Onyx Storm (Chapter 41 to Chapter 43)
STATS
Title: Onyx Storm
Series: The Empyrean (Book 3)
Author(s): Rebecca Yarros
Genre: Fantasy (Epic)
First Printing: January 2025
Publisher: Red Tower Books
Rating: 1.5 / 10
SPOILER WARNING
Heavy spoilers will be provided for the entirety of The Empyrean up through the end of the content covered in this part. Mild spoilers for elements later in Onyx Storm may be provided, but I will keep the first paragraph of each section as spoiler-free as possible. Heavy spoilers from later in Onyx Storm will be confined to clearly labelled sections.
STORY
The group of rainbow dragons make it clear that they have come to interview Andarna. Andarna explains the events of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame to them and asks them to aid in the war against the venin. The rainbow dragons reveal that they left Andarna behind to measure the development of Navarre and judge that she is proof that Navarre is too warlike to be worth saving, refusing to aid in the conflict and denying Andarna permission to visit the rest of their kind. They also reveal that there is no cure for venin.
Xaden and Garrick return while the rainbow dragons render their judgment. When the rainbow dragons add him to the psychic conversation, they immediately recognize him as a venin. This reaction exposes him to Ridoc (who is present throughout this scene and was patched into the conversation). As the rainbow dragons depart, Ridoc confronts Violet and demands an explanation.
The other squad members return before Violet can finish explaining things to Ridoc. Once she relays to the other riders that the hunt is over and that they should all head home, Violet and Ridoc go off alone. Ridoc calls her out for keeping Xaden’s condition a secret and challenges her on what line Xaden has to cross before Violet acknowledges him as a threat who needs to be destroyed. He also demands that Violet tell the rest of the inner circle of accessories (Rhi, Sawyer, and Jesinia).
The squad flies home. Violet wallows in her failure during the flight and starts worrying about Theophanie again. When they return to Basgiath and reunite with the rest of the accessories, General Aetos intrudes, telling delivering a missive to Violet that is revealed to be another taunt from Theophanie and then informing the party that the Queen of Poromiel was killed while they were away.
STRUCTURE
We’re going to break this analysis down into three parts, rather than doing the usual structure:
The rainbow dragon encounter
Ridoc confronting Violet
The return trip
RAINBOW REVELATIONS
Setting aside the issues with draconic agency that we covered last time, I really want to like part of the story.
The interaction with the rainbow dragons spans two chapters (well, one, but we’ll get to the false cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 41 a bit later). In it, Yarros not only explains why Andarna was left behind but does some strong (by the standards of this series) worldbuilding and character work. These rainbow dragons have a sense of depth that wasn’t present on any of the islands visited during the hunt. It’s another taste of what Yarros could potentially accomplish if she were truly passionate about this genre and took the time and effort to do things properly.
The Criterion
“Yet you choose black as your resting color?” the female asks Andarna from the right.
“It is acceptable in my ho—” She breathes out in a huff. “In Navarre.”
The one diagonally to my left lifts their head. “She is the criterion.”
The reason that the rainbow dragons left Andarna behind was to judge Navarre. It turns out that the reason they left Navarre was that they strongly disagreed with the warlike ways of the other dragons. They are horrified by the following:
That Andarna chose a scorpion’s stinger for her tail. All of these rainbow dragons demonstrate their dedication to peace by keeping their tails feathered, with no weapons.
That Andarna (and Tairn, but mostly Andarna) provided Violet with magic that could be used for violence.
That Violet took Andarna into battle as a juvenile.
That Andarna is now disabled as a result of going into battle (albeit indirectly, by providing Violet with power during the climax of Fourth Wing), symbolically demonstrating the destructive influence that modern Navarre has had on her.
The Judgment
Of the six rainbow dragons in the group, three bail out almost as soon as Andarna finishes telling her life story, while the other three mainly hang around to deliver their judgment. This goes on for a couple pages, with this part being the central theme.
“[Violet] uses you.” The female’s eyes fill with sadness, and the scales of her brow scrunch. “She took advantage of a vulnerable child. She used your power as an instrument of warfare, forced your premature growth—and look what you have become.”
I fight to swallow past the rock that suddenly fills my throat.
“You think I’m broken,” Andarna hisses.
“We think you’re a weapon,” the male responds.
My lips part, and a rumble works its way through Tairn’s chest.
“Thank you.” Andarna’s scales flicker to mirror theirs.
“It wasn’t a compliment.” His words sharpen. “Our breed is born for peace, not violence like others.” He spares Tairn a single glance before returning to Andarna. “You were left behind as the criterion. The measurement of their growth, their ability to choose tranquility and harmony with all living things. We’d hoped you would return to tell us the humans had evolved, that they had blossomed under the wardstones and no longer used magic as a weapon, but instead you have shown us the opposite.”
I wrap my arms around my waist as he slices her—us—to the quick.
“And dragonkind has not learned their lesson, either. While you”—the male in the center’s gaze jumps to Aotrom—“gifted your human with ice”—he dares to shift his focus to Tairn—“you armed yours with lightning.”
Not a Great Plan
At face value, I do like the idea that Andarna’s true purpose was to measure the character of Navarre. The problem is that, much like with Asher arranging for Violet to find his research, this plan makes no sense.
How, exactly, were the rainbow dragons going to get the results of this test?
Andarna didn’t hatch with any awareness of her mission. She didn’t feel any imperative to locate the other rainbow dragons. She had no way to contact them short of going to look for them. Given the rules we were given in Chapter 12 (that I analyzed in Chapter 11, while dissecting how she shouldn’t be able to recall the “irid” name), Andarna wouldn’t be able to remember instructions to do any of these things even if she were told what to do while still in the egg.
What then, was the rainbow dragons’ plan for if Andarna never felt like seeking them out? What was their plan for if she died before seeking them out?
It would have made infinitely more sense for rainbow dragons to observe Navarre themselves. They are open about monitoring Violet’s progress through the islands, after all, and none of the dragons with the squad even try to follow them when they depart, so they clearly have the ability to travel long distances and to remain undetected even by other dragons. So why did they not just do that? (If Yarros reveals in Book 4 or 5 that there were observers, the question then becomes why they didn’t approach Andarna the moment she fired the wardstone, because at that point, the secret of rainbow dragons existing was very much out in the open.)
Tone
During Chapter 41, as initial contact is made between the rainbow dragons and Andarna and while Andarna tells the rainbow dragons her story, Yarros has Violet and Ridoc do a running commentary on the discussion using sign language. This is a very frustrating inclusion. I applaud the clever use of sign language here, since the rainbow dragons wouldn’t know it (despite somehow understanding the Navarrans’ spoken language, something they shouldn’t if they’ve been away from the Continent long enough for languages to drift significantly). However, the quippy lines mess with the tone of the scene.
A good point of comparison here would be the reunion of Mira with Brennan in Iron Flame. There, Brennan’s bloody nose was used for levity. It offset the emotionally heavy beats of Mira venting at Brennan for faking his death. Yarros did not want us to think that this relationship was unsalvageable or to darken the scene too much, so she made an effort to lighten things up. Here, she wants us to take this seriously. We are supposed to be invested in the rainbow dragons’ reaction to Andarna’s and in their judgment afterwards. The levity clashes with what’s being said in the moment and undermines the intended payoff at the end.
False Cliffhangers: 8
Yarros splits the encounter with the rainbow dragons across two chapters with another arbitrary scene break.
“And dragonkind has not learned their lesson, either. While you”—the male in the center’s gaze jumps to Aotrom—“gifted your human with ice”—he dares to shift his focus to Tairn—“you armed yours with lightning.”
“That’s not how signets work,” Ridoc argues.
“And you”—the male lowers his gaze to Andarna—“our very hope, have handed this human something far more dangerous to wield, haven’t you?”
Handed me what? I blink in confusion.
Ridoc glances my way, and I shake my head with a shrug. I haven’t manifested a second signet from Andarna.
“You have weaponized your magic, even your tail,” the tallest irid continues. “You’ve become the very thing we abhor, the horror we fled from.”
He did not. Rage brings my power buzzing to the surface.
“She is not a horror!” I march forward as Andarna’s scales turn black, unable to listen to one more second of this bullshit.
“No, you are.” The male cranes his head in my direction. “She is but what you made her.”
My nails bite into the palms of my hands and my chest tightens.
Where is the cliffhanger?
The answer is …
… the comment about giving Violet more POWER.
This is a cliffhanger that could have worked. If this comment had changed the trajectory of the discussion, revealing the nature of Violet’s second Signet and exploring its implications, that would have been solid. It would make sense to break the chapter there.
Yarros chose instead to sweep that entire idea under the rug immediately and put focus elsewhere. This means that she either conceived this as a cliffhanger from the beginning, only to go out of her way to undermine it, or else she wrote this scene out as one long chapter and simply chose a line that sounded good as the break point.
The Venin Problem
When the rainbow dragons reveal that venin cannot be cured, we get this exchange:
“If they trade their soul, surely they can get it back,” Andarna retorts.
“It is not a trade,” the female lectures. “The soul is not kept by the earth as dark wielders steal its magic. The power exchange kills the soul one piece at a time, and death has no cure.”
Xaden and Garrick keep their eyes on the irids as they stride our way without their flight jackets, swords strapped to their backs, the perfect example of warfare.
His soul isn’t dead.
I do appreciate that Yarros is clarifying this mechanic. However, we’re still circling the same problem we’ve had since the Prologue: what is a soul even supposed to be in this setting?
This is rather important because of a passage that comes in Chapter 43.
Gods, he really is beautiful, and not just on the outside. Everything about him—his loyalty, his intelligence, the softer edges no one else but me gets to see…even his casual ruthlessness holds me in thrall. And whatever parts are missing? Dead, according to the irids? We’ll live without them.
He’s still whole to me. As long as we can keep him from channeling from the earth, find a way for him to control that craving, we’ll be all right. We have to be.
This implies that the soul is tied to Xaden’s identity in some way - but how? At least when Harry Potter did this, the Dementor’s Kiss was an all-or-nothing deal, while the Horcruxes deformed Voldemort’s whole being. Violet is assuming telling us that Xaden will only lose pieces of himself this way. So if he drains again, could he lose his “casual ruthlessness”? His love of chocolate cake? Whatever makes him sexually attracted to Violet? If, say, this book were to end of Xaden unlocking Mega God Mode by draining and using his Signet at the same time, will he be missing only specific traits in the next book, or will he just be more brooding and edgy overall?
The One Who Gets a Name (Heavy Spoilers)
Only one of the rainbow dragons is named: Leothan.
This is the same dragon who will be the Deus ex Machina at the end of Chapter 52. It is heavily implied that he and Andarna are from the same family group, mainly because Violet sees that they have similar horns and jumps to that conclusion. His only character trait is that he is the conciliatory of the rainbow dragon group, being most open to give Andarna a second chance despite her warlike traits.
One thing I don’t understand here is: why does he not travel back to Navarre with the group? As we covered during the draconic agency discussion, he currently has as much reason to feel bad about Andarna being rejected and to help as he will when he decides to intervene down the line. Him leaving with the other rainbow dragons is effectively a break in his character. Other than Yarros lying to the audience to force an emotional reaction, what narrative purpose is served by having him leave?
CONFRONTATION
No Army?
This is Violet’s thought process for why they should give up and head home immediately after the rainbow dragons rejected them.
“There’s no point.” I look to Xaden, but he keeps quiet. “Loysam has guards but no army. We can establish a diplomatic tie, but they won’t help us win a war.”
I’m very confused. Why does the island devoted to the God of Luck have an army of at least 40 thousand troops, while the island devoted to the Goddess of Love (according to the wiki, anyway) does not have an army? Fighting for loved ones is a thing. Love is linked to fertility, which is linked to both the numbers to fight and the resources need to sustain an army. What’s more, the followers of the God of Luck believe in taking the bad with the good, so they have a motivation to not defend themselves. It really seems like Loysam should have the army instead of Zehyllna.
Also, now I have to wonder: how do any of the islands without an army defend themselves from Unnbriel? Unless the people of Unnbriel only fight wars in the form of ritual combat against themselves, they need to be fighting someone. How are they not ravaging the other islands on a regular basis? This made a modicum of sense for Deverelli because Deverelli is presented as this economic lynchpin for the region, so maybe Unnbriel doesn’t assault them to avoid causing more problems down the line. Hedotis is an island of pacifists where the shoreline is relatively inconvenient for sailing in and dropping off troops, so maybe they just aren’t worth the effort. However, Zehyllna clearly need to defend themselves. Why isn’t Loysam prepared to do so?
Ridoc’s Reaction
False Tension
Technically, Yarros does not lie to generate tension here, but she does blow things way out of proportion to try to force things.
Let’s face it: there was zero chance that Ridoc would not agree to keep Xaden’s secret. If he refused to keep the secret, it would create a situation where he would need to he killed to silence him, and Yarros lacks both the courage to kill off Ridoc and the will to write about the challenges that him sharing the secret with everyone else would create.
Yarros knows this. That’s why she overcompensates.
First, she has Mira return to the island before Violet can finish explaining things to Ridoc. She pretends that there is a chance Ridoc will reveal everything. Naturally, this doesn’t happen. Ridoc smoothly covers things up in front of Mira.
Then, as Violet and Ridoc go off to talk things over properly, we get this line.
I’m nauseous telling Ridoc the full story about Xaden, remembering the entire time that Ridoc was the slowest to forgive when I kept my secrets at the beginning of the year.
Are you confused by what she’s talking about? Did you also remember that Ridoc was as supportive as the rest of the accessories?
This is based entirely on one line of dialogue from Ridoc in Chapter 30 of Iron Flame.
“Stop.” [Rhi] takes a deep, shuddering breath and drags her gaze to meet mine. “I’m not pissed at you.”
I draw back, speechless
“I’m a little pissed,” Ridoc mutters.
“I’m stunned but not angry,” Sawyer adds, shooting Ridoc a look.
That’s all. That is the entire basis for Ridoc being less forgiving. Nevermind that he was fully in board with helping Violet less than a page later:
“We don’t run.” Sawyer moves toward us, then clasps my shoulder, squeezing lightly.
Ridoc walks over slowly and rests his hand on my upper back. “The four of us stick together. That’s the deal. We make it to graduation, no matter what.”
This is not a lie. It is, however, yet another example of Violet’s Sue-ness undermining the narrative. Yarros is trying to milk tension by referring to a scene where her self-insert was unconditionally validated by the same person she wants us to fear here.
Character and Consequence
Setting aside the issue of Ridoc’s support being a foregone conclusion, I do like the fact that he stands up to Violet. He holds his own against her, he’s allowed to counter her arguments, and he makes demands. In short, he ceases to be an accessory and stands on his own. He’s not just a character - he’s a minor antagonist, and a credible one at that.
To start with, when Violet tries to defend keeping Xaden’s condition a secret, he calls her out for it.
“It wasn’t my secret to tell.” I lean against a tree and watch Ridoc’s short treks back and forth in front of me. “I know that’s a shitty apology, but I’m not sorry for keeping Xaden safe.”
“That’s not an apology, Vi.” He pauses in front of me, a million emotions crossing over his face too quickly to name.
He’s right.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you, but if anyone finds out, they’ll lock him up like Barlowe, or worse—kill him.” I fold my arms.
He lifts his eyebrows and cranes his neck forward. “And there’s not a single, tiny speck of you that thinks maybe they should?”
“No. He’s not evil.” I lift my chin.
“He’s not him, either,” he counters. “That’s why you stepped between us in Hedotis. He’s not fully in control and you know it.”
“Are any of us ever in full control—” I start.
“Don’t do that.” He points his finger at me. “Not with me.”
Violet tries to argue about how much of an asset Xaden is to the war effort. Ridoc is allowed to counter every point she makes, highlighting how insanely dangerous Xaden’s magical and political power is. This is capped off by Violet trying to argue that Xaden is in control and won’t progress any further as a venin.
“If he doesn’t channel—”
“They always channel!” Ice forms at his fingertips. “Just because I like to crack jokes doesn’t mean I’m not serious about reading the same shit you do. There are no accounts of initiates just walking away from the power.”
“That’s why I have to find a cure.” My voice breaks.
“They just told us there isn’t one.” His arm swings toward the beach.
Violet tries the pathos angle next. This leads to Ridoc drawing a line.
Ridoc’s shoulders dip. “So where’s the line? At what point is he too far gone for you to defend him?”
My mouth opens then shuts. “There isn’t one. Not one he’d actually cross.”
“Really?” He lifts his brows. “What if he hurts someone you love? Will that change your mind?”
“He wouldn’t.” I shake my head. “He hasn’t in all these months. He won’t.”
He clasps my shoulders. “Not good enough. Give me a real, logical line he has to cross for you to walk away, and I’ll keep the secret. I’ll help you scour every fucking book you can find. I’m here for the I’m-going-to-save-my-man-at-all-costs mantra and will be on your side in this horrifically dangerous situation if you can just acknowledge there’s a breaking point. You can put all your faith in him as long as you leave a little logic for yourself.”
…
My chest tightens. “I would never—”
“Would you channel to save him? Or is that the line?”
I swallow hard, remembering that breath of a second in the wardstone chamber where my power hadn’t been enough to imbue the stone.
“If it makes it easier, then pick a line where I can turn him in,” Ridoc whispers.
“Tell me now, when you think there’s no chance it will ever happen, so if he ever gets there, the decision isn’t on your shoulders.”
For the first time in this series, Violet is confronted by an antagonist whom she can’t threaten, won’t demonize, and is unable to trample with flimsy logic or raw emotion. This brief window is the first time in this entire series where her status as a self-insert Mary Sue doesn’t undermine the emotional payoff.
This is also one of those moments that is much stronger if Onyx Storm is removed from the context of the series. The way Violet and Ridoc interact here make it seem like he is her Best Friend archetype, rather than Rhi. He even seems closer to her than Liam was. If both Ridoc and Violet’s dynamic with him had been given more focus and substance and previous books, this scene would have been even stronger
Ridoc’s Surrender
Unfortunately, when Yarros decides she’s done with this scene, Ridoc immediately ceases to be an antagonist.
The Line in the Sand
I try to look at the situation from Ridoc’s perspective, and it’s anything but pretty. “Fine. Hypothetically, he’d have to kill another rider without cause or hurt civilians. Hurt my friends, my dragons. Hurt…me,” I end in a whisper. “If he hurts me, then he’s not him anymore.”
Ridoc nods, then touches his forehead to mine. “All right. Then there it is.”
“There it is,” I repeat.
This only works if Ridoc is either dumb comic relief or a puppet with zero thoughts or agency of his own. Going down the list:
Thanks to how readily Violet demonizes others, Xaden can kill any rider and have it been with “cause.” Violet needs only to make up an excuse, and her accessories (including Ridoc) will agree with her.
Ridoc was part of the mutilation of the Basigath wardstone, an act that risked the death of potentially millions of people. He was also in the room when Violet threatened to murder two children. It should be obvious to him that Violet is very selective about when the lives of civilians matter.
By the time we get to friends, dragons, or Violet himself, the line is meaningless. Xaden could butcher the majority of the Continent before crossing this line.
I could believe the Ridoc of Iron Flame accepting this limit, but not the Ridoc of Onyx Storm. This Ridoc insists he be taken seriously, and mere moments ago, he was blasting aside every defense Violet tried to hold up. He should not have accepting a line that is this blatantly flimsy.
Telling Other People
Then Ridoc decides to get really dumb so that Yarros can make things easier on herself.
“She tells Rhiannon and Sawyer,” Ridoc demands, then pauses, considering. “And Jesinia.”
My heart practically stops. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Is that all?” Xaden asks, and I can’t tell if he’s being a sarcastic ass or a serious one.
“I’d prefer Mira and Brennan, too, but we can start with the first three,” Ridoc states, looking at Xaden. “Everyone you’ve told values your life over hers—”
“That’s not true,” I argue.
“Everyone who knows has told Violet to run as far and as fast as she can,” Xaden says. “Myself included.”
“Good to know.” Ridoc shrugs. “Rhi. Sawyer. Jesinia. That’s my only condition for keeping your secret.”
Again, the Ridoc of Onyx Storm should not come to this conclusion.
Telling Jesinia makes practical sense. As Ridoc pointed out, they need her help. Violet also demonstrated how much she trusts Jesinia by trusting Jesinia with the wardstone research before Ridoc, Rhi, or Sawyer.
However … why does Ridoc think Rhi and Sawyer will blindly go along with this? He just pushed back against Violet on this, despite rolling off easily when the venins secret was revealed. Does he really think Rhi and Sawyer will have zero objections? The “valuing Violet’s life” excuse doesn't justify this, and Ridoc himself can already fill that role, and if Xaden kills him, that will trigger Violet’s kill condition. Why take this risk? Or is Yarros implying that Ridoc is the only one in the friend group who is a character with agency?
Then there’s Brennan and Mira. Why would Ridoc think these two would be fine with their sister sleeping with a vampire? Did he forget that Brennan cut all ties with his family to fight against the venin?
It seems pretty clear here that the reason Yarros did this was so that she wouldn’t have to write Violet and Ridoc keeping this secret. If everyone in the inner circle knows, she can have Xaden’s condition come up in interchangeable lines and won’t need to write dialogue where Violet and Ridoc tiptoe around the matter.
Then there’s the awkward matter of there being one other person who always puts Violet before Xaden.
“Not Aetos?” Xaden questions. “Dain specifically.”
“Absolutely not,” I interject. “He’ll kill you.”
“He could try,” Xaden replies. “The attempt would certainly make things awkward.”
“I’m with Violet on this one,” Ridoc chimes in. “While I’m proud of how far Aetos has come in the rule-bending department, he’s not ready to graduate to this particular level. Rhi. Sawyer. Jesinia.”
I mean … what? Let’s ignore the matter of Dain being fully on board with stealing research for Violet and disobeying the order to report back between islands. Ridoc is acknowledging here that Dain, who is someone who cares about Violet, would object to allowing Xaden to live. By the logic he used to justify Rhi and Sawyer, that either makes Dain the perfect candidate to keep an eye on Xaden, or else it is an admission by Ridoc that Xaden is already too far gone. After all, what is the point of telling Rhi and Sawyer unless they can act when Violet refuses to see the truth?
RETURN & REUNION
We Will Remember This
Before the squad departs for home, Xaden laments that his presence is what drive away the rainbow dragons. Violet then valdiates him with this masterpiece of hypocrisy.
“It’s ridiculous that they passed judgment on you without even hearing you speak, but that’s a statement on their character, not yours.”
I won’t rehash the list of all the times Violet passed judgment on others. I just want to put a pin in this for when she inevitably does it again.
Theophanie
Since Theophanie has not been a threat in more than 30 chapters and has not even been relevant in more than 20 chapters, Yarros needs to hurriedly assert that she is totes a threat as Violet and the others return to the Continent.
I scan our surroundings for venin constantly during the flight, too scared to sleepin the saddle. Every glint of sun off a lake makes my stomach lurch, and every distantthunderstorm has me gripping the pommels. Logically, I know there’s no chance Theophanieis aware we’re beyond the wards, available for her to pick off at will, but she shouldn’thave known I’d be in Anca, either. Either our flight plan pays off or Theophanie choosesnot to attack, and though we fly over patches of drained land, we make it to the wardswithout so much as a patrol of wyvern intercepting us.
This is so forced. It would have been one thing if Yarros reintroduced Theophanie by having her actually attack Violet and the squad on the way home. That could have been interesting. It would, at the very least, have felt like a natural change in trajectory for the story. This is just Yarros realizing that Theophanie’s actual introduction needs more setup, so she is rushing to compensate.
The missive Theophanie sends Violet is meant to further escalate the tension, but it just makes the threat even more pathetic.
Violet—
I do hope you had a marvelous time on your journey, though your riot looked a little haggard when you flew over Pavis. I do wonder why you went to so much effort when I have the one thing you seek above all else. Do enjoy the time you have with your friends until our next rendezvous. Don’t worry, I’m making all the arrangements.
—T
In other words, Violet’s nemesis, who we are supposed to find so frightening, saw Violet and the squad moving through venin-controlled territory, saw that they were tired, and yet made zero effort to engage. She chose to let them fly past unmolested and return to a place of safety where they could rest, recover, and be reinforced. (This goes even more ridiculous down the line, when we learn the full extent of her powers.) The fact she sent a taunting note just demonstrates that the only threat she does is psychological.
Also … how did this note get to Basgiath first? Let’s really consider the logistics here. Wyverns are faster than dragons, but they can’t enter the wards, so it’s not like she could rush the message directly to Basgiath that way. Did she fly it to the border by wyvern and hand it off to a venin rider for delivery, thereby risking the exposure of said venin rider the moment anyone questions how the rider got hold of the note? Or did she enlist a venin with a teleportation Signet (which Fourth Wing demonstrated that they have) to deliver it directly, thereby providing another point of evidence that venin can use their Signets inside the wards?
Happy Meetings
The reunion of Violet with the rest of her squad just reinforces that the rest of the squad are mere accessories. We get interchangeable lines where everyone talks about how good it is to see everyone again. We also get Cat telling one Red Shirt flier about the death if that Red Shirt flier during the Deck of Many Things trial.
Yarros wants us to feel happy that Violet gets to see these characters again and to feel the pain as Red Shirt’s death is relayed. The problem is that these formerly absent characters were not missed. Their absence did not affect the plot, and outside of names coming up during the confrontation with Violet, their absence didn’t even have emotional weight for Violet.
Ding, Dong
The Queen of Poromiel is dead.
I’m so glad she got that massive paragraph of introductory description and valdiated Violet back in Chapter 8. Otherwise, ending a chapter on the death of a character who contributed nothing to the plot and who we have no reason to be invested in would feel incredibly hollow.
THE SCALE OF THINGS
By the end of Chapter 43, Yarros had exhausted everything she set up at the start of the book. The rainbow dragons were located. They refused to help. What’s more, they gave explicit confirmation that there is no cure for Xaden. As a result, while the series is still going, this book is out of gas, not unlike how everything Yarros set up at the start of Iron Flame was exhausted by the end of Part One.
Naturally, this means she does not end the book, instead resetting the board so she can kill time until her intended climax. Chapter 44 is that reset.
This chapter is one long scene, a Battle Brief that brings Violet and the squad from the rainbow dragon hunt up to speed in everything that happened in the war while they were away. This tend bleeds into empty relationship drama and Violet fulfilling Ridoc’s condition to tell their inner circle about Xaden. While the latter bit has elements worthy of criticism, it’s the Battle Brief that really got my attention, because Yarros wants again dabbles in numbers, and those numbers don’t make a lot of sense. As a result, in addition to analyzing the merits and flaws of this chapter in isolation, we will also be doing a Spotlight on the scale of things in worldbuilding.
It’s coming your way on October 10th. I hope to see you all then. Please remember to subscribe for the newsletter if you’d like to receive a weekly e-mail with the latest post links. Please also share this review with others if you enjoyed it. Take care, everyone, and have a great week.
