If you’re already an avid fantasy reader, a massively dense novel isn’t going to put you off easily. So many of the genre’s most popular, enduring, and best books are genuine doorstoppers, pulling readers into intricately designed worlds and stories of courage, hope, love, darkness, horror, and perseverance.
If you’ve only just begun your exploration of the fantasy and romantasy genres, however, the average length of these fantastical novels may take some getting used to.
Fourth Wing is one such novel. The BookTok sensation by author Rebecca Yarros has taken the world by storm with its sarcastic dragons, a sizzling enemies-to-lovers arc, and the brutality of war. Though the book’s page count can vary slightly depending on which version you own—the original hardback copy is 512 pages, the international paperback is 498 pages, the U.K. paperback is 576 pages, and the Kindle e-book is 646 pages—it is, whichever way you look at it, a relatively long novel. At 500+ pages, Fourth Wing sits comfortably alongside other fantasy tomes such as R. F. Kuang’s Babel, Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses novels, Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone, and many more.
Of course, the hope is that you enjoy Violet Sorrengail and Xaden Riorson’s seething banter so much you’ll barely notice that 500 pages have come and gone. That’s when you’ll find yourself reaching for Fourth Wing’s sequel, Iron Flame, which is a little longer than its predecessor. Iron Flame’s original hardback copy is 640 pages, while the international paperback version is 623 pages, and the Kindle e-book is 639 pages.
So, will Rebecca Yarros’ third Empyrean novel, Onyx Storm, be even longer than the first two? We’ll have to wait a little longer to find out.
(featured image: Little, Brown Book Group)
