Overview: Fourth Wing is a fast-paced fantasy novel that follows twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail, who trained her whole life to become a quiet scribe. Instead, her ruthless military mother forces her to enter the brutal Riders Quadrant, where hundreds of cadets die trying to bond with deadly dragons. Violet is at a severe disadvantage due to her fragile physical condition, making her an instant target for cadet rivals who want to eliminate the weak. Chief among her threats is Xaden Riorson, a powerful and ruthless wingleader whose father was executed by Violet's mother. To survive, Violet must rely on her sharp wit, unexpected alliances, and the sheer will to survive grueling physical trials. Along the way, she beats the odds by bonding with two incredibly powerful dragons and uncovers a massive, deadly conspiracy hidden by her own kingdom's leadership. The book blends high-stakes action with an intense enemies-to-lovers romance, culminating in a dramatic betrayal that changes the fate of her world.
Review: The Pacing Conundrum: Why It Didn't "Suck You In"
While Fourth Wing is often marketed as a breakneck, unputdownable thriller, the actual reading experience can feel incredibly uneven. The book heavily relies on a repetitive cycle: Violet trains, Violet worries about her physical limitations, a minor character dies to show "danger," and the cycle repeats. Because the stakes outside of Violet's immediate survival take a backseat for the first half of the book, the narrative can feel bogged down in schoolyard politics rather than true epic fantasy. If you aren’t entirely sold on the romance or the daily grind of the military academy, it becomes a book that takes a long time to get through.
Missing the Blueprint for a Sequel
As the debut novel of the The Empyrean series, Fourth Wing bears a heavy burden: it has to build a world capable of sustaining a long saga. However, Yarros misses a critical opportunity here. Instead of dropping subtle, deeply woven clues about the broader world conflict early on, the world-building is mostly delivered through Violet "info-dumping" history facts to calm herself down.
A great series starter should feel like a slow-burning fuse leading to a massive explosion in book two. Because Fourth Wing keeps the true threat hidden until the literal final chapters, the majority of the book feels isolated. We needed more of a grand buildup—whispers of the broader war, deeper political intrigue, and a clearer sense of what the future holds, to make the transition into a sequel feel earned rather than abrupt.
The Suspense Deficit
For a school where cadets are supposedly murdered in their sleep or falling off catastrophic balance beams every day, the book suffers from a surprising lack of genuine suspense.
The "Plot Armor" Problem: Violet's physical frailty is established early on, but she quickly becomes so protected by powerful figures, rare dragon bonds, and unique magic that the actual danger vanishes. When a main character feels untouchable, suspense dies.
Predictable Rivalries: The villains within the school (like Jack Barlowe) are cartoonishly evil, making their plots predictable rather than tense.
Delayed Stakes: The real conflict, the external war and the political lies, doesn't truly kick in until the final 50 to 100 pages. Up until that point, the danger feels localized to passing grades and basic survival, leaving the middle section of the book feeling remarkably safe despite the body count.
Verdict: High Stakes on Paper, Slower in Practice
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