Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros has been everywhere on my TikTok and Bookstagram in the last little while. The hype has been intense and so my curiosity was piqued. This review of Fourth Wing is focused on writing craft and unpacking some of the elements which have may have contributed to this book being a huge commercial success.
As writers (and editors) reading is one of the best things to do to understand what does and doesn’t work. Fourth Wing is a recent example of one of my favourite elements of a book that I don’t think we talk about enough: epigraphs.
(If you haven’t read Fourth Wing that’s okay—we’ll be staying spoiler free in today’s post, and the quotes provided are from the epigraphs and are standalone in nature)
What is an epigraph?
An epigraph is typically a line or short paragraph of text that appears at the start of a book, part, or chapter. It typically is formatted differently to the main text (italicised, or perhaps in a different or smaller font). It can be a quote from another work or something the writer of the book has also authored.
What does an epigraph do?
An epigraph can be used in a few ways but the two main reasons writers include an epigraph are:
- To set the theme or tone for the book, part, or chapter.
- To supply additional context for the reader
Fourth Wing primarily uses epigraphs for the second reason: achieving additional context. But before we get further, let’s talk about Fourth Wing …
What Is Fourth Wing about?
Welcome to the brutal and elite world of Basgiath War College, where everyone has an agenda, and every night could be your last . . .
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general – also known as her tough-as-talons mother – has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away . . . because dragons don’t bond to ‘fragile’ humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter – like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.
Alliances will be forged. Lives will be lost. Traitors will become allies . . . or even lovers. But sleep with one eye open because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.
How does Fourth Wing use epigraphs?
Each chapter of Fourth Wing begins with an epigraph. While some of these are a single line, others are a paragraph, but all are written by Yarros and are fictional excerpts from texts within the world of the book.
A rider without their dragon is dead.
Article One, Section One, The Dragon Rider’s Codex (Chapter one epigraph, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros)
This has the effect of making the novel seem ‘lived in’ with the reader being exposed to a range of other texts to which the characters also have access. In particular, the excerpts from the Book of Brennan offer guidance for Violet, as well as carry emotional significance to the book as a whole (authored by her brother, Brennan).
This immerses the reader, without burdening the main text with heavy info dumps containing background information about the world. While technically you can read the book without looking at the excerpts, they bring an added layer of richness to the story and reading experience.
There’s a misconception that it’s kill or be killed in the rider’s quadrant. Rider’s as. awhole aren’t out to assasinate other cadets…unless there’s a shortage of dragons that year or a cadet is a liability to their wing. Then things may get interesting…
Major Afendra’s Guide to The Rider’s Quadrent (Unauthorised edition) (Chapter two, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros).
Are epigraphs used in fantasy fiction?
While there are no hard and fast rules about what genres can use epigraphs, fantasy and science-fiction do tend to use epigraphs more than other genres. That is likely because these genres are often challenged by conveying the scope of the world they’re creating without info-dumping or slowing down pacing.
Oftentimes, speculative fiction writers (and other writers) have to cut out a lot of the world they’ve created in order to not distract readers from the main plot and characters in the book. The things that excite a writer may not excite readers (yes, it’s important that the writer has a grasp on the layout of the city, but readers may not need to know the inner workings of the sewer system).
Epigrpahs can sometimes be a creative way for writers to weave back in elements of the book that are not strictly “necessary” but reworking into an epigraph may be an added layer to the book.
Are epigraphs just lazy writing?
Sometimes.
Yep. I went there.
An effective epigraph isn’t just an info dump of background information. Nor is it a spoiler for the chapter ahead. Neither is it as Toby Lichtig says: ‘literary adornment’ where you use the words of another writer to add some sort of prestige or mystique to your book.
Ideally, an epigraph should be pulling out themes, or supplying additional mood or context to enable readers to have a more immersed reading experience. At times, Fourth Wing toes this line, but overall the consistency and clear intent for the epigraph inclusions means that this choice works well for this particular story.
When considered carefully and used intentionally, an epigraph can be very effective.
Should I include epigraphs in my book?
Ultimately, this is the choice of each writer and there are no “rules”.
However, it’s a good idea to pay attention to your book’s genre expectations around epigraphs. If you’re writing fantasy or sci-fi (or a book with elements of those genres such as Geekerella by Ashley Poston) epigraphs may be a useful tool for your story.
However, other genres may have different expectations around epigraphs—perhaps an epigraph just at the start of the book but not throughout is the better way to go. Or not at all.
Whichever way you opt to go, general guidance is around being consistent and intentional with the placement of your epigraphs… though of course there are exceptions to the rule!
What’s your favourite epigraph? Comment below.
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Steph Huddleston 