. It certainly never gets boring as they go through both public and personal trials. We learn to care deeply about her friends; while it’s easy to remember that Violet will not die (although that didn’t stop my palms from sweating) it’s hard knowing that there’s no reason her friends have to survive.
Finally, I have to mention the steamy, slow-burn romance plot. It’s clear from the very beginning where the tension lies, but it seems like an impossible pairing. As we get closer to finally breaking that tension, the characters themselves fight it to an infuriating extent. By the time they do connect, it’s explosive and so spicy. I loved it.
I loved this book from start to finish. I keep forgetting that I finished it and going back to read more, only to remember that it’s over. There is a sequel coming out in November, though! Yarros kept me on the edge of my seat at all times but did not overwhelm me or tire me out. These are the signs of perfect pacing. The characters feel real. I recently heard an author explain that characters come alive when they seem to live outside the pages of the book; this seems obvious but is actually really difficult to achieve. And it’s so easy to imagine the cast of characters in Fourth Wing going about their lives even when Violet is not around. I can’t help recommending this novel to everyone, even when I know they don’t typically read fantasy or suspense or romance. Go check it out and talk to me about it!
*New adult fiction lies somewhere between young adult and adult fiction. It feels kind of made up, but between the school atmosphere, which feels young adult, and the spicier scenes, which are very adult, I can see where this designation is coming from.