Fourth Wing - Why it's Worth the Hype
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ม.ค. 2024
- Welcome to YA January! (Or YAnuary!) This month I'm introducing YA books that you might like to read.
Fourth Wing has been a massive success. But lots of people love to bash on this series for no good reason. You can ignore all that. Here's some of the great things about Fourth Wing.
I'll discuss the gateway worldbuilding, why the romance plot works, and YES, list out some of the flaws too. Plus we'll chat about the use of sex scenes and finding age appropriate content. Finally, I'll look at the brilliant way this book mirrors real life issues of military imperialism and propaganda.
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While I disagree with some of your points, I really respect how you find things to appreciate in all the books you talk about. Just like how I enjoy seeing people tear apart my favorites, I find your way of analyzing the books I don’t care for in a positive way an absolute joy to watch.
Often criticisms are good, but sometimes criticisms go too far and focus on some weird things.
Perfectly said!!
Thank you for the shout out! Coincidentally, you are my favorite book reviewer.
I really appreciate this channel because it gives a great overview of the plot and characters of the books. And hearing an unbiased review of Fourth Wing was really refreshing. I unsubscribed from a popular booktube channel because of an overly negative review of this book. I don't care about this particular book. But I go to booktube for inspiration, not negative rants. This channel always gives me inspiration and a good idea of whether I'll like a book. Thank you!
Thank you! I agree, booktube needs to be inspiring first, and negative rants just don't do that. There's a time and place for them. But when that's all you do? It pushes people away from reading.
Glad you feel inspired here.
I also go to booktok and book tube for inspiration that is why I personally love the rants. I don't want to invest time and money in a book that I will not even finish reading because I hate it so much.
Like I didn't mind that Fourth Wing basically copied everything down to the disability, hair color and special power of the protagonist from other books. It wasn't great but it would have been 3 to 4 stars for me.
But Violet is also the most obvious Mary Sue character I've read in the last decade. As someone who really dislikes strong Mary Sue characters the book was basically unreadable after the first third. She already started out as a special ™ character but it just got way worse. I want to get inspired to read good books. Obviously if you don't have a problem with Mary Sue characters go for it. But then you probably wouldn't feel spoken to when someone rants about this book either.
finally. the book guy is covering this. ive seen so many mixed reviews about this. most of my favourite creators have bashed it so im curious to see what the book guy has to say!
I’m on a mission to tell everyone about this awesome wholesome channel. The intro alone is legendary.
I enjoyed Fourth Wing. I thought the story was interesting but what lost me was the writing. It’s just not for me. Every sentence describing Xaden was “He’s. So. Hot.” But im a sucker for dragons. I think the dragons were the best part of the book 😂 but as always I love your takes on all these books.
YES her INCESSANT internal dialogue about how attractive Xaden is.
As a proper Finnish man, I have done my very best to be dead inside, and I have very rarely, if ever, had deep emotional reaction to stories, but in 2020 I saw an anime show _Violet Evergarden_ and every one of its 14 episodes moved me close to tears (and thinking about the show afterwards, it only made sense). After that I have began to sense more emotional connection to stories.
It's a fantastic anime. The movie just broke me for days.
Violet Evergarden is a pure masterpiece! I've rewatched it so many times
Oh my gosh I watched Violet Evergarden in 2020 as well! Was also dead inside (work in healthcare) and cried every single episode. Initially I was disappointed it didn’t have as much action. THEN I became so engrossed in the characters, even the ones that were present for a single episode. If there was action, it was a bonus but I was way more interested in the emotions of the characters……ps I felt like there weren’t enough characters of that caliber in this book lol
First full video with the new shelves! It looks good! I like how you kept an open shelf to display the books your discussing in the video.
You're a very good speaker, and your vibe is amazing. it's rare for me to actually want to listen to a full video, but i never miss one of your even when i don't have any interest on the books being covered. Definitely one of my favorite channels, tank you and keep up the great work
You are fast becoming one of my favourite book reviewers! I really enjoy the objective viewpoints. Thank you!!
I love seeing your reviews, you're so positive and obviously put in a lot of work to create informed thoughtful reviews! I love fourth wing and iron flame
Your video was incredibly well-done, covering everything so thoroughly. I'm so happy to have stumbled upon your channel! ^^ We thank you for your service.
I love your videos and this one is no exception. I’ve been trying to decide whether to add Fourth Wing to my TBR and this definitely helped (although now my TBR is even longer). However, with your microphone where it is, I can’t read your (presumably awesome) shirt!
I am an older reader who is very interested in Popular Culture and Fantasy & Science Fiction as a genre. Your perspective is fair, and your observations good and I agree with you most (but not all of the time). That said, I am reading The Fourth Wing and find it quite good.
I read the sneak peek first 3 chapters of Fourth Wing and I knew that it was going to be a bad time for me personally, but man SO MANY of my friends had a fantastical time with it, which I love for them (and you & whoever else had fun!). 😄And as always, love your open-minded approach to reading! NO GATEKEEPING, hell yes!
Fourth Wing is on my TBR. I'm reading romance this year because I've avoided the genre all my 38 years. I just finished ACOTAR today, and it was pretty good. I'll be raiding my wife's bookshelves a lot going forward.
Hey this video is good, your energy is good, it's all good, it's all refreshing, hey, I had a great time watching this, I have even subscribed.
Yes the worship over Xaden in both books make me dnf both books. I ended picking book one up and finishing it. But haven't yet for book 2. This is giving me the go to start reading book 2 again.
Just wanted to let you know i love your videos book guy!!
Excellent review! I agree with many of your points and now will forever read Sorrengail in a Swedish accent! I was disappointed with Iron Flame but did like the ending and build up to the next book.
I'm glad you covered this series. I am reading Fourth Wing for my bookclub and even though some things annoy me, like Xaden's perfect body :)), I still think it's worth reading. The dragons are interesting and the relationships they form with their riders and I am curious about the war and how will the situation evolve. And the characters are not that bad.
Just found your channel and very much enjoyed this video. A family member recommended Fourth Wing to me so I read it. I have read all the Dragon Riders of Pern books out there so I was a little skeptical. Also I made the mistake of reading some reviews ahead of time and was influenced negatively by them. However I ended up loving the book. Yes I blushed at some of the romantic descriptions and rolled my eyes at some of the things these youngsters said but hey I have a nineteen year old so I also appreciate that age. It was a little slow initially but by the middle I was going through it so fast I may have missed parts! When a book gets me to the point of not being able to consume it fast enough I know I am in reading heaven. So what if the popular opinion to have is negative and it seems everyone wanting views is jumping on that bandwagon! I couldn’t put it down and jumped right into Iron Flame. I have slowed down now that I discovered the next book is not out yet. Your analysis and presentation was great! Thank you!
Lovely review ❤
Brilliant video. Well structured and scripted.
Interesting how you picked up on the themes of anti-military when the writer is an army wife.
There are no themes whatsoever in these books which was one of my biggest complaints.
I wouldn't say that. If anything, the themes are really "in your face." Concepts like strength isn't always physical, always look at all points of views, and how to let go of biases to work towards a common goal are so insanely obvious. Like Tairn consistently tells Violet he picked her because she's strong when it comes to knowledge.
@GatekeeperGuardian-wv3cd I do understand your point, but I do believe that the theme is true and apparent.
She's highly intelligent and uses her intellect to climb the social ladder (even though a lot of it can be seen as plot armor), and it can speak to the audience.
Even outside of that theme, there are a plethora more inside the 2 current books that, although most can be cliché one-off moments, they still hold weight.
@GatekeeperGuardian-wv3cd But I'm not lying to you! Once again, I can say that her writing can be weak, but it doesn't mean that the messages aren't there.
Fourth Wing is an easily digestible piece of literature that isn't meant to be the next Bible but an entry to fantasy novels that can better tackle and grow upon these themes.
The groundwork of these themes means that the themes are there. It doesn't mean that they're expanded to some insane extent, but they're there!
From the beginning of the book, even outside of her unnamed disability, we know that she's insanely smart and capable. This is continued throughout the series as many more themes even OUTSIDE of smarts trump brute strength begin to pop out.
It's ok for you to dislike how surface level the books may be, but that doesn't mean that surface level can not still be content. It is content, and obviously, more people enjoyed it than not.
Instead of calling me a liar. Please just realize that I and many others read it for the fun of going into a new immersive world and not because though it was the work of the second coming of Karl Marx.
I find it hard anymore to find books for the right age group I'm buying for. I like how Brandon Sanderson writes out details or themes that may be encountered in the books of his Alcatraz series. I wish more authors did that. Not every new book is on the parental guidance review websites. I don't disagree with self-censorship, my friend's son does so and will bring a book back out to her if there is too much violence or adult themes, but that can also be expecting a lot out of youths that have a hard time even self regulating video game time.
Totally agree, it can be tricky. I wish all books had content ratings / warnings. StoryGraph can be a decent resource if you can't find books in a parental guidance site, it gives reviewers the option to list content warnings and severity.
Love your video!
Great Review!
I've only read Fourth Wing so far, and I enjoyed it. It was marketed as an adult fantasy, which I think is where it lost a lot of people because the writing has a much more YA feel to it. So readers who were expecting a more complex writing style/plot/world building were probably let down.
I think there is good potential for the series. But after hearing what some have thought of book 2, I am going to try and keep my expectations neutral.
While I don’t think Fourth Wing classifies as YA (i would call it new adult). I’m glad you’re covering this - it’s so nice to see someone like “fantasy” and “romantasy” both. It’s possible 😂
FW is adult fantasy or at least this is how the publisher marked it. And yeeey for romantasy!
Well your review helps confirm that this one just isn’t for me, but as always I appreciate you fighting the good fight against gatekeeping
Great video 😊 don’t think this is for me but love your positive spin on the very hot and cold reviews I’ve seen. Also if you want an other (ongoing I believe) series with sex and dragons I’d recommend checking the mead mishaps series by Kimberly Lemming. They’re short, light, explicit and hilarious. (First one is called: that time I got drunk and saved a demon)
Thanks for the book rec, I remember seeing that title somewhere a while back and meant to add it to my tbr!
@@KitCronk glad this comment helped 😊🌻 they’re fun quick reads if you need something light, hope you’ll like them if/when you’ll get to them.
She has joint issues also. Which i connected with as i often feel my joints giving out long before my muscles do. Its difficult for me to workout because of that, I cant imagine being in basgiath.
Loved the video! Despite the hype, I had no idea what the series was actually about. Btw, have you read the Aurelian cycle (Fireborne)? Otherwise, I would love to recommend this well thought out, political YA with sensible characters to you :)
I love your channel
I thought this was a really fair review!
I like Fourth Wing. I dont think it's a good book BUT is it a fun book? Absolutely yes!
I'm wondering what makes a book "romance" for you? Not taking into account the medieval genre, to me, romance is something focusing on emotion, tension, chemistry, etc. However, in these books, I found that it was just 99% horniness. I honestly found nothing really romantic about Violet's descriptions of Xaden, she was just drooling over him like a horny hormonal teenager. I also didn't find their relationship romantic at all, given that they were enemies.
I've had this book suggested to me because the main character has something similar-ish to what I have, which should make it a cool read.
I’m just through chapter 17 and just ick! While all of the cast are quite hormonal and makes me sigh. How Dane / Dain changes and just how he acts makes me wanna shower.
I think what you said about it being very sex positive is important for older teens to be comfortable with and could very well fall into the young adult category, given another good point you made about discretion
I know this is kinda off topic, but I ordered shining and it came in the mail. Can you do a Horror theme next, cover some Stephen King? Im really excited to read this
This is legit a great idea! I should read more horror!
Do you think Fourth Wings is a good book for people that doesn't speak english a first language ?
What books do you recommend for non native speakers that you consider easy to understand ?
Other people who don't speak English as a first language have said they found Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy very good to read. We also always recommend Middle Grade / Young Adult books like Artemis Fowl, Earthsea, and The Lunar Chronicles for easy to understand language. The Book Guy has done videos on most of these, so you could check those out to get an idea of which one you'd be most interested in :-)
I did find Fourth Wing and Iron Flame fun to read, but I did have a ton of issues with the writing. I didn't think the world-building was well done and the repetitiveness made me feel like the books needed better editing. The plot is very fast-moving though so was definitely a popcorn read.
I also completely hated the romance. There really was no foundation to their relationship and their drama was stupid. And Violet's gaze was disgusting, it felt like we couldn't even go 5 pages without Violet describing Xaden's body...
Overall just a 3 star read for me. I didn't hate it as much as some people, but I didn't like it as much as some either.
Please do The Will of the Many
Could you do a video like this on Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series please?
Tad Williams is on my reading list, so good suggestion! Might be a while. But it's definitely on my radar. 😄
@@cronkthebookguy Wonderful! I recently learned that authors like George R. R. Martin, as well as many others, have sited Tad as their inspiration. That definitely peaked my interest especially considering fantasy is my favorite genre.
Hating YA Books or any genre of books does not mean you hate the people who read them. You are allowed to hate any book for whatever reason you want. I have tried to read YA books but they tend to have mediocre prose, shallow worldbuilding and limited innovation. People are allowed to read whatever they want but not being able to handle criticism is a sign of lack of maturity.
Personally, I do think it's a little weird when people use the word "hate", because I guess it implies such a strong reaction. I do think people can have a tough time acknowledging when they're just not the target audience for something and just being okay with that. It feels refreshing when I genuenly see an opinion like that, because it seems like everyone has to have an extreme opinion about everything these days lol
dammit I guess I'm going to read the tiktok book after all
Any hope of one day covering Dungeon Crawler Carl on the channel?
I didn't finish fourth wings, it was time to return the book I'll rent it again latter. It was ok, the fights scenes were competent and some of the dialogue is bad. But on the higher level stuff every was working, pacing, the world, etc.
Best part about Fourth Wing: reignited my love for dragons for sure😂. Made me jump from only reading sci-fi to being interested in fantasy! So i was wondering if you had any opinion on the Fireborne series or The Priority is the orange Tree👀 I want to pick up one of those, but they both have very different criticisms. I trust your judgement more! (in the case that you read them, ofc)
That's great! Dragons and fantasy have a lot to love.
I haven't read those others, sadly. I've got Priory of the Orange Tree audiobook on my phone waiting for me to get to. I hadn't heard of Fireborne, but I've just looked it up and added it to my TBR.
@@cronkthebookguy Im glad to hear! If ever decide to make a dragon-themed video i’ll be here for it
@@alexiasp oh well if you love dragon-themed, I did two videos on Indie author Michael R Miller that are dragon themed. The Dragon's Blade & Songs of Chaos. Both are excellent series!
I think readers looking for adult fantasy are set up for frustration.
I definitely think that more use of both New Adult and of Romantasy will help set expectations for a lot of books.
"He's too hot NOT to be!" 😂
Brilliant as usual.
Thanks for this review. As an outsider, it feels like everyone has some extreme opinion about this book, and it's been genuinely hard to find someone who can simply explain what it is in a neutral way. Also (not judging here I'm just confused), why are books with graphic sex scenes getting categorized as YA now? I thought Harry Potter was YA, isn't it like the book equivalent of pg13? I think im just getting old, lol
I like your approach to this topic. I see so many of the "worst book ever!" thumbnails and don't watch them because it's just clickbait. A desperate plea for views from people that just want to hate something popular.
That was a terrible Swedish accent and I loved it 😂
In my opinion the action scenes stand out from a lot of other ya fantasy dystopian type books.
Although I have to disagree with the "worth the hype", I can agree that it's not a BAD or, lord forbidden, THE WORST BOOK ever. Just to make it clear tho, if anyone love this book, love it, good for them. I also hope that the series won't flop cause 5 books are a long journey. I will definitely watch review on them.
And thank you for being open minded :) yes, guy should read some romance novels sometimes, they are not that scary :P
If you read until here, you probably know my stand on this book. I desperately wanted to love it and get on that hype train. I love romance and I love fantasy but this book couldn't deliver with all the illogical and contradictory plot points. My brain couldn't stop picking up on them and it's hurt. Aaaand I also fell asleep on this book a couple of time until I DNF it.
Fourth Wing isn't YA, it's NA (new adult). The consensus among the book community seems to be that the majority of people who love this series either don't usually read at all, or don't read fantasy.
After reading both books I have to agree.
Rebecca Yarros has potential for her writing to improve, but Fourth Wing is simply a terribly written book, with Iron Flame being a lot worse.
Since Fourth Wing became an instant phenomenon, the whole series is now just a cash cow and i expect the quality of the writing to go downhill as she quickly pushes these books out.
I also recently found out that Yarros uses Gaelic words throughout the story, but never bothered to learn how those are actually pronounced (a two-second job, honestly) and therefore mispronounces most of them. This has created a big stir from people who speak that language and are very offended by how she has used it so carelessly.
I am glad that you liked it, but I think calling people who didn't like it simply bashing on YA and Women's Fiction is a bit reductive.
I hated this book, not because it was YA or Romantasy or because it was written by a women. I hated it because it was boring. The world stops functioning if you think about it slightly. Why would you give access to the equivalent of nuclear codes to the children of the 6th Jan rioters.
The challenges are so overly dramatic, yet very simple. The first challenge is to walk in a straight line. A later challenge is to walk in a straight line again, but this time in front of dragons. Another challenge is Total Wipeout.
Jack Barlowe is probably the worst character I read about last year. He does not exist unless he is there to hate Violet. His name doesn't fit any of the naming conventions of the world. It's like having Aragorn and Frodo and Terry.
Argh!
The fact that the sequel came out 6 months later shows they want to crank this out. This isnt a story, it's a product. It doesnt have characters, it has tropes that you like bundled together into a package.
There are so many better stories out there for people to read. If you like it, then that is fine. Good for you. But if you like it, then I would REALLY recommend continuing into reading different authors and discovering what amazing books there are out there, not just what a Tiktok algorythm tells you to read next.
Sorry, just needed to get that off my chest. Yours is a great channel and I enjoy every video.
Your comment about this series being a product is so spot on. As soon as they started smelling that Fourth Wing was going to be a 'phenomenon', their eyes lit up with dollar signs and now Rebecca Yarros has supposedly planned 5 books...
There are a lot of people who loved Fourth Wing but then read Iron Flame and it was so bad that they questioned whether they genuinely liked the first one or if they just got caught in the hype.
Fourth Wing is honestly a terribly written book and Iron Wing is even worse.
The protagonist is probably the Mary Sue to end all Mary Sue characters and about 90% of the books plot is blatantly copied from other books.
I mean brown and silver haired protagonist with lightning powers (Red Queen) who is disabled and struggles to ride a dragon (Dragon School) in the dragon school that has four sections and her love interest is the leader who initially dislikes her and ends up helping her (Divergent), who also has shadow powers (ACOTAR and like ten other books). She also lives in a country with seven provinces, that has built a WARD (wall) around its borders to stop an enemy that we later learn about. This enemy is ruled by a Sage (night king) who creates these venin, monsters that are destroyed only by a special material (valerian steel) which the cadets are forging into blades! (Game of Thrones).
So all in all it has a complete Mary Sue protagonist and not a single original plot line.
I did like the writing style and the dragons but that's about it...
Does not seem like it😮
What is YA? Hi, I'm new here.
It stands for Young Adult 🙂
Mild Violence you say? I kindly disagree 😏😆
Bro stfu (in a good way)! I was looking for this review, stumbled on your channel, saw your intro... then: I saw Robin Hobb in your bench press bag (alright this dude might have similar tastes as me). Saw you reading and tucking in The Dresden Files (now I'm starting to think I like you) then I saw you shredding (DUDE I FUCKING SHRED TOO!!!) Bet. No way. Auto subbed, left a like and haven't even heard the review yet.
Haha!!! I got worried when I saw the stfu! 🤣 that's awesome buddy! You legit have great tastes. Robin Hobb is so underrated and Dresden is my comfort series. Also shredding rules. 😁
@cronkthebookguy Dresden is 100% my comfort series. I usually do a Dresden book or Pratchett in between big fantasy tombs!
what the hell is that intro :)
I actually agree with you 100%. There are so many booktubers dunking on this series. I have no idea why. It is great. Is it as good as inheritance or songs of chaos (no). But it is still great. I do believe it is extremely better (in my opinion) then “the Bond and the Broken”. Everyone raves on that series. To me I just don’t get it. I mean they can do magic with no limits just cause? Story doesn’t draw me into at all. Give me a break. I don’t see why people are lovin it. Now the only book I read was of blood and fire. But I am sorry. If your book is so far separated from any reality and I can be immersed in it. It is a bad book. Series like Songs by f Chaos, Inheritance, LOTR and yes this series. These books you can dive into . You can see how these things are plausible cause it has physical limits. Something without limits. I can never get into that.
i just bought this book today n read for 2 hrs already.....i cant see how someone can call it YA cause it really dips into adult content but this is coming from a mom whose 9 year old girl wants to read a Colleen Hoover book! 💀🤢
New adult is much better 👍
I recommend......Classroom of the Elite.
I’m sorry, I just can’t. I like your reviews but I genuinely think that this book is bad. It lacks in so many ways, especially the world building and character building, it’s full of infodumps and just poorly written. English is not my first language but I had a feeling that I was reading a draft, not a complete version of the book. It had such great potential but it just couldn’t make it work, which made me a huge hater. Not because I am jealous or something, just because of pure frustration. And I feel as all reviews that praise it are not sincere.
First comment! I won everybody!