A 5 hour FOURTH WING RANT

[@39ocean]

God. This book drives me mad. Why would you weed down your limited resources of human lives (soldiers) with senseless killing? You clearly don't know what makes a dragon bond with a person, with even people who pass the gauntlet not being picked. What if Dylan could have bonded with a dragon? What if the numberous recruits Jack killed could have bonded with a dragon? And then once someone IS bonded to a dragon, shouldn't they be protected? They've clearly been determined to be strong enough by the dragons, why would any system decide that it is still okay to treat people bonded to dragons as weak and expendable? Why would you allow the children of traitors into your most prestigious branch of the military. (Also, IS it prestigious, or a punishment??) Further, why not IMMEDIATELY kill anyone for treason for attacking Violet (or even worse, a FREAKING DRAGON)? If rebel children are so angry at the State that they would attack VIOLET, then why do you think they should EVER be trusted with MAGIC? WHAT DOES VIOLET WANT? She wants to be a scribe, when does she decide that she wants to be a dragon rider? Stop making EVERYTHING a life-and-death affair, it's training! If DEATH is the stake for everything, it loses its punch. It does NOT foster loyalty if you know that your wingmate can just kill you cause they feel like it! It kills me because a few tweaks would make the worldbuilding okay! Concept: In this country, all children are conscripted into the army. Everyone goes through boot camp & logistics and training. This is where Violet gets beaten up and called weak and bullied. (But she also develops friendships, and shows a remarkable aptitude for logistics and strategy). Dragon Riders are the most prestigious branch of the military. But it is not something humans pick. On "Threshing day", ALL recruits are presented to the dragons. (They are not fickle, "I'm going to murder just for fun", cause that's stupid. They're just picky). Out of 300 recruits, dragons might pick a couple to bond with, like 10. This is how some traitors kids like Xaden ended up in the Dragon Riders wing. They were supposed to be straight-tracked to the Infantry (or whoever is basically canon fodder) as punishment, but got picked by dragons. And it doesn't matter whether they were seen as liabilities, dragon bonding is so rare that they cannot afford to discard them, so the state made them swear an oath of fealty and trained them. After threshing, the remainder of recruits are assigned to more specialized tracks: Scribes/Logistics, Healers, Engineering, "Navy", Infantry etc. Violet admires dragons, but knows she will never be picked by one, as she's too weak and frail. She follows the logic of the culture she's grown up in: the dragons admire strength, she is not strong, so she is not worthy. So she's resigned herself to not getting picked, and is even relieved by this knowledge. While amazing, dragon riding is incredibly dangerous. But she looks forward to the Scribe/Logistics track. She'd thrive there, and it's safer, behind the scenes work. But then, Threshing comes- and she's picked by a dragon. And she's horrified. She can't be a dragon rider, she'd be killed, it's too dangerous! She objects, insisting there's been a mistake. Her sister objects on her behalf as well. But their mother is firm. She was picked by a dragon, so she will become a dragon rider. (This way, it isn't so literally senseless and cruel?? It's more, 'you've been picked for an honor, you will not refuse it'.). Dragon riders are put through specialized training. It's hard and grueling, but Violet manages it through a combination of aid from her friends and her wit; finding intelligent solutions to obstacles normally overcome by brute strength. This is not a world where the riders kill each other as they see fit, because THAT IS STUPID, THOSE ARE ASSETS. Instead, your wing becomes your family. She's wary of Xaden, but he shows no inclination of wanting to kill her, though he does push her harder and expect more from her. And at some point, she realizes that she DOES want to be a dragon rider. She CAN do this, she has talents that no one else has, through her intelligence and strategy. She will do this, and she will survive. If you still want Jack, I don't know, don't make him so COMEDICALLY stupid and evil? He seriously wants to kill a DRAGON that has literally never been seen before just because he perceives it as weak? That's a fucking dragon, how stupid are you? If stealing a KNIFE from a recruit is grounds for execution, then SURELY attempting to kill a dragon calls for execution through torture. He can be a bully if you want! This world can still value physical strength above all else, he can represent those values. HAVE VIOLET REFUTE THAT! Make her existence show that physical strength is not the end all be all of value! There's so much promise in the idea of "girl who is physically weak and disabled in a world where physical strength is glorified as a virtue is given the opportunity to rise to a demanding challenge and overcomes it despite the odds" but NOT LIKE THIS. It is utterly Miserable waste of worldbuilding, themeing, and characterizations!

[@shamelessoptimist8335]

This is very well thought out. I would much rather read your book.

[@chrismckenzie3414]

Your version makes so much more sense. The version in the book is hot nonsense.

[@enviousdragon9109]

THIS. This is so much better than whatever the hell the book was.

[@sewueseugande7061]

Perfect! Let’s be friends

[@Nani-qg9vc]

Absolutely yes

[@rush_lj]

i'm STILL not over carlos's "there's so many words, i don't know what he looks like". its so painfully accurate.

[@LorewithouttheE]

that single "um." afterward was perfection 😆

[@legendaryfrog4880]

Aside from the terrible craft, Xaden is just so unbearably uninteresting as a character. He's literally perfect. Perfect body, perfect hair, perfect moral compass, perfect super power, perfect everything. He has no faults which makes him BORING.

[@javierlopez9789]

Also violet is a pick me.

[@nont18411]

So by not making Violet a Mary Sue, the writer ended up making Xaden a Gary Stu instead.

[@ducklingscap897]

@@nont18411 How is Violet not a Mary Sue? Her disability doesn't disable her at all, she is always the smartest person in the room with the best ideas, has a famous family, two dragons etc.? Where are her flaws? Except for acting like a 1 year teenager when she is supposed to be an adult but that's not exactly criticized in the book. (I'm not through the entire video yet so maybe its explained there)

[@martynabieniok9669]

​@@ducklingscap897 yeah, her disability is so poorly incorporated into the books. They have adjustments and accommodations for her all of the time, which would be cool in a different setting, but in a magic freaking dragon school that prides itself with weeding out weak people? And everything is resolved with "the dragon said so and humans can't question it" lol

[@aaronv9957]

OH MY GODDDDD I KNOWWWWW he literally is so bland

[@SaltedMoose]

'His eyes boiled gently in thier sockets, becoming al denti with arousal.'

[@SevenReads007]

‘His lust a delicious red sauce, completing the meal that was this attractive man’

[@frankensteinlives]

New kink unlocked, tysm ❤

[@apothecarried]

'His desire for her was a passionate gas flame, in comparison to those weak ass electric stoves she was used to.'

[@jackspenser22]

Damn it now I want spaghetti

[@bitterrootsimmer]

That’s me so thank you for the person who asked for this

[@ReadswithRachel]

Everyone shout out Morgan who originally asked hahaha

[@rae3781]

Thank you Morgan thank you omg

[@michellelies]

You've done the Lord's work. Or Satan's, depending upon your beliefs. And we are all the beneficiaries.

[@radioactivebeverage]

thank you morgan this is going to be an excellent background noise

[@kalequail]

Love this for us, many thanks

[@frontporchcake7592]

I think my beef with Fourth Wing is so strong because I thought the premise had a lot of potential and I was let in down in such a huge way that I will never get over it.

[@ReadswithRachel]

I feel exactly the same way.

[@bakingsodaa]

the book Temeraire has a dragon military school thing and is much better and much more interesting than this book imo

[@bakingsodaa]

sorry the book is called His Majesty’s Dragon, the series is Temeraire i think

[@jessielefey]

It's gonna spawn such great fanfic tho. "Squandered potential" makes the most insane fandoms, but the best "yelling directly at canon about how to do it correctly" fanfics.

[@ducklingscap897]

My beef is so strong because not only was I disappointed but s many people praise this books as best book ever. How was this not the same let down for all of us? How are people putting that on the same level as other books with Dragons like Eragon, His Majesty's Dragon and so on? T_T

[@zachreads]

This scared me at first I was like "another 5 hours! Is Rachel ok?"

[@ferretly]

literally me too

[@lnf4084]

I was down for it 😂

[@lizard_the_queen]

gen, I thought she went "and one more thing-" after finishing the last video

[@natesamadhi33]

Like the book was so bad it gave her ptsd & pissed her off all over again

[@runningcommentary2125]

When Xayden says “target number one” and holds up a finger, I like to imagine it’s his middle finger and he’s just flipping her off..

[@cosmictreeslug]

I have eds. The questions you have surrounding the illness are spot on really. Eds effects so much more than joints, though. After "reading along" with you, i can only come to the conclusion that eds was used as a plot device to show how delicate and dainty violet is, rather than an actual depiction of the illness. Id rather have no rep than shitty rep. As the author has eds, she shouldve known better.

[@sweetblackangel]

Gotta admit that I thought this was a 4th, new video rant about that book and I was definitely here for it.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Iron Flame pt 2 is coming soon!

[@ashannaredwolf8485]

I did too, I was like, is it my birthday? 🤩

[@greywolfe8012]

The Dragon Quadrant gives me big Dauntless vibes. "we're the military but we play by children's rules."

[@dayzedandconfuzed]

43:43 whenever the month names are the same in fantasy books it implies the existence of julius caesar and caesar augustus and the roman empire in general and to me that is just fucking hilarious and ruins the whole thing

[@ezk05]

@@dayzedandconfuzed fantasy book that takes place during the roman empire and caesar’s assassination happens during the story and all of a sudden there are just more months

[@colbyreader]

@@ezk05😂 please yes I would love that

[@nanizet]

my perspective as a writer is that making up your own months often does not work because readers dont care and dont remember them. it's also pointless excessive worldbuilding tbqh

[@Pandabreadie]

@@nanizet Fair tbh that's probs a lot of uneccesary work for little returns😅 It's just kinda funny what connections viewers/readers can make using miniscule details, like how people deduced from the existence of troll k-pop idols in trolls world tour implies the existence of troll south korea, which implies the existence of troll north korea which implies a split in korea and yada yada therefore there was an implied trolls WW2😭

[@nanizet]

@@Pandabreadie that's very fun to do as a fandom member but if you do it as a writer it clogs up your work so fast. this is coming from someone who did come up with my own months but the names for the months are deliberately somewhat close to the english language ones

[@ace_writergirl]

The Emperor's New Groove cuts absolutely kill me XD

[@ariverdreaming]

So good.

[@subroy7123]

🎶Dragon _tails_ 🎵 🎶Dragon _tails_ 🎶🥁🥁 😊☺☺🥰😊 🐉🐉😇

[@Zealous_Delusional]

Honestly I prefer long compiled videos like this. I rewatch them over and over as I do things or to help me fall asleep. Even just a playlist of the videos in order is great for rewatch value.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Same

[@SuperEkkorn]

May I recommend Jenny Nicholson's Vampire Diaries or Crow Caller's Lightlark? Just for variation, I have a wholeass playlist, Rachel has her own plus is on several others :) Great voices to fall asleep to. Oh, and Dan Olson's 50sog, great stuff.

[@Rivenlore99]

@@SuperEkkorn Crow Caller’s videos are so fun!

[@heyheysheashea12]

Also Caricanread's forgot the plot. Those are great to sleep to

[@SuperEkkorn]

@heyheysheashea12 omg yes! Everything I know abt Cassie Clare and SJ Maas I lnow bc of her, I literally listened to her driving today!

[@Crimsoncrossing]

I’m so done with the 19-20 yr old main characters that are sooo different and quirky and snarky 😭 don’t get me wrong I love quirky main characters but sometimes I just sigh loudly…I couldn’t finish ACOTAR because of Feyre and I don’t think I’d be able to get through this one either …. But thank god I needed something to listen to while I spring clean 🙌🏽

[@AW-xc1xc]

Seriously, all the "vulgar gesture"s made me cringe so hard

[@rhaenyratargaryen1stofhern55]

SJM lacks any real history in her books. She spends too much time on spicy scenes and not enough on world building.

[@insertcheesypunhere]

tbh this book would've been better if it weren't a romance and the primary focuses were on violet forming a relationship with her dragon, her family, her friends, and herself. if xaden and dane were just minor antagonists in her character journey, they'd be way better. hell, id prefer a dragon/rider romance, though i am, admittedly a freak.

[@enviousdragon9109]

I agree.

[@insertcheesypunhere]

@@tdf_worldkey6666 valid!!!

[@lydiac9118]

THE DRAGON/RIDER ROMANCE WOULD BE SO COOL, it could loop back around to an explanation for why dragons don't just enslave humans - maybe dragons were like, the human settlers of the continent that were cursed 10,000 years ago for stepping onto the land of the old Gods of the book and were forces to adopt monstrous, scaled, fire-breathing forms for not obeying their traditions (elbow nudge) (this lends weight to reverence of the Gods, and the God of death literally burned the settlers and turned them into beings that can then only burn). Bonding with a rider is necessary because it connects the dragon back to their original humanity, and connects the rider to an actual act of the Gods and magic. I want to read a book like this now 😭

[@addison7958]

I’m pretty sure about halfway through the book I added an annotation that said “violet should get with tairn instead” so at least we’re freaks together

[@dragonheadgaming111]

THIS! minus the dragon/rider romance lol

[@stardoogalaxie9314]

When I found out that Tairn locked Violet in place to keep her on his back I felt a sense of frustration because that is such an interesting dynamic!! Especially for a disabled character!! Tairn IS powerful enough to lock her in place! Tairn is her disability aid! I love the idea of the dragon being accomodating to Violet and that turns out dragons don't find disabled people weak and the war college misunderstands them! Dragon service animal! Dragon service animal!!!

[@karleerojas576]

I actually kinda love this concept. As a service animal user, this would’ve been a joy to read.

[@IsabellaS-d2w]

@@stardoogalaxie9314 i like that concept. It's clear that the school doesn't actually know much of anything re the dragons sentience

[@missliv.404]

Babe wake up background noise for an entire drawing session just dropped!!😳

[@susan4912]

I'm still unsure why people are supposed to care so much that she's the general's daughter, considering that her two older siblings have already been through the same course recently. By the third people are usually over it

[@Joenight100]

World-Building in so many current fantasy books feels like fanfic. In that you are expected to just automatically know things.

[@watson483]

I feel like her ehlers danlos only affects her when it’s convenient. It is just portrayed very oddly. I have ehlers-danlos and honestly it really doesn’t feel like it’s done right. I know there are quite a few different versions, mine has the hyper mobility and a few other things (my teeth suck and they just crumble) If I had to catch myself on something from falling from a height, my shoulder would just sublax immediately. Sitting wide legged/cross legged/spread out it can easily dislocate my hips. I can run and sprint but I need to tape my ankles if I want to play sport or run. I also have POTS which messes with me, dizzy spells and vein issues. I have acid reflux and a few other things tied to my hEDS It affects pretty much all of your body. My ribs can dislocate/sublax just by sleeping wrong or someone hugging me too tightly. If I landed on my ribs that’s then gone for weeks. Hurts like a mofo too, and you can’t really do anything about it. Edit : rubber is a natural thing, comes from trees. It’s latex. They do make both natural and synthetic rubber.

[@amityislandchum]

I like how this author wasn't sure which popular intellectual property she should rip off (Twilight, Divergent, Game of Thrones, Hunger Games), so she just did all of them.

[@dragonlover1476]

Don’t forget Eragon; riders can live without their dragons but go insane, but dragons die either way. The author literally just reversed it here.

[@rhymerlegend2717]

Someone already mentioned it but: Eragon. Eragon did dragons and riders and bond between the two five thousand times better, much earlier

[@storieswithskye]

I really dislike when people bring up "ripping stuff off" like this. All ideas have origins far beyond what we traditionally think of and its perfectly fine to put your own spin on another idea, all authors do it. For example, Dragon/Rider bonding has been done for such a long time in many many books. The earliest one I know of was Dragonriders of Pern which was published in the 1960s, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that there had been one even before that. While I also dislike the worldbuilding of how the bonding works in Fourth Wing (some of it has really cool potential but odd choices were made in my opinion) I think its lame to attack it based on a foundation that it was "ripped off" of something else.

[@susan4912]

It'd be interesting if the people thought this was a mutually beneficial relationship between them and the dragons, but the dragons were actually just using them/enslaving them without the people really even noticing. Like the dragon riders think so highly of themselves and the dragons allow them to because it makes them easier to control. Idk

[@movealongnowDT]

Already a better plot.

[@sherrismith8874]

5 hours! We're entering Krimson Rogue territory.

[@ReadswithRachel]

i truly don't know how he does this in one go

[@arkkon2740]

To be fair he takes a lot of notes during his videoes and it bumps the time up Im honestly surprised Fourth Wing wasn't one of his longest videos

[@dustrose8101]

@@arkkon2740 He tackled Empress Theresa, Fourth Wing is piss to him.

[@natanaga9892]

I would love to see Rachel read Empress Theresa

[@eyeballsoup7310]

The mage light thing in particular kind of gets me because it would be so easy to make it make some more sense. Either just, yeah, mages exist and they have light-based powers, OR you could do some fun lore that might not be as expected- Magelights are named after Doctor Sooirae Mage, an ancient alchemist who invented the lights. Magelights are named after named after a bioluminescent creature commonly called Mages, scientific name Magiccus Luminiacent, derived from the ancient Dragon word for fire. Magelights are named after a long series of convoluted misspellings and misspoken words, originally known as Flamelights. You’ve got options! That’s the fun of making a fantasy world!

[@stellablake6200]

That's exactly what bothers me so much about this book! That kind of creativity is my favorite thing about the fantasy genre and this author basically just opted out by refusing to explain anything in a way that makes any kind of sense lol

[@ermkayyy]

I love this bc it’s like listening to an audiobook of a crappy book but also with sassy commentary to make it bearable

[@rosalineprior670]

With the amount that Violet’s scalp prickles, has anyone checked this poor girl for lice?

[@rosalineprior670]

lol okay I just got to the part where Rachel says this too. Glad it’s not just me!

[@SorasShadow1]

was halfway through writing a critique on how the set-up would've been improved and then realized i was just describing the How to Train Your Dragon films and the dynamic of Hiccup and Toothless. really should go watch those again.

[@Artbyhurricanyounot]

“Someone asked me if I would combine all 3 fourth wing videos” it’s me, hi, I’m the problem it’s me 😎 (you didn’t even have to and yet you delivered we thank you for your service Rachel!)

[@ReadswithRachel]

🤭

[@brujaja3958]

words can’t explain the sound that escaped me when you said the DRAGONS don’t come up until a THIRD into the book ?????????? i’m glad i dropped it 12% through and didn’t try to tough it out 💀

[@AnitaSleap1080z]

RAAAAAACHEELLLLL THANK YOU. Having your long reviews in the background while I write just makes me better because I scrutinize my own writing.

[@ReadswithRachel]

I’m happy to be helping!

[@NatsumiMichi]

I just can't get over how thirsty the protagonist reads all the time, even by YA standard. Girl, you're about to DIE any moment, stop waxing poetics about how tall and perfect and handsome the guy who wants you dead is.

[@storieswithskye]

This was honestly one of the worst parts for me. This combined with the logic holes in the worldbuilding are the things that really got me.

[@callmekodiak]

Do NOT play a drinking game with the phrase "I don't get it", you won't survive. This book is ridiculous.

[@tinniesealjiji]

About to be a good art session

[@michellelies]

lol Yeeeeeah, I was writing but now I think imma switch to painting so I can have this in the background...

[@xxTobari]

Hear me out: What if Xaden (or whatever his name is) and the children of rebels were in the infantry with a strict order NOT to be promoted and to be used as shields, but the dragon somehow chooses Xaden and now he HAS to be a rider, otherwise his dragon will destroy everything? And now he is a double agent, being both a rider and a part of the rebellion and the stakes are higher since he has to sneak into the infantry regularly to lead the rebels? And the riders have a legit reason to hate him because he isn’t supposed to be a rider??? That sounds a lot more… logical?

[@CursedCatTruffa]

Wow, you fix like a good third of problems of this book with such a simple change. The author didn't really bothered to think anything about the plot besides "guy hot" and dollar store omergaverse.

[@patchworkedlia]

I love this! I’m doing research into Fourth Wing rn about how it failed and what I’d do if I had wrote it. I’d love to talk more about this. Do you have a Tumblr?

[@CSRaeburn]

“A 5 hour Fourth Wing Rant” *or* “5 hours of cardio content!”

[@AshChiCupcak]

I love how The Emperor's New Groove has a scene perfect for literally every occasion. You don't even have to use anything else ever cuz they are just timeless perfection. I laughed every. Single. Time. 🤣

[@ace_writergirl]

"This is so bare minimum that the bar is in hell." I'm getting that as a tattoo. What a quote.

[@paigehender4053]

thinking back on the bizarre "I worldbuild when im scared" bit from the parapet, I can't help but think it could have worked?? Not in the form its in right now, but like maybe it could have been framed as a grounding exercise. Like when I used to get regular anxiety attacks at work I would pause and verbally tell myself "I am on X street. It is in X neighborhood. it is in X state." and go out from there. general information recall is absolutely a grounding technique. So Violet could have been verbally telling herself the names of provinces or countries or whatever, and then internally thinking of little fun facts. like "Tyrrendor. Navarre. 4 century war. elk." and then the reader is like woah woah back up 400 year war??? And that could inspire some curiosity and intrigue. Just a thought.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Great point!!

[@MyNameHere101]

Oh hey I do that too except mine is "So today is Monday. Then that means that tomorrow must be Tuesday, so obviously after that is Wednesday. Then I'm pretty sure after that is Thursday, and then it's Friday..." Etc

[@RavenaQNunes]

Katniss did this all the time during THG. But Suzanne knows how to write 🤭

[@fynnsternis6432]

for some reason the thing that still trips me up the most is the ink pen power. That is so random, how did she even come up with that

[@kyokunskitty]

Adding this to my Greatest Hits playlist of fave videos of people ranting that are weirdly comforting to me

[@Coyoteari]

Wake up babe there’s a 5 hour video from a KZbinr I’ve never watched before

[@taylera7159]

My wife has Ehlers-Danlos and thinks that the author got the completely wrong disease for her MC lol. Does not sound like ED. We think it is Klein-Waardenburg syndrome, which has the hair discoloration, weak hands/arms, etc.... sounds a lot closer to Violet's symptoms. In either case, these are both genetic disorders, and would not be caused by the mother getting sick during pregnancy.

[@dracaramel2]

18:40 "there were so many words and i don't know what he looks like" I'M LOSING IT OVER THIS

[@dracaramel2]

5 hours later, i'm convinced that this book (which i have never heard of before today) was written on forward momentum alone and the author never looked back at any of it

[@PhookaAnimation]

"There was so many words that I don't know what he looks like" FDGFJFHDFJH

[@Coyoteari]

Holy shit I’m rewatching this & just realized she gave the main character a goddamn fever coat. Literally in cats if the mother cat is sick while pregnant, any dark kittens will come out silvery 💀

[@TheDarkAgez]

4:53:12 OMG, if Dain was an actual possible love interest and then she suddenly couldn’t let him touch her and couldn’t tell him why?? THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO INTERESTING

[@angryotter9129]

This is getting saved for knitting time.

[@xloveangel97x]

@@angryotter9129 I’m crocheting while listening.

[@Docypher]

As an Irish person, the names in this book are so painful. Dubhmadinn? Dark/Black morning? Did she really just google translate some words and shove them together? It reeks of the lack of thought put into the world building. I literally have to stop reading or watching things when the names are that cringe. I think the only worse one I’ve seen was in an anime where a little starving girl was named Tart (Thirst).

[@Docypher]

Also for future reference since so many fantasy books love Gaelic languages, usually a consonant followed by a ‘h’ makes a ‘v’ sound since it ‘softens’ the letter before it. Obviously it depends on the letter, since ch makes a ‘h’ sound. Since it’s actually a different way to write a séimhiú (which can also be a dot above the letter like ṁ, ḃ, ċ). So for example, the word dubh would be pronounced like the English word dove🕊 Sometimes the author absolutely doesn’t understand how the language actually works, just writes something vaguely Irish sounding but it actually sounds atrocious if you read it in Irish.

[@ChaosCause3000]

Thank you for the Gaelic lesson! :) I saw dubh, tried to apply your rule, thought “so it would be pronounced dove?” And it was correct! Really cool! I’ll have to look more into Gaelic languages in the future

[@Docypher]

@@ChaosCause3000 I’ve spent far too many years studying Irish haha. It’s great but it has a really steep learning curve when you get to grammar. I would recommend it, although Duolingo isn’t great. You’d have a lot of success buying an Irish book meant for primary school students like Bun go Barr or Abair Liom

[@BlackReshiram]

OH MY FUCKING GOD THANK YOU i can listen to this to fall asleep to (i have already listened to the seperate parts on their own)

[@Mistcat32]

Having recently finished this book, I think the reason the characters come across so young is that they are all weirdly obsessed with sex and talk about it like high schoolers. Like half their group conversations are about who’s sleeping with who or injected with awkward sex jokes. And obviously adults talk about and joke about sex, but every time it came up in this book they just felt like teens. Also Xaden knowing her brother could have been a good reason he would’ve been protecting her/helping her despite not liking her. Instead the author did nothing with this and his reason for liking her is that she’s hot. Violet finding out her brother isn’t dead in Xaden’s only POV chapter made me so mad. Also that she will probably not be mad at Xaden for not telling her the minute she woke up, and instead flirted with her while her brother knocked on her door 😡

[@TJWillis13]

I am downloading this for my plane ride on Tuesday. I am excited:D

[@ReadswithRachel]

Safe travels!

[@HaapainenRouske]

It would have been much better if the lore dump was done through song or poetry, like have Violet obsessively go through some kind of propaganda limerick in her head to keep her mind occupied. I mean, when I go to the dentist and have to get teeth cleaned or whatever, I also distract myself by aggressively thinking something else and more than once the first thing I've managed to think about has been our national hymn, because that's the kind of stuff that you're exposed to regularly. The lore dump is definitely clumsy, but with just a little tweaking it could have been way better and even tied more into the themes of controlling information and effects of propaganda. This story is so half baked that it's maddening.

[@greenonionbabey]

Reading the comments and I'm so glad to know we've been collectively falling asleep to the fourth wing rant videos 😭 I also listen to them at work sometimes when I don't want to play a podcast or audiobook. This is genuinely one of the most helpful (and funniest) resources I've found for what not to do with worldbuilding and plot structure and I'm so happy it's in one place now

[@cloudyrainee]

You're a real hater for this book and it's an art of dedication in this case. I am impressed by your patience to go through every detail you hated about this. The negative feelings you have for this book have a higher quality of entertainment for me than the temptation to try and force myself through the audiobooks. I'll watch this while writing my poetry analyse in German probably

[@stephanie_1120]

Did I watch all 3 already? Yes. Will I watch this again? Hell yes.

[@SweetNothing1918]

As someone with ehlers danlos - and who dealt with internalised ableism Thank You so much for mentioning it! It wasn’t dealt with well and btw no ehlers danlos is not caused by fever or anything while pregnant, it can be genetic mutation but usually it’s genetic. Likely made her mother and sister better (more flexible is better for fighting a lot of gymnasts and dances have this or hyper mobility syndrome!)

[@ceciflores2696]

When I read the book, I kept calling Violet's condition a disability of convenience.

[@P0rk_Sinigang]

This book feels like Yarros knows that something is wrong with our military system, but refuses to confront the actual systems that make it awful to be a part of and so instead just created a shallow strawman of an imperialistic society.

[@demigoddessreads]

RACHEL I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS IN MY LIFE. amazing. i thought this was new and freaked out and felt so sorry for you lmao

[@chellyfishing]

Bless u Rachel The scene where Violet climbs a tree and just HAPPENS to overhear important info reminds me of a scene in Cassandra Claire’s first book, which I unfortunately read, where the main character goes to a place, then a bunch of characters then just so happen to show up to the same place, she hides and listens to them say a bunch of relevant things, AND THEN THEY LEAVE. I was so stunned the first time I read it that such a clumsy, bad scene was in a published best-selling book. Actually, I’m still stunned. God I hate her writing so much.

[@thehistorian1232]

I just want to point out that, according to this book’s own author bio, this is explicitly military fetish fiction and the author has a fetish for military members. That alone takes this book from “embarrassing” to “cult classic of weird horniness” for me.

[@arkkon2740]

With that in mind isnt she kinda like, fetishizing her husband? Its their business whatever, but putting that out in the open just makes you sound weird as hell. Its like openly saying you're into race play unprompted while you're married to someone of color, just keep that to yourself or lie or something

[@princessatellaluma]

17:45 its actually perfectly reasonable for a fantasy world to have rubber. before chemical manufacturing (and even now), latex and rubber was made from the tree sap of pará rubber trees. so we can assume that some sort of rubber tree may exist in this world.

[@LisatheWeirdo]

I'm confused why Rebecca Yarros didn't ask her husband military questions? This whole story wouldn't have been so damn confusing if she had...

[@gasmonkey1000]

Wait... The writer of this thing is married to someone with military experience? Why would she not ask him? I know a lot soldiers don't like talking about their service and just see it as a job but surely he'd have brought up the teamwork? Could she not have finished a chapter, gone to her husband and asked if this would work as a military tradition? Did she not think to ask? Did she not care?

[@danielelias2266]

Im more than sure someone already had this thought, but maybe this book would have been better had Violence and Zayden (with an X), had been older. Like Violation started the book graduating already certified Dragon Rider despite her disability, her mother still not satisfied with her accomplishments. The rebellion kids are part of the infantry and the enemies to lovers begins with Violin being assaigned their new commanding officer and butting heads with these resentful conscripts or something or other idk man, im only 2hrs in and im suffering major brain damage

[@Cwell4613]

We should create a drinking game where the reader take a shot every time Violet’s scalp tingles, or when mage lights are mentioned

[@r3bel758]

- be American YA author - google British and Irish mythology exactly twice - get Generic Fantasy World - insert dragons or hot fae - give everyone a Welsh name - Generic Fantasy World is now Cool Original Fantasy World - instant booktok best seller chat im on my last fucking thread rn

[@DaalMakhani]

My cousin has EDS and we both read the book. And I think the EDS rep is there to justify her being tiny and fragile. It casually comes up whenever it's convenient and then forgotten whenever. It's just another way of writing how tiny and fragile and delicate the MFC is like "Oh look at me, I'm so petite and delicate and it makes everything around me look huge but I can take out multiple people with my small stature cause I'm not like the other girls."

[@shinyumbreon696]

I know this isn't even remotely the point, but romance's obsession with unusually tall male love interests is baffling. Like, the average height for an American woman is 5'4. Nothing against tall guys, but purely from a physical and fantasy perspective, why would a 6'4 love interest be better than 5'11, the average for American men? As the intended audience (a 5'7 white chick), all I can think about with love interests this tall is how I'd have to hunt down a footstool to kiss him. If you're a cool dude who happens to be very tall, good for you! But find me a fictional heartthrob book boyfriend under 6 feet.

[@javierlopez9789]

Because the authors are pick me's

[@storieswithskye]

I'm 5'4 and my partner is 6'4 and while I do think our dynamic is adorable it definitely does have draw backs. Like leaning up or down to have to hug or kiss comfortably and stuff like that. Often times he will come down to me which I think is easier, because I can only be *so* tall even if I crane my neck all the way up and stand on my toes. He can bend his knees much easier, but I imagine that can't be the most comfy on his end either 😂

[@Zero_Is_Stopping_Time]

filling a sketchbook with this one 🔥

[@thehermit8618]

Its very obvious the author made the premise first then tried to clumsily make a high fantasy world around it seeing how haphazard, nonsensical and frankly inept the world-building is. The most enfuriating part of Fourth Wing is by far how badly the author tries to ramp up the stakes in stupid ways: Oh in this super elite school trains special troops composed of the best and brighest that are NEEDED to protect the borders, but the first test of entry is walking over a wet bridge or fall to your death... but your class mates can kill you... oh and they somehow got the children of the leaders of a civil revolt in to teach them how to be elite warriors to serve the country they hate... but not everyone who gets in gets a dragon... wait, the dragons can kill you... oh but you dont even get to practice how to even ride a dragon in the event they allow you to ride them... oh and even if you bond with one your classmates can kill you to break the bond... oh and they might just kill you if the magical power you get when you bond with your dragon is one of the arbitrary "forbidden" ones and they dont even let you train to control it... oh and they dont even give you saddles to ride your dragons you just have to clench your thighs really really hard... Its a miracle anyone graduates from that fucking hellhole at all. The way its presented it seems like the dragons and their magic are the only thing that ensures the kingdom's borders because the riders themselves are undisciplined, disloyal, badly equipped, ignorant and outnumbered thanks to the terrible learning system of the academy

[@Polygondian]

I've JUST finished your Fourth Wing video series yesterday, incredible timing!

[@maximumbees]

i think about "gets you into trouble and you like it level of hot" all the time

[@Lou_Bean]

If I had a nickel for every time I've listened to this video, I'd have 5 nickels. Which is not a lot of nickels, but it is a lot of hours.

[@anirlarchivist]

i’ve just sat through KrimsonRogue’s 8 hour nightbane review, a 5 hour fourth wing review is EXACTLY the kind of content i am here on this website for. thank you so much for all of your effort in making this video!

[@potatosundae-io2bw]

Whoo boy as someone with EDS this book is pissing me off so bad. Most people with EDS experience intense chronic fatigue and pain, and the disorder very commonly occurs with bowel disorders, intense migraines, and nerve damage. These symptoms are the most disabling for people, not the dislocations. EDS exists on a spectrum and not everyone experiences it the same, but it would be exceedingly rare for someone to just have joint issues and no other issues. I honestly doubt that would even classify as EDS. Also, EDS often causes autism and ADHD, so we were robbed of an autistic hero! Goddamnit Violet! (PS for your question: EDS is a connective tissue disorder. The joint dislocations are side effects of the fact that the muscles that hold the bones in place are too weak, which is why Violet has muscle issues. At least they got that right?)

[@SilentProti]

EDS often causes autism? I understand EDS is genetic, so do you mean there's research linking these two/three during fetus development?

[@Art_and_Anxiety]

"So many words and I don't know what he looks like" Your husband was spot-on there.

[@MeekReviews]

"there were so many words but i don't know what he looks like" is absolute gold. i genuinely hated this series but i rewatch these videos all the time they are so good ahaha

[@aricaj.3006]

Are we sure this isn't yet another published AU Reylo fanfic? I'm a massive Star Wars fan and it's not hard for me to see the similarities. We have Separatists (Clone Wars), a Rebellion (Original Trilogy), Xaden (a dark-haired broody angstman who is in a leadership position aka Kylo), Violet (a newbie nerd who becomes OP by the end aka Rey), her best friend whose name I forgot (the token Black friend aka Finn who btw was totally shafted in the movies and deserved better), good people who ride dragons (Rogue Squadron), bad people who ride gryphons (idk how she spells it bc I listened to the audiobook but anyway Imperial TIE fighters), and a giant aerial battle after which Violet ends up joining the Resistance iirc (The Force Awakens). I'm not saying AU Star Wars fanfic with dragons can't be good (tbh I'd write that myself), but this was not it

[@thecoloryes]

I think you're onto something here. Even if not actually intended by the author, Fourth Wing definitely comes across as "Oh, I want a character like [insert any one of many popular media characters] in my book" and playing on a lot of very basic fantasy tropes - revolution vs tradition, quirky but "relatably flawed" MC who turns out to be a princess/the chosen one, random training montage scenes that look cool instead of, y'know, effectively training anyone...... basically it feels to me less like Fourth Wing is directly Reylo fanfic, and more that the same tropes were picked for both with (very slightly) different window dressing, but neither canon told a unique story - they just recycled popular tropes and played them fairly straight

[@javierlopez9789]

Why do authors want to replicate the worst thing about star wars which is the awful sequel trilogy

[@seagaulle]

Dear God, not even 10 minutes in and I was cringing at this system. To give a perspective on how military schools were limited in real life, the 1912 graduating class at Saint Cyr military academy in France had around 200 living men, and by the time World War 1 was over that number had reduced to 80. To have that many recruits killed off for no reason or really preventable aspects is insane to me. I'm honestly shocked that it was written by a military wife because up until you said it, I had believed this was just someone who had no experience around the military or how it worked but wanted to write about a hot military guy anyway. Unfortunately I was recommended this book because I wanted to read more dragon stories and even write a few, so I have a copy of it in my room. I plan to read it eventually because it will help what I should and should not do with these stories but holy hell, I'm not sure if I can even get past these issues, like my autistic brain physically won't allow me.

[@mori7956]

This is going to carry me through writing my Women In Literature final. Thank you Morgan and thank you Rachel

[@Raven_Nivhaar]

Good luck on your final!!! YOU GOT THIS!!!!

[@mori7956]

@@Raven_Nivhaar I GOT AN 100%

[@Raven_Nivhaar]

@@mori7956 WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ReadswithRachel]

Good job!!

[@ogyaru]

Take a shot everytime Rachel says "I don't get it"💀

[@ladyblubel]

1:01:44 Her brother was one of the greatest Menders, a healing power, and had him on the ground as a rider??? Does that not go against any sense about protecting medics in times of conflict?

[@gergokun7154]

Isnt it really counterproductive to have your soldiers kill each other? They should be a seamles machine, but like even after graduation they will be full with grudges and mistrust wich gonna be pretty bad on the battle field. What if a student kills someone's friend or brother, then on the battlefield they will definitely will get shot in the back as an "accident".

[@rowan6650]

Here's a what if for a very different book series based on some of these ideas: the humans are enslaved by the dragons, but it doesn't affect their day to day lives much and many people use terms like "subordinate to" or "in service of" instead. They take aptitude tests when they come of age that, if you pass, will conscript you into the dragon rider program at the war college, half of the time meaning certain death, because the dragons don't care about humans, of course they're going to make the training and trials brutal. Our MC passes the exam and everyone is shocked. Her family encourages her to hide her disability, her "weakness", lest someone take advantage and try to kill her. Why would they kill her? Because this is a one year program: either you bond or get sent out as infantry in a war against another side that also has dragons aka absolute certain death. The killing is not *allowed* by the program, per se, and if you're caught you're also killed, but it's a strategy some people use in order to better their chances at survival. MC was training to be a scribe and she brings some of those skills over, but no one has knowledge of the dragons; why would they, when the dragons are the ruling class above them? Meanwhile, people keep asking why the dragons need riders in the first place. The answer eventually comes out that bonding gives powers to the dragon and the human, and these powers could help the country gain an advantage in the war. There are some families who are marked because someone in their family line committed a crime against the dragons and were magically marked by them. They're let in the school but treated even harsher than everyone and no marked human has ever even lived through the whole year. There's a marked human who MC becomes quick friends with because they both feel like outsiders at the school and agree to watch each other's backs. MC has a former childhood best friend who also got conscripted and they rebond over time due to the circumstances. The trio have to unravel the mysteries of the dragons, the current governmental system, the war, all while struggling to survive, to keep their respective secrets, and hopefully bond at the end of the year. And yeah, maybe there's a love triangle later on but honestly I'd just make them all date.

[@isaacnewton9021]

My partner found this video because he heard Fourth Wing was some kind of human/dragon interspecies romance ala Shape of Water, and wanted to find out why it was so divisive. I have no idea where he heard this from, but I gotta say Xadan with an X is a poor substitute, and the sadness is real. So glad I didn't waste my time with this thing, blindly hoping for a story it just isn't there. Thanks for the long-ass warning :P

[@PhantomMothball]

Im so disapointed in this book, i love dragons and so rarely find books that show them in a cool "holyer than thou" creature type way. I heard the premis and rushed to listen to the audio book only to be sprinkled with of what **could** be a great plot interupted by non stop constant hornyness and fucking. I figured there'd be a few, but when the sex scenes and romance are prioritized over the fucking plot it pisses me off. I also hate when a type of dragon is demonozed just for being a different form, and now theres a whole debacle of people thinking wyvern arent a type of dragon. Also, only having four legged two winged dragons is kinda borning. And to top it off, the fucking plotholes and lack of worldbuilding is just... so disheartening. It had such potential. Anyway, sorry for the rant, loved the video!

[@jaythesiren]

I never ever sit down and watch an entire video if it's over 1 hour, I usually break it up. I don't even feel super strongly about this series, other than "eragon but worse" And yet, I sat and watched this entire video nonstop. Idk what that says about me or my mental state but there ya go.

[@Sophie-18]

EDS is genetic and one can’t have it without one of the parents having it. So either Violet’s mom or dad has/had EDS

[@ArtotheEm]

my lazy worldbuilding beef with this book is that Violet and other characters casually refer to time in units of minutes and seconds. Sure, at the end we at least get the mention of a "clock tower" (rip), but before that there's zero indication of how students are keeping track of time when they are given "20 minutes" to report somewhere. Are they all wearing functional watches with second hands? Are there ticking clocks in each room (and yet no one has yet invented an ink pen that doesn't require magic??) It's not the biggest issue with the worldbuilding for sure, but it stood out to me.

[@katerinamanzhur4462]

dividing hours into 60 minutes, and those into 60 second has been done since antiquity, but i definitely agree that we should have seen how they keep time i just think yarros wanted the vibe of the military and the precise stuff idk i would be interested in how this worked in the past, though we also don't know in what time frame the fourth wing world is

[@zuriellagunes4162]

I. Loved. Every. Second. Of. This. 5 Hour. 4 Minute. 36 Second. Video.

[@haggisa]

My. Scalp. Tingled. When. Reading. This. Comment.

[@lonelyparasyte6155]

as an artist... 5 hour rant videos are all i need in life

[@CatHasOpinions734]

@3:23:29 I will say, in a world that made any sense, I can kind of see the logic in "our dragons are mated, we should avoid complicating our relationship." Most romantic relationships don't last forever, and being permanent co-workers in high-stress scenarios with your ex is usually a bad situation and, in a world that made sense, worth very serious risk assessment. But 1. This book has been way too genre-meta to even pretend that they'd ever be exes, and 2. This has already escalated past the point where they're ever just going to be coworkers, or even just friends. Like, this is a reason to not flirt with someone, maybe to get some distance if it seems like one or both of you might be catching feels. By the time you're coming up with excuses for why you shouldn't have sex, it is WAY TOO LATE for "but what if it strains our working relationship?" to be a rational concern. They have already burned that bridge.

[@nebula-xy2ph]

as someone who enjoyed this book, i love y’all’s takes!! (i mean this seriously) it has so much potential, and would be SO much better is romance wasn’t the main story. but yeah, i 100% agree with y’all

[@RavenaQNunes]

"I have no script, we're doing this raw" this is going to be FIIIIIRE ❤

[@IdkSomething-zv2bb]

"There were so many words yet I don't know what he looks like" Carlos is hilarious 🤣

[@marysnyder9405]

I'm so happy for this! I like having long videos on while studying or crafting, so despite the fact that I've watched your Forth Wing videos multiple times, this is so much easier to relisten! Thank youuu

[@kristellbeckmann323]

My whole head tingles… girl, I think thats lice.

[@ace_writergirl]

I was never gonna read this book but I'm so down to watch Rachel's descent into insanity over 5 hours :D

[@IsabellaS-d2w]

I read the beginning and the end. Skipping the middle didn't cause any confusion, indicating it's a poor book.