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A review by atlasanatolia
Warriors: The New Prophecy #6: Sunset by Erin Hunter
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
This is the final book of an arc that has been an emotional roller coaster for me, but not entirely in terms of plot occurrences and character beats; rather, my feelings on each book have oscillated in such a way. And not like, a thrill coaster either, more like the little dragon ride that goes in a circle with one small drop that you get on with your kids because it's what they're tall enough for and you paid for the tickets. So if this arc has been a ride, this book would be when said ride comes to a stop and you're left sitting there while your brain catches up to what your body just went through.
If that didn't articulate it well enough, I struggle to describe how I feel about this book. It has that One Scene that everyone remembers, but unlike Eclipse, which finds itself in a similar position, I didn't find the rest of the content surrounding that scene to be the most engaging. It deals heavily with a family conflict that I've already stated my exhaustion with, through the eyes of a character that has me at my wits' end. Based on the tone of this review, one may think I should've rated it more similarly to Outcast, but I don't know. 2.75 is what my heart is telling me. I think I found it to be an easy popcorn read - so the same way that I felt about Starlight.
I did enjoy the worldbuilding that appears in this book and never again about the dark forest (pre-proper-noun) being a place of isolation where its inhabitants rarely see each other, if ever. It feels like an apt punishment, and prevents it from just being Evil StarClan. I also felt for Daisy deeply. Her trying to leave the Clan but being asked back as her kits beg her makes me sit on that "the Clans are a cult" reading a little harder. It kind of makes that scene settle uneasily in my stomach, to be honest. But those are my only two random asides. Let's get into that character I mentioned earlier.
I've already waxed on and on about how frustrating I find Brambleclaw's POV. I find that the Brambleclaw Dissonance comes to a head now that Tigerstar is so directly involved. Before, Brambleclaw would worry about others seeing him as his father for basically no reason. Now, he downplays that worry while acting chummy with said father and making decisions that echo that ruinous ambition. He pressures Firestar into getting over Graystripe for his own gain while the poor man is grieving. (This is why Graystripe's "you didn't wait for me" moment in the next arc makes me want to scream into the night.) He does a lot of reassuring himself of how good and loyal of a warrior he is while he's in the act of doing something sketchy. Even when he does the right thing, it's for questionable reasons - he doesn't save Berrykit because there is a kit in danger, he does so because he'd like to be the kit's mentor as a stepping stone to becoming deputy. This would make for a really fun unreliable narrator if it was acknowledged as denial, but unfortunately, we're meant to agree with his inner monologue and feel that he's always right in the end.
This plays into Brambleclaw's greater identity crisis and the inconsistencies with the character he was established as in the first arc. I've mentioned in other reviews that the crisis of his father's sins breathing down his neck was already wrapped up beautifully in that arc. In this one, he goes back on that closure in a way that feels antithetical to the original intention of his character. Characters can backslide, this is true - but this feels like a conflict befitting of someone else. He can't decide if he's the cat fighting to escape his father's shadow, or the cat who walks boldly back into that shade against his loved ones' outcries when it suits his goals.
Tawnypelt gets a fantastic moment in this book in which she shows up to Tigerclaw's little Saturday Dark Forest cookout with the boys and plainly refuses to work with him at all. She even tries to get Brambleclaw to see the light... Girlie, I'm so sorry, he's too far gone. I think it would've been impactful for this moment to stick with Brambleclaw and play into his big realization before turning on Hawkfrost.
I think a lot about how this storyline could be tweaked. I think about the reading where he caves to his desire for the companionship of his male family members. I think about him having to earn back Firestar's trust after having to decide not to kill him - something I think he is rewarded too handsomely for in the story. Most of all, I think about a timeline where his original growth is respected, and he takes a backseat to someone like Brackenfur. I talk Brambleclaw AUs and rewrites with some people on Discord sometimes, and it makes me feel like we're in that one painting of the philosophers strolling through the gallery. I think this is a storyline with a ton of potential, but that the ball was unfortunately dropped where it mattered. And with that being the crux of this arc's final book, it definitely colors how I view it. There was still something intangible about this book that kept it treading water at 2.75, but I'm definitely happy to be done with this arc.
If that didn't articulate it well enough, I struggle to describe how I feel about this book. It has that One Scene that everyone remembers, but unlike Eclipse, which finds itself in a similar position, I didn't find the rest of the content surrounding that scene to be the most engaging. It deals heavily with a family conflict that I've already stated my exhaustion with, through the eyes of a character that has me at my wits' end. Based on the tone of this review, one may think I should've rated it more similarly to Outcast, but I don't know. 2.75 is what my heart is telling me. I think I found it to be an easy popcorn read - so the same way that I felt about Starlight.
I've already waxed on and on about how frustrating I find Brambleclaw's POV. I find that the Brambleclaw Dissonance comes to a head now that Tigerstar is so directly involved. Before, Brambleclaw would worry about others seeing him as his father for basically no reason. Now, he downplays that worry while acting chummy with said father and making decisions that echo that ruinous ambition. He pressures Firestar into getting over Graystripe for his own gain while the poor man is grieving. (This is why Graystripe's "you didn't wait for me" moment in the next arc makes me want to scream into the night.) He does a lot of reassuring himself of how good and loyal of a warrior he is while he's in the act of doing something sketchy. Even when he does the right thing, it's for questionable reasons - he doesn't save Berrykit because there is a kit in danger, he does so because he'd like to be the kit's mentor as a stepping stone to becoming deputy. This would make for a really fun unreliable narrator if it was acknowledged as denial, but unfortunately, we're meant to agree with his inner monologue and feel that he's always right in the end.
This plays into Brambleclaw's greater identity crisis and the inconsistencies with the character he was established as in the first arc. I've mentioned in other reviews that the crisis of his father's sins breathing down his neck was already wrapped up beautifully in that arc. In this one, he goes back on that closure in a way that feels antithetical to the original intention of his character. Characters can backslide, this is true - but this feels like a conflict befitting of someone else. He can't decide if he's the cat fighting to escape his father's shadow, or the cat who walks boldly back into that shade against his loved ones' outcries when it suits his goals.
Tawnypelt gets a fantastic moment in this book in which she shows up to Tigerclaw's little Saturday Dark Forest cookout with the boys and plainly refuses to work with him at all. She even tries to get Brambleclaw to see the light... Girlie, I'm so sorry, he's too far gone. I think it would've been impactful for this moment to stick with Brambleclaw and play into his big realization before turning on Hawkfrost.
I think a lot about how this storyline could be tweaked. I think about the reading where he caves to his desire for the companionship of his male family members. I think about him having to earn back Firestar's trust after having to decide not to kill him - something I think he is rewarded too handsomely for in the story. Most of all, I think about a timeline where his original growth is respected, and he takes a backseat to someone like Brackenfur. I talk Brambleclaw AUs and rewrites with some people on Discord sometimes, and it makes me feel like we're in that one painting of the philosophers strolling through the gallery. I think this is a storyline with a ton of potential, but that the ball was unfortunately dropped where it mattered. And with that being the crux of this arc's final book, it definitely colors how I view it. There was still something intangible about this book that kept it treading water at 2.75, but I'm definitely happy to be done with this arc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death