Northeastern University visiting teaching professor Catherine Fairfield had never read Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean books until a friend recently invited her to a launch party for “Onyx Storm,” the latest installment in the series that came out on Jan 21. When Fairfield got to the party, she found an enthusiastic crowd decked out in book-themed apparel, including Basgiath War College gear (the college in the book). It piqued Fairfield’s curiosity about the series enough that she picked up the first book and quickly saw why “Onyx Storm” broke records as the fastest-selling adult novel in 20 years.
“I totally get it,” says Fairfield, who is part of Northeastern’s English department. “The plot is really compelling and it plays out like a movie in your head, which I think is a hallmark of most really popular fantasy novels and series. … It has a strong independent woman at the center of it. It has a lot of diversity among the other characters … (and) it’s exciting. They get to ride dragons and do physical feats that you would not normally do in your everyday life.”
