*There will be spoilers- read at your own risk*
Whatever I expected out of Rebecca Yarros’s Threshing Day was quickly exceeded and left me connecting dots, questioning plot lines and mourning the loss of Liam once again. Every chapter I prayed to the gods that the next page I would somehow get a dragon POV and whatever secrets they have been keeping would soon be mine to know.
My Pipe Dream
Prior to the release of Threshing Day, readers knew that it would have 13 different POVs and that this book would be the only narration that we could trust. It left my roommate and I questioning for months who exactly would be included, what questions would be answered and what new questions would be posed.
I had the expectation of seeing Liam Mairi, Bodhi Durran, Garrick Tavis, Imogen Surlace and Quinn Hollis (Rebellion Sympathizer). The marked children of the rebellion hold stories that are key to the rest of this story and their Threshing Day experience would establish how the war would turn.
During Threshing Day, it is known that the dragons will make their riders bleed. Onyx Storm left readers questioning who the “venin brother” truly is and I think we all expected to see a certain cousin fail to prove his humanity to his dragon. The test of bleeding red was a subtle fact thrown around the first three books, but Threshing Day is the true test of where dragon loyalty lies and how riders will use their power.
My last hope for this book was a pipe dream. The hope that readers will have a dragon POV within it. I would have done anything to get a chapter from the POV of Sgaeyl, Tairn, Andarna or any of the dragons we know and love. The dragons have the ability to channel power and are the deadliest weapons of this universe. They have a history that readers and riders know bits and pieces about and have secrets that will change the tides of the war.
“I’ll trust you if you stop keeping secrets!” – Ridoc
I, too, am tired of the secrets Rebecca Yarros keeps from us, but Threshing Day was no disappointment. From the 13 POVs we were given, readers were able to establish the common themes of how dragons test their riders, why specific signets are channeled and which side the dragons are truly on. More importantly, each chapter included a piece of an already told story. Threshing Day may have connected some dots, but gods do I have a million more questions,
Chapters such as Sloane Mairi’s completely broke me. Thoirt, being the sister of Deigh, Liam’s dragon, re-expressed all the grief once again. Threshing Day through her eyes made the grief Sloane carries even more personal. Six out of the thirteen chapters were those of the marked ones, and each had a subtle undertone of responsibility for one another or the thought that they would be better off scorched by a dragon. Liam’s chapter reinforced the connection dragons seek through their riders. The dragons know the horrors the marked ones have survived and have actively made the choice to fight on their side of the war.
“Good. Then let us begin. You and I will take on the evil that plagues this continent.”
Which brings me be back to Xaden’s chapter. Sgaeyl knew his true intentions before she even revealed herself to him. She knew from the moment she came across Garrick and Xaden in that forest to protect them against the Codex what Xaden would do with the power that would seep through this blood shortly after. “And thus, we begin,” told me everything I needed to know about the position of the dragons for the rest of this story.
Then there was Aaric; everything I thought I knew about the “venin brother” was thrown out the window as soon as I read that last page. His parallel to Xaden’s match with Sgaeyl made it impossible to believe that Garrick or Bodhi could even be considered to be Xaden’s human half.
How Long Must I Wait?
If there is one thing I have learned from these 13 chapters is that the truth will come out in segments with more than enough confusing twists and turns to keep readers theorizing between books. Every dot connected revealed a new question.
Though I spent every chapter hoping that a dragon POV would sneak its way in, I still was kept thoroughly intrigued by the many new facts this book gave us. Threshing Day gave us answers, but never enough to satisfy the craving for knowledge. It connected the riders to the dragon on an emotional level while also giving us entirely new things to obsess over.
And somehow, after all of that, I will be patiently waiting for the official fourth book. Until then, the fan theories will keep me busy, and I will keep spiraling as Rebecca intended.