i'm not even saying the fourth wing series is that good but why is every criticism i hear of it so baseless ?? it's actually ridiculous how many ppl did not read these books (and admit to it) but keep dogpiling on them
no shade to this creator but "if you need more riders, why would you put them through an intense regimen where death is one of the biggest consequences?"
i read the books a loooong time ago so correct me if i'm wrong but
first, many die before they even cross the parapet but this doesn't actually seem to deter the hundreds of hopefuls trying to become dragon rider cadets. why?
because entering and graduating one of the four quadrants of the basgiath war college (of which the rider quadrant is the deadliest and, not coincidentally, the most prestigious) is connected not just to high social status, but more specifically to upwards mobility. these young adults, full of ego, ready to leave their parents' home for the first time, eager to prove themselves, have the opportunity to become dragon riders regardless of where they come from. rich, working class, rebellion children, dragon rider legacy or not - so long as you're fit enough to survive the training, you can be part of the most powerful social strata (and even become part of the ruling class, in the case of violet's mother). you can think of it as a simple meritocracy or even a version of the american dream. there's an enormous societal and cultural incentive to want to become a dragon rider, basically achieving god-like/superhero status, that makes up for the associated risks. and btw, the fmc still thought ppl who choose to do it were insane and has a very complicated relationship with the war college bcuz her whole family is comprised of riders except her father, her mother being a general, while her bother died at war.
people in this creator's comments asked things like, "why make them cross the parapet and have so many of them die before they've even reached the college?". this is a world of dragons, magic and religion. crossing the parapet, to me, was very heavily implied to be traditional and symbolic - there are other, more practical ways to get to the college and leave it, they're just purposefully not accessible to the aspiring riders. if you want to ride a literal dragon to war, crossing the parapet isn't that unreasonable. there's all kinds of physical tests to enter the police, firefighters, army, etc in the status quo and you train for those as well as once you're in those institutions. in fourth wing, the parapet is very high but also reasonably wide. the only reason so many people died crossing it in violet's year was because of poor preparation, weather conditions and competition. some (like barlowe) wanted to become riders so badly they were pushing others off the parapet, and later, killing others over dragons.
"why is basgiath so deadly, if navarre needs more dragon riders?"
"navarre needs more dragon riders" is a true but inaccurate statement. yes, dragon riders are extremely useful in the war so the more the better, but they're also the best possible example of quality over quantity: one dragon rider is a thousand times more efficient than an entire order of infantry. for the same reason, it is more beneficial for navarre to have 100 cadets brainwashed by their own ego, state propaganda and the promises of high status willingly trying to become dragon riders, and only 5/100 making it than all 100 getting conscripted to the infantry (despite their shortage of soldiers of any kind). dragon riders are expensive to produce and hard to control, making them an investment of sorts. they reproduce navarrian propaganda and later become tools of it too, in ways healers and infantry never could (but scribes, we find, can). some booktok ppl were asking why rebellion children are allowed to become dragon riders since they can be so powerful and this dangerous to navarre - there's an plot-relevant reason for this that i won't spoil.
furthermore, navarre might want a million riders, but each year less and less dragons are willing to bond with them (there's also an in-universe reason for this but let's just say they're extremely temperamental). in a world where dragons may choose to bestow upon you what is essentially god-like status and invincibility, not just anyone should be allowed to become a rider. imagine putting a military grade weapon in the hands of a twenty year old who thinks they're the shit. even if it doesn't kill them, what if they master it and go rogue against you? basically, basgiath's ruthless training isn't the only thing stopping cadets from becoming riders (by killing them more so than by detering them from trying), and can instead be thought of as ensuring better war preparation and higher chances of bonding a dragon. dragons don't like weakness or hesitation, and everything is fair game outside the wards. for these reasons, navarre's ruling class can ultimately afford to be extremely selective at the cost of human lives.
not to mention that because the environment is so volatile, the death toll to dragon rider ratio isn't stable - having more cadets wouldn't necessarily always equal more riders. the bar is high so there are many extremely talanted riders who end up dying before graduating (and btw, it's often due to either luck or a mistake they made that's meant to be some sort of lesson - the narrative punishes vice), but this is a part of the system that the mc heavily criticizes, esp in book 2. the amount of death and its normalization within the college makes her question the world order!! this is important!!
lastly: not everything about the world building needs to be outright explained and then continuously justified ("show don't tell", immersion in the story and all that). it's your job as a reader to analyze the text and read it critically. or, you know, not talk about it if you haven't even read it at all?? sometimes, there will be no in-universe explanation. the world is the way it is just because it wouldn't be as interesting to read about if it weren't. you have to realize that as a reader of a fantasy story, you are at least to an extent agreeing to believe in the illusion crafted by the author.
