[Other Fandoms] Warrior Cats Club!

[Flowerchild]

Warriors is a series of novels by Erin Hunter that began with 2003's Into The Wild. It has gone on to spawn... a lot of sequels. Like six series plus a ton of spinoffs worth of sequels.

A couple of us have been talking about the series lately and thinking about re-reading it, so I'm making this thread to coordinate and talk about the series in general! If you're a fan, sign up with the form below~

Username:
Clan:
How far are you in the series:

---

Members

ThunderClan

• Dusk

ShadowClan

• Dawn
• Spottedfirestar

RiverClan

• Flowerchild

WindClan

• alisaie

 

[alisaie]

Username: alisaie
Clan: Windclan
How far are you in the series: I read the first series and a number of the super edition books. Might see about rereading the first series and continuing on from there!

I found two of the second series and the field guide in my house. i think the first series is in the closet but i've yet to dig them up still.

 

[Flowerchild]

Yes do a reread! I've been on a binge reread this week while waiting for the club to get approved, I'm up to series 4, which also happens to be my favourite one so far. Once I finish this series it'll be uncharted waters as I've never read past 4.

 

[Dusk]

Username: Dusk
Clan: I'm gonna be that basic bitch and choose ThunderClan
How far are you in the series: Long ago when I was a tween I read series 1 and 2 as well as a few of the supereditions and some of the manga I think? I am planning to do a reread as well as dive into the books I have missed over the years.

 

[Flowerchild]

so i've read 20+ warriors books this week and i've come to the conclusion that there are literally only two problems in the warriors universe

- cats from different clans falling in love
- tigerstar

 

[pkmin3033]

Username: Dawn
Clan: Place of No Stars ShadowClan
How far are you in the series: I have read up to series 5 (at which point I lost the will to live, because god it was like reading an entire series of Jayfeather's painfully boring visions) and many of the specials/super editions! I'm waiting for The Broken Code to finish before I read through those books, although I have been keeping up with the spoilers because I've wanted to know which direction the franchise was going to move in after series four's rather decisive end of the arc that had been going since the first series.

Also Heavystep is the best name for a cat. Imagine the suffering his mother must have gone through giving birth to him to name him "Heavykit" xDD

Add "StarClan's selection process" to the list of problems with the Warriors universe. Broken Code spoilers below, because I have to talk about this with someone who will understand what the hell I'm talking about.

Spoiler:

I don't know whether I should laugh or just shake my head in dismay that Ashfur is so much of an incel that not even death and getting into StarClan is enough to get him to stop being an incel. I mean, it was pretty obvious early on that he was Bramblestar's imposter, but I was hoping he had better motivation for his actions than just trying to get it on with Squirrelflight again. I honestly think I could understand him leaving StarClan because he never really had many friends whilst he was alive, and he also had to share space with Hollyleaf, who definitely should NOT have gotten into StarClan after committing cold-blooded murder.

Whilst StarClan has always been loosely defined in the series as the place good cats go when they die, there have been some very questionable inclusions to their ranks, and Hollyleaf is the biggest offender...especially since Mapleshade is in The Place Of No Stars, and her backstory justifies her actions in almost exactly the same way as Hollyleaf's apparently justify hers. Hell, Mapleshade's circumstances are downright tragic; you would think that after losing her kits and being shunned by her clan in life, they'd at least show her some compassion in death. Who even decides these things? If Ashfur were doing things because of StarClan's messed-up value judgement system, I think he'd make a pretty great character - a sympathetic villain to replace the original Tigerstar, murdered without any real cause and forced to endure spending his afterlife with his murderer to boot. But...nope, he's being an incel about Squirrelflight. Again. Siiiigh.

 

[Flowerchild]

Username: Dawn
Clan: Place of No Stars ShadowClan
How far are you in the series: I have read up to series 5 (at which point I lost the will to live, because god it was like reading an entire series of Jayfeather's painfully boring visions) and many of the specials/super editions! I'm waiting for The Broken Code to finish before I read through those books, although I have been keeping up with the spoilers because I've wanted to know which direction the franchise was going to move in after series four's rather decisive end of the arc that had been going since the first series.

Also Heavystep is the best name for a cat. Imagine the suffering his mother must have gone through giving birth to him to name him "Heavykit" xDD

Add "StarClan's selection process" to the list of problems with the Warriors universe. Broken Code spoilers below, because I have to talk about this with someone who will understand what the hell I'm talking about.

omg welcome to club

i haven't read broken code yet but I'm pretty sure I have spoiled myself on a couple things from it. But I'm very excited to get to it! I'm halfway through Vision of Shadows now and man is it weird reading warriors books and not having it just be a re-read like the first four series were. Also Needletail got robbed she shoulda been a POV character~

 

[pkmin3033]

I actually read it all for the first time a couple of years ago, mostly on commutes to/from work at Bella's recommendation, haha. I read a lot of high fantasy so it was nice to take a break and pick up something a little more easygoing, yet still full of drama, even if it is mostly the same drama (seriously, if they don't want cross-clan relationships, they should patrol their damn borders properly! xD) just with different cats. tbh the only things I didn't like were Jayfeather's tedious flashbacks and anything to do with the Tribe. The stuff with SkyClan was interesting! There's always a forgotten clan, haha. I also like the new Tigerstar as a character, too - he's kinda what the original Tigerstar would have been, if he'd been treated differently.

 

[Flowerchild]

I actually read it all for the first time a couple of years ago, mostly on commutes to/from work at Bella's recommendation, haha. I read a lot of high fantasy so it was nice to take a break and pick up something a little more easygoing, yet still full of drama, even if it is mostly the same drama (seriously, if they don't want cross-clan relationships, they should patrol their damn borders properly! xD) just with different cats. tbh the only things I didn't like were Jayfeather's tedious flashbacks and anything to do with the Tribe. The stuff with SkyClan was interesting! There's always a forgotten clan, haha. I also like the new Tigerstar as a character, too - he's kinda what the original Tigerstar would have been, if he'd been treated differently.

I found out the new Tigerstar was gonna be a thing and now the phrase "ShadowClan announces Tigerstar 2" lives in my head rent free.

Also I really like Jayfeather, he and Cinderpelt are my fav characters (though Needletail might be up there now as of starting S5). But yeah the way the great storm tied into tribe stuff, ancient cat stuff, etc was definitely a little exhausting to go through all the flashbacks.

 

[pkmin3033]

Oh, I don't mind Jayfeather as a character - he's definitely the best of the three siblings; Lionblaze is waaaay too full of himself, and Hollyleaf in no way belongs in StarClan - because he's a moody little git, I just didn't like the way his character arc played out at times. Outside of SkyClan (and even then only if you read the novellas and super editions) I don't think worldbuilding is this franchise's strong suit, haha. Every time focus goes away from the clan drama my eyes start to glaze over a bit.

I'm very fond of Mistystar as well! RiverClan might as well be called MistyClan at this point, she's been around for ages. Even though she hasn't featured all that prominently, it's going to be sad when she eventually dies...and I expect it'll spark more leadership drama in RiverClan. Given how often clans change leadership, it's nice that at least one clan has some continuity to it though.

One character I feel was kinda under-utilised was Hawkfrost, though. It felt like he just...went waay too quickly. I got the same sense of anticlimax from his death that I did from Tigerstar's...both times, for both of them. It would have been interesting if they'd kept him around for longer, the same way Mothwing is still around.

Also FFS when is Sol coming back already.

 

[Flowerchild]

Oh man Hollyleaf okay can I just vent something I've been thinking about during my re-read

Spoiler: Spoilers up to end of series 4

This series really needs an interesting charismatic villain who has a good reason for the way they act. And maybe that'll be what (VILLAIN FROM BROKEN CODE THAT I SPOILED MYSELF ON) will be, I can't say yet. But like, every time there's an evil cat they're either an irredeemable psychopath (Tigerstar, Hawkfrost, Darktail) or seem briefly evil only to get redeemed almost immediately (Hollyleaf, Ivypool, couple others). Like Hollyleaf killed Ashfur and then tried to get Leafpool to kill herself before running away. That could have been a really interesting foundation for her to come back hating the clans and actually have a former main character like, join the Dark Forest because her formerly rigid sense of the warrior code had been destroyed. But no she's just back and totally fine and becomes a good guy again. I was so let down.

 

[pkmin3033]

Agreed. tbh though the series already has that in Mapleshade - she's been manipulating cats both good and evil behind the scenes since she died, both for better (Crookedstar) and worse (Tigerstar I), but her backstory in Mapleshade's Vengeance is awful for her, and there are still echoes of that in her personality in some of the things she says, even if she is a little too consumed with vengeance for it to be healthy. Like, she deserves to be in the Dark Forest by now, but initially her reaction to losing her kits wasn't really much worse than Hollyleaf's little drama. She has the potential to be a really good villain if she's given a little more attention going forward.

Spoiler: Broken Code things kinda

I really want Mapleshade to get a new body at the end of Broken Code and go undetected - god, imagine if she took Mistystar's body at the end of her lifespan and nobody noticed, making her the leader of the Clan that her kit's father, Appledusk, came from. She's one of the older Dark Forest cats so nobody would remember who she was, and if nobody knew Mistystar didn't have any lives left...the havok she could wreak in that position. It almost certainly won't happen, and I fully expect her to get killed for a second time along with Incelfur (and god, if he comes back AGAIN as some form of ghost to try and win over Squirrelflight I will riot xD) but...well, she's been there since the start, and she's had a lot of influence. The potential is there.

 

[Flowerchild]

(fyi titled spoilers are [spoilertitle],

Spoiler: something

won't work)

I have not read Mapleshade's Vengeance but now i gotta

 

[pkmin3033]

(sorry I was hoping I'd edited that quick enough after seeing it didn't work and checking how you'd done it =x)

I'd recommend it, it's one of the better novellas imo! Crookedstar's Promise is probably my favourite super edition of the ones I've read thus far, too. Honestly most of Mapleshade's activities are in the novellas and super editions, she's never been a major source of antagonism in the main series...outside of that one moment in Omen of the Stars, anyway.

 

[Dusk]

Official site clan quiz assigned me into SkyClan which is basically ThunderClan but outcast.
https://warriorcats.com/content/quiz/which-clan-do-you-belong-to

 

[Flowerchild]

omg i got shadowclan

 

[pkmin3033]

ShadowClan for me as well, which I am totally fine with...there is even a ShadowClan leader called Dawnstar xD

 

[Flowerchild]

waiting for Duckstar to become a thing pls erin hunter

 

[pkmin3033]

There was a ThunderClan medicine cat called Goosefeather so it's possible! I just hope the cat is called Duckfeather and not Duckfoot before becoming leader because that would be extremely cruel xD

 

[Flowerchild]

Just finished Vision of Shadows! I liked it a lot, but honestly it was a very weird de-escalation from the last series. Not only that but the first 3 books with The Kin (genuinely creepy name btw, wish they'd leaned into that more) are way more action packed and feel like a series finale, whereas the last 3 are just day to day clan politics.

Honestly this would have fit in way better tonally between series 1 and 2, because betrayal and clan politics was a bigger part of series 1, and then series 2 is when they began weaving in the Dark Forest stuff.

Very excited to start Broken Code though