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samantha_duncan 's review for:
Legends of the Clans
by Erin Hunter
Jumping into the novellas! Still doing a chronological read, as opposed to publication order, so I'll be coming back to this volume as I read the others.
1/26/2025: Thunderstar's Echo
3 stars
This was a mostly cool return to Thunderstar, as we left his POV early in Dawn of the Clans, and it's a fresh perspective, as he is now the leader of Thunderclan. After reading two Super Editions in a row, the novella form is also a nice change of pace, giving a more slice of life vibe. I don't know how it's decided who gets a novella and who gets a Super Edition, and maybe I'm surprised Thunderstar didn't get the latter. But it was a good, well-rounded story.
I halfway expected Thunderstar to die by the end, unlikely as that may be with his nine lives, because he spends much of the story pondering how good a leader Lightning Tail will make when he's gone. Like, he talks about his bro and how amazing he is...a lot? I don't know if this pairing is included in any of the Warriors queer-coded discourse....but aaaaanyway. All that talk was not foreshadowing! Quite the opposite, I guess, as Thunderstar loses his deputy to a dog attack and has to choose a new one. It's a sad and happy end, but overall I see Thunderstar as a decent, confident leader, one who doesn't carry much doubt about his decisions as a leader.
Where he does have doubts is in his ability to be a good father. As he and Violet Dawn have kits, Thunderstar does a lot of internal questioning about how/if his role as a father will be different and better than his own father's absence from his life. I like how this comes up every now and then in Warriors; you can grow up and create a full, successful life, but the absence of a parent will always be there, trying to strike you down. We all know Thunderstar will be a great father, but he still questions it.
Side note, there is an unexpected man-on-dog violence scene in this one that some may find disturbing. Warriors is generally good at keeping the violence between animals, so this really threw me.
2/10/2025: Pinestar's Choice
2.5 stars
I didn't get super engaged with this one until halfway through, as this novella features a cat more wholly disconnected from Dawn of the Clans and The Prophecies Begin. It also covers a large timespan (Pinestar's whole clan arc) in under 100 pages. The purpose as I see it for these novellas about cats we don't really know is to advance the greater Warriors worldbuilding - revealing the origin of the Dark Forest, for example, or explaining how Skyclan disappeared. In Pinestar's Choice, we're more fully introduced to the division between clan cats and domesticated cats, so much so that it's suggested Pinestar's story is what got a kittypet rule added to the Warrior code.
I don't have a problem, generally speaking, with clan cats mingling with domesticated ones. We see it happen throughout the series, proving that kittypets can sometimes be allies to the clans. I kind of liken clan vs. domestic to boomers vs. gen Z - the former are very attached to hard work as a symbol of honor and courage, whereas the latter are just there for food, naps, and vibes, lolllll pls don't come for me. There are, as the Erins have pointed out numerous times, pros and cons to both lifestyles, and it's overall important that every cat has a choice where they go.
What gets me about Pinestar is that he's a dick, lol. He lives through a violent period in clan life, where many cats die due to fighting and hunger, and it's easy to understand wanting it all to stop. What is harder to grasp is him abandoning everyone he supposedly cares about to join the kittypet life. He is lured by great food and stability so much that he skips out on the birth and raising of his kits, then gets a kittypet he's in love with killed. While I'm glad he was able to make the choice to step away from clan life, as it certainly isn't for everyone, he is also a selfish dick!
Some sugar-coated points of interest: there is occasional queer-coding talk in Warriors, and I'm def throwing Pinestar and Jake on that list. Like...y'all lick each other too much to just be friends, I'm sorry. We're also FINALLY introduced to some key future players in the Warriors universe, Tigerstar and Bluestar! SO CLOSE!
7/8/2025: Spottedleaf's Heart
1.5 stars
At its core, this novella is about a cat who is born wanting to be a warrior and instead accepts her destiny of becoming a medicine cat. This happens a lot in the Warriors universe and is usually not as accepted as it is here. I think part of that is Spottedleaf's strengths in both warrior and medicine cat skills. She's a jack of all trades, which makes the transition to another role a little easier.
Grooming alert! This is apparently one of the more controversial stories in the Warriors universe because of Spottedleaf's relationship with Thistleclaw, an older cat. I'm not sure what to make of it. The gross factor didn't cross my mind while reading because...well, they're cats and I guess I don't think too heavily about age when reading...about cats? Like. They're cats?!!
They're anthropomorphized cats, though, so I get people's feelings on the matter. It's even more aggravating that this age gap isn't really brought up in the story, at least as an interrogation of what Thistleclaw is doing (bro, what ARE you doing?). He isn't painted in the best light at times, so at least that's something. But still, this romance was a weird retcon inclusion.
I didn't love this one because I didn't see the point of it? Maybe Spottedleaf doesn't have a very interesting backstory, after all.
1/26/2025: Thunderstar's Echo
3 stars
I halfway expected Thunderstar to die by the end, unlikely as that may be with his nine lives, because he spends much of the story pondering how good a leader Lightning Tail will make when he's gone. Like, he talks about his bro and how amazing he is...a lot? I don't know if this pairing is included in any of the Warriors queer-coded discourse....but aaaaanyway. All that talk was not foreshadowing! Quite the opposite, I guess, as Thunderstar loses his deputy to a dog attack and has to choose a new one. It's a sad and happy end, but overall I see Thunderstar as a decent, confident leader, one who doesn't carry much doubt about his decisions as a leader.
Where he does have doubts is in his ability to be a good father. As he and Violet Dawn have kits, Thunderstar does a lot of internal questioning about how/if his role as a father will be different and better than his own father's absence from his life. I like how this comes up every now and then in Warriors; you can grow up and create a full, successful life, but the absence of a parent will always be there, trying to strike you down. We all know Thunderstar will be a great father, but he still questions it.
Side note, there is an unexpected man-on-dog violence scene in this one that some may find disturbing. Warriors is generally good at keeping the violence between animals, so this really threw me.
2/10/2025: Pinestar's Choice
2.5 stars
I don't have a problem, generally speaking, with clan cats mingling with domesticated ones. We see it happen throughout the series, proving that kittypets can sometimes be allies to the clans. I kind of liken clan vs. domestic to boomers vs. gen Z - the former are very attached to hard work as a symbol of honor and courage, whereas the latter are just there for food, naps, and vibes, lolllll pls don't come for me. There are, as the Erins have pointed out numerous times, pros and cons to both lifestyles, and it's overall important that every cat has a choice where they go.
What gets me about Pinestar is that he's a dick, lol. He lives through a violent period in clan life, where many cats die due to fighting and hunger, and it's easy to understand wanting it all to stop. What is harder to grasp is him abandoning everyone he supposedly cares about to join the kittypet life. He is lured by great food and stability so much that he skips out on the birth and raising of his kits, then gets a kittypet he's in love with killed. While I'm glad he was able to make the choice to step away from clan life, as it certainly isn't for everyone, he is also a selfish dick!
Some sugar-coated points of interest: there is occasional queer-coding talk in Warriors, and I'm def throwing Pinestar and Jake on that list. Like...y'all lick each other too much to just be friends, I'm sorry. We're also FINALLY introduced to some key future players in the Warriors universe, Tigerstar and Bluestar! SO CLOSE!
7/8/2025: Spottedleaf's Heart
1.5 stars
Grooming alert! This is apparently one of the more controversial stories in the Warriors universe because of Spottedleaf's relationship with Thistleclaw, an older cat. I'm not sure what to make of it. The gross factor didn't cross my mind while reading because...well, they're cats and I guess I don't think too heavily about age when reading...about cats? Like. They're cats?!!
They're anthropomorphized cats, though, so I get people's feelings on the matter. It's even more aggravating that this age gap isn't really brought up in the story, at least as an interrogation of what Thistleclaw is doing (bro, what ARE you doing?). He isn't painted in the best light at times, so at least that's something. But still, this romance was a weird retcon inclusion.
I didn't love this one because I didn't see the point of it? Maybe Spottedleaf doesn't have a very interesting backstory, after all.