Forget ‘fairy porn’, Onyx Storm is the TikTok book sensation you’ve probably never heard of
Onyx Storm, the third instalment in Rebecca Yarros’ viral romantasy series, has been released today to Harry Potter levels of mania in bookstores. But, if you aren’t on TikTok, you may never have heard of it.
The novel continues the Empyrean series, which follows the story of Violet Sorrengail, a young dragon rider at a fictional war college who has fallen in love with her sworn enemy and the resident ‘bad boy’ rider, Xaden Riorson.
The first book in the author’s best-selling series, Fourth Wing, sold over two million copies worldwide and sat at The New York Times best-seller list for over six months. Its sequel, Iron Flame, sold over half a million copies in the first week of its release.
The newly-published third book is the biggest pre-order for the UK publisher of since the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in 2016 and the "most exciting book since Harry Potter", according to The Telegraph. Yet, it's often seen as nothing more than "fairy porn" for women.
What is 'fairy porn'?
The series' deniable success has furthered the explosion of the romantasy genre, which combines tropes from romantic, erotic literature with fantasy concepts such as mythical creatures, supernatural individuals and events.
Yarros is now arguably the second biggest romantasy author, a trend propelled by Sarah J. Maas in 2015, with the publication of A Court of Thorns and Roses. The book became the ACOTAR series, selling 40 million copies and a staple of book fans on TikTok.
The so-called "fairy porn" or fantasy "smut" features explicit sex scenes along with battles, love stories and in Onyx Storm, dragons. In TikTok user’s own words it’s "spicy" (sexually explicit) fiction with a focus on a female protagonist desires, usually for dangerous, supernatural power-wielding men. It blends readers (especially women’s) appeal for acclaimed romantasy series like Twilight with the appetite for erotic, accessible literature such as Fifty Shades of Grey.
Piatkus Editorial Director, Rebekah West says: "There has always been a huge romantasy fan base, though we used to just call it Fantasy Romance. Sarah J Maas has been doing this for years, and her numbers speak for themselves, but TikTok has made the entire genre more accessible."
Undeniably there’s erotic elements to these novels, but it also boasts romantic tropes that date back to Jane Austen in the 1800s and fantasy lore that rivals the world building found in The Lord of the Rings.
The only difference between this obsession with the Fourth Wing series compared to Tolkien and Austen, is that this literature is confined to a niche fandom congregated on BookTok - the literature side of TikTok where users share their latest book recommendations, series theories and predictions.
The anticipation and excitement for third book has been built on the electric reactions to readers on the platform. West explains: "I think seeing visceral reactions from readers really created a sense of FOMO or intrigue and has made a lot of people step out of their comfort zones and explore other genres.
"Fantasy has always been a genre where the experience extends beyond just reading the book – and TikTok has made it so fun to share theories, artwork, and even costumes."
In the real world, this translates into millions of book sales, as well as readers lining up outside bookstores at midnight to collect their pre-order of Onyx Storm. Yet, the female-centric fandom is often viewed in a less favoured or reputable light than straight fantasy writers, as it's more accessible in it's tone to encourage a wide range of ages into the genre.
"There is sex in all forms of media (movies, TV shows – even crime books!), so it always surprises me to see romantasy deduced to 'porn'," West says.
"There is so much more to the genre, especially Empyrean. Though the love story is certainly at the centre, you have found family, high stakes, the underdog story and epic adventure!"
Even with the dismissal of this genre as simply 'smutty literature', it's a force to be reckoned with in the book publishing industry, that has encouraged a massive resurgence in the sub-genre as well as romantic literature itself as seen with BookTok sensations such as Colleen Hoover and Elsie Silver's books.
The genre blends action and adventure with the "comfort of knowing there will be a happy ending" which makes for an exhilarating and best-selling combination.
Read more about books:
TikTok bookshelves to open across UK to get young people reading (Independent, 3-min read)
Social media helping young people read ‘proper’ books, says Waterstones chief (PA Media, 3-min read)
It Ends With Us is a BookTok sensation, so why is the film controversial? (Yahoo Entertainment, 5-min read)
