If you’re a book fan who follows other book fans on social media, the odds are very high that you’re well aware of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. But if you’re only just hearing about the mega-popular fantasy novel, which has a sequel called Iron Flame -- and Book 3, called Onyx Storm coming -- worry not, as we’re about to offer you a spoiler-free guide to catch you up on what you might want to know about the new series from Red Tower Books – including how many installments are expected and what we know about the plans for an upcoming book-to-screen adaptation. It’s dragon time, so get ready to fly (“…or die”).
What Is Fourth Wing Is About?
Fourth Wing is a fantasy story published in May 2023 that is told almost entirely from the point of view of Violet Sorrengail, a young woman who was planning to use her passion for reading and academics to become a Scribe. Unfortunately she is forced by her military general mother to follow in her older siblings’ footsteps in joining the Rider quadrant. As in: dragon riders. Though she has the knowledge and sharp wit to hold her own in many circumstances, she’s much smaller and more frail than your typical dragon rider, which puts her at a disadvantage as she joins Basgiath War College.
And that’s just one of the things working against Violet. As first years train in the hopes of being chosen by a dragon, there are only so many dragons selecting riders, which means that being a first year is extremely competitive — people sometimes die at this school, sometimes during training and sometimes at the hands of their fellow aspiring Riders. The narrative follows Violet as she attempts to navigate the challenges of training while trying not to get killed.
What’s The Tone Of Fourth Wing?
While there are definitely YA qualities to this story – with stakes on the level of stories like The Hunger Games, Divergent, Ender’s Game and others – Fourth Wing centers on adult characters and seems geared towards an adult audience, particularly as it relates to the romantic aspects of the tale.
Yes, this story is a fantasy adventure with suspense and violence, but it is also well suited for those who like a bit of spicy romance mixed into the genre– particularly in the second half of the first book (vague spoiler here: there are some very R-rated sexy scenes). Of course, if it’s the romance that appeals to you, author Rebecca Yarros has written several romance novels prior to (and at least once since) writing Fourth Wing.
And There Are Dragons?
The name of the series, Empyrean, is presumably a nod to the dragons in this story, as the term is referenced in the first book in relation to the dragons and their leadership structure. Beyond that, in terms of how the dragons factor in, I’m not saying anything other than that this is a story about new adults aspiring to become dragon riders. So yes, there are dragons. (And they’re awesome.) There is also magic involved. I read the first book not knowing much more than the basic premise, and I'm convinced it's part of the reason I couldn't put it down. If you're planning to read the book, avoid as many spoilers as possible!
How Many Books Are There In The Empyrean Series?
There are two published books in the Fourth Wing/Empyrean series and in March 2024, Rebecca Yarros confirmed on Good Morning America that Book 3 was coming January 2025.
- Fourth Wing (2023)
- Iron Flame (2023)
- Onyx Storm (January 21, 2025)
And there are expected to be more Fourth Wing sequels after Book 3...
When speaking to Today in June 2023, Rebecca Yarros confirmed that the Empyrean series is being planned as a five-part story:
The books are fully plotted for five books. The whole series is plotted out and arced and all of that.
It’s exciting (and as a fan, fairly comforting) to know that Yarros has already mapped out the story, especially factoring in how massively popular this series has gotten in the months since the first book was published.
Yarros went on to say:
I think it really deals with the theme of history: Who's allowed to tell our history, and what happens when only people in power are the ones who record our history.
Again, I’m aiming to keep this guide as spoiler-free as possible, so I won’t get into specifics, but the topic of how history is written is definitely something the first book touches on, and it’s not at all surprising to hear that it’s part of the overall theme of the story the author is telling.
When Does Empyrean Book 3 Come Out?
As mentioned, Rebecca Yarros confirmed in March 2024 that the title of Empyrean Series Book 3 is Onyx Storm, and the book will hit shelves on January 21, 2025. That's quite a bit longer than the (surprisingly short) wait we had between Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, but since we now know that Book 3 less than a year away, so can we really complain?
Onyx Storm can be pre-ordered at Target, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other places where books are sold. Based on the listings on the mentioned sites, there's a Deluxe Limited Edition available for pre-order, so make sure to pay attention to what version you're buying if you're interested in that one.
While we haven't gotten a look at the cover for the third book just yet, based on the first two books, I have no doubt that it's going to be stunning!
What’s Going On With The Fourth Wing TV Show?
The good news is that the rights for a TV show adaptation of Fourth Wing have been acquired by Amazon and Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society. Per Variety, they now have the rights to Fourth Wing, Iron Flame and the three books that are expected to follow. Rebecca Yarros is a “non-writing” executive producer on the planned TV show adaptation, with “planned” being the key phrase here. News of the acquisition broke near the end of October 2023, so this project appears to be in the early stages of development. As Variety notes, if it's eventually ordered to series, the show will stream on Prime Video. As you may know, Prime is also the streaming platform behind the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power).
Whether the adaptation moves forward in the near future remains to be seen. Honestly, I’d be ok with not hearing word of a series order or the start of production until all five books are out (or at the very least, until we’re gearing up for the release of Empyrean Book 5)... yes, even if that takes years. As it’s rare that adaptations are a page-for-page reenactment of the events from their source material, having all or most of the books released might make for a better adaptation in terms of bringing the various character arcs to the screen in a way that works. And it would also allow the show to avoid the potential pitfall of telling the story faster than the books can be published… not that something like that would ever happen with a popular fantasy series (see our entry for Game of Thrones on the list of the best and worst thing about some major fantasy franchises).
That said, if the Empyrean series is going to consist of five books, it's exciting to know that it’s currently lined up to be adapted as a TV show produced by a studio that will hopefully offer enough of a budget to properly bring Basgiath War College, its riders, and the dragons to the screen as vividly as Rebecca Yarros has in our imaginations.
We’ll be sure to share updates on any forward progress the adaptation makes in the coming months (or years). In the meantime, we still have more books to anticipate from this exciting new series. And if you’re looking for the best fantasy movies to watch, and the best fantasy TV shows, check out some of our other articles here at CinemaBlend.
