Review of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

If you've been wondering where I've been for a month or so, I've been reading a book. :)

I recently finished reading Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. It's part of a series called "The Empyrean" set in the fantasy kingdom of Navarre. I actually forget the name of the world, but that doesn't feel very important to me. This book felt refreshing to read as an avid fantasy enjoyer.

The first fantasy book I ever read, Eragon by Christopher Paolini, was in a similar vein as this book in terms of setting and plot. Since reading that book, I have read countless fantasy books, a large percentage of them being the Drizzt novels by R.A. Salvatore. I think that I have spent so much time in the Forgotten Realms, the setting of the Drizzt novels, that the Realms feel almost "lived in" to me at this point. It's not just a setting used by books; Baldur's Gate III and some D&D campaigns I've played also take place in the Forgotten Realms. It really did feel like stepping into a completely new world when I started reading Fourth Wing.

On top of the fantasy genre, Fourth Wing is also a romance novel. I've even seen online that the author likes to call it "romantasy." It would even be valid to call it "smutty," as Yarros does not conceal the characters' intimate escapades. I appreciate this aspect of the novel a lot, as it makes it feel more like fantasy truly written for adults, rather than the watered down version of fantasy that young adult novels often have. These escapades give the reader an opportunity to truly see who the characters are beyond the emotional walls they have to build to survive. To put it bluntly, it's fun to read about people having sex.

Violet Sorrengail, the main character, has been force to enlist in the Riders Academy by her mother. The Riders are Navarre's elite soldiers; they are trained relentlessly in combat, and those who survive for a year are allowed to bond with dragons. The academy setting felt Harry Potter-esque to me at first (even though I've never read those novels), but it quickly escalates as Violet watches other recruits die around her. Recruits fall to their deaths, get their necks snapped in combat training, or get burnt to crisps by dragons. Only the strongest can survive, yet Violet, seemingly the weakest, continues to live.

Through all of this, Violet is constantly marveling at how she survives. That is one of the biggest things I appreciate about this novel. Violet, against all odds, becomes one of the most powerful Riders by the end of the story. She is a physically weak person, but she tries desperately to train her body to overcome that. Even so, she is still frail by the end, but her weakness is contrasted by her mental sharpness and powerful channeling abilities (what they call magic since the dragons "channel" their powers into their riders). It only serves to make Violet's triumphs even more impactful.

Overall, reading this book was great. I know I'm into something good when I suggest it to one of my professors and she tells me that she's already read the whole series. After finishing all of The Expanse novels, it feels good too finally return to a world of more magic and mystery, while still acknowledging the brutal realities of living.