# Fourth Wing *The Empyrean* - Work: Book series - Date: 2023– (3 of 5 planned novels published) - Made by: Rebecca Yarros (Author) - Canonical: https://www.lanternhall.org/works/fourth-wing/ > A frail scholar is forced into a brutal war college where cadets bond with dragons or die trying: Rebecca Yarros's Fourth Wing turned romantasy into the biggest phenomenon in 2020s publishing. **Why it matters:** Fourth Wing is the commercial peak of the romantasy boom; its third volume sold faster than any adult novel in two decades, confirming dragon-riding fantasy romance as a mass-market force. ## Quick answers **When was Fourth Wing first published?** Fourth Wing was first published in 2023– (3 of 5 planned novels published). **Who created Fourth Wing?** Fourth Wing was made by Rebecca Yarros (author). **What kind of work is Fourth Wing?** Fourth Wing is a book series in the Romantasy and High / Epic Fantasy tradition. **Why is Fourth Wing important?** Fourth Wing is the commercial peak of the romantasy boom; its third volume sold faster than any adult novel in two decades, confirming dragon-riding fantasy romance as a mass-market force. ## Overview At Basgiath War College, cadets cross a narrow stone parapet high above a gorge on their first day, and those who fall are simply gone. Those who survive must, at the Threshing, persuade a dragon to bond with them — or be burned where they stand. Violet Sorrengail, twenty years old, small, prone to injury because of a chronic condition, and trained all her life to be a scribe, is ordered into the riders' quadrant by her mother, the commanding general. *Fourth Wing* (2023), the first book of [Rebecca Yarros](https://www.lanternhall.org/makers/rebecca-yarros/)'s *Empyrean* series, took the oldest fantasy creature, the [Dragon](https://www.lanternhall.org/bestiary/dragon/), and one of the newest genres, [Romantasy](https://www.lanternhall.org/atlas/romantasy/), and made them the biggest thing in publishing. ## Origins Yarros, born in 1981 and already a prolific author of contemporary romance, conceived the book as her first fantasy novel. It was published by Red Tower Books, a new fantasy imprint of Entangled Publishing, the independent romance house founded by Liz Pelletier, on May 2, 2023. The book arrived into a market primed by [Sarah J. Maas](https://www.lanternhall.org/makers/sarah-j-maas/)'s [A Court of Thorns and Roses](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses/) and by BookTok, the TikTok reading community that had turned romantic fantasy into a word-of-mouth juggernaut. Entangled aimed its marketing squarely at that audience. ## The story Violet's world is the kingdom of Navarre, protected by magical wards and by the riders of Basgiath, whose bonded dragons channel power that manifests in each rider as a unique "signet." In her class is Xaden Riorson, son of an executed rebel leader and a man with every reason to want the general's daughter dead. Violet survives by intellect as much as strength; she bonds, against all precedent, with two dragons — the massive black Tairn and the small golden Andarna — and discovers that Navarre's history is a lie concealing a far older threat. The romance is central, explicit and slow-burning; the war-school structure, with its challenges, rankings and body counts, gives it the momentum of an academy thriller. Readers will recognize ancestors. The telepathic bond between rider and dragon echoes a tradition running back through [Anne McCaffrey](https://www.lanternhall.org/makers/anne-mccaffrey/)'s [Dragonriders of Pern](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/dragonriders-of-pern/), while the rankings, trials and individual signet powers echo both young-adult dystopias and the progression logic of games. ## Reception & impact *Fourth Wing* sold more than two million copies in its first six months, reached No. 1 on the *New York Times* list, and had spent 65 weeks on that list by August 2024. The sequel, *Iron Flame*, followed after only six months, in November 2023. *Onyx Storm*, released on January 21, 2025, sold 2.7 million copies in its first week, more than any adult novel in the previous twenty years according to BookScan. *Fourth Wing* won International Book of the Year at the 2024 TikTok Book Awards. The success also drew criticism. Reviewers noted modern slang and a fast, sometimes loose approach to worldbuilding, and debates over whether romantasy "counts" as fantasy became a recurring feature of the genre's online culture. None of it slowed sales; the books' devoted readership turned out for bookstore midnight release parties that recalled the [Harry Potter](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/harry-potter/) era. The phenomenon has run mostly toward screen and merchandise rather than games so far. In October 2023 Amazon MGM Studios and Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society acquired the rights for a television series, with Yarros and Pelletier as executive producers. ## Legacy Yarros has said the *Empyrean* will run to five books. As of September 2026, three novels are published, and the untitled books four and five have no announced release dates. A companion volume, *Threshing Day*, has been announced by Red Tower for September 29, 2026. Whatever comes next, *Fourth Wing* has already marked a turning point: the moment the dragon, the defining monster of fantasy from [Beowulf](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/beowulf/) to [Dungeons & Dragons](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/dnd-5th-edition/), became the object of a love story read by millions. ## Facts - Fourth Wing was published on May 2, 2023, by Red Tower Books, an imprint of Entangled Publishing. - It sold more than two million copies in its first six months and spent 65 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list by August 2024. - Onyx Storm (January 21, 2025) sold 2.7 million copies in its first week, the fastest-selling adult novel in 20 years according to BookScan. - Yarros has said the Empyrean series will run to five books. - Amazon MGM Studios and Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society acquired television rights in October 2023. - Books four and five have no announced release dates; a companion volume, Threshing Day, is announced for September 29, 2026. ## Sources and further reading - [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Wing) - [Onyx Storm (Wikipedia)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onyx_Storm) - [Rebecca Yarros (Wikipedia)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Yarros) --- From The Lantern Hall (https://www.lanternhall.org/), a museum of fantasy literature and roleplaying games.