Was there always another Redwall novel?

Perhaps the most intriguing part of the story is that evidence of another Brian Jacques manuscript has existed for years.

In 2010, Penguin ran a competition that allowed a reader to name a character who was expected to appear in an upcoming Redwall novel. The winning character was Reisa Kartwell, described as a haremaiden and cartographer associated with Salamandastron.

But when The Rogue Crew appeared, Reisa was nowhere to be found.

That left Redwall readers with an unresolved question. Had Jacques been planning another novel?

The appearance of Orphans of Mossflower more than fifteen years later provides a possible answer.

Exactly what condition the manuscript was in when Jacques died remains unclear. There has not yet been a detailed publisher announcement explaining whether Jacques completed the novel, whether it has subsequently been edited or completed by others, or how much work remained on the manuscript.

Those details could become one of the most interesting parts of the story once the publisher formally introduces the book.

What is Orphans of Mossflower about?

For now, very little has been revealed about the story itself.

There is no full official synopsis available, and even the significance of the title remains open to interpretation. Mossflower Woods is at the heart of the Redwall world, with Redwall Abbey itself located there, so the title immediately places the novel close to the series' most familiar setting.

There is also the long-standing mystery surrounding Reisa Kartwell.

Information associated with the old character competition suggested that Reisa's skills as a cartographer would become important when Redwall came under attack and its inhabitants needed to reach Salamandastron quickly.

Whether that storyline belongs to Orphans of Mossflower has not been officially established, but its existence makes the discovery of another Jacques novel particularly intriguing.

It would also explain why a character announced before Jacques' death never appeared in The Rogue Crew.

A remarkably late final chapter for Redwall

Posthumous books are hardly unknown in fantasy, but Orphans of Mossflower is unusual simply because of how much time has passed.

A generation of readers has spent more than fifteen years believing that The Rogue Crew was the final journey into Jacques' world. Now, just as Redwall approaches another major anniversary, a book whose existence may have been hinted at before the author's death appears ready to emerge.

The biggest unanswered question is therefore not simply what happens in Orphans of Mossflower. It is the story of the manuscript itself.

How much did Jacques complete? Where has it been since 2011? Was it always intended to follow The Rogue Crew? And does Reisa Kartwell finally make the appearance that readers were promised more than a decade ago?

Those answers may tell us almost as much about Orphans of Mossflower as its eventual synopsis.

What to watch for next

The next major step should be a detailed announcement from Penguin, particularly confirmation of the manuscript's history and how the final text was prepared for publication.

A synopsis, cover, ISBN and preorder listings should also provide a much clearer picture of the novel as its September 2027 publication approaches.

For now, though, the most important news is also the simplest: after more than fifteen years without a new Redwall novel, Mossflower may have one final story waiting for readers.

When is Threshing Day released?

Threshing Day will be released on September 29, 2026 in the United States and United Kingdom.

The official Rebecca Yarros site and the dedicated Threshing Day site both confirm the date. Hachette UK also lists September 29 for its hardcover edition.

Australian publication is currently listed for September 30, so the exact date may differ slightly by territory.

With publication now only weeks away, more details should begin arriving quickly.

What do we know about the book itself?

The central concept is confirmed, but the publisher is still holding back quite a bit.

We know there will be thirteen stories. We know they revisit Threshing Days from across the Empyrean. We know Xaden is one of the characters involved.

We do not yet have the complete list of featured characters or a full synopsis.

That makes the remaining reveals unusually interesting. There are plenty of riders whose histories readers have only seen in fragments, and a collection built around their first dragon bonds gives Yarros room to revisit familiar characters without disturbing the chronology of the main novels.

The official classification is Fantasy Romance and Romance, keeping the book firmly within the genre identity of the rest of the Empyrean series.

Deluxe editions and artwork

The UK limited deluxe hardcover carries ISBN 9780349450612 and includes sixteen full-color illustrations by Joe Requeza as well as silver-gilded edges.

Those features are limited to the deluxe printing. Hachette says that once it sells through, a standard edition featuring black-and-white artwork will follow under a different ISBN.

That distinction may be worth watching for collectors, particularly given how many special and limited Empyrean editions have appeared since Fourth Wing became a global hit.

So when is Empyrean Book 4 coming?

No publication date for the fourth main Empyrean novel has been announced through Yarros’ current official release information.

That makes Threshing Day something of an intermission. It gives readers thirteen new journeys into Basgiath while leaving the central Onyx Storm storyline exactly where Yarros left it.

And considering where that book ended, plenty of readers would probably trade at least one dragon-bonding story for a glimpse at what happens next.

For the moment, though, September belongs to the past rather than the future.

Threshing Day arrives September 29, 2026. The wait for Empyrean Book 4 continues.

What to watch for next

The biggest missing piece is the full list of characters appearing in the thirteen stories. Rebecca Yarros’ official site also says that a fuller blurb is still to come.

Before release, readers can therefore reasonably expect more character reveals, additional story details and potentially excerpts or previews.

Beyond Threshing Day, the next confirmed Empyrean-related book release is Fourth Wing, The Graphic Novel: Volume One, scheduled for April 6, 2027.

The announcement fans will be watching most closely, however, is still the same one: the title and release date of the fourth main Empyrean novel.

Fourth Wing, The Graphic Novel: Volume One
The Empyrean - Graphic Novels #1
by Rebecca Yarros

The first volume of a stunning graphic novel edition of the #1 New York Times bestselling phenomenon Fourth Wing, adapted by Rebecca Yarros herself! Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders as you’ve never seen it before…

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general―also known as her tough-as-talons mother―has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

Read more ...

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter―like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda―because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

Lavishly illustrated with breathtaking full-color artwork, this stunning graphic novel, adapted by Rebecca Yarros herself, features the first half (chapters 1 through 22) of the #1 New York Times bestseller Fourth Wing, bringing you into the world of the Empyrean series like never before!

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Rei's Road to the Stars follows Rei from childhood on a worsening Earth to the beginning of a much larger destiny connected to space colonisation. The story starts as a personal coming-of-age tale shaped by family, loss, first love, and the pressure of growing up in a fragile world that is ravaged by climate change, environmental problems and diseases. As Rei gets older, his path gradually shifts from ordinary life toward something far bigger and more purposeful as he becomes involved in the Ark program.

The first half of this book focuses on who Rei is becoming: intelligent, emotionally marked by hardship, and increasingly aware that Earth may not offer humanity a future. The middle of the book follows his search for direction through relationships, education, and self-discovery. The later chapters move into preparation, training, and commitment, as Rei becomes involved in humanity's attempt to reach beyond Earth in order to survive.

Overall, this book is an emotional origin story about how one boy's life is shaped by various events, but it is also a story about resilience and determination. It combines personal drama, science-fiction worldbuilding, and a gradual transition from intimate life events to interstellar ambition in an intriguing and entertaining way.

Before I delve into writing about the chapters and their contents, I think it is good to mention that it is not necessary to have any kind of previous information about the events in the Rome's Revolution saga to enjoy this prequel. However, readers who are familiar with the books will get the most out of it.

Here is a short chapter-by-chapter summary of the contents of this book:

Prologue - "Pruno Dreams"
Alex Haynesworth, struggling to justify how to spend a trillion-dollar grant, has a breakthrough: humanity's survival depends on leaving Earth. He proposes the Ark program, using cryo-hibernation and experimental propulsion to send colonists to habitable worlds. Alex has been tasked with figuring out what to do with a trillion-dollar grant. He suggests saving the human species by sending people to the stars.

Chapter 1 - Rei is Born
Rei is born into a collapsing near-future Earth marked by superstorms, disease, domestic terrorism, domed cities, pollution and environmental decline. This chapter establishes his unusual intelligence, curiosity, and early fascination with science and wonder.

Chapter 2 - Early Childhood
Rei's sister Emily is born, and their contrasting development becomes clear: Rei is precocious and physically robust, while Emily is fragile and delayed (they call her a late bloomer). Rei's deep love of dinosaurs and ordered imagination also take shape here. Rei really loves dinosaurs and knows a lot about them; he is a young expert on dinosaurs.

Chapter 3 - The Birthday Party
Rei's tenth birthday is being held during a storm. Emily's poor appetite hint that something is wrong.

Chapter 4 - Emily's Funeral
Emily dies of nanoplastic-induced cancer, devastating the family and hardening Rei's anger toward Earth's poisoned future.

Chapter 5 - The A.I. Wars, the Glassmind Accord, and MASAL (Optional Tech Detour)
This chapter tells about Rei's father and explains the broader technological history: failed A.I. systems, the two A.I. wars, the Glassmind safeguards, and later consequences reaching far beyond Earth. It gives background on how this world became so dependent on machine intelligence.

Chapter 6 - The Stillness Between
As a teenager, Rei channels himself into swimming and begins to stand out competitively.

Chapter 7 - The Windys
Rei falls in love with Windy, who lives just down the street from Rei.

Chapter 8 - Antarctica
After being emotionally shattered and heartbroken by what happened with Windy, Rei takes a gap year instead of going straight to college. A journey to Antarctica becomes a trip to discover who he is.

Chapter 9 - Desert and Stars
Rei continues his self-searching trip. At the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, seeing Alpha Centauri in the sky gives him clarity and a sense of purpose: his future lies with the stars.

Chapter 10 - Eternium Batteries & Quantum Computing (Optional Tech Detour)
This chapter tells about Thane Reynolds and the invention of Eternium batteries.

Chapter 11 - Wade's First Class
Rei arrives at Syracuse and begins reshaping his future there.

Chapter 12 - Sally
Rei meets Sally Reynolds, and their relationship develops quickly. She introduces him to a world of privilege and possibility - a world that is very different from his own - and she becomes important to both his emotional life and his eventual connection to the Ark program.

Chapter 13 - The Blood Test
Sally reveals that her father wants them considered for the Ark program as a mating pair, and she asks Rei to take the blood test with her.

Chapter 14 - Brazil
Rei and Sally spend time apart from each other as Sally has travelled to Brazil. The events in Brazil change Rei's life permanently.

Chapter 15 - The Second Chance
Rei gets a second chance to participate in the Ark program as a single man, but he has to change majors.

Chapter 16 - Silas & Onondaga Hill
Under Thane's sponsorship, Rei enters an intense custom curriculum designed to make him useful in a future colony. He studies agriculture, survival, engineering, and leadership, and proves that he has leadership qualities. Rei meets Sally and her soon-to-be husband Raul.

Chapter 17 - Ace
Rei graduates and trains as a pilot under a private instructor.

Chapter 18 - Colony Training
Rei arrives in Houston for Ark II training. He is labeled one of the "spares" because he has no mate.

Chapter 19 - Goodbye to Wade
Before the departure, Rei visits his old mentor Wade and gives away most of his possessions. Their conversation reinforces the stakes: Rei's mission is a chance for humanity not to fail completely.

Chapter 20 - The Flying Horse
This chapter centers on Rei's farewell gathering and the emotional cost of departure. Rei survives an eco-terrorist explosion involving a flying horse carcass.

Chapter 21 - The Going Away Party
Rei meets his parents, Sally and Raul before going away.

Chapter 22 - Quarantine and Dehydration
Rei travels back to Houston to the Ark complex and undergoes the quarantine process required for cryo-hibernation.

Chapter 23 - Cryo-hibernation Day
Rei is placed into his sarcophagus, launched to Ark II, and effectively leaves Earth behind. It is the moment where his old life ends in literal, technological sleep.

Chapter 24 - The Ark II Leaves Orbit
Ark II departs Earth and begins its long interstellar journey to Tau Ceti.

Chapter 25 - The Asteroid
Ark II is struck by an asteroid during deceleration. The collision destroys the control systems and sends the ship careening away from its intended destination.

Chapter 26 - Reawakening
Rei awakens not at Tau Ceti, but near Tabit. This last chapter links the prequel to the Rome's Revolution saga.

My final words are:

I enjoyed reading about Rei and his life. It was interesting for me to find out what kind of a life he had before meeting Rome and how everything that happened to him made him the person he is in the Rome's Revolution saga. I also enjoyed the tech detour chapters, because they revelead a lot of intriguing background information about Eternium Batteries, A.I. wars and MASAL.

I highly recommend Rei's Road to the Stars to readers who have enjoyed the Rome's Revolution saga, because readers will find a lot to enjoy in this character-focused prequel. It is essential reading for fans of the Rome's Revolution.