Fourth Wing (Chapter 19 through Chapter 21)
STATS
Title: Fourth Wing
Series: The Empyrean (Book 1)
Author(s): Rebecca Yarros
Genre: Fantasy (Epic)
First Printing: 2023
Publisher: Red Tower Books
Rating: 2/10
SPOILER WARNING
Heavy spoilers will be provided for the entire story up through the end of the content covered in this part. Mild spoilers for elements later in the story may be provided, but I will keep the first paragraph of each section as spoiler-free as possible. Heavy spoilers from later in the book will be confined to clearly labelled sections.
STORY
With time stopped around her, Violet repositions herself within her room, getting out of immediate danger. She discovers that Xaden had just arrived at her door. When Andarna drops the time stop, Xaden slaughters the unbonded cadets.
Xaden tends to Violet's injuries, orders some bonded riders who are rebel children to clean up the bodies, and then takes Violet out to the training field via a secret tunnel. On the way, Violet notes how convenient it is that Xaden and the other rebel children were awake and in full flight gear when she was attacked, something Xaden brushes off. At the flight field, they meet with Tairn, Andarna, and Xaden's dragon. Here we learn important details about the world, namely that Xaden and Violet can telepathically communicate with each other's dragons due to the mating bond and that feathertail dragons are actually juveniles. This latter point is the source of Andarna's time stop magic (which is not a Signet power). Violet and Xaden resolve to keep the power secret for the protection of all feathertails. Xaden then forces Violet to tell her that Amber is the rider who let the unbonded cadets into her room.
The next day, during the daily assembly of the Riders Quadrant trainees, Xaden reassigns squad members to put Liam, a rebel child who is one of the best 1st-years, onto Dain's squad. This is openly done to bodyguard Violet. Xaden then accuses Amber. Dain refuses to accept this accusation, even when Violet validates it. He demands that Violet show him the memory of the attack. Violet refuses, on the grounds that this would expose Andarna's time stop ability. She instead asks Tairn to share an edited version of the memory with the officers via their dragons. Violet gaslights Dain for not blindly believing her. Amber is then executed.
We then see Liam accompanying Violet on Archives duty. During this, they discuss how rebel children were fostered by loyalist nobles prior to being conscripted as riders. Before they head back, Jesinia asked them to bring documents for the day's Battle Brief to the professor in charge. Violet and Liam glimpse these orders, but since the document is not marked as classified, they think nothing of it. However, during the Battle Brief, they notice that key information from the documents was not shared with the class. Violet assumes that it was classified and that she merely missed the marks that would indicate that.
PLOT
This section does a bit better with trying to restart the plot, but not by much.
She Did It! (Part 2)
Amber is identified - as she should have been in Chapter 18 - and she dies. The end.
Yarros does try to spin this as Dain betraying Violet, since Xaden believed her without question while Dain wanted proof. I'll get into this more in the character analysis, so for now, I'll just say that it doesn't work. At most, this foreshadows that Dain is willing to use his power to read her mind, but given the circumstances, that's quite understandable. It's not much in terms of a setup for things he might do down the line.
Think of the Children! (Heavy Spoilers)
It is here established that Andarna's power to stop time must be kept secret at all costs, to protect her from being hunted by the leadership of the riders.
I'll discuss this more when we get to worldbuilding. For now, I want you to guess: how often do you think that -
You know what? Forget the bit. It doesn't come up. This plot thread is worthless.
On first read, I assumed this element was a limitation to stop Violet from abusing Andarna's time stop to resolve all conflicts. However, this was already addressed by having Andarna be utterly exhausted by using it. Violet can't abuse it without endangering her dragon's health, and thus, her own health.
On the reread, I realized that the actual function of this is twofold. First, this development is a way to artificially inflate the tension, much like Violet worrying about manifesting a Signet. Second, it provides an excuse to demonize Dain further. Because Violet is protecting Andarna, her decision to withhold evidence that is necessary to determine whether a human being should be condemned to death is somehow justified. She can lash out at Dain for not believing her accusation out of hand and be grateful that Xaden doesn't ask to see evidence that he already knows about.
Mark of Death (Heavy Spoilers)
Violet fears that the power to stop time will make her too dangerous, and that she will be executed, the same as an inntinnsic.
Nothing comes of this, either.
Actually, come to think of it, this possibility is contradicted in the same scene, when Xaden and Violet discuss how Andarna would be hunted. With how it is written, it is unclear on a first read whether they believe the rider leadership will slaughter Andarna or try to force other juveniles to bond with riders so that this power can he exploited. The idea that riders leadership would ever slaughter juvenile dragons is so ludicrous that the latter interpretation is the only logical one. Yarros is asking us to fear that Violet accessing Andarna's magic could result in her execution while also implying (via poor wording) that the rider leadership would want more riders like Violet. It makes Violet sound irrationally paranoid. (That's not a huge leap from her established characterization, yet it still deflates the tension.)
Classified
The fact that information is being withheld from the Battle Brief is something that will feed into the climax of the story. The problem is that it is simultaneously not given focus and yet hammered upon as being very important. Yes, we recognize that it must be special, but no effort is being exerted to explore it. It’s the same effect we’d get if the book had bee printed with the lines in question as a different font color than the rest of the story: superficially noticeable, but with nothing deeper to it.
Romance Subplot
Finally, we are getting some development.
By this, I am not referring to how these chapters highlight how much Violet wants to have sex with Xaden, or the time spent dwelling on her sexual frustration. (I am not kidding. These three chapters made me acutely aware that I was reading a book written by woman whose husband had been away on multiple military deployments). I am not even referring to Violet wanting Xaden even more after he is willing to execute another human being based on nothing but her accusation. Rather, I am referring to the backstory about the rebel kids that Liam feeds to Violet. This tells us something about Xaden that Violet can emotionally engage with.
CHARACTERS
Violet
Violet's accusation condemns Amber to death. When Dain is distraught that his friend and former lover is being accused of violating the Codex (something that flies in the face of what he knows about said friend and lover) and requests irrefutable evidence that Violet can easily provide, she refuses. She then has the chutzpah to lash out at him for not blindly believing her while adoring Xaden for doing so.
Let that sink in. Dain isn't attacking Violet’s credibility or demanding some evidence that is impossible to acquire. She HAS the evidence Dain needs. Yes, she has a reason for withholding it, but Dain does not know that, and instead of giving him an excuse, she lashes out at him for not blindly believing her (again, with the fate of his former lover in the balance).
In other news, Violet's sexual frustration is off-putting to read about. It's not that it's unrealistic or unrelatable. Maybe this is typical of Romance these days (though, if so, it is adding fuel to the stereotype that the whole genre is porn). However, it really does not work for a romance subplot in Epic Fantasy. Yarros should have focused on Violet feeling lonely, not had her whine about being lonely only as a justification for why all she cares about is sex. It makes it sound like Xaden is just an object to alleviate Violet's frustration, not a serious love interest.
Dain
Imagine if your ex, with whom you are still on good terms, was excused of violating the values that you both hold dear, something that is goes against everything you know about her. Imagine this ex will be sentenced to death by immolation, right away, right in front of you. Imagine that the accusation came from someone you have good reason to believe is out to murder your best friend and may also have a vendetta against the accused ex. Imagine that said best friend has the evidence that will exonerate your ex. It's a photograph in your friend's wallet, which your friend is holding loosely in her hand. Your friend routinely trusts you with said wallet.
Would you extend your hand to your friend, with full expectation that they would pass over the wallet, or would you stand there and watch your ex burn for a crime you don't believe she committed?
When the friend refuses to hand over the wallet, would you grab it and yank out the photograph, or would you stand there and watch your ex burn for a crime you don't believe she committed?
When your friend refuses to show you the photograph, and instead passes the photograph around to other people (making you effectively the last person who gets to see it), how would you react when she then turns around and screams at you for not trusting that she has secret things in her wallet (again, the wallet she routinely trusts you with)?
With how Yarros framed this scene, Dain is the true victim. The fact that he tried to use his telepathy on Violet without her express consent is a violation of trust, but given the context, it is an understandable. He believed that he was saving an innocent life. He had no reason to believe he would he refused.
If the roles were reversed, Violet would have snatched the memory without hesitation, and we would be expected to condemn Dain for resisting.
Xaden
Violet now openly accepts that she wants to have sex with Xaden.
Amber
The attempt by Amber to assassinate Violet is, itself, an assassination of Amber's character.
I think what Yarros was going for here is that this stickler for the rules is a hypocrite. (This was probably done so Violet wouldn't look as bad for constantly violating the rules to get ahead.) The reason that this doesn't work is the context.
Amber's defense for her actions is that Violet is a liability. The implication is also that she bears a grudge against Violet for cheating on the Gauntlet. Why did she not kill Violet between Presentation and Threshing? While spitting in Dain in Chapter 13, Violet lets slip that she only saw him once between Presentation and Threshing. She was, therefore, unguarded. Amber could have slaughtered her easily. What was Amber waiting for? Was she just assuming Violet would die in the Threshing? If that was the case, then why did Amber not kill Violet at any time in the following month, in a way that does not violate the Codex?
Amber is a wing leader. This implies that she has an immensely powerful Signet and / or extensive experience and skill in a command role. She has authority over the riders and unbonded cadets in her wing. These same factors were used to build up Xaden as a threat when he moved Dain's squad to his wing. Are we really supposed to believe that Amber couldn't organize and execute an ambush of unbonded cadets and other riders who see Violet as a liability, within the Codex, in a manner that would account for Violet having a bodyguard?
To make the hypocrisy concept work for a character like Amber, she would need to be forced into it. The book would need to establish that Amber, like Violet, cannot succeed within the bounds of the Codex. Multiple attempts to assassinate Violet would need to be made and thwarted, or else some sort of deadline would need to push Amber to desperation. The absence of either makes it suspect that this character would actually do what we’re told she did.
Liam
This character is what Rhiannon should have been.
Liam is not merely a cardboard cutout who exists to validate Violet. He is a nuanced and sympathetic person who has been ordered into an awkward position by someone he is loyal to. Despite the fact that he doesn’t want to guard Violet any more than she wants him to guard her, he puts on a good face and builds a rapport with Violet. As the story progresses, the two of them will continue to spend time together and bond.
Part of the reason that I think Rhiannon should have died in Aurelie's place is because Liam ultimately replaces Rhiannon anyway. Imagine if Rhiannon had died in the Gauntlet. This would have devasted Violet, and while our time with Rhiannon was limited, there was enough for us to feel that loss with her. Violet could have become closed off after that. Liam could have been the one to coax her back out of her shell.
Nadine
Chapter 20 marks Nadine’s first introduction as a character. She gets a single line of dialogue in Amber’s execution scene, where she points out that Xaden is backing up his accusations by calling other rebel children as witnesses (though she specifically calls them out for being Tyrrish, and since Amber is apparently also Tyrrish, this doesn’t hld up). She then gets called out by a secondary character for her “bias”. against rebel children. This implies that she was one of the cadets whom Violet judged in the last part for not trusting rebel children.
That’s it. Nadine is an interchangeable background character whose one trait is, “Doesn’t trust rebel children. So, fuck her” (to use Violet’s eloquent phrasing).
Nadine is a prime example of the character bloat in this book. Those of you who have been following my commentary on Iron Flame, the sequel to Fourth Wing, on the Shadiversity Discord will know why I am highlighting her specifically. Regardless of whether you’ve been enjoying my outbursts over the sequel (which, trust me, we will get to), I think that putting a spotlight on Nadine will help to demonstrate a deeply entrenched problem with both books.
Andarna
Andarna is a juvenile dragon. That explains a lot. However, she is not the offspring of Tairn or her mate. She's just … some other dragon that they look after.
Why? What does this contribute? This is a needless complication of the narrative. I’m not saying that a story can’t be told with this element, but it fundamentally changes nothing about this book. All that’s accomplished is that the audience needs to remember a detail that is presented as very important but is ultimately wasted.
A quick check of Yarros's author bio reveals why she made this call: Yarros fostered and adopted her youngest daughter. One might conclude that Andarna is a tribute to that daughter … except that Yarros already accomplishes this goal by having all the rebel children be foster kids. Liam, for example, fills that role. The redundancy makes it seem like Yarros really wanted to call the audience’s attention to the fact that she fostered and adopted one of her kids.
VIRTUE SIGNALING
A character named Ridoc, who's been floating around for most of the book, is indicated to also be a Token Queer (still using Jade City terminology). He apparently is having sex with a male commanding officer. This is brought up in a throwaway line in one of the conversations about Violet's sexual frustration. This same conversation also reminds us that Rhiannon still has sex with women. Ridoc mentions Rhiannon's sex partner from Chapter 8, who has vanished from the story, while saying that both her and Rhiannon are in open relationships.
As with the earlier tokenizations, Yarros is going out of her way to let the audience know that these tokens exist, and in a manner that does not require any true investment. This is still very much a Category 1 virtue signal.
Also … I'm going to have to mark Andarna as a Token Foster / Adopted Child. It is transparent that she was given this backstory to mirror Yarros's own family dynamic. If this was a book for children, devoted to exploring this concept, that would be touching. It would be something that she could share with her daughter. Given the sexual content of this book, though, I would strongly question Yarros's judgment if she allowed any child to read this, let alone her youngest. The only thing that this inclusion can therefore accomplish is to call attention to Yarros' own virtue.
(Liam and the other rebel children are not tokenized in this same regard. While Andarna’s status needlessly complicates her contribution to the story, the fostering of the rebel children does the opposite, addressing a worldbuilding question regarding what’s being done with the rebel children prior to their conscription.)
WORLDBUILDING
None of the worldbuilding introduced in Chapters 17 through 21 addresses the existing plot holes. Still, there are some aspects that are worthy of praise.
Social Hierarchy
The fact that riders reorganize their social structure to reflect the power levels of the bonded dragons builds upon everything that has been previously established. If this entire partnership with the dragons exists because the dragons desire it, and if Signet powers can influence military rank, it follows that it would affect social circles as well.
Signets
We are introduced to a couple of new Signet powers in these chapters, including air manipulation and metal manipulation. We also see an inntinnsic in action.
These still feel like random magical superpowers, but that's not inconsistent at this point. Their randomness explains why dragons would even grant Signet powers that could threaten the kingdom's security. It is also established that riders do not have instant mastery of their powers and could be threatened by their own Signet, which is a nice detail that gives rider characters room to grow after they receive their powers.
The idea that a rider will explode if their Signet does not manifest in time is a bit odd. Does this mean that a rider with a Signet will die if they don't use it on a regular basis? Still, this weirdness doesn't yet contradict the rest of lore, so it’s fine for now.
We get reiteration of the idea that channeling too much magic can be lethal, albeit applied to a dragon rather than a rider.
Feathertails
Feathertails are juvenile dragons. This works well. It builds on the rarity of feathertails and Andarna's childlike features and personality.
The fact that feathertails have special, non-Signet magic that can be channeled through a rider raises some problems. First, it is not explicitly stated that dragons lose these powers as they age. Why we haven't been hearing around the magical superpowers of individual dragons? (Given that Yarros has whipped out new Codex rules and Draconis Ex Machina to save Violet from tight spots, I don’t think we can just trust that the powers are gone unless that is explicitly confirmed - and, as we'll get into several chapters down the line, perhaps not even then.) Second, Violet does not manifest another magical power from Andarna by the end of this book. Doesn't this mean that she has a Signet gift that never manifests? Shouldn't she explode?
The idea that the rider leadership might hunt Andarna and the other feathertails, for any reason, is ludicrous. The entire relationship with the dragons exists because the dragons allow it. If humans go after juvenile dragons for any reason, what is to stop the dragons from purging those responsible? What is to stop the bonded dragons from reading the rider leadership's intent and purging them before any hunting can take place?
If Andarna is a juvenile, and the power that a feathertail wields needs to be kept secret, why was she allowed to bond to Violet?
Yarros does provide an explanation for why Andarna was allowed at Presentation and Threshing. It is a confusing explanation, leaning on terms that are not themselves explained, yet it is clear that appearing publicly at these events is something that dragon society allows its juveniles to do. It therefore makes sense that Andarna would be able to encounter and choose Violet.
What makes less sense is that she was allowed to bond. With how Yarros presents the information, a dragon communicating telepathically with a human just means that the human has been chosen as a rider. The bond itself isn't sealed until the rider is branded with a relic. The fact that the dragons have anything to argue about when two dragons chose one rider means that there is still room to change course prior to the relic being placed.
Why, then, was Andarna not told off and sent to her room? If sharing the secrets of her power does endanger the other juvenile dragons, then this reckless child should be grounded and forced to wait to bond until she's mature enough to not be a risk. Tairn is free to take on Andarna's pick as his own rider. In fact, a fair compromise would have been to ground Andarna for now, let Tairn be Violet's only dragon until Andarna has matured, and then have Andarna bond with Violet then. Nothing in the lore prohibits that.
Time Stop
Already, in the first scene it appears in, this time stop power has problems.
I am not worried about the fact that Violet can somehow breathe, isn't blinded due to do light not being able to travel to her eyes, doesn't set off a thermonuclear blast due to extreme compression of air molecules in front of her when she moves, or anything else that pertains to real-world physics. These are problems that have been handwaved by Science Fiction and Fantasy for decades. My biggest issue is what is or isn't stopped.
Violet can move while everyone else is frozen. However, Violet's blood, upon leaving her body, is still affected normally by gravity. In this very scene, she bleeds onto a sword, and the droplets run down the blade and drip to the floor. Why? This could work of the magic system has put some emphasis on blood, something to imply that blood is connected to her after it leaves her body, but all we have is the telepathic bond. Later in the book, we will also get confirmation that the time stop prevents any frozen object or entity from being affected by gravity. Why didn't the blood freeze on the blade?
Dragon Bonds
The idea that riders of mated dragons can telepathically communicate with each other's dragons is a neat mechanic they builds upon the established rules of the bond. (We will learn later on that this connection is so powerful that Xaden and Violet can telepathically communicate with one another directly.)
That said, reflecting on the bonds between dragons and riders creates a plot hole for these chapters.
Why was Amber, a wing leader, not aware that the bond between a rider and a powerful dragon could kill the dragon if the rider dies? Again, Xaden shares this information with Violet so causally. I understand Amber not caring if Xaden dies, but with how she is characterized, I don't buy that she would risk the deaths of two of the most powerful dragons in Navarre's arsenal just to clear out a couple of riders.
For that matter, we get this exchange before Xaden kills all the unbonded cadets that attacked Violet:
“But you know he never should have bonded her!” Oren puts his hands up, his palms facing us. “You of all people have reason enough to want the weakling dead. We’re just correcting a mistake.”
“Dragons don’t make mistakes.” Xaden’s shadows grab every assailant but Oren by the throat, then constrict.
Why would any unbonded cadet dare attack a bonded rider, let alone have the audacity to assume that rider’s dragon will select them as a replacement, when such an attack would insult to the judgment of the dragon in question?
Codex Ruling
Violet survived the attack by Amber and the unbonded cadets because Tairn wakes her up.
Let's set aside the issue that Tairn somehow knew Violet was in danger when he was nowhere close to her. If dragons can sense when their riders are in danger and wake them, why is it against the Codex to kill a sleeping cadet? Specifically, why is it against the rules to kill a bonded rider that way? Tairn has demonstrated that a sneak attack against a sleeping rider is impossible unless the dragon allows it. The rider will wake up, thereby becoming a valid target. If a rider dies in such an attack, then either the dragon has decided to let the rider to die, or the rider would not have survived the encounter even if awake.
Oxygen Reduction System
Oxygen Reduction Systems (ORS) are a fascinating and relatively recent technology that proactively prevents fires within an enclosed space. It utilizes a complex system of filtration and pressurization to replace diatomic oxygen with another gas (like diatomic nitrogen), reducing oxygen content while maintaining atmospheric pressure. This makes it harder for fires to ignite or burn. It also aids in preserving documents, artifacts, and food. The benefit of this system, versus pumping chemical flame retardants into the air, is that humans can operate in these spaces for controlled periods without any protective gear.
Why am I explaining this technology in this world of magic and dragons where no one seems to have figured out gunpowder?
Because, as Violet herself explains in Chapter 18, the Archives at the war college has one.
How does this work?
Never explained.
As strange as it may sound, this is the straw that broke my immersion beyond repair. A fantasy world with magic is not an excuse to drop literally anything into the setting with no context. If you are going to develop a world with rules that are not our own, then those rules need to be explained to the audience, and everything that exists in that world needs to fit the rules system.
Is this system fueled by a rider, either with a Signet or some lesser magic? If so, what is the nature of this power? If this technology is mundane, then how is it fueled? Why do we not see any of the scientific or engineer principles that allow this technology on display elsewhere?
Yarros has absolutely no idea how to write an Epic Fantasy world. This has been on display for a while, but at least all of her other misplaced inclusions were poorly considered story additions or virtue signals. I legitimately think she just wanted to include this random piece of background technology because she personally found it cool.
It is cool, Ms. Yarros. I mean that sincerely. It also has no place in this world you have created.
Uniforms
We get some information in Chapter 17 that seemingly contradicts the uniform policy.
First, we previously touched on the patches issued to denote rider skills or Signet powers. The riders sew these onto their custom clothing themselves. Isn't the point of military uniform patches to be in a standardized array on a uniform? Also, does a rider have the right to not wear the patches, so long at the rest of their uniform meets the regulation of being black in color?
Second, we learn that Violet sews her patches onto her body armor. This seems to confirm that her body armor is on the outside of her clothes. Even if the armor has an outer cloth layer to hide the scales, everyone should have noticed that she was wearing the same thing every day (especially since, as established in Chapter 5, the scales shimmer visibly through the cloth layer when she moves). How did no one figure out what the armor was before Presentation and Threshing?
Third … here's the description for the leathers the riders wear while flying.
And unlike our regular uniforms, whatever we choose them to be, flight leathers bear no insignia besides our rank at our shoulder and any leadership designation. No names. No patches. Nothing that could give us away if we’re separated from our dragons behind enemy lines. Just a lot of sheaths for weapons.
Why would the riders ever be allowed to customize uniforms if they are just going to have to wear standardized uniforms anyway? Why not make everyone wear standardized uniforms all the time? Last I checked, the US Naval Academy doesn't let midshipmen walk around in pinstriped pajamas just because they are still in school.
Also, given that we now have explicit acknowledgement of the issue of making people too identifiable in the field, why do they allow riders to dye and style their hair? At least the troopers in The Clone Wars covered up their tattoos and hair dye with their armor.
Come to think of it, why does being identified on the battlefield matter? Wouldn't they WANT riders to be easily identifiable from the air so that their allies can recover them, especially if Signets are such a valuable asset? This isn't a world with sniper rifles that can reliable assassinate people from a mile away. Their main opponents, over in Poromiel, are riding giant chicken-cats and will have, at most, a crossbow. If anything, it seems like the psychological impact of announcing the presence of someone with a terrifying Signet would outweigh the risk of said rider being targeted.
Once more, Yarros wants it both ways. If all of the uniforms were wild and custom, and the risks were ignored, it could be justified with Rule of Cool. If there was a strict uniform code with extreme restrictions on personal expression, it would be realistic. Having it both ways just makes another mess.
THE SLOG CONTINUES
The good news is that we will be dramatically picking up the pace next week. We will be covering from Chapter 22 through Chapter 29.
These seven chapters suffer from the same plot issues as the past five - that is to say, there is no main plot. There is a romance subplot, which consists primarily of beating us over the head with sexual tension without actually introducing any growth for either Violet or Xaden, and a bunch of minor conflicts that fizzle into being and then disappear like bubbles in the quantum foam. However, since the end of Chapter 29 marks the start of the first sex scene, it seems like as good a place as any to pause and take stock.
Let's sprint through this part, everyone. I'll see you all next week. Have a good day.
