Warriors (Warrior Cats)
Spoilers for Book 6: The Darkest Hour (Chapters 1-8)
Reducio
The only notable thing to mention about the prologue is the timeframe it is supposed to take place in. It mentions that Tigetstar has just set the trap to ensure Thunderclan are eaten by dogs. Fireheart finds Brindleface outside the camp on his way back from snake rocks. So that means Tigerstar traveled from the TC camp back to the Shadowclan camp to fetch Boulder, then traveled to twolegplace, had the meeting with Scourge and then somehow made it back in time to fight Fireheart at the gorge. I don’t want to be the kind of person who nitpicks small inconsistencies like this, but this one was noticeable to me. I really hope the writers don’t get lazy and have characters teleport long distances like in game of thrones. This one is easily fixed by just having him arrive for his meeting after Bluestar’s death.
Chapter one and chapter two tie up loose ends from the previous book. Laying Bluestar to rest and revealing the secret of her kits to the clan. I’m glad the writers went in the direction of the clan supporting FIrehearts leadership from the get-go. It would have been lame if the camp was split on supporting him after everything he has done.
Then without a moment to rest Fireheart is off to receive his nine lives from Starclan and boy this was an impactful chapter. Seeing all the cats he had grown so close to and lost tragically. It is very emotionally taxing for Fireheart and I’m glad the ceremony isn’t a simple affair. The cats that go through it are changed forever, as if reborn with a new name. Really makes me interested in who the nine cats that granted Tigerstar his lives were - or - as I suspect, did starclan reject him?
The book makes a point of having the cats stop off to see Barley and Ravenpaw on their way back from Highstones to remind the reader who they are. So these two are either going to be essential to the plot later, or die would be my prediction.
Cloudtail: “It’s only your belief in ancient traditions that makes you think you can’t be leader without dragging all the way up to Highstones and back. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve already proved yourself to be the true leader of this Clan, Firestar.”
Firestar gave his kin a hard stare; he was grateful for Cloudtail’s loyalty and respect, but felt as frustrated as ever that the younger cat did not share his beliefs.
Literally grow up Firestar. This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to you. Your nephew just said that the qualities that make you a great leader come from you and not starclan. Cloudtail is now one of my favourite characters and I’m sad Firestar took this comment as a backhand to his religion rather than the compliment it was.
Firestar made the safe decision to appoint Whitestorm as deputy, which is not a bad choice at all. I was thinking he could go for a gamble and appoint someone like Longtail. Someone who had been Tigerstar’s friend in the past. It might have solidified Longtail’s loyalty to Fireheart.
In Chapter 7, Firestar has a good conversation with Bramblepaw about trusting eachother. It was great to see them open up about their feelings of loyalty. I want to see Bramblepaw become good friends with Fireheart and stand up to his father. The biggest thing that seems to cause unnecessary conflict in the clans is that no talks to each other. When they do everyone is better for it. Bramblepaw hints that he has reservations about Firestar being a kittypet. Instead of ignoring the apprentice, Firestar explains how his connections to twoleg place will never affect his loyalty to the clan and Bramblepaw seems to trust him.
And a note - Bramblepaw seeing it snow for the first time is very cute. (But also tragic as he doesn’t know it will mean months of cold and little prey.)
“Odd,” Firestar muttered through a mouthful of squirrel fur, half to himself. “Darkstripe has never shown much interest in kits before. And what’s he doing out here on his o w n?”
Suddenly Firestar heard a sharp exclamation from Graystripe and his friend flashed past him, hurtling along the side of the ravine, his paws scrabbling against the loose snow-covered stones. At the same moment Sorrelkit’s legs crumpled underneath her sturdy tortoiseshell body and she started writhing in the snow.
Firestar dropped his fresh-kill in amazement as Graystripe yowled, “No!” and flung himself on the dark warrior. Darkstripe clawed and flailed at him with his hind legs, but Graystripe’s teeth were sunk in his throat and would not let go.
At the end of Chapter 8, there is a situation where it appears Darkstripe is attempting to kill Sorrelkit by feeding her deathberries. I love how chaotic the above passage is and how we as a reader only see it from Firestar’s perspective. He doesn’t see what Graystipe saw to make him spring to action. My honest opinion of this is that Darkstripe was probably telling the truth and trying to remove the berries from her mouth rather than force feeding her. This could easily have been interpreted by Graystipe as the opposite. The problem is that because Darkstripe is already a known traitor, it just makes things complicated. If I were Firestar, I would probably use this as an excuse to exile him from Thunderclan.
Chapter one and chapter two tie up loose ends from the previous book. Laying Bluestar to rest and revealing the secret of her kits to the clan. I’m glad the writers went in the direction of the clan supporting FIrehearts leadership from the get-go. It would have been lame if the camp was split on supporting him after everything he has done.
Then without a moment to rest Fireheart is off to receive his nine lives from Starclan and boy this was an impactful chapter. Seeing all the cats he had grown so close to and lost tragically. It is very emotionally taxing for Fireheart and I’m glad the ceremony isn’t a simple affair. The cats that go through it are changed forever, as if reborn with a new name. Really makes me interested in who the nine cats that granted Tigerstar his lives were - or - as I suspect, did starclan reject him?
The book makes a point of having the cats stop off to see Barley and Ravenpaw on their way back from Highstones to remind the reader who they are. So these two are either going to be essential to the plot later, or die would be my prediction.
Cloudtail: “It’s only your belief in ancient traditions that makes you think you can’t be leader without dragging all the way up to Highstones and back. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve already proved yourself to be the true leader of this Clan, Firestar.”
Firestar gave his kin a hard stare; he was grateful for Cloudtail’s loyalty and respect, but felt as frustrated as ever that the younger cat did not share his beliefs.
Literally grow up Firestar. This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to you. Your nephew just said that the qualities that make you a great leader come from you and not starclan. Cloudtail is now one of my favourite characters and I’m sad Firestar took this comment as a backhand to his religion rather than the compliment it was.
Firestar made the safe decision to appoint Whitestorm as deputy, which is not a bad choice at all. I was thinking he could go for a gamble and appoint someone like Longtail. Someone who had been Tigerstar’s friend in the past. It might have solidified Longtail’s loyalty to Fireheart.
In Chapter 7, Firestar has a good conversation with Bramblepaw about trusting eachother. It was great to see them open up about their feelings of loyalty. I want to see Bramblepaw become good friends with Fireheart and stand up to his father. The biggest thing that seems to cause unnecessary conflict in the clans is that no talks to each other. When they do everyone is better for it. Bramblepaw hints that he has reservations about Firestar being a kittypet. Instead of ignoring the apprentice, Firestar explains how his connections to twoleg place will never affect his loyalty to the clan and Bramblepaw seems to trust him.
And a note - Bramblepaw seeing it snow for the first time is very cute. (But also tragic as he doesn’t know it will mean months of cold and little prey.)
“Odd,” Firestar muttered through a mouthful of squirrel fur, half to himself. “Darkstripe has never shown much interest in kits before. And what’s he doing out here on his o w n?”
Suddenly Firestar heard a sharp exclamation from Graystripe and his friend flashed past him, hurtling along the side of the ravine, his paws scrabbling against the loose snow-covered stones. At the same moment Sorrelkit’s legs crumpled underneath her sturdy tortoiseshell body and she started writhing in the snow.
Firestar dropped his fresh-kill in amazement as Graystripe yowled, “No!” and flung himself on the dark warrior. Darkstripe clawed and flailed at him with his hind legs, but Graystripe’s teeth were sunk in his throat and would not let go.
At the end of Chapter 8, there is a situation where it appears Darkstripe is attempting to kill Sorrelkit by feeding her deathberries. I love how chaotic the above passage is and how we as a reader only see it from Firestar’s perspective. He doesn’t see what Graystipe saw to make him spring to action. My honest opinion of this is that Darkstripe was probably telling the truth and trying to remove the berries from her mouth rather than force feeding her. This could easily have been interpreted by Graystipe as the opposite. The problem is that because Darkstripe is already a known traitor, it just makes things complicated. If I were Firestar, I would probably use this as an excuse to exile him from Thunderclan.
"I stand astonished at my own moderation." Sta - 8 | Eva - 4 | Str - 3 | Wis - 10 | Arc - 10 | Acc - 8 |
Warriors (Warrior Cats)
Spoilers for Book 6: The Darkest Hour (Chapters 8-30)
Reducio
My lack of posting has been due to the fact that the latter half of Darkest Hour was so shocking that I needed to read it twice to get my thoughts in order. I was not expecting the book to take the turns that it did and I ended up finishing it.
I’m not sure how I feel about the sudden focus on persecution of half-clan cats, as if the book was doing a racial prejudice allegory. I did not really understand why Tigerclaw hated and wanted to persecute half-clan cats when he was born in Thunderclan and his kits are from Thunderclan. What did Tigerclaw have against Stonefur and Mistyfoot that earned them his hatred?
I’m also not sure I liked Blood clan as a concept. Up until now all the clans and cats have acted like real cats do. (To an extent) and the world has felt pretty grounded - even Star clan is implemented in a way that doesn’t seem too far fetched. However, Blood clan are described as wearing trophies, teeth and bones of their enemies. I’m not sure the writers knew the significance of this. Having the cats wear trophies, means they are no longer on the same level as animals. The concept of wearing a trophy is innately human. So I think it breaks the immersion. Makes the cats feel supernatural and not grounded. Just my opinion.
The rest of this I’m going to do character by character:
Tigerstar:
An anticlimactic death, although gruesome. I would have preferred if Tigerstar had been in the final battle. I honestly thought he was going to survive this series and show up in the next one. He ended up being very one note in the end and didn’t seem to have much depth. They should have really pushed a likable trait about him - such as love for his children. That would have made his story so much more interesting.
Darkstripe:
This cat did not have a single redeeming quality in all six books. He was a broken record who only existed to rattle off insults about Kitty pets. He tried to feed poisonous berries to a kit, literally can’t think of anything more evil. Despite this, I actually felt really sorry for DarkStripe in his final moments. I mean, listen to his last words… how depressing is that.
Graystripe lashed out with one forepaw. His claws pierced Darkstripe’s throat and blood gushed out. The dark tabby gave one convulsive shudder. His jaws parted as he fought for breath. “There’s nothing left…” he choked out. “It’s all dark—everything’s gone….”
Firestar saw his eyes glazing, a terrible emptiness in them. His struggles faded and his body went limp.
Spitting contemptuously, Graystripe scrambled off him. “One less traitor in the forest,” he snarled.
Scourge:
A not very interesting villain because he’s had not even one book of character development, as opposed to Tigerstar’s six. I don’t really have a lot to say about him, because I don’t feel like I knew what his motivations were. I don’t think they should have swapped antagonists in the last few chapters and they shouldn’t have had Blood clan wear trophies. Those are just my thoughts.
Whitestorm:
Oh boy, I knew this one was coming and it was still very sad. His death is sort of the end of an era, as there are no warriors more senior than Firestar and Graystripe’s generation, which is wild. The passage of time in these books makes this series a generational story, it’s like playing Crusader Kings and looking back at the extensive family tree. Whitestorm was of Bluestar’s generation and those cats are now gone.
Graystripe:
Honestly did not get much character development since he came back to Thunderclan. I liked seeing his paternal instincts and his desperation to save his kits. I’m glad he is now deputy, but I think Firestar might come to regret it due to his split loyalties.
Firestar and Sandstorm:
If Firestar is the main character of the next series, I will be surprised. I think his arc is complete. The prophecy had a satisfying conclusion and I’m hoping Firestar will get some peace and quiet for a year or two. The book was maybe a little short though because Firestar didn’t get the girl at the end. They could have at least traded ‘I love you’s during or after the battle.
Cloudtail:
Ended up being probably my favourite character. After he was rescued and taken back to Thunderclan in the previous book he has been growing on me. He does not do well with authority, he rejects the Clan’s religion. He speaks his mind and isn’t scared of tradition or etiquette stopping him from expressing himself. He is fiercely loyal to Thunderclan and is willing to defend the clan with his life. When his love interest is maimed, he stands by her, supports her and helps her train to become a warrior. He just seems like the kind of guy you’d definitely want to be friends with if you lived there.
Cinderpelt:
Played less of a role in the latter half of the book. Her usefulness in the story was teaching Firestar how he should handle going to the moon rock and communicating with Star clan. She didn’t get much character development beyond this. Unless I’m forgetting something.
Tallstar, Leopardstar and Blackfoot:
Tallstar has always been a solid character. I’ve always imagined him being like an old druid or a native american shaman or something. I am impressed by his resolve to stand up to Tigerclan and bloodclan at the end of the story. I’m glad he survived and I hope to see more of him in the future. Particularly I thought the fact that Firestar could communicate things to him wordlessly showed how intune they were with each other.
Leopardstar on the other hand, I didn’t really get a good sense of her character. One thing that I find odd is that she did not show much regret in the end for Stonefur’s death. Similarly I’m surprised Blackfoot got away with what he did to Stonefur without any repercussions.
Stonefur:
Another sad death and made frustrating by the fact that our heroes had to watch it happen helpless to do anything. Stonefur chose to defend Graystripe’s kits rather than live, which as a last heroic act, is not a bad way to go out. Hunt with Starclan now, Stonefur.
–
Am I missing anyone else?
There are characters that I don’t have much of an opinion on. Like Barley and Ravenpaw. They are not very interesting to me.
Longtail is alright, I liked his long arc of trusting Firestar.
I’m not sure how I feel about the sudden focus on persecution of half-clan cats, as if the book was doing a racial prejudice allegory. I did not really understand why Tigerclaw hated and wanted to persecute half-clan cats when he was born in Thunderclan and his kits are from Thunderclan. What did Tigerclaw have against Stonefur and Mistyfoot that earned them his hatred?
I’m also not sure I liked Blood clan as a concept. Up until now all the clans and cats have acted like real cats do. (To an extent) and the world has felt pretty grounded - even Star clan is implemented in a way that doesn’t seem too far fetched. However, Blood clan are described as wearing trophies, teeth and bones of their enemies. I’m not sure the writers knew the significance of this. Having the cats wear trophies, means they are no longer on the same level as animals. The concept of wearing a trophy is innately human. So I think it breaks the immersion. Makes the cats feel supernatural and not grounded. Just my opinion.
The rest of this I’m going to do character by character:
Tigerstar:
An anticlimactic death, although gruesome. I would have preferred if Tigerstar had been in the final battle. I honestly thought he was going to survive this series and show up in the next one. He ended up being very one note in the end and didn’t seem to have much depth. They should have really pushed a likable trait about him - such as love for his children. That would have made his story so much more interesting.
Darkstripe:
This cat did not have a single redeeming quality in all six books. He was a broken record who only existed to rattle off insults about Kitty pets. He tried to feed poisonous berries to a kit, literally can’t think of anything more evil. Despite this, I actually felt really sorry for DarkStripe in his final moments. I mean, listen to his last words… how depressing is that.
Graystripe lashed out with one forepaw. His claws pierced Darkstripe’s throat and blood gushed out. The dark tabby gave one convulsive shudder. His jaws parted as he fought for breath. “There’s nothing left…” he choked out. “It’s all dark—everything’s gone….”
Firestar saw his eyes glazing, a terrible emptiness in them. His struggles faded and his body went limp.
Spitting contemptuously, Graystripe scrambled off him. “One less traitor in the forest,” he snarled.
Scourge:
A not very interesting villain because he’s had not even one book of character development, as opposed to Tigerstar’s six. I don’t really have a lot to say about him, because I don’t feel like I knew what his motivations were. I don’t think they should have swapped antagonists in the last few chapters and they shouldn’t have had Blood clan wear trophies. Those are just my thoughts.
Whitestorm:
Oh boy, I knew this one was coming and it was still very sad. His death is sort of the end of an era, as there are no warriors more senior than Firestar and Graystripe’s generation, which is wild. The passage of time in these books makes this series a generational story, it’s like playing Crusader Kings and looking back at the extensive family tree. Whitestorm was of Bluestar’s generation and those cats are now gone.
Graystripe:
Honestly did not get much character development since he came back to Thunderclan. I liked seeing his paternal instincts and his desperation to save his kits. I’m glad he is now deputy, but I think Firestar might come to regret it due to his split loyalties.
Firestar and Sandstorm:
If Firestar is the main character of the next series, I will be surprised. I think his arc is complete. The prophecy had a satisfying conclusion and I’m hoping Firestar will get some peace and quiet for a year or two. The book was maybe a little short though because Firestar didn’t get the girl at the end. They could have at least traded ‘I love you’s during or after the battle.
Cloudtail:
Ended up being probably my favourite character. After he was rescued and taken back to Thunderclan in the previous book he has been growing on me. He does not do well with authority, he rejects the Clan’s religion. He speaks his mind and isn’t scared of tradition or etiquette stopping him from expressing himself. He is fiercely loyal to Thunderclan and is willing to defend the clan with his life. When his love interest is maimed, he stands by her, supports her and helps her train to become a warrior. He just seems like the kind of guy you’d definitely want to be friends with if you lived there.
Cinderpelt:
Played less of a role in the latter half of the book. Her usefulness in the story was teaching Firestar how he should handle going to the moon rock and communicating with Star clan. She didn’t get much character development beyond this. Unless I’m forgetting something.
Tallstar, Leopardstar and Blackfoot:
Tallstar has always been a solid character. I’ve always imagined him being like an old druid or a native american shaman or something. I am impressed by his resolve to stand up to Tigerclan and bloodclan at the end of the story. I’m glad he survived and I hope to see more of him in the future. Particularly I thought the fact that Firestar could communicate things to him wordlessly showed how intune they were with each other.
Leopardstar on the other hand, I didn’t really get a good sense of her character. One thing that I find odd is that she did not show much regret in the end for Stonefur’s death. Similarly I’m surprised Blackfoot got away with what he did to Stonefur without any repercussions.
Stonefur:
Another sad death and made frustrating by the fact that our heroes had to watch it happen helpless to do anything. Stonefur chose to defend Graystripe’s kits rather than live, which as a last heroic act, is not a bad way to go out. Hunt with Starclan now, Stonefur.
–
Am I missing anyone else?
There are characters that I don’t have much of an opinion on. Like Barley and Ravenpaw. They are not very interesting to me.
Longtail is alright, I liked his long arc of trusting Firestar.
"I stand astonished at my own moderation." Sta - 8 | Eva - 4 | Str - 3 | Wis - 10 | Arc - 10 | Acc - 8 |
Warriors (Warrior Cats)
@Alyss Gilmour
I ended up skipping the two graphic novels as I was struggling to get hold of them.
I’m currently about half way through Bluestar’s prophecy. Is it really worth continuing? I just don’t feel like this is a story that needed to be told. I don’t think we needed to know Bluestar’s entire life. It’s just not as interesting to me.
One thing that I didn’t realise was just how old Bluestar is. At the point I am right now, she is like 8-10 moons old and no characters from the first series have even been born yet. (apart from the elders)
I ended up skipping the two graphic novels as I was struggling to get hold of them.
I’m currently about half way through Bluestar’s prophecy. Is it really worth continuing? I just don’t feel like this is a story that needed to be told. I don’t think we needed to know Bluestar’s entire life. It’s just not as interesting to me.
One thing that I didn’t realise was just how old Bluestar is. At the point I am right now, she is like 8-10 moons old and no characters from the first series have even been born yet. (apart from the elders)
"I stand astonished at my own moderation." Sta - 8 | Eva - 4 | Str - 3 | Wis - 10 | Arc - 10 | Acc - 8 |
Warriors (Warrior Cats)
Reducio
Theo Vendeberg wrote: 22 Apr 2025, 23:23 @Alyss Gilmour
I ended up skipping the two graphic novels as I was struggling to get hold of them.
I’m currently about half way through Bluestar’s prophecy. Is it really worth continuing? I just don’t feel like this is a story that needed to be told. I don’t think we needed to know Bluestar’s entire life. It’s just not as interesting to me.
One thing that I didn’t realise was just how old Bluestar is. At the point I am right now, she is like 8-10 moons old and no characters from the first series have even been born yet. (apart from the elders)
I can totally understand not being able to get ahold of the graphic novels, I was only able to get an ebook through a library, and even then it took a little while.
I personally enjoyed Bluestar’s Prophecy because it offers us some background and insight into Bluestar, Tigerstar, and her kits, Mistyfoot and Stonefur. It isn’t totally necessary, it just provides good perspective. Feel free to skip it if you aren’t enjoying it, or look up a breakdown online if you would still like to know the plot without spending unnecessary time reading it- totally your choice.
Warriors (Warrior Cats)
Spoilers for Series 2 Book 1: Midnight
(About half way through)
(About half way through)
Reducio
Midnight is extremely good so far.
The decision to make Brambleclaw the main character was 100% the right choice. In rising storm, he is introduced as an innocent kit and to me represents Firestar’s only character flaw. In the subsequent novel, Dangerous path, Firestar recognises that he treats Bramblekit differently purely because of his heritage. Which for the Kittypet born Firestar, is quite a hypocrisy. In Darkest Hour, the two seemingly settle their differences in one of the best chapters of that novel.
Brambleclaw’s youth was filled with death, distrust, manipulation and not to mention he saw his own father bleed to death 9 times in a row. It makes complete sense that coming in to Midnight, the fully grown adult Brambleclaw has some serious self doubt. He has an almost timid / submissive personality and is never sure of himself. Where as Firestar was boarding on Mary sue territory, I find Brambleclaw far more relatable and I feel so much more raw emotion for him than I ever did for Firestar.
The characterisation is superb.
The character writing of both new and old characters is the best it has ever been in this novel. I love Brambleclaw - Squirrelpaw’s love-hate relationship. I’m really enjoying the new characters like Crowpaw and leafpaw. Firestar’s character has developed over the 8 moons since we have seen him and is now a responsible father. In the first half of Midnight he might come across as an asshole, but I believe this is because we no longer have his inner monologue. We don’t know what he’s thinking or his decision making process anymore. From his perspective, Brambleclaw is endangering his daughter and he still has that lingering prejudice against the son of Tigerstar.
The story is intriguing.
Loving the setup in this book. It reminds me of the first couple of series one books because it is focussing on character building, relationships and slice of life. Which makes me feel very connected to these cats. Then there is the mystery of the new prophecy and the anticipation of the journey. All good stuff.
Midnight is extremely good so far.
The decision to make Brambleclaw the main character was 100% the right choice. In rising storm, he is introduced as an innocent kit and to me represents Firestar’s only character flaw. In the subsequent novel, Dangerous path, Firestar recognises that he treats Bramblekit differently purely because of his heritage. Which for the Kittypet born Firestar, is quite a hypocrisy. In Darkest Hour, the two seemingly settle their differences in one of the best chapters of that novel.
Brambleclaw’s youth was filled with death, distrust, manipulation and not to mention he saw his own father bleed to death 9 times in a row. It makes complete sense that coming in to Midnight, the fully grown adult Brambleclaw has some serious self doubt. He has an almost timid / submissive personality and is never sure of himself. Where as Firestar was boarding on Mary sue territory, I find Brambleclaw far more relatable and I feel so much more raw emotion for him than I ever did for Firestar.
The characterisation is superb.
The character writing of both new and old characters is the best it has ever been in this novel. I love Brambleclaw - Squirrelpaw’s love-hate relationship. I’m really enjoying the new characters like Crowpaw and leafpaw. Firestar’s character has developed over the 8 moons since we have seen him and is now a responsible father. In the first half of Midnight he might come across as an asshole, but I believe this is because we no longer have his inner monologue. We don’t know what he’s thinking or his decision making process anymore. From his perspective, Brambleclaw is endangering his daughter and he still has that lingering prejudice against the son of Tigerstar.
The story is intriguing.
Loving the setup in this book. It reminds me of the first couple of series one books because it is focussing on character building, relationships and slice of life. Which makes me feel very connected to these cats. Then there is the mystery of the new prophecy and the anticipation of the journey. All good stuff.
"I stand astonished at my own moderation." Sta - 8 | Eva - 4 | Str - 3 | Wis - 10 | Arc - 10 | Acc - 8 |
Warriors (Warrior Cats)
Hi everyone! I love these series and am so glad you created a chat all about them. For Bluestar's prophecy I think you should definitely read it all at least that's my opinion but you can also skip it if you don't find it interesting. It just as @Alyss Gilmour said provides a good perspective
☆ "Everybody wants happiness, nobody wants pain, but you can't have a rainbow without a little rain."☆
Amelia Randensmith
Warriors (Warrior Cats)
Spoilers for Series 2 Book 2: Moonrise
Reducio
Oh boy, what can I say. This one felt similar to Forrest of Secrets from the last series where I became incredibly frustrated by certain characters keeping information to themselves for no reason.
Just finished the book and I can safely say it is a downgrade from the strong start of Midnight. This one felt like filler. You could finish Midnight, then skip to book 3 and you really wouldn't miss out on much.
Leaf Paw remained the protagonist of the B plot, but they moved to Stormfur for the A plot. I can see why they did it, because he is the focus of the book. However, I'm really sad they Brambleclaw's character development has ceased completely. He has absolutely no personality or agency in this novel. Maybe it is just preference, but I really want to see Brambleclaw as the protagonist in the next novel.
I generally liked the introduction of the tribe cats and the side mission the group completed this novel. Though the B plot in the forest went absolutely nowhere and seemed to only exist to show how miserable everyone is.
Oh boy, what can I say. This one felt similar to Forrest of Secrets from the last series where I became incredibly frustrated by certain characters keeping information to themselves for no reason.
Just finished the book and I can safely say it is a downgrade from the strong start of Midnight. This one felt like filler. You could finish Midnight, then skip to book 3 and you really wouldn't miss out on much.
Leaf Paw remained the protagonist of the B plot, but they moved to Stormfur for the A plot. I can see why they did it, because he is the focus of the book. However, I'm really sad they Brambleclaw's character development has ceased completely. He has absolutely no personality or agency in this novel. Maybe it is just preference, but I really want to see Brambleclaw as the protagonist in the next novel.
I generally liked the introduction of the tribe cats and the side mission the group completed this novel. Though the B plot in the forest went absolutely nowhere and seemed to only exist to show how miserable everyone is.
"I stand astonished at my own moderation." Sta - 8 | Eva - 4 | Str - 3 | Wis - 10 | Arc - 10 | Acc - 8 |
Warriors (Warrior Cats)
I've been re-reading the series too!! I read the first three or four arcs a long while ago tbh, back in grade school and then just couldn't keep up with them anymore. But a few months back I've started getting through them again. I'm stuck on the third series unfortunately though (waiting on my local library to get a copy of the book I need).
I totally get what you mean about finding some of the plot lines lacking or un-necessary or just generally not needing to happen at all and I get frustrated so many times with some of the characters as well. Thankfully, I genuinely have a lot of fun reading the books even with all of the issues (which I do think arise sometimes because of the number of authors that actually write the books. They could probably do with a little more organization of things
)
I totally get what you mean about finding some of the plot lines lacking or un-necessary or just generally not needing to happen at all and I get frustrated so many times with some of the characters as well. Thankfully, I genuinely have a lot of fun reading the books even with all of the issues (which I do think arise sometimes because of the number of authors that actually write the books. They could probably do with a little more organization of things
)
~And the Sun Yet Shines~
Stam: 8 Eva: 6 Str: 6 Wis: 6 Arc Power: 7 Acc: 7
Warriors (Warrior Cats)
Spoilers for Series 2 Book 3: Dawn
Warning: I'm pretty negative on this one.
Warning: I'm pretty negative on this one.
Reducio
Warrior Cats series 2, book 3: Dawn is, I’m afraid to say, my least favourite novel so far. I think it suffers greatly from having no main character. The novel jumps between perspectives of random Thunderclan cats and due to the sheer number of named characters it is chaotic and confusing. The first novel of this series started off so strong with Brambleclaw and it has not brought me back to that level of engagement since. As a result I have found it a bit boring and therefore it has taken me the longest to get through. If you ignore the complete filler of Leafpaw being captured and making friends with the other trapped cats, then all that really happens in this book is the party return to the forest, tell the clans they need to leave and then they leave.
The depression scale of this novel is possibly a 7 or 8 out of ten. The starvation of the cats is described thoroughly and they lose cats to disease including kits. While necessary to give a good justification for leaving the forest, I found myself not caring as much as I should have due to the other underwhelming aspects of the story. I suppose I am slightly bitter about the direction of the series and I wish we had at least another series based in the forest before it got destroyed. It just had way more potential to tell different kinds of stories. If J.K Rowling can write 7 books based in one castle, it shouldn’t be difficult to come up with ways to make different stories work in the same setting. Like the cats, I just didn’t want to leave. My guess is that the writer(s) believe that the original setting was too rigid and they want to expand the universe by moving the clans somewhere more dynamic.
At the end of the day, I would like to get through this series as quickly as possible because at the moment it appears they have put interesting character drama, secrecy and intrigue to one side in favour of a wider story of moving the cats out of the forest. This is just not as interesting to me as Fireheart sneaking out of camp, navigating his complicated relationship with Bluestar’s deteriorating mind and Tigerclaw’s treachery. That’s the kind of story telling I would like to see.
The very last couple of Chapters where the clans meet the tribe of Rushing water was sweet. Crowpaw getting his warrior name is overdue. I’m glad they made the journey and arrived at the lake in one book so it didn’t waste too much time.
Warrior Cats series 2, book 3: Dawn is, I’m afraid to say, my least favourite novel so far. I think it suffers greatly from having no main character. The novel jumps between perspectives of random Thunderclan cats and due to the sheer number of named characters it is chaotic and confusing. The first novel of this series started off so strong with Brambleclaw and it has not brought me back to that level of engagement since. As a result I have found it a bit boring and therefore it has taken me the longest to get through. If you ignore the complete filler of Leafpaw being captured and making friends with the other trapped cats, then all that really happens in this book is the party return to the forest, tell the clans they need to leave and then they leave.
The depression scale of this novel is possibly a 7 or 8 out of ten. The starvation of the cats is described thoroughly and they lose cats to disease including kits. While necessary to give a good justification for leaving the forest, I found myself not caring as much as I should have due to the other underwhelming aspects of the story. I suppose I am slightly bitter about the direction of the series and I wish we had at least another series based in the forest before it got destroyed. It just had way more potential to tell different kinds of stories. If J.K Rowling can write 7 books based in one castle, it shouldn’t be difficult to come up with ways to make different stories work in the same setting. Like the cats, I just didn’t want to leave. My guess is that the writer(s) believe that the original setting was too rigid and they want to expand the universe by moving the clans somewhere more dynamic.
At the end of the day, I would like to get through this series as quickly as possible because at the moment it appears they have put interesting character drama, secrecy and intrigue to one side in favour of a wider story of moving the cats out of the forest. This is just not as interesting to me as Fireheart sneaking out of camp, navigating his complicated relationship with Bluestar’s deteriorating mind and Tigerclaw’s treachery. That’s the kind of story telling I would like to see.
The very last couple of Chapters where the clans meet the tribe of Rushing water was sweet. Crowpaw getting his warrior name is overdue. I’m glad they made the journey and arrived at the lake in one book so it didn’t waste too much time.
"I stand astonished at my own moderation." Sta - 8 | Eva - 4 | Str - 3 | Wis - 10 | Arc - 10 | Acc - 8 |
Warriors (Warrior Cats)
I admit, the second arc/series is my least favorite by far. I personally hated some of the plots and the fact that there was no serious main character really made me suffer. The arc took me a long time to get through, but I hope you end up enjoying the next couple books no matter my feelings for them.