Fourth Wing, Iron Flame and Onyx Storm: The Empyrean Books 1-3
A Multi Book Review
So one day I was hanging out with my daughters and I took them to the bookstore. My oldest pulled out a book and recommended it to me. I nodded sagely, forgot all about it and wandered off. The only thing harder than keeping up with my kids in a bookstore is keeping up with me in a bookstore. I love my girls but I had things to see while I was there. Seriously, a good rule of thumb while in a bookstore is this: “Don’t get between the Jimbo and the pages. The pages have words on them and the Jimbo is a word addict. He will fight you to get to the pages.” Fortunately, my daughters’ first instinct is to ditch the old man in the bookstore and this works out for all involved.
Then a little while later, I was perusing some Kindle Unlimited books that Amazon recommended to me and a book named Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros came up on the list. The name rung a bell and I couldn’t figure out why. Whatever. I picked it up because it was about a girl at a dragon riding school. Dragon riding schools are cool. Who wouldn’t want to learn to ride a dragon if they could? The feelings of freedom and power while mounted dragonback would be amazing. I’d lose my mind.
Assuming that I lived that long, anyway. Yarros’s version of dragon riding school (referred to as the Riders Quadrant, or just the Quadrant) is horrifically brutal. Induction into the Quadrant starts with a walk across the parapet, which doesn’t sound all that bad until you realize that the parapet is actually a stone ledge and that not only can recruits fall off the parapet and die but many do. Part of the first day ceremonies is the reading of the names of the dead. It’s an annual tradition.
It gets crazier from there. Murder is not only common, it’s allowed as long as the victim is neither asleep or a member of the killer’s squad. The obstacle course kills people. Dragons kill recruits. It’s rough. Of course, those who make it through are hardened by the experience. One character claims that part of the training in the Riders Quadrant is losing friends now so recruits will know how to deal with the loss of friends in combat later, Riders being soldiers in the army of the Empyrean.
There’s not just a ton of action in all three books (I’m also reviewing Iron and Flame and Onyx Storm, books two and three of the series) there’s always the threat of a ton more. You’re never quite sure what’s going to happen or when. Main character Violet Sorrengail is a target not just because she’s a student in the Quadrant, but because her family is important politically. There has been a rebellion lately, and her mother was on the winning side. This would be a good thing but some of the children of the rebels, who were executed, are now students in the Quadrant as well. You did catch the part above about “murder is legal” right?
And there is a ton of political intrigue in all three of these books, but most especially in Onyx Storm when Violence (her lover Xaden’s nickname for her) and crew are on tour trying to find allies and also something else that’s necessary for the war effort. I won’t say what but something important. I really like that aspect of it. It’s almost like Medieval Battletech but less ‘Mechs, more dragons and magic.
The magic system in The Empyrean is a bit stranger than what I’m used to but I liked that about it. There are three basic ways to get magic from what I’ve been able to gather so far. (And, while I don’t have any inside information, Yarros is a good enough author that she could add to this in the future if it fits her story and make it make sense in the process.) One is by Riding. Dragons give their rider a signet, and each signet comes with a power. Powers vary by individual, so a Rider is never quite sure what they’re going to be able to do after they bond with their dragon. Another is by bonding with a gryphon, although the magic isn’t as strong. Either way leaves the creature that the Rider is pulling the magic from intact. The third way is by draining the ground.
The people who do this are called the venin, and here I am wondering out loud if they’re based on the Defilers from D&D’s Dark Sun universe. According to Yarros’s Wikipedia entry she’s forty-four so that would put her at about the right age to have played Dark Sun as a teenager. Defilers also pulled their energy from the planet and they’re blamed for ruining it. Both Defilers and venin make great villains though, so it works either way.
There is a bit of a love triangle here, but it’s not as pronounced as some other ones and overall I think that’s a good thing. I hated Twilight when I tried to watch it. I didn’t care for the movies either. Then again, I was okay with Peeta/Katniss/Gail in The Hunger Games and Rick/Minmei/Kyle in Robotech so it’s not a put off when it’s done right. I think Yarros strikes the right balance here. There’s enough conflict to add spice and enough emphasis on the stuff that I actually enjoy that it’s not a drag on the story.
Oh, did I say spice? Yeah, these books are waaaaay over the amount of spice I usually enjoy in my stories but I found myself to be okay with it. I will say this though: My oldest daughter is a nineteen year old adult who works full time, goes to college and lives at the college dorms for a good chunk of the year. She can read what she wants. I wouldn’t let a kid who was much younger than that read The Empyrean though. The characters in the book enter the Quadrant at the age of twenty and so they’re of an age to legally engage in sexual shenanigans if that’s what they want to do. If you’re not okay with spice though, you might want to read something else.
Still and all though, The Empyrean is a good series so far and I’m looking forward to future installments. There is a lot of story left to tell here. I’ll be reading them once they get here.
Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Alloy Daggers
Fourth Wing
Rebecca Yarros
Entangled: Red Tower Books, 2023
Iron Flame
Rebecca Yarros
Entangled: Red Tower Books, 2023
Onyx Storm
Rebecca Yarros
Entangled: Red Tower Books , 2025
The three books are available for purchase at the links below. If you click the links and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.
An IRL friend recommended me this to. She's a huge fan of the series. I read the Kindle sample. Next time we were drinking together, I told her, "Too much murder."