Book Review: Warriors Arc 4: Omen of the Stars by Erin Hunter

I’m very well aware that I’ve already reviewed this arc in the past. I tried out a new reviewing format for that series, different from the ones I’d used for other arcs I’d reviewed in the past. However, after looking back at it, this new format just doesn’t work for me. I prefer to first go over each book separately before judging the whole series. So, today, I’ll be re-reviewing this series in my old format! I’m re-reading each book for this review, so maybe I even come to some new opinions. This is Warriors arc four: Omen of the Stars. Spoilers ahead.

Book One: The Fourth Apprentice

In this first book we are reunited with Jayfeather and Lionblaze, and we also soon meet the third cat of the prophecy: Dovepaw, whose power is being able to sense faraway things. When the lake dries up, a patrol consisting of cats of each Clan, Dovepaw and Lionblaze included, sets out on a journey to find the source of their problems. While Jayfeather stays behind, he gets confronted by a murderous Breezepelt.

This is a far-from-perfect start to this arc, regardless of what my thoughts on later books will be. It really feels like filler for now, with only Dovepaw’s power bits being really relevant later on. The water problem is unique to this book only and it’s solved after just this book. It wasn’t a particularly exciting startup for this fourth arc. But I did at least like it better than the first book of Power of Three: The Sight.

Lionpaw and Jayfeather are just characters I cannot really get into. I did like Dovepaw and related to her quite a bit, and also Ivypaw feels like she’ll be an interesting character once we get to her POV in later books. The book also does feel like it drags a bit, so that pacing wasn’t the best.

 I don’t think this was a great book, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Maybe book two will be better.

Rating: 3/5

Book Two: Fading Echoes

In book two we continue our journey as we see things also from Ivypaw’s point of view. The jealous sister of Dovewing starts training with the Dark Forest and falls under manipulation of Hawkfrost and Tigerstar. The two sisters start to fall apart further and further, and tensions between Clans are rising, which all climaxes in a border battle where two cats lose their lives.

This one was definitely a step up from book one. I felt that the story didn’t drag as much and there was much more of a point to everything. This is where it felt like the arc really started off, not The Fourth Apprentice.

I still really like Dovepaw. I know that she makes some very obvious mistakes, but I like her all the more for it. Ivypaw’s POV was also really interesting and enjoyable. I loved seeing the Dark Forest through her point of view. I still don’t care much for Lionblaze or Jayfeather, but at least they aren’t dislikable.

While this isn’t quite what I wanted from this series yet, I feel like it is at least a proper setup for the rest of the arc, unlike book one. I look forward to seeing where things head in the next book.

Rating: 4/5

Book Three: Night Whispers

In Night Whispers, the gap between ThunderClan and ShadowClan grows even more. The Dark Forest is preparing for war more than ever, recruiting many live cats from the Clans by visiting them through their dreams. StarClan also keeps telling the medicine cats to put their own Clans first. Nothing seems to really be going well.

This one I may even more enjoy than the last. Dovepaw and Ivypaw, despite their arguments, finally make amends. Ivypaw also shows great dedication by deciding to spy on the Dark Forest. We also got a new POV: Flametail from ShadowClan, which I really enjoyed. It’s always great to get a non-ThunderClan POV in Warriors, especially when it is in the main series books. Flametail was a fun character to read, and I felt really sad when he died just after I’d gotten attached to him.

One thing I didn’t really like reading about was Lionblaze’s relationship drama with Cinderheart. It makes sense with her not wanting to be mates with him if he keeps launching himself into battle, but after she learns he’s unbeatable she just turns on him because of his destiny, which I just don’t really get? Firestar had a great destiny, yet he had a mate just fine. Brambleclaw, also prophesied, and Squirrelflight were great mates until they broke up. So what is the big deal?

The stakes also keep getting bigger and bigger. I definitely felt the anticipation for what’s going to happen next, especially with the medicine cats and their ancestors telling them to only stick to their own Clan.

Overall, I’d say this is the best book of the arc so far.  I feel like the only thing really dragging it down was Lionheart’s and Cinderheart’s drama, otherwise it was a great read.

Rating: 4/5

Book Four: Sign of the Moon

We continue our journey in Sign of the Moon, where the Jayfeather travels to the Tribe of Rushing Water once more to appoint a new leader after their old one became dying and lost faith in the Tribe of Endless Hunting.

This one was kind of a downer for me. After going strong for two books straight, this one just felt utterly lacking. Not a lot happens in it, it’s just another traveling book and some boring goings ons with the Tribe that really don’t matter that much to the main arc of beating the Dark Forest. Aside from Jayfeather traveling back in time once more and receiving the vision that there’ll be a fourth cat to help out with the prophecy, there aren't too many major things happening here.

I did like some aspects, such as the romance that couldn’t be between Jayfeather and Half Moon, although I’ll probably never get used to time traveling cats.  Ivypool and Dovewing were still my favorite characters, so their scenes were always a joy to read.

However, other than that, this book felt like a bit of a detour compared to what happens in the next ones. I don’t hate it or anything, it was decent. Just not really on par with how the arc has been going so far.

Rating: 3/5

Book Five: The Forgotten Warrior

Now, in The Forgotten Warrior, tensions between the Clans seem to really rise. Each Clan truly seems to be there for themselves only. Jayfeather gets accused of murdering Flametail, Hollyleaf returns, and the Dark Forest is in its final days before unleashing their dark plans.

This one was a huge step up from the last one. Whereas Sign of the Moon felt like the stakes were pretty low and not much was happening, this one was the opposite. We have things going on that actually have to do with the main arc. Flametail’s death finally gets addressed. The Clans have never had this strained a relationship before. You really just feel the anticipation as the Dark Forest is winning over more and more cats to their sides and know that the final battle is nearing.

What can I say? I really liked this book, I liked the characters (even Jayfeather this time), the divisiveness that even occurs within StarClan, anticipation, the fear of losing everything that the Clans have stood for for so long. It’s just a great buildup to the final book. One thing I didn’t care much about still is Cinderheart’s whole inner conflict, but other than that, it was great.

Rating: 4/5

Book Six: The Last Hope

Things finally come to a close in The Last Hope. The fourth cat has been found by our three heroes after a long journey. The final battle is about to begin. It’s all or nothing, and the Clans, living and dead, will have to unite in order to stand against the forces of the Dark Forest.

This is probably my favorite book of the arc. Is it perfect? No. But it pretty much answered the expectations book five set for me. The quest for the fourth cat. The bringing together of both StarClan and the living Clans. Heck, I even kind of like the Cinderheart conflict resolving by her choosing the life of a Warrior and Cinderpelt leaving her behind.

The fourth cat being Firestar was unfortunately spoiled for me, but it still made for a satisfying conclusion, at least to me. It’s his real final moment to shine while alive in this book, and he deserves it, as the series first protagonist. That’s not to say that Hollyleaf or Ivypool didn’t deserve to be the fourth, but I am pleased with the Firestar conclusion to this matter.

The final battle was every inch as epic as you could imagine. Forces, alive and dead, fight for everything they’ve ever lived for. Cats die left and right. Hollyleaf unfortunately meets her end. And of course, there’s the final showdown between Tigerstar and Firestar that was built up from the very first arc. It’s maybe a bit short, but nonetheless impactful, as both die in the final fight.

Are there negatives? Oh, definitely. For example, I feel that the powers of the Three (plus one) were not really used all that much in the final battle. They were there, but they didn’t feel as vital as Power of Three and Omen of the Stars built them up to be in the final climax. I also feel that we didn’t really get enough closure between Tigerheart and Dovewing, and I really don’t like Thistleclaw getting away in hindsight, with him being a confirmed pedophile and all.

Still, despite these lower points, I enjoyed this book more than any of the others in the arc, so it at least scores very well for my enjoyment and the elements that did actually really work.

Rating: 4/5

Final Thoughts

While I do understand where many people are coming from saying that Omen of the Stars is a bad arc, it just didn’t overall feel like that for me. Yes, the first and fourth books weren’t as strong as the rest, but I still felt that this was a good conclusion to this conflict that spanned two arcs. It’s far from perfect, but it was overall enjoyable and had more positives than negatives for me.

I still do believe what I said in my Power of Three review when I said that I thought it would’ve been better if these two arcs had been smashed into one, as they do really feel like they drag things out sometimes (especially in Power of Three), but the payoff in the final book was worth it. At least, to me.

It’s still by a long shot not as consistently good as the first Warriors arc, but I’d say that if you managed to get through the slog that is Power of Three, you definitely deserve to see the payoff it was (very slowly) building towards. Out of the arcs I’ve reviewed so far, this one is probably my second favorite, followed by The New Prophecy in third place and Power of Three at the fourth.

See you in the next Warriors review!