Clara’s Verdict
Book two of The Empyrean series, and the question that every sequel to a genre phenomenon must answer: did Yarros earn it, or is she coasting? She earned it. Iron Flame is – and I say this with full awareness of how it sounds – better than Fourth Wing in the ways that matter most. The emotional stakes are higher, the secondary characters are better served, and the structural reveals that the first book was quietly constructing land here with genuine force. The dragon-rider fantasy setting continues to provide exactly the propulsive backdrop that made the first novel so compulsively listenable, and Rebecca Soler’s narration remains one of the finest genre audio performances currently running. Four-point-seven from 403 Audible listeners, and the hype is, by any measure I can apply, real.
About the Audiobook
Iron Flame is the second book in The Empyrean series and must not be listened to without first completing Fourth Wing. The setup assumes familiarity with Basgiath War College, the bond between dragons and riders, the political tensions simmering beneath the war college’s brutal training regime, and – crucially – the complicated, wounded, compelling dynamic between Violet Sorrengail and Xaden Riorson.
Second year at Basgiath is, per Xaden’s warning at the close of the first book, when “the rest of us lose our humanity.” Yarros takes that promise seriously. The new vice commandant is personally invested in ensuring Violet doesn’t survive to third year. Xaden’s presence is complicated by his own obligations and by the revelation that upended the conclusion of Fourth Wing. And Violet, working with the knowledge of a secret the war college has buried for centuries, is trying to hold herself together as the situation around her accelerates toward catastrophe.
What Yarros does exceptionally well is ensure that the emotional and the narrative are not separate tracks that occasionally intersect. The relationship between Violet and Xaden is the engine of both books, and its complications in Iron Flame – the things they know and haven’t said, the ways trust is tested by circumstances neither of them chose – give the action sequences genuine weight rather than mere spectacle. The dragons remain a consistent pleasure; Yarros’s world-building has settled into a confidence that allows the magic system and military politics to operate without constant explanation. Running time: 28 hours and 16 minutes.
The Narration
Rebecca Soler is simply one of the best genre narrators working in audio today, and her performance across the Empyrean series is the reason multiple reviewers specifically recommend the audiobook format over the print edition. Her Violet is specific and consistent across both books – intelligent, slightly dry, frightened in ways she doesn’t always let herself admit. She handles the ensemble cast of Basgiath’s riders with individual voices that hold across the full runtime without requiring listeners to keep a mental index. Action sequences – which in lesser hands become indistinguishable noise – are spatially clear under her direction. The intimate scenes are rendered with a directness that the genre sometimes shies away from. If you have any interest in fantasy audiobooks and haven’t encountered Soler’s work: this series is your starting point, and you will not be disappointed.
What Readers Say
The 403 Audible listeners represent a serious and engaged readership, and their responses are characteristic of a sequel that richly rewards prior investment. “Dare I say this was better than Fourth Wing? I dare,” opens one UK review. Another describes herself as having resisted the book due to mixed word-of-mouth and now regretting the delay – the sceptics who waited have become among the most enthusiastic converts. Readers consistently note the emotional depth of Violet and Xaden’s arc, the satisfying development of the supporting ensemble, and the plot revelations that reframe elements of the first book retroactively. Multiple listeners cite Soler’s narration specifically as a reason they committed to twenty-eight hours. The cliffhanger ending is mentioned by several reviewers as both frustrating and clear evidence that Yarros knows precisely what she is doing with the larger series.
Who Should Listen?
Listeners who have completed Fourth Wing and need to know what happens next – which is to say, everyone who has finished Fourth Wing. For those who haven’t started the series: begin there, commit to it, and return here when you’re ready. The Empyrean is exactly the kind of fantasy that rewards investment; the world-building accumulates meaning rather than simply expanding, and the character work earns the dramatic events it puts those characters through. If you’re a fantasy reader who finds the subgenre’s frequent disinterest in genuine romantic stakes frustrating, Yarros is the correction you’ve been looking for. The series is, at its heart, a love story that happens to involve dragons and a war – and that is rather better, in Yarros’s hands, than it sounds.
Listen to Iron Flame on Audible UK: Find it on Audible UK. Also available via Kobo, Scribd, and Storytel.
