Fourth Wing

Do you read books? Yes? Great.

Do you read fiction? No? Too bad.

I have been quite often showered with disbelieving looks when I tell people that I prefer reading books over watching Netflix. It doesn't mean I don't watch movies or shows, it just means that I enjoy reading more. If a movie is based on a book, I will read the book first, then watch the movie and judge how the important details have been missed. 🤭

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An eternity has passed since I last wrote a book review. But today, I feel like writing about a series that I have been reading lately. It won't essentially be a review. Just my two cents, if anybody feels like reading fiction.

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I am reading The Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros. The author has published two books in the series as of yet.

• Fourth Wing
• Iron Flame

And the title of the third book, which is expected to be published in 2025, has recently been revealed:

• Onyx Storm

I felt gutted when I came to know there was going to be a third book because, at that time, I was halfway through the first book; I couldn't stop reading, and now I can't wait for the third book.

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Storyline

In the first book, Fourth Wing, the story takes place at a military college that trains dragon riders. Just like we have military pilots (airplane riders), the Empyrean World has military riders (dragon riders). In real life, pilots are generally trained for the planes that they are capable of flying. In this book, dragons choose their riders.

^{Snippet from the book}

The cadets go through extensive training for three years before they can wear the lieutenant rank and serve in the army. The weak and unfortunate die during the training; the death rate is always high.

There are four different quadrants (branches) - riders, infantry, healers, and scribes.

The main character, Violet, who prepared her whole life to become a scribe, is forced to join the riders' quadrant and struggles to stay alive.

It turns out that "death military college" is not the only threat to their lives but there are far worst enemies out their for which they are training brutally hard.

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My thoughts

This is one of those books that hooks you from the start. The author managed to build tension and curiosity from the very first page, and before you realize it, you are halfway through and the story is well-established.

Having said that and having read too many books, I felt the story is quite predictable, and the writing is not so sophisticated. There is repetitive use of some phrases, which becomes a little annoying by the end as if the author was robbed of her word bank.

(As a wannabe writer, I took mental notes on "what not to do" and "what to do" with my writing.)

Nevertheless, I give full points for creating a convincing fictional world without loopholes and for writing a successful page-turner.

You must be wondering why I called it a "page-turner" and a "predictable story" at the same time. Well, the aspects of college, training and war are really thrilling. There's a love story that goes along, which is not bad but quite predictable, at least in the first book.

P.S. I'd not recommend the book to kids since it contains explicit scenes of violence and intimacy. But if you are an adult and enjoy reading fiction then do give it a try.

I guess my two cents turned into a review anyways.

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I am now reading the second book. I won't promise, but I will try to share my thoughts on that one too.