This time on Warriors Roundup: a second batch of novellas.  What do Zippy and I think of this shorter Warriors format? Let’s see…

Mapleshade’s Vengeance

This novella follows my favorite recurring Warriors villain Mapleshade, expanding on her backstory first expounded in the Crookedstar’s Promise Super Edition.  Mapleshade is a ThunderClan warrior pregnant with kits resulting from a Forbidden Romance with RiverClan warrior Appledusk.  After giving birth, everyone in ThunderClan assumes the three kits’ father is a recently deceased ThunderClan warrior.  Unfortunately for Mapleshade, medicine cat Ravenwing receives an omen that reveals the kits’ half-RiverClan heritage, and he tells the whole clan.  The clan takes the news incredibly badly and Mapleshade and her kits are driven into exile.  While fleeing to RiverClan, Mapleshade makes the incredibly stupid decision of trying to cross a flooded river with her kits, and her kits drown.  In RiverClan, Appledusk begs for his clanmates’ forgiveness for his dalliance with Mapleshade, and Mapleshade is thrown out.  With nowhere to go, Mapleshade decides to avenge her kits by becoming a serial killer.  First, she murders Ravenwing for revealing the truth of their heritage. Then, she murders ThunderClan warrior Frecklewish for not saving her kits from drowning.  Finally, she murders Appledusk, also for not saving her kits from drowning; however, she is mortally wounded in the fight.  Mapleshade bleeds out, entering the Dark Forest, where she is excited by the prospect of tormenting Appledusk’s kin forever.

When reflecting on this novella, the question that immediately comes to mind is: what are we meant to take from this?  At face value, the tragedy of Mapleshade and her kits seems like a morality tale about the dangers of breaking the Warrior Code – Mapleshade had a Forbidden Romance, and as punishment she is exiled, loses her kits, is driven to murder, and ultimately ends up in Cat Hell.  I don’t buy this interpretation, mainly because cross-clan Forbidden Romances happen all the time and it’d be kind of hypocritical for StarClan to think Mapleshade’s fate is a just punishment for having half-clan kits when two of the eponymous Three from Power of Three (aka the Cat Messiahs) are half-clan.  I think a more compelling reading is interpreting Mapleshade’s tragedy as just that – a tragedy.  Mapleshade is a tragic figure whose fatal flaw is her self-righteousness.  When her clan confronts her about the true parentage of her kits, she insists that it shouldn’t matter who the kits’ father is.  She refuses to believe that she’s done anything wrong despite having blatantly broken the Warrior Code.  When her kits drown, she blames everyone but herself: Ravenwing, for revealing her secret; ThunderClan at large, for kicking her out; and Frecklewish and Appledusk, for not doing more to save her kits.  Not once does she stop and consider that maybe she shouldn’t have tried to ford a flooded river with her three infants.  Finally, having convinced herself that everybody but herself is responsible for the death of her kits, she decides her only recourse is murder.  Had Mapleshade behaved differently – by, for example, asking her clanmates for forgiveness like Appledusk rather than stubbornly insisting that she hadn’t done anything wrong – her and her kits’ tragic fate could have been easily avoided, but that’s what makes her a tragic character, isn’t it?  Her tragic flaw – her self-righteousness – will not allow her to make the choices necessary to avoid her downfall, leading to her fate seeming simultaneously inevitable and entirely her own fault. 

Overall, I really like this one (surprise, surprise.)  Mapleshade continues to be one of my favorite Warriors characters, and I hope to see more of her in the future.  Speaking of which…

Goosefeather’s Curse

“Who is Goosefeather?” I hear you cry.  Well, Goosefeather was the elderly medicine cat of ThunderClan in the time of the Super Edition prequels (Bluestar’s Prophecy, Crookedstar’s Promise, and Yellowfang’s Secret.)  I’ve mentioned him once before in a previous roundup, commenting on his penchant for saying ominous things about the infant Evil Tigerstar.  Well, have you ever wondered how Goosefeather knew Evil Tigerstar was bad news even when he was a newborn?  The answer, as revealed in this novella, is that Goosefeather can 1. see dead cats, Sixth Sense style, but also 2. receive visions of the past/present/future.  This novella follows Goosefeather from his childhood up to the ascension of Pinestar as ThunderClan leader and mostly focuses on Goosefeather coming to terms with his power (or, as he comes to see it, his curse.)  It hits all the beats you would expect for a story like this – Goosefeather learns he can see ghosts; Goosefeather’s mentor tells him to keep his power secret; Goosefeather tries to use his visions to prevent future catastrophes only to learn that fate cannot be stopped; Goosefeather comes to see his powers as a terrible burden.  Unfortunately this kind of story doesn’t really appeal to me, although there are a few standout scenes.  For example, at one point, after almost getting killed by a badger, Goosefeather decides he should learn some self-defense skills, so he starts training under a friendly white-and-tortoiseshell she-cat ghost who turns out to be – you guessed it – our girl Mapleshade.  Unfortunately, her girlboss energy is not enough to carry the entire novella, which doesn’t do much for me.

Ravenpaw’s Farewell

“Who is Ravenpaw?” I hear you cry.  Well, all the way back in the very first book of the first arc, Ravenpaw was the third member of a trio with Firestar and Graystripe in their ThunderClan apprentice days. Unfortunately, Ravenpaw witnessed his mentor Tigerclaw (future Evil Tigerstar) murder the ThunderClan deputy and so had to leave ThunderClan for his own safety, moving in with friendly barn cat Barley, where he has remained since.  This novella takes place at some point after the clans left the forest territories for the lake territories.  Ravenpaw, now old and suffering from recurring stomach pains, reminisces about his clan days.  He and Barley visit Barley’s young niece and nephew, Riley and Bella, who have heard stories about the clans from older kittypets and are convinced that they’re meant to be clan cats.  This is an issue since, as previously stated, the clans have left the forest and Ravenpaw doesn’t know where they are.  However, he does remember Firestar telling him about SkyClan, so he decides to take Riley and Bella to SkyClan’s gorge.  Barley is opposed to the idea, fearing that Ravenpaw regrets leaving clan life, but Ravenpaw leaves with Bella and Riley anyway.  Barley meets up with the traveling party on the way and apologizes to Ravenpaw.  The travelers arrive at SkyClan’s gorge, where SkyClan is initially reluctant to allow Riley and Bella to join the clan, until Ravenpaw and company assist them with some local kittypet troublemakers.  Riley and Bella are accepted as SkyClan apprentices, and Ravenpaw dies in Barley’s paws, his spirit promising that they will meet again someday.

More than the actual so-called plot of delivering two overexcited kits to SkyClan, this novella is about Barley and Ravenpaw’s relationship.  As should go without saying to anyone who read this novella or the Ravenpaw’s Path graphic novel arc, Ravenpaw and Barley’s relationship is romantic.  It’s even more explicit than Jake and Tallstar’s relationship in Tallstar’s Revenge.  At one point Ravenpaw is visited by the spirit of Silverstream, the first ever Warriors love interest – and she tells him “Barley knows that you don’t want to leave him.  He understands, and he will not love you less if he cannot see you.” (Shadows of the Clans, pg. 267, emphasis mine.)  “Love” isn’t a word that Warriors uses to describe non-familial platonic relationships in that kind of context.  Later, Ravenpaw is visited by some other StarClan cats who offer to let him into StarClan even though he’s not really a clan cat anymore, and Ravenpaw refuses because Barley wouldn’t be there.  Granted, in the next sentence he’s assured that there is another afterlife in which he and Barley can be together, but he would have had no way of knowing that when he refused.  The guy literally said “no thanks” to Cat Heaven, without knowing if there was any alternative, because he wouldn’t have been able to be there with Barley.  If that isn’t love, then love doesn’t exist in Warriors.  I don’t even think one could “actually Frederick the Great wasn’t gay” their way out of this one, it’s just too blatant.

With all of that in mind – there is a lot to like in this novella.  I appreciated seeing the forest territories post-Clan departure – we even got a reference to Firestar’s kittypet friend Smudge who I’m pretty sure hasn’t been mentioned since Firestar’s Quest. Everything that has to do with Ravenpaw and Barley’s relationship is great.  Pre-Vision of Shadows SkyClan is nice to see again as well.  Overall, a very strong novella.

Spottedleaf’s Heart

“Who is Spottedleaf?” I hear you cry.  Well, Spottedleaf was the ThunderClan medicine cat for the very first Warriors book until she was murdered, at which point she became Firestar’s spirit-guide-cum-dead-crush, which she remained until her soul was destroyed at the end of Omen of the Stars. In this novella, Spottedkit/paw is a warrior apprentice who receives a lot of attention from the much older warrior Thistleclaw.  One day, Spottedpaw falls from a tree that Thistleclaw pushed her to climb, sending her to the medicine den.  After recovering, she witnesses Thistleclaw encouraging his apprentice, the future Evil Tigerstar, to kill a defenseless kittypet.  Spottedpaw completely ignores this red flag, admits her feelings for Thistleclaw, and Thistleclaw responds by taking her on a romantic date to Cat Hell, where Thistleclaw is training under – guess who – ­­­our girl, Mapleshade.  Spottedpaw completely ignores this red flag as well.  Spottedpaw is offered the position of medicine cat apprentice.  She declines, because as a medicine cat she wouldn’t be allowed to date Thistleclaw.  She goes to the Dark Forest to tell him the news and witnesses him murder an elderly cat.  Spottedpaw and Thistleclaw realize that they aren’t romantically compatible and part ways amicably.  There’s a birthing scene (because of course there is) when Bluefur gives birth to her kits.  The novella then becomes a re-run of the “Bluefur gives up her kits so she can stop Thistleclaw from becoming deputy” plot from the Bluestar’s Prophecy Super Edition, but from Spottedpaw’s perspective.  The novella ends with Spottedpaw vowing to never love foolishly again – a vow that she presumably keeps until Rusty (the future Firestar) rolls into ThunderClan camp and his pure main character energy makes her fall for him head over heels (paws?)

A few thoughts.  First, it’s incredibly weird that Thistleclaw is romantically interested in Spottedpaw.  He gives her romantic-coded gifts when she’s a kit (that is, not even an apprentice) and he’s a full warrior.  Off the top of my head, I can only think of a single Warriors romance between a full warrior and an apprentice (Feathertail and Crowpaw in the New Prophecy) so a romance between a full warrior and a kit is completely unprecedented.  The strange thing is, the text itself doesn’t really seem to make a big deal out of this: nobody ever comments on it, and it’s not couched as one of Thistleclaw’s many red flags.  I genuinely can’t tell if we as readers are supposed to read Thistleclaw’s interest as deviant, but I can’t bring myself to not see it like that.

Second, I have to ask – can we please get a medicine cat who actually wanted to be a medicine cat from the get-go for once?  So many medicine cats are pulled into the position unwillingly – Yellowfang, Cinderpelt, Littlecloud, Jayfeather, Alderheart, and now Spottedleaf all wanted to be warriors first, and Puddleshine was straight-up ordered by his clan leader to become a medicine cat when he was still a kit.  Why does seemingly nobody want to be a medicine cat?  Does the idea of being a conduit between StarClan and the living not appeal to people?  Does nobody covet having power of life and death?  Were I a warrior cat – well, actually, were I a warrior cat, I’d become a kittypet, but barring that, were I a warrior cat, becoming a medicine cat would be a no-brainer.  Please, leave me in camp to sort herbs while you follow Dumbstar into battle over Sunningrocks for the fifth time this year.

Third, this novella has made me realize that one of the main signifiers as to whether I’ll enjoy a novella or not is how redundant it is.  The more material in a novella that we’ve already seen elsewhere, the less I enjoy it.  Unfortunately, this novella suffers from a lot of redundancy; I wasn’t that much of a fan of the “Bluestar giving up her kits” plot in Bluestar’s Prophecy and this novella doesn’t add much to it, which is disappointing.  Surely it could have been replaced with something that develops Spottedleaf’s character and we haven’t seen before.

Although the above paragraphs might give the impression that I didn’t like this novella, I think it’s perfectly serviceable if not my cup of tea.

Pinestar’s Choice

“Who is Pinestar?” I hear you cry.  Well, Pinestar was the leader of ThunderClan during the first half of Bluestar’s Prophecy before he decided that clan life sucks and he’d rather live as a kittypet.  This novella gives further context for that eponymous choice.  As an apprentice, Pinepaw is saved from a fox by a kittypet.  Pinepaw returns the favor later when ThunderClan raids Twolegplace.  Much later, Pinestar, now leader of ThunderClan, starts hanging out with the kittypets of Twolegplace as a respite from his responsibilities as clan leader.  Over time, Pinestar becomes increasingly disillusioned with the violence of clan life.  Pinestar is visited in his dreams by former leader Doestar who warns him that his unborn son will be born with the power to destroy ThunderClan.  His kits are born, and Pinestar sacrifices his second-to-last life attempting to save his kittypet friend Shanty from being hit by a car.  StarClan appears in Pinestar’s dreams and order him to kill his son Tigerkit (the future Evil Tigerstar.)  Pinestar refuses.  Pinestar decides that he cannot continue as clan leader, announces to the clan that he’s leaving to become a kittypet, and departs to live with Shanty’s twolegs.

As I stated in my Bluestar’s Prophecy roundup, I like Pinestar.  He seems to be the only character in the entire series who takes issue with the violence inherent in clan society.  There are some very revealing passages in this novella.  When he’s considering whether one of his kits will become his apprentice, he thinks “And teach my own son or daughter how to attack and wound and frighten our enemies, for the sake of these invisible walls we have built around our home?  Could I really do that, knowing I might have to watch them die in battle one day?” (Legends of the Clans, pg 173.)  Later, when Doestar’s spirit tells him that the fighting over Sunningrocks is not over, he tells her “And lose more lives for the sake of warming our pelts on a heap of stones?  […] I can’t wait.” (Legends of the Clans, pg 181.)  From my point of view, Pinestar is 100% correct: at the point in the timeline this story takes place, most battles are completely pointless. 

The funny thing is, as the series has progressed, Pinestar has been largely vindicated.  In the first series, the clans fought each other all the time, practically once a book.  Conversely, from the end of Power of Three to the end of A Vision of Shadows, I think there have only been three clan vs. clan battles (the Dark Forest-instigated ThunderClan/ShadowClan battle and the Sol-instigated WindClan/ThunderClan battle in Omen of the Stars, and the SkyClan/ShadowClan battle in A Vision of Shadows.)  Battles still happen, of course – the series is called Warriors, after all – but a lot of the more recent battles have been against external threats like the Dark Forest cats, Darktail and his Kin, and rowdy kittypets.  I think this ties into the discussion on clan identity in the A Vision of Shadows roundup: as the clans become more culturally homogenized it’s become increasingly difficult to come up with reasonable justifications for conflict between the clans besides “the leader is a warmongering idiot” (I’m looking at you, Onestar.) 

My only real issue with Pinestar’s opposition to the violence of clan culture is how he chooses to handle it.  Like, good job, Pinestar, you’ve observed there is a systemic issue in your society – now do something to fix it.  Pinestar is, need I remind you, an absolute monarch, anointed by StarClan, whose word is law. Why not use some of that authority to try and improve things?  Now, to be clear, I don’t expect this would work – cultural inertia is probably enough to stop any major societal reforms, to say nothing of the other three clans – but I’d like to have at least seen Pinestar try; y’know, have his warriors sit in a circle and sing Kumbaya or something.   I fully recognize that this isn’t really something this novella could have done considering Pinestar’s departure was already seen in Bluestar’s Prophecy, but hey – a guy can dream.

I also think StarClan ordering Pinestar to murder his son is a fun addition; we haven’t had a Binding of Isaac story in Warriors yet. Also, I feel obligated to mention that while she doesn’t show up in this novella, Mapleshade gets namedropped early on in a scary story told to Pinekit by one of the elders.

In conclusion, another great novella.

Thunderstar’s Echo

This novella follows Thunderstar, founder of ThunderClan, shortly after the events of the Moth Flight’s Vision super edition.  Thunderstar is anxious about becoming a father.  Junkyard dogs attack ThunderClan’s camp.  Thunderstar and his deputy Lightning Tail go on an adventure to stop the dogs.  Thunderstar and Lightning Tail both die, but Thunderstar has nine lives so he comes back. Thunderstar stops the dogs.  Thunderstar returns to camp, where his kits are born in another birthing scene.  Thunderstar appoints Owl Eyes as deputy.

I don’t really have anything to say about this one, it’s very boring and forgettable.  I’m generally not a fan of dogs as antagonists in Warriors as they always end up being dumb brutes.  Thunderstar sits vigil over Lightning Tail’s dead body, which is supposed to be the “just-so story” explaining why that’s a tradition in the modern clans.  Clear Sky, now Skystar, makes a brief appearance, but it’s nothing to write home about – Thunderstar accuses him of intentionally not warning ThunderClan about the potential threat of dogs, which would be entirely in line with Skystar’s character, but unfortunately Skystar has a good excuse. 

Overall, one of my least favorite novellas so far, which is a shame because I like the Dawn of the Clans era and would like to see more of its characters.

Conclusion

A pretty good mix of novellas with some strong ones (Mapleshade’s Vengeance, Ravenpaw’s Farewell, Pinestar’s Choice) and only one really disappointing one (Thunderstar’s Echo.)  Next up: another batch of Super Editions (four this time instead of the standard three) and then our penultimate arc – The Broken Code…

This past week-and-change, Zippy and I have been working our way through the A Vision of Shadows arc. What have those cool cats by the lake been getting up to? Let’s find out…

Plot Summary

The arc begins by following Alderpaw, son of Bramblestar and Squirrelflight. Alderpaw wants to be a warrior, but he’s not very good at it and after receiving several visions it’s clear that he’d be better as a medicine cat.  Alderpaw receives a vision that sends him on a Quest to find SkyClan and bring them back to the lake.  The Quest is crashed by Needlepaw, a rebellious ShadowClan apprentice who insists on coming along.  The questing party arrive at SkyClan’s gorge only to find it occupied by a group of rogues under a cat named Darktail, who is Obviously Evil.  The questing party escape from Darktail and, on the way back to the lake, discover two abandoned kits, Twigkit and Violetkit.  Because the clans believe the kits could be the answer to a vague StarClan prophecy, they are split between ThunderClan and ShadowClan, with ShadowClan getting Violetkit and ThunderClan getting Twigkit.  Later, Darktail and his rogues show up in the lake territories, fight WindClan once, then settle down bordering ShadowClan territory.  Dissatisfied with Rowanstar’s weak leadership, several juvenile-delinquent-coded ShadowClan apprentices defect to the rogues, who are now calling themselves “the Kin.”  Needlepaw(tail) and Violetpaw defect to the Kin, but Violetpaw returns to ShadowClan.  Darktail and the Kin defeat ShadowClan and take over their territory.  Every remaining ShadowClan cat joins the Kin except Rowanstar, Tawnypelt, and Tigerheart, who flee to exile in ThunderClan.

The rest of the clans invoke Article Five and attack the Kin, but WindClan retreats in the middle of the battle and the clans are defeated.  The Kin then attack RiverClan and take over their territory, keeping RiverClan’s injured warriors as hostages.  Violetpaw, who is a member of the Kin again, realizes that the Kin are bad news and begins acting as a double agent for ThunderClan.  Darktail finds out about Violetpaw’s duplicity and, as punishment, murders her only friend Needletail in front of her.  The remaining RiverClan hostages revolt against the Kin, and with the assistance of ThunderClan the Kin are driven out of RiverClan territory.  Twigpaw, who had earlier disappeared and was presumed dead, returns with the remnants of SkyClan.  The Clans unite to fight the Kin again.  In the battle, Onestar and Darktail (who are revealed to be father and son) drown each other in the lake.  The clans win the battle, the Kin are scattered, and many former ShadowClan cats return to ShadowClan.

SkyClan is given some of ShadowClan’s territory by Rowanstar, and Violetpaw and Twigpaw leave their clans to join SkyClan with their father Hawkwing.  Dovewing and Tigerheart (who have had an on-and-off Forbidden Romance since Omen of the Stars) disappear, and Rowanstar, distraught at the loss of his son/deputy, unilaterally disbands ShadowClan and merges it with SkyClan.  Violetpaw(shine) becomes a SkyClan warrior, but Twigpaw leaves and re-joins ThunderClan, believing that’s where she belongs.  Prophetically important non-clan cat Tree joins SkyClan and is given the new role of “mediator” – effectively negotiator-cum-therapist.  Rowanclaw (formerly -star) dies and with him any hope of an independent ShadowClan.  Then Tigerheart and Dovewing show back up, Tigerheart is anointed by StarClan as leader of ShadowClan, and ShadowClan is independent again.  ShadowClan and SkyClan start arguing over territory, so SkyClan leaves the lake despite incredibly clear omens from StarClan that doing so would be a bad idea.  The remaining lake clans finally agree that SkyClan should live with them, so they bring SkyClan back (again) and create a more equitable division of territory for them.  With the five clans now centered around the lake, a new era of peace appears to be dawning for the clans (at least until the next arc…)

SkyClan and Clan Identity

I have to say, I was surprised to see SkyClan in such a prominent role in this arc.  Prior to this arc they had only ever appeared in Super Editions and other supplemental material, so I was operating under the assumption that they would continue to be the DLC clan, forever exiled from the main series.  Unfortunately, by moving to the lake territories, SkyClan has lost their single greatest defining feature – their isolation.  Everything that made SkyClan interesting in its earlier appearances is no longer a factor – no daylight warriors, no renegotiating the warrior code to suit their unique circumstances, no unique gathering ritual, nothing. 

This contributes to a larger problem that I’ve noticed recently, and that is the almost total lack of differentiation between the clans.  The clans themselves do not seem to have any distinct cultures: a given clan’s approach and attitude seems to reflect the approach and attitude of the clan leader more than anything else.  This really shows up in the characters of Violetshine and Twigbranch: both switch clans at least once, and sure, when they do they run into difficulties, but those difficulties are due almost entirely to distrust from their new clanmates and not from culture shock.  A large part of Twigbranch’s character arc is her realizing that ThunderClan is where she belongs, but it is not evident to me why she belongs more in ThunderClan than any other clan, besides maybe the fact that her surrogate father Alderheart is there.  StarClan (and I suppose on a meta level the authors) want us to believe that there need to be five (previously four) clans or the entirety of clan society would fall apart, but I’m increasingly struggling to see why this is the case when the five (previously four) clans are virtually identical and their permanent separation seems to act only as a source of conflict.

Tree

As is briefly mentioned above, the second half of this arc introduces Tree, a non-clan cat who ends up joining SkyClan and becoming Violetshine’s love interest.  Tree is interesting for two main reasons.  First, he’s given the newly created role of “mediator.”  What a mediator is supposed to do isn’t entirely clear, but it seems to mostly mean getting the clan leaders to actually communicate with each other outside of threats and boasting.  I like this.  Poor communication between the clan leaders has been a consistent source of cheap conflict for, like, the entire series, so I’m glad the clans are finally wising up.  Also, I like the idea of an increased division of labor.  Early in the series, every adult cat was either a warrior, a medicine cat, or retired.  In the books since there a few pseudo-roles have emerged (some cats have been dedicated “nursery queens” whose only role is to provide childcare, and a few cats are mentioned to have specific skillsets like building dens) but I think this is the first major shakeup to clan structure.

Tree’s other interesting character trait is his ability to see ghosts.  In this arc, it is established that the restless spirits of dead cats can remain on earth for a time before going to StarClan or the Dark Forest – it’s the pretty common conception of ghosts as “spirits with unfinished business with the living.”  One of the main plots in book 4 of this arc is Tree helping the restless spirits of all the ShadowClan cats killed trying to escape Darktail reconcile with their living clanmates.  I don’t really have a strong opinion on this – on one hand, ghosts have been around in Warriors since at least Power of Three, so it’s not really introducing anything new, but on the other hand I always understood previous ghosts to be in some way exceptional – that very specific circumstances were necessary for their continued existence on the material plane.  Also, given what went down with the Dark Forest in Omen of the Stars, I am inherently skeptical of any expanded lore relating to the afterlife.

Warriors’ Premature Climax Problem

One of my biggest frustrations with this arc is its inconsistency.  The first half of the arc has a distinct throughline around which the plot is built – find SkyClan, defeat Darktail.  Unfortunately, once Darktail is gone, the arc loses all structure, and the second half suffers because of it.  Funnily enough, this is the second arc in a row where this has happened: Dawn of the Clans’ first half is basically Clear Sky vs. the World and the second half is “and then some things happen.”  Why does this seemingly keep happening?  Well, I blame the writing team.  After the first book of Dawn of the Clans, the longtime series editor was replaced with a shadowy cabal known to us only as the “New Team.”  Will the New Team ever realize that arcs are six books long and not trilogies, or will we be doomed to read inconsistent arcs forever?  Only time will tell…

Other Plot Points

Some additional elements of this arc that warrant comments on are contained in the following bullet-pointed list:

• Yellowfang Is A Dirty Liar: As you may remember from the first Novellas roundup, StarClan cat Yellowfang convinced Squirrelflight to adopt Leafpool’s kits as her own by telling her that she would never be able to have kits of her own. The fact that this arc starts with her having given birth to two kits has determined that was a lie. Classic Yellowfang.
• Gee ThunderClan, How Come StarClan Lets You Have THREE Medicine Cats?: With Alderheart, ThunderClan now has three medicine cats.  Meanwhile, in the first half of the arc, ShadowClan has zero, leaving Leafpool to temporarily move there and train a new one.
• Rowanstar: If there’s one thing that this arc wants you to know about Rowanstar, it’s that he was a bad clan leader: virtually all his clanmates defect to the Kin, and he spends the rest of the arc feeling sorry for himself before disbanding ShadowClan and dying.  Unfortunately, the arc doesn’t do a good job of explaining exactly how or why Rowanstar was such a bad leader.  His followers often cite his perceived “weakness” but it’s not clear what is meant by this – we don’t see Rowanstar being particularly cowardly or weak or timid or anything.  I think a better explanation is his lack of strictness; ShadowClan apprentices in the first book are openly contemptuous of their elders and the Warrior Code, which is probably why Darktail and the Kin were so attractive to them.
• Darktail: Darktail is the main villain of the first half of the arc.  His backstory is that he is the son of WindClan leader Onestar and a kittypet named Smoke, who, when she was abandoned by Onestar, made him swear an oath to never be a friend to the Clans.  Darktail is not a complex villain, but I like him.  He’s very grounded – he’s just a guy with a vendetta against his deadbeat dad and the society that said dad chose over him and his mother.  He’s got some cool moments, and he genuinely feels like a threat, even without being a ghost or having superpowers. Although, I must say, his name bothers me – two minor first arc antagonists were named Darkstripe and Longtail.
• The Fate of SkyClan: The main “plot” of the second half of the arc is: what should be done with SkyClan and ShadowClan?  The incredibly obvious answer is, SkyClan should stay, ShadowClan should be reformed, and the other clans should shift borders to accommodate the extra clan.  Despite StarClan practically screaming at the clans that this is what needs to happen, it takes them three whole books of filler to reach this conclusion.  Don’t get me wrong, there’s some cool stuff going on in the second half of this arc, but this should not have been the main conflict.  At times like this it feels like the concept of communication is the main antagonist of Warriors.
• The Cooler Tigerstar: With Tigerheart ascending to the leadership of ShadowClan, we now have a second Tigerstar.  Tigerstar’s dead evil grandfather Tigerstar had his soul destroyed in Omen of the Stars, so there shouldn’t be any ambiguity as to which Tigerstar I’m referring to in the future, but if there is I’ll call the older Tigerstar Evil Tigerstar.
• The (Maybe Not So Much) Cooler Tigerstar: So, in the sixth book of this arc, ShadowClan’s medicine cat Puddleshine comes down with an infection and, while he’s being treated in ThunderClan, Alderheart figures out the only way to cure him is to feed him small amounts of deathberries (which are, y’know, poisonous.)  When Tigerstar comes to retrieve his medicine cat, he demands Alderheart come along to continue the treatment and says that he’ll be safely returned when Puddleshine recovers.  The implication, of course, being that if Puddleshine doesn’t recover, Alderheart will be executed.  This is incredibly strange behavior – not only is it weirdly confrontational, but it also goes against everything I thought I knew about Tigerstar’s character.  I guess every new leader of ShadowClan is entitled to one bizarrely stupid decision early in their tenure.
• Blue Velvet: During the fifth book in this arc, a pretty kittypet named Velvet comes to live with ThunderClan temporarily.  Alderheart and her clearly fancy each other, but Alderheart is a medicine cat, and Velvet belongs back with her twolegs.  This plot is resolved when…they decide to part ways amicably, appreciating the time they spent together but understanding that they walk two different paths?  What?  I’m not sure whether I like this or not.  It feels very similar to the Bramblestar/Jessy plot from Bramblestar’s Storm – pretty kittypet comes to live with ThunderClan for a while, tempts ThunderClan cat with her feminine wiles, but ultimately helps them reaffirm their commitment to the clan.  Also, like Jessy, Velvet seemingly only exists to be an object of affection for Alderheart, which isn’t great.  On the other hand, it feels like a deliberate subversion of the Forbidden Romance trope Warriors is so fond of, which I kind of like.
• Sorry, Nobody’s Home: At different points in this arc, both WindClan and RiverClan go fully isolationist: closing their borders, refusing to participate in Gatherings or medicine cat meetings, etc.  Two comments on this.  One, it’s strange that it happened twice in one arc, even if it was justified.  Two, all the way back in the first arc, it was assumed that every clan always had their borders closed.  I distinctly remember Fireheart and Graystripe being attacked by RiverClan in the second book for daring to set foot on RiverClan territory while returning from a mission RiverClan had agreed to send them on.  It just goes to show how lax things have gotten. And yet…
• Friendship Ended with Dovewing: When Dovewing and Tigerstar return to the lake territories with their kits, Dovewing makes the decision to join ShadowClan.  This is entirely reasonable given the circumstances, but her ThunderClan clanmates all strongly oppose this.  This is very strange given how open ThunderClan seems to be to accept defectors from other Clans – at this point, they literally just let Twigbranch and Finleap into their clan.  Also related to the bullet point above: back in the first arc, Graystripe joined RiverClan to be with his kits, and I don’t remember ThunderClan being nearly as upset about that as they are at Dovewing here.  It just goes to show how strict things have gotten.
• Wait, We Could Have Gone Around the Mountains This Whole Time?: Despite several Quests to find/retrieve SkyClan occurring in this arc, never once do the Clan cats go into the dreaded mountains, and for that I must give this arc credit.

Closing Thoughts

All in all, a pretty good arc.  The first half was much stronger than the second half, but even with that inconsistency it was a fun read and some solid Warriors fare.  Here’s how I’d rank the main arcs so far:

1. Power of Three
2. The Prophecies Begin
3. A Vision of Shadows
4. Dawn of the Clans
5. The New Prophecy
6. Omen of the Stars

Next up: another batch of novellas, then another batch of Super Editions, then the Broken Code.  Will the tenuous peace among the clans hold?  Probably not, but one can dream…

While Zippy and I have been working our way through the next batch of Super Editions, we’ve also taken the time to read the first six Warriors novellas.  Let’s take a look…

Hollyleaf’s Story

This story follows Hollyleaf between her presumed death in Power of Three to her return in Omen of the Stars.  What was she doing during that time?  Apparently, she was living in underground tunnels with Fallen Leaves.  “Who is Fallen Leaves?” I hear you cry.  Well, Fallen Leaves is a ghost.  If you think that sounds interesting, unfortunately it isn’t.  Not really a lot to say about this one – a lot of this story is just seeing events we’ve seen before in Omen of the Stars from Hollyleaf’s perspective, and the rest isn’t particularly interesting.

Mistystar’s Omen

“Who is Mistystar?” I hear you cry.  Well, Mistystar is, as of the end of Omen of the Stars, the current leader of RiverClan.  This story covers her ascension as clan leader and her relationship with senior RiverClan medicine cat Mothwing. When the previous clan leader dies, Mistystar and Mothwing go to the Moonpool (the local holy site) to commune with StarClan and take part in Mistystar’s nine lives ceremony.  However, during the ceremony, Mistystar notices that Mothwing is missing.  This is because, as you may recall from my Omen of the Stars roundup, Mothwing is an atheist and therefore cannot astral project into StarClan.  Mistystar is seriously upset by this revelation because medicine cats are supposed to act as spiritual intermediaries between StarClan and the living (interpreting omens, performing ceremonies and whatnot) so she strips Mothwing of her title.  Shortly thereafter, when Mistystar’s son is grievously wounded, she receives a sign from StarClan to restore Mothwing to her position as medicine cat, which she does.  The novella ends with Mistystar learning to respect Mothwing’s beliefs and appreciate her dedication to the Clan.

I like this one.  There’s a fascinating bit near the end where Mistystar talks with the spirit of Mudfur, whom Mothwing apprenticed under.  Mudfur’s position is that Mothwing’s atheism isn’t really an issue – that StarClan can send signs to anyone, that she is still able to perform ceremonies, and that faith is mostly about “being loyal to whatever is most important to you.” (The Untold Stories, pg. 195) It seems clear from this interaction that StarClan is primarily concerned about the well-being of their living descendants and only really care about the living’s belief in them insofar as it affects said well-being.  I’d be interested in seeing a more thorough exploration of faith in Warriors later in the series; Mistystar’s Omen was a good start but there’s only so much you can cover in 80 or so pages.

Cloudstar’s Journey

“Who is Cloudstar?” I hear you cry.  Well, Cloudstar was the leader of SkyClan when they were driven from the forest territories due to real estate developers destroying their territory.  This story follows the last days of SkyClan in the forest before departing for their new territory, where the reformed SkyClan remains as of the end of Omen of the Stars.  Again, not a whole lot to say about this one – it’s mostly just standard Warriors filler (hunting, border patrols, battles, etc) with one dramatic scene at the end as SkyClan tells the other clans of their plight, the other clans refuse to help, and SkyClan departs.  I like this final scene, but I’d probably enjoy it more had I not already read it in the prologue to Firestar’s Quest.

Tigerclaw’s Fury

This one, set during the first arc, follows everyone’s favorite dead evil (relation) Tigerclaw/star.  Tigerclaw, deputy of ThunderClan, is exiled from ThunderClan after staging an attack on his own camp and attempting to assassinate his clan leader Bluestar.  Tigerclaw, with the guidance of an evil voice in his head, reforms his band of loyal followers and begins aiding ShadowClan, who is suffering from a bout of the plague.  Tigerclaw and his followers (many of whom are former ShadowClan cats) are invited to live with ShadowClan permanently.  When ShadowClan’s leader conveniently dies without a deputy, one of Tigerclaw’s followers fakes an omen that gets Tigerclaw declared as the new leader of ShadowClan as Tigerstar.

This one is interesting for a few reasons.  I don’t believe we’ve ever had a Tigerstar PoV before so it’s nice to see inside his head for once.  How Tigerstar became leader of ShadowClan is also an inherently more interesting concept to me than any of the prior novellas.  The evil voice in Tigerstar’s head turns out to be none other than…Mapleshade!  Another great appearance from our girlboss.  Overall, a solid novella.

Leafpool’s Wish

This one follows Leafpool between the second and third arc.  Leafpool realizes that she’s pregnant and freaks out due to the whole “medicine cats are supposed to be celibate” thing.  She talks with fellow medicine cat code-breaker Yellowfang in StarClan who tells her to figure it out.  Leafpool informs her sister Squirrelflight of the situation and asks her to raise her kits as her own, but Squirrelflight refuses until Yellowfang appears to her and tells her she’ll never be able to have kits of her own. Squirrelflight and Leafpool leave camp under the pretense of going on a journey, Leafpool births the protagonists of Power of Three, and they return to camp with Squirrelflight claiming the three as hers.

This one is okay.  By far the most interesting story beat is Yellowfang telling Squirrelflight that she will never have kits of her own – later, Leafpool points out that StarClan virtually never makes such explicit predictions about the future, to which Yellowfang admits that she was lying.  I like this plot point – on one hand it’s obvious Squirrelflight raising the kits is the best possible outcome, but on the other hand manipulating her into it by making her think she’s infertile is a messed-up thing to do. 

There’s also a scene where Leafpool’s Forbidden Romance partner Crowfeather shows up and practically begs her to come back, but she refuses.  This is interesting because of its implications for the timeline. In Power of Three, shortly after being apprenticed, Jaypaw encounters Breezepaw/pelt, who is Crowfeather’s son through a WindClan mate.  The fact that Breezepaw is an apprentice shortly after Jaypaw is apprenticed implies that they were born at roughly the same time, which in turn implies that 1. Crowfeather found a new mate basically immediately after ending things with Leafpool, and therefore 2. Crowfeather’s new mate is likely already pregnant with Breezepaw when he’s begging Leafpool to resume their Forbidden Romance.  What a jerk.

Dovewing’s Silence

This novella acts as an epilogue to Omen of the Stars and is primarily focused on the cats of ThunderClan grieving for those lost in the battle with the Dark Forest.  Paralleling the loss of their clanmates, the Three have also lost their superpowers, as since the Dark Forest has been defeated, they no longer have any need for them.  Another plot of this novella is the re-integration of those cats who trained in the Dark Forest into the clan; although all of the surviving Dark Forest-trained cats switched sides during the battle and fought against the Dark Forest (except Breezepelt) their clanmates are reluctant to trust them, for obvious reasons, but this is resolved after they demonstrate suitable heroism by fighting off an injured fox.

I like this novella.  I like the exploration of the distrust towards those cats who trained in the Dark Forest – it’s the kind of thing that would probably get exhausting if it was used as a plot in a Super Edition or full arc, but it works well in novella form.  I think Breezepelt got off way too easy; the guy seems to feel no remorse about fighting against the clans in the Dark Forest battle, but WindClan needs warriors and all the other Dark Forest-trained cats were pardoned so I guess we have to just overlook his obvious betrayal.  Purdy is great in this one, too – then again, he’s great everywhere, so maybe it’s just the fact that he plays a more prominent role in this novella than he tends to in the regular series. Also, what in the world is up with the Dovewing/Bumblestripe/Tigerheart love triangle? I thought Omen of the Stars ended with Dovewing pretty conclusively on #TeamTigerheart, but for some reason in this novella she seems to be back on #TeamBumblestripe. Don’t tell me we’re going to have another arc of this nonsense…

Closing Thoughts

Overall, a bit of a mixed bag for this first batch of novellas.  I think because they’re so short, the quality of a novella is going to depend greatly on how interesting the premise is, and some premises are clearly way more interesting than others.