Customer Reviews

Warriors Box Set: Volumes 1 to 6

5 star:		(89)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book series tells the saga of a domestic cat named Rusty (a kittypet) who choses to join the hidden, heroic world of the Forest Clans; wild cats who follow a "warrior code" of honor and loyalty to clan. This is the tale (tail?) as Rusty journeys from being a soft "kittypet" to being the fierce, just, wise, and loyal warrior known as Fireheart. And its almost, almost a fantastic series. But...

And if you are a young reader, well this is a review by an old grumpy Elder Cat who complains how Apprentices always caught fatter rabbits back when he was a Warrior! And I might give some plot away below, though I try not to. So maybe you should stop reading this review, young Apprentice, and go patrol the Clan Borders instead!

So the positive:
First the storyline is about clans of wild cats and their fierce but honorable warrior code, so I'm hooked. And the concept of the cats is very well done. These are thinking feeling cats, and not people in cat bodies. The characters act and think and behave (mostly) in cat-believable ways. Fighting is by tooth and claw; talking is by meows and purrs, growls and hisses; affection is rubbing shoulders, touching noses, and shared grooming. These are cats! The created world, and virtually all the characters, are quite believable, and for that the authors should be praised. Also, there is often quite a bit of emotional nuance to the relationships between the cats, and the authors often do a fine job of portraying love, and loss, and conflicted emotions, with nuance and grace. So there is much to be praised here.

But:
Given the books are for a fairly young audience, I'd argue they start out great and appropriate, but by the final book or so are far too violent and dismal. The final book of the series, "The Darkest Hour" is filled with scenes literally straight out of Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now. I keep expecting the main antagonist to slowly rub his head and say to the hero, Fireheart, "you're just an errand boy sent by grocers to collect a bill." Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of slaughter-em-up (I'll challenge anyone to a Jason-vs-Freddy viewathon!), but I thought that by the last third of the series, the authors couldn't seem to find a way to heighten plot tension other than by upping the body/kitty count every few pages.

Finally, I would have written a completely different final book and a half to the series, and feel the series took some plot twists with an additional villain (or two or three or..) that just wasn't necessary, wasn't particularly believable, and detracted from the story arc. But I'm not the author(s), so the final books are as they are.

But given the final book that was written, it simply ends too abruptly. Imagine reading Tolkien, and having the book end with Frodo and Sam sitting on the rock in the middle of the lava field. Sure the destruction of the One Ring is the logical culmination of Lord of the rings, so who cares about the tiny details of who actually lives or dies. The One Ring is gone, and the individual lives of Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, Pippin, the Elves, all just trivia, so no need to weave the last threads, right? Wrong. One needs those final chapters. Or imagine Star Wars ending when Luke blows up the Death Star. Leia, Chewy, Han, dead or alive, doesn't matter, death star is gone! Roll Credits. In general, one needs and expects those last few chapters or scenes to sort out the consequences of a story's Epic Battle.

But after 1800 pages of The Warriors(6 books, 300 pages each), the authors fail to deliver the final "Consequences" scene. There is of course the required Epic Battle at the end. But the aftermath is just not written beyond a few brief lines. One more chapter, a mere 5 -10 pages, could have salvaged the entire series.

Ah well. I'd like to recommend the books. The first 3 or 4 books, I'd easily give 4 stars. And on my rating scale, a 2 isn't terrible, and even then this is a high 2, almost 3. There's tons positive about the series and other reviews show that young readers are very enthusiastic about the books. But in the end I'd think twice about recommending this series to my child. Too much kitty carnage, not enough thought as to why.

"Today is a good day to die, but tomorrow is better. Unless, those doing the dying are six foot, mutated chipmunks with blaster rifles. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I should start at the beginning. If you ask me, the end makes a fine beginning. Things come together and things fall apart, and the fur flies a little easier with the help of a Rolling Thunderä shotgun, as long as that fur isn't mine, and I'm the one pulling the trigger. Yep, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, but I ain't Mr. Rogers."

"But, I should introduce myself, you can call me Ishmael. Just kidding, bit of classical allusion there. Call me Hobo, warrior, poet, and one fine-looking feline, that's me. See, all cats are warriors, at least at heart, and that's why I'm the best one to introduce the series, Warriors."

Warriors is a book series first published in 2003 by Kate Cary and Cherith Baldry, under the pen name Erin Hunter, and introduced to me by cat and book lover Billy Waltz. The second series was written under the title Warriors: The New Prophecy. The third series, The Power of Three, and two more books, Firestar's Quest and Secrets of the Clans, are coming in 2007.

The series starts off with Into the Wild and a young "kitty pet"(house cat) name Rusty who yearns for adventure and has vivid dreams of the wilds. He meets a young feral cat, and this meeting leads to a chance to join a clan of wild cats called Thunderclan. He's renamed Firepaw and becomes an apprentice warrior. He finds himself in the middle of a tribal war with three other clans who coexist and compete for food and resources.

Allegiances are constantly shifting among the clans of warrior cats that roam the forest. With tensions so delicately balanced, former friends can become enemies overnight, and some cats are willing to kill to get what they want. Our young protagonist quickly moves from apprentice to warrior, to second-in-command, to leader of his clan. He must learn wisdom, deal with betrayal, and ultimately save his clan and the forest way of life.

The author has created an intriguing world with an intricate structure and mythology. There is intrigue, themes of loyalty, friendship and death, and an engaging young hero. The difficult life of a feral cat is described in some detail. (Oct. 16 is national feral cat day. Check out www.nationalferalcatday.org ) The cats, anthropomorphism aside, are true to their feline nature, which should delight cat and animal lovers alike. There is some violence. Some characters are killed through fighting and natural disasters, and there is treachery, betrayal and traitors, and even murder among the cats and clans, though it is crucial to the plot and not excessive.

Overall, I believe readers will find a fun-to-read series of books. Though not as elegantly written as Brian Jacques' Redwall series. The superb storytelling drew me into a realm so vivid that it could almost be real and I really came to care about the characters I found myself staying up late, with the old flashlight under the cover trick, to finish the books, and that Sand Storm sounds like a babe. Wonder what she's doing Saturday night? Hey, this cat is a fighter and a lover....

Author of "Hobo Finds A Home" editor "Of A Predatory Heart"

To begin with I am not one of those idiots that think review means synopsis. I am not going to write the story over again like some people feel they must. This is a real review to help you decide on a purchase.

Now I will get down from my soapbox.

I HATE cats. They are stupid, nasty and a total waste of fur and oxygen. However, my granddaughter (10 years old) told me that "Warriors" was her favorite series and asked me to read it. What do you do when a grandchild wants you to do something? Why you do it, of course.

I started this series with great trepidation. I did not start it with an open mind. I didn't want to read something that I had already decided I would not like. I was soooo wrong! This series is excellent and before I go any farther I will not hesitate to recommend it to anyone. I am now into the sixth book of "The New Prophecy" and find that I can not put it down.

In other reviews I read that there are some continuity errors and that is true. (Eye colors change, the sun rises and in the next paragraph it is so dark that it is hard to see, etc...) But if you overlook these trivialities you will be entranced. You will enter a fictional world that will have you looking forward, not only to the next page or next book but to the next series. I wish I could read faster but find myself terrified that I will read too quickly and it will all be over too soon.

The series has political intrigue, adventure, romance, suspense, and any other words of which you can think. The authors do not hesitate to kill off a major character and, sometimes, very violently. However, it is not too violent for children and I feel as if it will help some of them accept death in the real world.

Don't get me wrong. I still hate cats but this series is very good and you will not go wrong buying it for a gift for a child or for something to read to a child at bed time.

Oh yeah, adults will love it too!

This series of books have changed our sons reading class. He and all his little buddies are staying in one resess a day to read. He has even started a Warrior book club. They will all exceed there AR points goals this year. My son will triple his points this year over last. Warriors is a fun read for me too. My son and I talk about the cats and there adventures daily. We even renamed our cat 'Sunpaw' even though she is just a kittypet.

My wife and I are very pleased to watch his love of reading grow. Thanks Erin Hunters!

This set is so popular with the sixth graders I teach that students are often checking to find out if the next book in the series is available for checkout. Both boys and girls enjoy this series.

My daughter is ten years old and THIS is the series that I will always remembered broke through the barrier. She always had to read for her AR goals, but it wasn't until this series that she discovered that reading was fun! After watching her read book after book, upset that the next installment was checked out at the library, I bought her the series.

It was well worth the money! She talked me into reading the books and I'm enjoying them as much as she is. I like how they take off immediately where the last one left off so that you don't miss a minute of your favorite kitty warriors.

I purchased this series for my 9 year old grandson..He absolutely loved it and zoomed through the whole set. He is reading them again. His 13 year old brother enjoyed them just as much!

I bought these books for my 9 year old son. I began to read him to encourage him to join me. It turns out that at the age of 33 I really enjoyed the book. I enjoyed it so much I already read the set of 6.

I have read every book in all 4 series plus her special editions of Firehearts Quest, BlueStars Prophecy, and Skyclans Destiney. They are all well written and a compelling read. I always feel like tearing my hair out at the end of a new book because I have to wait for the next to come out. The paperback I bought all fell apart right away, you only get one reading out of them. This series is so good you will want to read again and again so I suggest spending a little extra for the hardback.

The story itself is written to where people of all age can enjoy. Kids like it because of the cats and fighting,while learning about honesty,loyalty,and integrity. Adults love it for the wonderful characters(Im a thunderclan supporter) and I will admit I cried and threw the book a few times.lol I hope this helps but I highly recommend any of the warriors books.

This is a great series of books. They are for ages 9-12. I am 69 and loved them. I have started my second set and have ordered the third set so I don't have to wait. These cats face all the problems and moral issues that people have, but they probably deal with them better. I do not feel dumbed down whatsoever reading these books. Great story line in each book.