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threebluesocks's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I liked this book a lot. It had enough happening to keep a reader busy without being overwhelming, and the characters were usually at their best. This installment hit a much better balance between Twigpaw's, Violetpaw's, and Alderheart's POVs than the last book. This time, it felt like all three of them were able to add something to the story.
Violetpaw's POV within Darktail's Kin was essential and often the most exciting parts of the book. It's already been pointed out, but there's a nice parallel between her in this series and Ivypool in OOTS which makes it especially fun to see the cat Ivypool has grown into in Thunderclan. It gives some hope for Violetpaw even when she's absolutely going through it with Darktail. Anyway, he parts felt very believable, and it was nice to see her sense of not belonging lead her towards action rather than indecision. She's definitely a character who lets her flaws define her, but that often makes for good story. Her relationship with Needletail was also at its best in this book. I like that they make decisions around each other as sisters rather than just friends; it gives them a closer bond and nice parallels to Violetpaw's relationship with Twigpaw. Though they're just background characters, Violetpaw's POV was also able to showcase some of the strengths of different ex-Shadowclan cats and the kittypets who joined up with Darktail. I especially liked her relationship with Zelda, and it was nice to see the kittypets reference Minty's role in Bramblestar's Storm (so glad I took the time to read that book, especially since this book also mentions Bramblestar's decision at the end of that story). And of course, Violetpaw's portions of the book gave some great insight into Darktail.
I think Darktail is one of the strongest villains in Warrior Cats. I won't give too much away, but it's nice to see someone with an actual motivation for interfering with the clans. This book was able to show him to be smart and cunning yet still unbalanced enough to be truly dangerous, even to his allies. Like most villains in this series, he's shown to be an expert manipulator, but I actually find it believable this time. I struggled to see why cats would trust Tigerclaw, Hawkfrost, Sol, or any Dark Forest cats, but it's easy to see why they follow Darktail especially since he recruits mostly cats from outside the clans or those who were very vulnerable within Shadowclan.
Less to say about Twigpaw's and Alderheart's POVs even though I do think they added to the book. Alderheart mostly serves as a camera into Thunderclan which is fine, though I would have liked to see him take a bit more action towards the Skyclan prophecy since he's been shown to be so closely tied to Skyclan already. Instead, Twigpaw takes the lead on that front, and she does a great job. Though I strongly dislike the emphasis Warrior Cats puts on family being more valuable than friendship, it felt somewhat believable for Twigpaw to hold that point of view considering her background and childhood. She shows a lot of character on her solo quest for Skyclan, and I'm excited to see how the results will change her in future books.
As for the other parts of this book! The final fight was narratively satisfying to me though I would have enjoyed a bit more description of the actual action. It felt like it ended just a bit too quickly for the climax of a 3-book arc. I liked Riverclan's role in this, though. Mistystar once again proves herself a capable and levelheaded leader. However, I would have enjoyed seeing more of her clan since we don't know many cats in there other than the medicine cats. Having even one or two stand-out voices in her clan would take big steps to making Riverclan seem fleshed-out more on the level of Shadowclan (same, but to a lesser extent, with Windclan). I consider this book a conclusion to the several arc-long mystery of why Onestar changed so much when he became Windclan's leader, and it's sort of satisfying to me. I don't think the author's had these plotpoints in mind way back in arc 2, but it would have been nice to have more foreshadowing. Still, it works for me and did a good job stirring up Windclan once again. My last miscellaneous point to make is that I like Hawkwing! He's kind, he's honest, he's brave; I like it! Can't wait to read his super edition!
Violetpaw's POV within Darktail's Kin was essential and often the most exciting parts of the book. It's already been pointed out, but there's a nice parallel between her in this series and Ivypool in OOTS which makes it especially fun to see the cat Ivypool has grown into in Thunderclan. It gives some hope for Violetpaw even when she's absolutely going through it with Darktail. Anyway, he parts felt very believable, and it was nice to see her sense of not belonging lead her towards action rather than indecision. She's definitely a character who lets her flaws define her, but that often makes for good story. Her relationship with Needletail was also at its best in this book. I like that they make decisions around each other as sisters rather than just friends; it gives them a closer bond and nice parallels to Violetpaw's relationship with Twigpaw. Though they're just background characters, Violetpaw's POV was also able to showcase some of the strengths of different ex-Shadowclan cats and the kittypets who joined up with Darktail. I especially liked her relationship with Zelda, and it was nice to see the kittypets reference Minty's role in Bramblestar's Storm (so glad I took the time to read that book, especially since this book also mentions Bramblestar's decision at the end of that story). And of course, Violetpaw's portions of the book gave some great insight into Darktail.
I think Darktail is one of the strongest villains in Warrior Cats. I won't give too much away, but it's nice to see someone with an actual motivation for interfering with the clans. This book was able to show him to be smart and cunning yet still unbalanced enough to be truly dangerous, even to his allies. Like most villains in this series, he's shown to be an expert manipulator, but I actually find it believable this time. I struggled to see why cats would trust Tigerclaw, Hawkfrost, Sol, or any Dark Forest cats, but it's easy to see why they follow Darktail especially since he recruits mostly cats from outside the clans or those who were very vulnerable within Shadowclan.
Less to say about Twigpaw's and Alderheart's POVs even though I do think they added to the book. Alderheart mostly serves as a camera into Thunderclan which is fine, though I would have liked to see him take a bit more action towards the Skyclan prophecy since he's been shown to be so closely tied to Skyclan already. Instead, Twigpaw takes the lead on that front, and she does a great job. Though I strongly dislike the emphasis Warrior Cats puts on family being more valuable than friendship, it felt somewhat believable for Twigpaw to hold that point of view considering her background and childhood. She shows a lot of character on her solo quest for Skyclan, and I'm excited to see how the results will change her in future books.
As for the other parts of this book! The final fight was narratively satisfying to me though I would have enjoyed a bit more description of the actual action. It felt like it ended just a bit too quickly for the climax of a 3-book arc. I liked Riverclan's role in this, though. Mistystar once again proves herself a capable and levelheaded leader. However, I would have enjoyed seeing more of her clan since we don't know many cats in there other than the medicine cats. Having even one or two stand-out voices in her clan would take big steps to making Riverclan seem fleshed-out more on the level of Shadowclan (same, but to a lesser extent, with Windclan). I consider this book a conclusion to the several arc-long mystery of why Onestar changed so much when he became Windclan's leader, and it's sort of satisfying to me. I don't think the author's had these plotpoints in mind way back in arc 2, but it would have been nice to have more foreshadowing. Still, it works for me and did a good job stirring up Windclan once again. My last miscellaneous point to make is that I like Hawkwing! He's kind, he's honest, he's brave; I like it! Can't wait to read his super edition!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Obviously there's murder in this book, it's Warrior Cats. The warning is for a particular murder and implied set of murders.
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