Kirkus-Style Review: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
Twenty-one-year-old Navarrian woman, Violet Sorrengail, confronts more daunting challenges while her joints pull loose nearly every time they are overtaxed. In this sequel to Fourth Wing (2023) Violet, Xaden Riorson, and their dragons fight their own internal battles as well as with the military and government.
Her body may falter, but Violet is a resilient and formidable warrior. With two bonded dragons, Tairn and Andarna, Violet stands to develop not one, but two powers. The only other way to develop two powers is to be bonded to a dragon that was previously bonded to a family member, like her love interest, Xaden is with Sgaeyl. Having just recovered from battle and newly discovering that her brother Brennen Sorrengail is alive, Violet leaves the secretly rebuilt Tyrrendor Province to return for her second year at the Basgiath War College. Navarre’s king and generals have been hiding the truth from their populace, favoring a story that Navarre has been fighting Poromiel and their gryphon fliers for 400 years, while in reality, a battle has been raging beyond their borders with creatures that the public only thinks exist in legends, Wyverns and Venin. Those legends say that in the beginning there were three brothers: one who bonded with a dragon, one who bonded with a gryphon, and one who drew power from the land itself. Faced with persistent threats from a ruthless Vice Commandant Burton Varrish, Violet exhibits unwavering bravery, but also fails to refine her ability to control her powers. It is all finally pushed too far when Varrish captures Violet and torchers her for days, having Colonel Nolon Colbersy mend her over and over, so she can be resliced and rebroken at every interrogation. This ends up with Xaden charging in, Dain Aetos changing sides, and Violet leaving Basgiath with half of the students and teachers to relocate to Tyrrendor. The plot zeros in on the need for Xaden and Brennan’s troops to resurrect their own wardstone with what Violet mistakenly interprets is blood magic and the need for tools to be able to forge their own daggers, which leads to them bringing in gryphon fliers to live with them.
Chapters are masterfully structured so that they end with scorched earth and begin new with the cold, healing cucumber and aloe of an excerpt from a book in Violet’s library foreshadowing what is to come. With the heart of a warrior and the mind of a scribe, Violet is the ideal heroine with a disability. After nearly a year of trying to be totally open and honest about their love and intentions, a surprise, cliffhanger ending might be the final straw for Violet and Xaden. What a brutal, bittersweet ending.
Pub Date: November 7, 2023
Page Count: 640
Review Posted Online: February 4, 2024
ISBN: 9781649374172
Publisher:
Categories: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, General Science Fiction
& Fantasy
Hi Jackie! I enjoyed reading your review of Iron Flame. I have yet to read that series myself so I will have to scrub my mind of the plot details ;). I like that you highlight the representation that Violet offers as a heroine with a disability, and how her disability is incorporated into the world. When reviews mention that the characters/author are from an underrepresented background and lived experience, it compels me to pick up the book.
ReplyDeleteHi Grace, I know! I probably said too much. I said way more than the real Kirkus review did about this book. I think maybe I'm too passionate about it.
DeleteHi Jackie! This review was very enjoyable to read. I have been holding off on reading this particular title, because, while I love books on dragons, I really steer clear of best sellers, because I've been burned too many times by something that was supposed to be amazing and ended up being a waste of time. I'm intrigued by the chapter set-up you mentioned in your post, however. I like when authors find new ways to introduce a chapter, like how you mentioned each chapter is setup with an excerpt from a book in the MC's collection.
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