In recent years we have often talked about the revival of the fantasy genre in Italian bookstores (and beyond): among the most prominent faces of this renaissance there are certainly Rebecca Yarros and her books – Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, Onyx Storm and Threshing day, all published in Italy by Sperling & Kupfer and set in the imagined land of Navarra, populated by dragons and knights.
Instant Bestseller from the US to Italy
The saga of Fourth Wing, which takes its name from Empyrean, began in 2023 with the first volume, followed by Iron Flame, Onyx Storm and Threshing day. The belonging to the romantasy genre (which blends fantasy elements and love stories) is one of the main reasons for the success of this saga.
Onyx Storm immediately climbed to the top of the UK charts, while, as the New York Times notes, in the US the book was the best-selling adult novel of the last 20 years in its first week. In the United States the novel has indeed reached 1,288,300 copies sold (across standard and deluxe editions – Circana BookScan data).
Onyx Storm is also a bestseller in Italy, where it promptly rose to the top of the top ten.
Coinciding with the release, moreover, Sperling & Kupfer organized an exclusive event addressed to all fans of the saga who possessed the book’s special edition.
The event took place at the Nepentha Club in Milan on the evening of the launch of Onyx Storm; to animate the evening with quizzes and games were the two creators Megi Bulla (@labibliotecadidaphne) and Martina Levato (@levv97). The party was enriched with merchandise, activities, music and themed drinks.
I libri scritti da Rebecca Yarros rappresentano uno dei fenomeni editoriali più trascinanti degli ultimi anni, in Italia come nel resto del mondo (la serie, infatti è stato tradotta in 40 paesi). Fin dalla sua prima pubblicazione nel maggio del 2023, Fourth Wing di Rebecca Yarros è stato ampiamente discusso sui social, in particolare su TikTok, occupando per diverse settimane la prima posizione in classifica dei bestseller del New York Times.
In Italia, invece, i libri della saga Empyrean risultano tra i libri fantasy più venduti del 2024 (primo fra tutti il sequel Iron Flame, seguito da Fourth Wing).
Rebecca Yarros, scrittrice statunitense classe 1981, ha studiato Storia Europea e Inglese e oggi vive in Colorado con la famiglia. A partire dal 2014 ha scritto numerosi romanzi romance, alcuni dei quali recentemente portati in Italia da Sperling & Kupfer.
In questo articolo, quindi, non ci limiteremo a ripercorrere la trama di Fourth Wing e l’ordine di lettura della saga, ma ci soffermeremo anche sugli altri libri di Rebecca Yarros.
Rebecca Yarros’ Books: The Empyrean Saga
Fourth Wing
The first book of the saga, Fourth Wing (Sperling & Kupfer, translation by The Bookmakers), introduces the female lead Violet Sorrengail, daughter of General Lilith Sorrengail and forced by her to enlist to become a dragon rider. As if that weren’t enough, the most dangerous and competitive environment in Navarra is giving her trouble, and Violet must also deal with Xaden Riorson, the most athletic and unscrupulous knight of the Quadrant, ready to eliminate her at the first opportunity. Meanwhile war rages, and the dangers of training are just the first hurdle to overcome for a knight…
Until that moment, Violet had only wished to live immersed among books, aided by her fragile and untrained body: entering the Basgiath Academy pushes her to fight with all her might to survive, until forming a bond with a dragon. Alongside many adversaries, however, Violet will also find unexpected allies, such as Liam, Riannon and Ridoc, not to mention how quickly a nemesis, at times, can become something much sweeter…
Rebecca Yarros has stated that she built Violet’s fragilities starting from the symptoms of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a hereditary connective tissue disorder suffered by the author herself.
Iron Flame
The plot of Iron Flame (Sperling & Kupfer, translation by Marta Lanfranco and Angela Ricci) continues with Violet’s training. After having passed the Threshing, the young woman wonders how she will endure the brutal and painful training that awaits her in the ensuing months, designed to push the bodies and minds of the recruits to the limit.
There are no shortage of other problems: a new vice-commander threatens to get rid of her unless she betrays the man she loves. Yet, despite her fragile health, Violet is driven by a iron will and a lively intelligence, and like any dragon rider who deserves the name, she knows how to set her own rules.
When a dangerous secret about Basgiath Military Academy is finally revealed, Violet will have to find a way to save everyone…
Onyx Storm
The plot of Onyx Storm (Sperling & Kupfer, translation by Marta Lanfranco) takes readers to the heart of the conflict: the training lessons are over, now the war begins. Spies are everywhere and it is impossible to know who to trust.
In search of allies willing to align with Navarra, Violet sets out on a journey that will push her to the limit. While a storm is gathering on the horizon, the young protagonist knows she harbors a formidable secret, capable of destroying everything she loves: her dragons, her home and him…
Threshing day
We arrive now at the fourth volume of the quartet, released worldwide on September 29. Threshing day (Sperling & Kupfer, translation by Marta Lanfranco) brings readers back to the day when 13 aspirants to become knights at the Basgiath War College fought to obtain the bond with a dragon, in a clash that put their lives at risk and where the dragons would decide the final fate.
There was Xaden Riorson, the leader; Riannon Matthias, the clever friend; Dain Aetos, the dutiful one; then Liam Mairi, the gentle-hearted protector, Ridoc Gamlyn, the joker, Sawyer Henrick, the underdog. And Garrick Tavis, the reliable right-hand, Imogen Cardulo, the impulsive fighter, Bodhi Durran, the second-in-command, Mira Sorrengail, the fearless horsewoman. There were also Brennan Sorrengail, the brilliant strategist, Aaric Graycastle, the restive king, and Sloane Mairi, the determined sister.
And everyone shared one goal: to survive on the battlefield.
Other Rebecca Yarros Books
Things We Never Said
Rebecca Yarros has written numerous books before Fourth Wing. Among these there is Things We Never Said (Sperling & Kupfer, translation by The Bookmakers), a romance that shares with the Empyrean saga the trope enemies to lovers, i.e., the passage from hatred to love.
After a rough divorce, Georgia Stanton has lost everything: her New York house, friends and even pride. Taking refuge in the old house of her great-grandmother, in Colorado, she meets Noah Harrison, a successful romance writer determined to finish the last (and unfinished) novel written by Georgia’s grandmother, Scarlett Stanton. The encounter between the two is not peaceful, but in the end Georgia and Noah decide to read together the manuscript and Scarlett’s letters, uncovering the mystery behind the unfinished novel.
But if even her grandmother did not think love stories could have a happy ending, then Georgia grows ever more convinced that she must avoid making the same mistakes of the past, at the cost of destroying Noah’s career, ignoring the feelings that she begins to develop for him.
The Words You Left Me
Concludiamo (per ora) la nostra panoramica sui libri di Rebecca Yarros con The Words You Left Me (Sperling & Kupfer, translation by The Bookmakers). Il romanzo racconta di Ella e Chaos – lei orfana e madre single, lui giovane militare in missione al fronte. I due si conoscono solo tramite lettere, e proprio tramite la loro corrispondenza scoprono un sentimento ancora più profondo.
Improvvisamente, però, proprio mentre la vita di Ella la mette a dura prova, le lettere di Chaos smettono di arrivarle.
In realtà Chaos, il cui vero nome è Beckett, ha scoperto che Ella è lasorella del suo migliore amico caduto in battaglia, che gli ha lasciato scritto di tornare in America per starle vicino. Anche se Beckett sa che non sarà mai in grado di svelarle chi è davvero, farà il possibile per esaudire il desiderio del suo amico e per stare accanto alla donna che ha iniziato ad amare…
