How long does it take to read Fourth Wing and the Empyrean series?
Rebecca Yarros · 3 books
At an average reading speed of 250 words a minute, all 3 books of The Empyrean take about 46 hours to read. The unabridged audiobooks run 74 hours at 1x, or 49 hours at 1.5x.
Fourth Wing reads quickly for its size, but it is a big book, and Iron Flame is longer still. Three books in, the Empyrean is already longer than ACOTAR's first three, and two more are planned.
Average is about 250 WPM. Measure yours in two minutes and every time on this page recalculates.
Every book, timed
| Book | Words | Read | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fourth Wing | ~198,710 | 13h 15m | 21h 22m |
| Iron Flame | ~262,880 | 17h 32m | 28h 16m |
| Onyx Storm | ~221,960 | 14h 48m | 23h 52m |
How much to read a day
At 250 words a minute, to finish the whole series:
Have a deadline in mind? The pages-per-day calculator works it out for any date.
How we measured it
Method: audiobook estimate. Estimated from the unabridged audiobooks at 155 words a minute. Fourth Wing uses the standard 21:22 recording; the current Audible listing adds three bonus chapters and runs 22:02.
Part of our study of the 100 most popular books, last checked October 2026. Reading times assume steady reading; editions, translations and your own pace all move them.
See how long it really takes you
Log each book in Parch as you read. It tracks your pages, sessions and streak, so you'll know your real pace, and how long the next one will take.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to read Fourth Wing and the Empyrean series?
About 46 hours at an average reading speed of 250 words a minute: 57 hours at 200 and 38 hours at 300. That covers all 3 books, from Fourth Wing to Onyx Storm.
How many words are in Fourth Wing and the Empyrean series?
About 683,550 words across 3 books. The longest is Iron Flame (262,880); the shortest is Fourth Wing (198,710). That's estimated from the unabridged audiobook at a narration pace of 155 words a minute, so treat it as close, not exact.
How many pages a day to finish Fourth Wing and the Empyrean series in a month?
About 83 pages a day, or 1h 32m of reading a day at an average pace. That assumes about 2,486 pages at 275 words a page; real page counts vary by edition.
How long is the Fourth Wing audiobook?
21 hours 22 minutes for the standard edition, narrated by Rebecca Soler and Teddy Hamilton. Editions with bonus chapters run about 40 minutes longer.
Which Empyrean book is the longest?
Iron Flame, at about 28 hours as an audiobook, roughly a third longer than Fourth Wing.