The cover of “Onyx Storm” heralds an ominous twist in the series, featuring an all-black design and the tagline: “Brave the dark.”
“Fourth Wing,” the first book in the series, came in a bright gold color with the banner: “Fly… or die.” The fiery red sequel, “Iron Flame,” read: “Burn. It. Down.”
Yarros announced the third ‘Empyrean’ book on Instagram in March.
“There will be politics, new adventures, old enemies and of course dragons,” she teased at the time.
A firm recommendation on BookTok, The Empyrean series follows Violet Sorrengail, a dragon rider trying to survive in the harsh world of Basgiath War College, as war looms beyond the borders of her Navarrean territory.
Add to that a love triangle (it is a romance, after all) between Violet, her childhood best friend Dain, and the son of a rebel leader, and you have the novels’ exciting premise.
As of July 8, “Fourth Wing,” which was released in May 2023, has spent 60 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list. “Iron Flame” is close behind with an impressive 34 weeks.
While Yarros plans to publish a total of five books in the series, a TV adaptation of “Fourth Wing” is already in the works from Amazon MGM Studios and Michael B. Jordan’s production company Outlier Society, Deadline reported.
Yarros told TODAY.com in 2023 that “The Empyrean” series is “fully fleshed out” across the five books.
“I think it really comes down to the theme of history: Who gets to tell our history and what happens when only people with power record our history,” she said.
Part of the inspiration for the heroine Violet, who, according to the literature, suffers from a chronic condition that affects the body’s connective tissue, came from Yarros.
“Violet has a chronic illness — she has Ehlers-Danlos, which is a condition that I also have. It’s really amazing to see readers reaching out and saying how it touched them, especially those of us who have EDS, to be able to see a hero like us with a chronic illness,” she said.