Threshing Day
by Rebecca Yarros
read by a full cast
GraphicAudio, 2026. 5 hours, 35 minutes.
Review written October 21, 2026, from a library eaudiobook.
Threshing Day in the Empyrean universe is the day that dragons choose their riders. The riders are chosen – or, mostly, they die. Don’t offend a dragon, or you’ll be burned to a crisp. Don’t fall off on your first flight, or, well, you’ll splatter.
This short book tells about the Threshing Day experiences of thirteen of the important characters in the Empyrean trilogy, so it’s probably better to read it after the other three books, as there are some spoilers – mainly finding out who gets paired with a dragon on Threshing Day and who dies. It also alludes to an important death that happens in one of the other books.
The most amazing thing about this audiobook was the production quality. There are sound effects throughout, and a cast of 39 people read the parts. We hear sounds of a forest in the background – and so many sounds of people screaming in the distance that it felt a little comical. The dragons are given effects to sound like imposing voices heard inside the character’s head.
Honestly, the stories felt a little repetitive. I knew that everyone featured would pair with a dragon, so I couldn’t fully enter into each character’s angst. And it’s been awhile since I listened to Onyx Storm, so it took a little bit of time for me to care about the characters – and I’d forgotten how brutal and violent that world is. Honestly, who sets up a military academy where they have to read a death roll every morning because so many recruits die? I wasn’t entertained when one of the featured characters saw another group of cadets burnt to a crisp by a dragon because they didn’t come at it the right way, and did it as a group.
Still, it was nice to see a human side to people like Imogen, and of course good to learn more about Xaden and his dragon. And yes, the production was amazing. If you’ve read the other books in the series, I do recommend trying this on audio.
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Fiction/threshing_day.html
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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.
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