Fourth Wing

Fourth Wing

Author	Rebecca Yarros
Language	English
Series	The Empyrean
Release number	1
Genre	New adult fiction Fantasy romance Dystopian fiction
Published	May 2, 2023 (2023-05-02)
Publisher	Red Tower Books (Entangled Publishing)
Pages	512
ISBN	978-1-64937-404-2
Dewey Decimal	813.6
Followed by	Iron Flame

Fourth Wing is a new adult fantasy romance novel written by the American author Rebecca Yarros. It is the first book in the Empyrean series,¹ following the journey of Violet Sorrengail, who is forced by her mother, General Sorrengail, to join the Basgiath War College and become a dragon rider in the kingdom of Navarre. Even though she has been trained her entire life to enter the Scribe Quadrant, Violet must endure deadly quests and competitions that push her to her limits while trying to avoid being killed by one of the most powerful riders in the quadrant, Xaden Riorson.

The book was published in the United States on May 2, 2023, by Red Tower Books, an imprint of Entangled Publishing. Its viral success within TikTok's reader community, BookTok, significantly contributed to its No. 1 ranking on The New York Times bestseller list. It won The International Book of the Year 2024 at the annual TikTok Book Awards. The book sold over two million copies in its first six months and has been translated into approximately 30 languages.²

Yarros has mentioned in interviews that the idea for Fourth Wing emerged when her publisher announced that they were going to start a romantic fantasy line, prompting her to submit five proposals. After several reviews, her publisher selected the third idea, which explored the Empyrean world.³ The inspiration for the story stems from her fascination with dragons, her husband's military experience, and her personal struggles.³ Violet's physical fragility, as described in the book, was influenced by Yarros's own experience living with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting both her and her children. Yarros has expressed a desire to represent people with chronic illnesses, showcasing that they can also be heroic.⁴

20-year old Violet Sorrengail is the youngest daughter of General Lilith Sorrengail, who leads the Basgiath War College in Navarre, the kingdom Fourth Wing is set in. Navarre has six provinces: Calldyr, Morraine, Luceras, Elsum, Deaconshire, and Tyrrendor. Basgiath isn't in any of the provinces, but it is where the wardstone of Navarre is located. Here, students choose to join one of four military branches: Infantry, Healer, Scribe, or Rider, training for three years before being sent out to the war effort. Infantry are common foot soldiers, the largest quadrant which most choose to be conscripted to. If someone doesn't pass the initial tests, they are automatically conscripted to the infantry. Healers and Scribes have written exams that the conscript needs to pass in order to enter. Healers learn how to use medicine and cure others. Scribes record current events and manage the Archives, the library that has the history of Navarre. Riders bond with a dragon, which allows them to develop a magical power known as a 'signet', with there being dozens of unique signets. A signet represents who a rider is at their core. They can also wield 'lesser magic' or small magic that allows them to do simple things, like lock a door or use an ink pen instead of a quill, using their powers.

Despite having trained to be a scribe like her late father, and suffering from chronic pain and weak joints, Violet's mother orders her to join the Riders Quadrant - infamous for being deadly to new recruits. Violet only had six months of training with Major Gillstead, while most trained for it for their entire life, as riders have less rules than most quadrants. It's also the quadrant easiest to gain military rank in, with each new graduate becoming a lieutenant immediately thanks to their prized dragons and signets.

Six years before the events of Fourth wing, many of the other Rider recruits' parents were involved in a rebellion centered in the largest province, Tyrrendor, which was put down by General Sorrengail. The leaders of the rebellion were executed by the main general of Navarre's army, General Melgren. General Melgren bonded a Black dragon, known as the rarest type, with his signet giving him the ability to see the outcome of a battle before it happens, his dragon Codagh carrying out the executions. The 107 children of the rebellion leaders were spared thanks to Xaden Riorson, the son of Fen Riorson, the Duke of Tyrrendor who started the rebellion and was executed, when he made a deal with General Sorrengail. This deal allows all the rebellion children to be conscripted into the Riders' Quadrant when they are of age and serving Navarre instead of being executed. To hold him to this promise, General Sorrengail performed a Tyrrish ritual where Xaden takes responsibility for all 107 children, each marked as a scar on his back. As a sign of their parents' guilt, all rebellion children are forever marked with a special sign on their left arm, swirling black ink created by Codagh, known as the rebellion relic. This led to the nickname 'the Marked Ones' for the rebellion children.

In order to become a rider, each conscript has to cross an 18 inch wide stone bridge called the Parapet, with no walls and a 200 foot drop to the valley below. If they survive, they have to pass Challenges, one on one fights with other riders, and practice on a mountainside obstacle course with five ascents. On Presentation Day, the cadets must complete a timed Gauntlet, and walk on a path for the dragons to judge. Finally, on October 1st, or Threshing, they must go into the forest. If a dragon chooses to bond with a cadet, and they survive the flight back to the flight field, they become riders and can talk telepathically with their dragons. They will also eventually start channeling their dragon's power and wield a signet. If they survive but don't bond, they are given a chance to repeat.

In Basgiath, Violet reunites with her childhood friend and longtime crush Dain Aetos, a second-year cadet. She also meets Xaden Riorson, a marked third-year whose father was executed by Violet's mother for his leading role in the rebellion. Violet joins Fourth Wing under the vengeful Xaden's command, with Dain as their squad leader. Against all odds, Violet manages to survive her training and bonds with two dragons, Tairn and Andarna. She even falls in love with Xaden and the two end up in a relationship. For their final challenge of the year, they are sent on a suicide mission designed by Dain's father to kill them. During this deployment, the truth about the rebellion of Xaden's father is revealed and Violet joins the re-emerging revolution.

• Fourth Wing [May, 2023]
• Iron Flame [November, 2023]
• Onyx Storm [January, 2025]

• Unnamed Novella [2026]
• Empyrean Book 4 [2027 etd]
• Empyrean Book 5 [Unknown]

• Violet Sorrengail: The protagonist and primary point-of-view character. Smaller and physically weaker than the other riders, she only joins the Riders Quadrant at the demand of her mother, General Lilith Sorrengail. She is assigned to Fourth Wing. In an unprecedented turn of events, she bonds to two dragons, Tairneanach, or "Tairn", a Black Morningstartail, behemoth of a dragon, and Andarnaurram, or "Andarna", a golden, feathertail dragon. Signets: Lightening Wielding (Through Tairn.)
• Xaden Riorson: A marked one, and wing leader of Fourth Wing who, through his bond with his dragon Sgaeyl, has the ability to wield shadows. He is the son of Fen Riorson, a rebellion leader who killed Violet's brother and was later killed by Violet's mother. Because of this, Xaden and Violet are incredibly hostile towards one another. Xaden is described as an extremely attractive person and is a love interest for Violet. Bonded to Sgaeyl, a navy-Blue Daggertail dragon.
• Dain Aetos: Violet's childhood best friend and son of Colonel Aetos. A second-year Rider, he is a squad leader in the Fourth Wing. Through his bond with his dragon Cath, he can read memories upon touching another person. He is a love interest for Violet. Bonded to Cath, a Red Swordtail; Signet: Retrocognition.
• Rhiannon Matthias: A first-year member of the Riders Quadrant who is assigned to Fourth Wing. She becomes Violet's best friend. Bonded to Feirge, a green, daggertail; Signet: Retrieval.
• Sawyer Henrick: A repeated first year, he and Rhiannon agree to help Violet with hand-to-hand combat if Violet tutors them in history. He becomes a good friend of Violet, Rhiannon, and Ridoc. Bonded to Sliseag, a red, swordtail dragon; Signet: Metallurgy.
• Ridoc Gamlyn: A first-year member of the Riders Quadrant who is assigned to Fourth Wing. He is very humorous and becomes a good friend of Violet, Rhiannon, and Sawyer. Bonded to Aotrom, a brown swordtail; Signet: Ice-Wielding.
• Liam Mairi: A first-year Rider who grew up with Xaden after their parents were killed for leading the rebellion. Bonded to Deigh, a red daggertail; Signet: Farsight.

• Jack Barlowe: A violent first-year Rider who is assigned to First Wing and makes it his mission to kill Violet.
• Jesinia Neilwart: a first-year in the Scribe Quadrant and Violet's friend.
• Oren Seifert: a jealous first-year Rider who is assigned to First Wing and like Jack makes it his mission to kill Violet.
• Amber Mavis: a wing leader and a close friend of Dain.

• Lilith Sorrengail: She is the Commanding General of Basgiath War College. Her signet is Storm Wielding, and she is bound to the Brown Dragon Aimsir. Lilith is known as a ruthless, stern, and powerful rider, which makes her respected and feared by those within and outside the Kingdom of Navarre. Lilith is also Asher Sorrengail's wife and Violet Sorrengail's mother. In addition, Lilith plays an important role in the life of Xaden Riorson, as she is responsible for the death of Fen Riorson.  
• Mira Sorrengail: Violet's older sister and a graduate of Basgiath War College. She strongly opposes her mother's decision to force Violet into the Riders Quadrant. Bonded with Teine, a green, clubtail dragon; signet: ward extension.
• Augustine Melgren: General of all of Navarre's armies. His bonded black swordtail dragon, Codagh, gave rebellion relics to all of the rebels' children, or "the marked ones", offering some protection to them from Melgren's signet. Melgren is able to see the outcome of any battle, except when three or more marked ones are gathered.
• Colonel Aetos: Dain's father. Dragon and signet are unknown.

• Brennan Sorrengail: Violet's brother. Believed to be dead in Book One. Signet: mending. Bonded to an orange daggertail dragon named Marbh.
• Asher Sorrengail: Violet's father. He was a curator of the Scribe quadrant and a pivotal character in Violet's life. He dies from a heart attack shortly after Brennans death.
• Fen Riorson: Xaden's father, Fen, was an infantryman and leader of the Tyrrish rebellion against the government of Navarre. Fen was a man of values who wanted Xaden to follow his footsteps. As a result of his actions against the government, as well as the death of Brennan Sorrengail, Fen Riorson was sentenced to death, with Lilith Sorrengail in charge of carrying out the execution.
• Imogen Cardulo: A second-year rider at Basgiath War College as a supportive friend to Xaden and a potential ally for Violet.
• Garrick Tavis: Xaden's best friend since childhood, Garrick is characterized by his loyalty and steadfast nature.
• Professor Carr: A knowledgeable instructor at Basgiath War College.

The book had a mostly positive critical reception. Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review, praising its worldbuilding, characters, and "sexy dark academia aesthetic".⁵ Alana Joli Abbott, in a review for Paste, praised its use of familiar tropes and compared it favorably to fantasy series like Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.⁶ The book was one of the most borrowed titles in American public libraries during 2023 and 2024.⁷

Fourth Wing became a viral phenomenon on BookTok, where the hashtags "#FourthWing" and "#RebeccaYarros" have more than a billion views combined. Its popularity led it to reach No. 1 on Amazon's bestseller list as well as the No. 1 spot on The New York Times Bestseller list, where it stayed for 18 weeks.⁸⁹ It has been credited as helping to popularize the "romantasy" genre, which blends elements of romance and fantasy genres.¹⁰

Kimberly Terasaki of The Mary Sue wrote about a phenomenon within the fandom of portraying Xaden, a primary love interest of the protagonist, as white in fan art despite the fact that he is described as dark-skinned in the book. Yarros also commented on the phenomenon and asserted that the character is not intended to be white.¹¹

There is a review available by Tamara Saarinen from the School Library Journal, who approached Fourth Wing from the perspective of a school library. She noted that the use of modern profanity and sexual scenes make this book more appropriate for older teen audiences. That said, she did give an overall positive verdict for school libraries, claiming it would attract “romantasy” fans.¹²

The sequel, Iron Flame, was released on November 7, 2023.⁹¹³ The third book, Onyx Storm, was released on January 21, 2025.¹⁴

In October 2023, Variety reported that a television adaptation of the series was in the works at Amazon MGM Studios. It was also revealed that Amazon and Outlier Society had acquired rights to all books in the series, with Rebecca Yarros and Liz Pelletier announced as executive producers of the series.¹⁵ In July 2024, Moira Walley-Beckett was announced to be the showrunner, but would later leave. Jac Schaeffer was in talks to replace her before Meredith Averill was announced to be the new showrunner.¹⁶¹⁷¹⁸

In May 2026, Amazon Prime Video gave the series greenlit, with Michael B. Jordan, Lisa Joy who will also direct the first episode, Jonathan Nolan and Athena Wickham joining as executive producers.¹⁹

In March 2025, Yarros announced graphic-novel adaptations are in the works for all three of books of The Empyrean series (Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm). Yarros has stated she will be adapting the text herself along with a team of comic creators. A total of six graphic-novels are planned to span all three books. This project is in partnership with Ten Speed Graphic, Piatkus, and Entangled Publishing. Release dates have not been announced.²⁰

A series of dramatised audiobooks was produced by American audiobook company GraphicAudio and released in 2023.²¹