GABY NIEVESCo-Managing Mosaic Editor
Violet Sorrengail never wanted to be a dragon rider.
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Regardless, she survived her first year at Basgiath War College and achieved countless feats no one ever expected from her (including surviving). Violet is now a second-year cadet, but it’s hard for her to celebrate this milestone after learning the many secrets that came to light at the end of “Fourth Wing.”
The country’s true enemy is something much deadlier than its leaders let on. Violet lost some of her closest friends to both betrayal and death. However, she also learned that not all lost loved ones stay dead. To top it all off, she found love in the last person she ever thought she would at Basgiath.
Picking up right after the cliffhanger ending of “Fourth Wing,” author Rebecca Yarros invites readers back to Riders Quadrant with “Iron Flame,” the second book in The Empyrean series, which was released on Nov. 7.
Even though “Fourth Wing” came out in April, I’ve spent most of the year as a simple spectator to the book’s explosive popularity. When I heard that the new adult fantasy read was only the first of a five-book series, I thought: “Yeah, no.” Book series typically take years to fully release, and I wasn’t going to throw myself into a new fantasy novel only to forget all the details about the fictional world and magic system by the time the next one came out.
However, two things happened ahead of “Iron Flame’s” release: First, I became a book reviewer, and second, my curiosity got the better of me. So I spent the month of November reading the first two installments of The Empyrean series.
My verdict? I think that “Fourth Wing” and “Iron Flame” are worth the hype.
Since “Iron Flame” is the newest novel, this review will focus on it more than “Fourth Wing.” But I will say this: I wouldn’t call myself a roman-tasy (fantasy/romance) reader. I’ve read far more contemporary romance and science fiction novels than I have fantasy. “Fourth Wing,” however…let’s just say that I barely finished putting the book down before I picked up “Iron Flame.”
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(Minor “Iron Flame” spoilers and major “Fourth Wing” spoilers ahead.)
While “Fourth Wing” takes place over the course of Violet’s first year at Basgiath, “Iron Flame” occurs during her second. Since each year in the Rider’s Quadrant brings its own unique set of deadly challenges, 21-year-old Violet has to train harder than ever to survive.
Unlike the first book, Violet’s going into this one fully bonded to her two dragons. Tairn’s power has given her the ability to wield lightning, and Andarna, well, that’s a spoiler. Violet’s main squad of friends has also been established, and she’s fallen in love with the shadow-wielding Xaden Riorson, who just graduated from the Riders Quadrant. Not only does she have to keep herself alive, but she has countless loved ones she fears losing.
But apparently, not everyone can be lost. “Fourth Wing” ends with Violet discovering that her brother, Brennan — who supposedly died in Navarre’s war against a rebel uprising — is alive. Contrary to everything Violet’s studied, the real fight has never been against rebels or the enemy kingdom of Poromiel and their griffon fliers. In this new book, we learn that innocent civilians outside of Navarre’s borders are getting killed by venin and wyvern, beings of dark magic that Violet has only read about in folklore.
Just when Violet and Xaden confess their feelings for one another, and Violet thinks he has finally opened up to her, it turns out that Xaden has known about the existence of dark-wielders all along.
He didn’t tell Violet the truth — including the fact that her brother is alive — to protect her. But Violet was a creature of knowledge and facts long before she was a rider. If the history books she poured over her entire life aren’t even accurate, can she trust anyone anymore?
Trust and secret-keeping are major themes in this novel. Xaden can’t tell Violet everything he knows, and Violet can’t tell her friends about the threat beyond their borders at all. The major point of strain in Violet and Xaden’s relationship throughout this book is the fact that Xaden won’t tell Violet everything she wants to know, and she hates that.
Although it’s definitely not as unbearable as the miscommunication trope, I’ve heard lots of Empyrean fans complain that Violet’s “I have to know everything” mindset ruins the book for them. To that, I ask: What did y’all expect? I was very surprised that they even got together in the first book, because the main love interests don’t usually couple up that fast in a multi-book series. If they do, it’s not like their relationship can be all sunshine and rainbows for the next four books. That’s bad writing, so of course something has to be wrong! They can’t fully understand each other. It’s frustrating to read, sure, but this is what has to happen after Yarros made them fall in love in the very first book.
Violet’s status as a second-year cadet and her relationship with Xaden are really only a fraction of this book, though. The novel is split into two parts, because beyond Basgiath, Violet ends up facing much greater battles than you ever would have expected of the former Scribe-to-be.
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To put it simply, a lot happens in this book – a lot. And, honestly, given the fast-paced nature of the story (every scene led into another that was just as enthralling as the last), it’s not that it felt like the story was dragging. Rather, it’s that I started to experience fatigue. So much happened in “Part One” that it felt like I had just finished a book. Then, I got to “Part Two” and went, “How can there be more?!”
After I finished the novel, I understood why the book was split into two parts; each part is very distinctive in its main conflict. However, they’re so distinctive that I’m left asking: Why not just publish them as separate books? Spare my brain muscles next time, Yarros.
I’ve got to give it to her though – Yarros created a very entertaining story here. Violet’s relationships with other characters are in-depth and meaningful. The audience is also given more details about subjects that were only explored at surface-level in the first book – details such as how dragon society operates and what the greater history of The Continent consists of.
Yet while readers are exposed to a lot of new information, the book is so action- (and romance-) packed that you just can’t get bored. At least, I didn’t. Some might find the novel to be too info-heavy, but I like having all the info. Give me all the worldbuilding!
However, for all the entertainment this series provides, it’s true that some of the writing made the editor in me cringe. I don’t know how long this book was in the works for, but the fact that “Iron Flame” came out seven months after “Fourth Wing” shows a bit. Some sentences could have been restructured, and some dialogue could’ve been made to sound less juvenile.
For example, Xaden saying “…you and I are endgame” was sweet, but also made me laugh out loud. That’s something people say about book characters, not what characters say in the actual book.
I can stand the informal prose and dialogue. After all, most of these characters are in their early twenties. And as a person in her early twenties, I can verify that sometimes we start our sentences with “and” (see what I did there?). However, sometimes I’d go: “Wow. No one would ever say that in a real, fluid conversation.”
I ended up very entranced by the story and world, so the writing didn’t bother me that much. But, if you don’t get immersed into stories as easily as I do, it might be more difficult to get past the writing itself.
I’m writing this review days after finishing the book, and I must say that I haven’t stopped thinking about the world of “Iron Flame.” I definitely understand the hype around this series and the roman-tasy genre at large now.Oh, how painful the wait until the next Empyrean book will be. Even so, if you liked “Fourth Wing,” “Iron Flame” is definitely worth reading. 7.5/10.
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