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…