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sylvanbird's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
owl83's review against another edition
3.0
Main Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Supporting Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot: ⭐⭐
Beginning: ⭐⭐⭐
Middle: ⭐⭐⭐
End: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My opinion: ⭐⭐⭐
Supporting Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot: ⭐⭐
Beginning: ⭐⭐⭐
Middle: ⭐⭐⭐
End: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My opinion: ⭐⭐⭐
chamomiledaydreams's review against another edition
3.0
At long last, the end of "Dawn of the Clans"... I've been procrastinating writing this review, because I'd been hoping that my thoughts would organize themselves better. But alas! Rather than run through every possible aspect of this series I could find fault or praise with, I will stick to the main details that stand out to me.
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
First of all: Gray Wing. The Jean Valjean of Warrior cats... He raises children who are not his by birth; he gives charity to others at the cost of his own health and well-being; he criticizes himself more than anyone else in his life... The main difference between the two characters (besides the fact that Gray Wing isn't an old Frenchman from the 19th century) is that more loved ones are present for his death sequence.
I recently learned that Gray Wing was meant to die at the end of "The Sun Trail." His death was postponed by one book, then another, until finally, the authors realized that they wanted to keep him around for the full arc of six. This fascinates, and it also creates a message that I love: Despite not becoming a leader, Gray Wing is at the heart of the Clans' history. He has children in almost every Clan and is exceptionally close with all five of the original leaders. His story seems to be one of unspoken heroism, of the importance of love that may not go down in history books but that changes people's lives nonetheless.
It is frustrating that Gray Wing dies before he can raise his newest litter of kittens, but I'm more concerned about the fact that he comes across as such as an old man, despite being less than three years old. And I think it's a neat and heart-wrenching choice to show Gray Wing's family realize, "He's done so much for us; we need to repay his kindness however we can." His three youngest kits will be amply cared for by cats from every Clans, and I like Gray Wing will bring cats together in death just as much as he did in life.
Now, onto my complaints... There are still quite a few unanswered questions about Clan life that I thought we would get answers to by now. To give some examples: 1) Pebble Heart had visions of the Moonstone when he was still just a kitten, yet that thread was never pursued after the third book. 2) We don't know how the naming system of changing suffixes came to be, although Wind Runner's dead child being named Emberkit seemed like a perfect lead-in to that tradition. 3) We never saw the original leaders change their names to the suffix -star or get their nine lives. This last one especially disappointed me, because I love the nine-lives ceremonies in the main series. Perhaps they didn't have enough cats in StarClann for all five leaders? But I would have settled for just seeing one, and they certainly have enough deceased characters for that.
There's also the problem of how male-driven this set of six books is. Obviously, it would be a different story if the main narrators weren't Gray Wing, Thunder, and Clear Sky. But I wish that we had gotten more content for the two founding she-cats, Tall Shadow and Wind Runner. And although he's a tom, I'm glad that River Ripple is getting a Super Edition, because he seems like a fascinating guy, and I was sad that he didn't have a stronger presence in the final book. Still, no matter how much I appreciate the story we got, I can't help but wonder how much more interesting and efficient a story might have been that centered all of the Clan leaders equally. If less female characters were fridged, that too would have been a bonus.
As for the issue of Clear Sky... I've heard that many people take issue with his redemption arc. I will admit, Warrior cats often frustrates me with its redemption arcs, not because I don't think that the characters should be redeemed, but because of how little responsibility the characters take for their actions. Blackstar and Clear Sky are very similar in this regard: I don't want to see them insist on how they thought they were doing the right thing at the time and how they were always a good cat, just misguided--unless it's clear that they're fooling no one with this act of innocence. I would much rather see them admit, "I went too far. The power got to my head. I behaved in reprehensible ways and had a bit of fun being evil. But I will choose to stop committing heinous crimes and will try to be a better person from now on."
There's too much glossing over unsavory details in Warriors--which makes sense, given how strongly they lean into the whole "born evil" trope. If the Erins have characters like Tigerclaw and Brokenstar, who couldn't have wound up any other way than pure evil, then there's no gray area to encompass characters like Blackstar and Clear Sky. They weren't born evil, so they must be inherently good. But I don't think that any character should be reduced to such simplistic black and white thinking. Let Clear Sky be evil for a time and let him change his ways. Just don't try to negate his past behavior or bend over backwards trying to explain how he was actually a hero all along, in his own way.
My overall impression: "Dawn of the Clans" is just as strong as any main series arc. I would most readily compare it to "A Vision of Shadows," because both sets of six have their highs and their lows, their intense battles and their boring slogs. But the characters are memorable, and I wouldn't tell anyone to skip the section in its entirety. I may have jumped directly from "Omen of the Stars" into "A Vision of Shadows" for the sake of in-universe chronology, but I'm glad that I gave "Dawn of the Clans" a chance, and I would recommend it to any fans of the Warrior cats franchise.
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
First of all: Gray Wing. The Jean Valjean of Warrior cats... He raises children who are not his by birth; he gives charity to others at the cost of his own health and well-being; he criticizes himself more than anyone else in his life... The main difference between the two characters (besides the fact that Gray Wing isn't an old Frenchman from the 19th century) is that more loved ones are present for his death sequence.
I recently learned that Gray Wing was meant to die at the end of "The Sun Trail." His death was postponed by one book, then another, until finally, the authors realized that they wanted to keep him around for the full arc of six. This fascinates, and it also creates a message that I love: Despite not becoming a leader, Gray Wing is at the heart of the Clans' history. He has children in almost every Clan and is exceptionally close with all five of the original leaders. His story seems to be one of unspoken heroism, of the importance of love that may not go down in history books but that changes people's lives nonetheless.
It is frustrating that Gray Wing dies before he can raise his newest litter of kittens, but I'm more concerned about the fact that he comes across as such as an old man, despite being less than three years old. And I think it's a neat and heart-wrenching choice to show Gray Wing's family realize, "He's done so much for us; we need to repay his kindness however we can." His three youngest kits will be amply cared for by cats from every Clans, and I like Gray Wing will bring cats together in death just as much as he did in life.
Now, onto my complaints... There are still quite a few unanswered questions about Clan life that I thought we would get answers to by now. To give some examples: 1) Pebble Heart had visions of the Moonstone when he was still just a kitten, yet that thread was never pursued after the third book. 2) We don't know how the naming system of changing suffixes came to be, although Wind Runner's dead child being named Emberkit seemed like a perfect lead-in to that tradition. 3) We never saw the original leaders change their names to the suffix -star or get their nine lives. This last one especially disappointed me, because I love the nine-lives ceremonies in the main series. Perhaps they didn't have enough cats in StarClann for all five leaders? But I would have settled for just seeing one, and they certainly have enough deceased characters for that.
There's also the problem of how male-driven this set of six books is. Obviously, it would be a different story if the main narrators weren't Gray Wing, Thunder, and Clear Sky. But I wish that we had gotten more content for the two founding she-cats, Tall Shadow and Wind Runner. And although he's a tom, I'm glad that River Ripple is getting a Super Edition, because he seems like a fascinating guy, and I was sad that he didn't have a stronger presence in the final book. Still, no matter how much I appreciate the story we got, I can't help but wonder how much more interesting and efficient a story might have been that centered all of the Clan leaders equally. If less female characters were fridged, that too would have been a bonus.
As for the issue of Clear Sky... I've heard that many people take issue with his redemption arc. I will admit, Warrior cats often frustrates me with its redemption arcs, not because I don't think that the characters should be redeemed, but because of how little responsibility the characters take for their actions. Blackstar and Clear Sky are very similar in this regard: I don't want to see them insist on how they thought they were doing the right thing at the time and how they were always a good cat, just misguided--unless it's clear that they're fooling no one with this act of innocence. I would much rather see them admit, "I went too far. The power got to my head. I behaved in reprehensible ways and had a bit of fun being evil. But I will choose to stop committing heinous crimes and will try to be a better person from now on."
There's too much glossing over unsavory details in Warriors--which makes sense, given how strongly they lean into the whole "born evil" trope. If the Erins have characters like Tigerclaw and Brokenstar, who couldn't have wound up any other way than pure evil, then there's no gray area to encompass characters like Blackstar and Clear Sky. They weren't born evil, so they must be inherently good. But I don't think that any character should be reduced to such simplistic black and white thinking. Let Clear Sky be evil for a time and let him change his ways. Just don't try to negate his past behavior or bend over backwards trying to explain how he was actually a hero all along, in his own way.
My overall impression: "Dawn of the Clans" is just as strong as any main series arc. I would most readily compare it to "A Vision of Shadows," because both sets of six have their highs and their lows, their intense battles and their boring slogs. But the characters are memorable, and I wouldn't tell anyone to skip the section in its entirety. I may have jumped directly from "Omen of the Stars" into "A Vision of Shadows" for the sake of in-universe chronology, but I'm glad that I gave "Dawn of the Clans" a chance, and I would recommend it to any fans of the Warrior cats franchise.
goosemixtapes's review against another edition
2.0
love how this book had no climax at all but i WILL admit that the last chapter made me emotional. dotc bad but i drink love gray wing juice
lilacwhisker's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
did I tear up at the ending? maybeeeeeeeeee
taava's review
5.0
I enjoyed this book. It is a good conclusion for this arc. Gray Wing’s death at the end really hits hard though.
wolfdyke's review
Path of Stars was definiatley slower than the other books in the series, and not the finale I was expecting from what I consider to be one of the best arcs in the saga, but it is also the only Warriors book to successfully make me cry, so it's got that going for it! :-)
astain's review against another edition
3.0
*3.5
Although I really enjoyed this one, Path of Stars simply did not feel like the final book of the arc. Maybe I was expecting a full blown battle, but the way the conflict between the clans and Slash's rogue group was resolved seemed unbelievable. Additionally, the end felt very rushed considering there were 6 books to develop the clans and very little of the actual "clan development" happened until the last 100 pages of this book.
Although I really enjoyed this one, Path of Stars simply did not feel like the final book of the arc. Maybe I was expecting a full blown battle, but the way the conflict between the clans and Slash's rogue group was resolved seemed unbelievable. Additionally, the end felt very rushed considering there were 6 books to develop the clans and very little of the actual "clan development" happened until the last 100 pages of this book.
olamisamigos's review
2.0
I was so glad to get this book over with, but now im sobbing because of the ending.
This plot is sort of the same recycled one that's in a bunch of the other books, and tbh, I was quite getting bored of the whole book. But then came the last few pages. They were so sad and just bittersweet. Everything was sorting itself out and yet some cats would need to grow up without a father -- with only his MASSIVE legacy. It made me so so sad. I literally cannot explain.
anyways, the rest was sort of monotonous and repetitive so 2/5
This plot is sort of the same recycled one that's in a bunch of the other books, and tbh, I was quite getting bored of the whole book. But then came the last few pages. They were so sad and just bittersweet. Everything was sorting itself out and yet some cats would need to grow up without a father -- with only his MASSIVE legacy. It made me so so sad. I literally cannot explain.
anyways, the rest was sort of monotonous and repetitive so 2/5