Dawn of the Clans is the one of the Warriors arcs I look back on the fondest, especially the first three books. They came to me in a rough part of my life, just a few months after my depression diagnosis in 2015. The first three books really were something I held onto when I wanted to feel better, back when. So now, let's look at how the whole arc fares. Is it as good as I remember? Spoilers ahead.
Book One: The Sun Trail
In book one we meet the cats of the proto-Rushing Water Tribe, which is slowly starving to death. In order to survive, a group of cats splits off from the Tribe in order to look for new territories beyond the mountains. Gray Wing is one of the cats to go with them, but when they find their "promised land", things quickly go sour as his brother Clear Sky starts to hog territory all for himself.
I really like this book. Gray Wing, while a pretty standard protagonist, feels like a character I want to read more of, more so than Firestar for example. His relationships to the various characters are all interesting, particularly Clear Sky. It's sad to see these two brothers that were once so close grow apart this much. Heck, it even hurts to see how Jagged Peak and Clear Sky end their familial relationship, though their bond is not the central focus of the book.
That said... I'm not a big fan of Clear Sky as a villain/antagonist so far. The twist for him to suddenly want so much territory and take in so many cats just feels kind of weird. Yes, he lost his mate, but I fail to see how that suddenly makes him power-mad. He claims what he's doing is "for the good of his cats", but everyone with eyes can see that he has plenty of territory and that there's plenty of prey. It just feels weird. I feel like the only development for him that really makes sense is him rejecting his son after his second mate dies.
The journey from the mountains to the arc one territories also wasn't very tedious, like how it was in the second arc, which I was glad to see. It takes up a decent portion of the book, but unlike in The New Prophecy I wanted to keep reading.
I'm not too fond of the instalove Gray Wing and Clear Sky both seem to have for Storm. Warriors has had relationships like this before, but it just felt a bit too rushed here.
Overall a good book though, a strong start to the series!
Rating: 4/5
Book Two: Thunder Rising
In Thunder Rising we get a partially new POV, as we follow Thunder in his struggle whether to be loyal to his father, who initially rejected him and keeps greedily expanding his territory, and his uncle, who has so far raised him. Gray Wing meanwhile finds himself finally falling for Turtle Tail, and the two raise her kits together. All the while this is going on, Clear Sky is trying to claim more and more land for his group, and becomes a harsh leader who casts those he doesn't need aside.
I'd say this book was just decent in comparison to the first. While many of the strong aspects still prevail, so do its lesser qualities. For one, I didn't like the constant changing in leadership between Tall Shadow, Gray Wing and occasionally Wind (Runner) who'd try to exert herself. At first Tall Shadow gives the position to Gray Wing, then he has to retire because of his illness, etc. It just becomes a bit much.
I'm also still not fond of Clear Sky as a villain. He keeps claiming to love his cats, yet the moment they do something he doesn't like or aren't of any use to him, he just sends them away to die. Heck, he even kills a cat in this book with Misty being his victim. He's even accused of killing Bumble, though I don't particularly why he'd care to kill a kittypet, so he may not have been the one to kill her in particular. He even considers killing Misty's kits out of "mercy". He's just super fucked up if he thinks that what he's doing is out of the kindness of his heart. He's just being greedy and power-hungry, and it's very annoying, especially with Gray Wing constantly trying to excuse his brother when it's clear Clear Sky is a horrible person.
I did like Thunder's struggle of finding out where he belongs and trying to fit in with Clear Sky's cats. I also enjoyed Turtle Tail coming back and raising her kits with Gray Wing who, at last, sees that she truly loved him all along.
Not the strongest book, but pretty decent. Also, on a side note, is it just me, or does this cover look near-identical to the River of Fire one?
Rating: 3.5/5
Book Three: The First Battle
Out of the arc so far, this would have to be my favorite. I just love the politics between the two groups and while I'm still not too fond of the constant leader-shifting of the moor group (Thunder has been added to the list of potential leaders as well), the rest was an absolute joy to read.
This book also has the formal introduction of Tom, the asshole father of Turtle Tail's kits. While I'm not the fondest of the "get the kits back"-sidequest that he causes, it's still very satisfyingly to see them succeed in getting them back and see Lightning Tail's inventiveness. But, of course, it comes at a horrible loss: Turtle Tail bites the dust after being hit by a monster.
Then there's Clear Sky, who, of course, I have to go back to. This book reveals that fear has been Clear Sky's motivation all along. Do I buy it? Eh, maybe? I just think that if he really cared so much for his cats he'd only be more dedicated to protect them instead of sending them away the moment they outlive their usefulness to him. And, yes, he definitely was greedy. No amount of fear could've blinded him to the fact that they had plenty of prey, even after the fire. I'd understand if maybe it was leafbare and things were really hard on them, but it's (from what I can gather) either summer or fall and prey is plentiful. Also, Clear Sky just lets Tom steal the moor kits like it's nothing. And he killed Misty and Rainswept Flower, of course. He'll have to work hard in order to earn his redemption from me. Still, his POV was pretty interesting.
I'd say so far this is the highest point of the arc. Let's move on now!
Rating: 4/5
Then there's Clear Sky, who, of course, I have to go back to. This book reveals that fear has been Clear Sky's motivation all along. Do I buy it? Eh, maybe? I just think that if he really cared so much for his cats he'd only be more dedicated to protect them instead of sending them away the moment they outlive their usefulness to him. And, yes, he definitely was greedy. No amount of fear could've blinded him to the fact that they had plenty of prey, even after the fire. I'd understand if maybe it was leafbare and things were really hard on them, but it's (from what I can gather) either summer or fall and prey is plentiful. Also, Clear Sky just lets Tom steal the moor kits like it's nothing. And he killed Misty and Rainswept Flower, of course. He'll have to work hard in order to earn his redemption from me. Still, his POV was pretty interesting.
I'd say so far this is the highest point of the arc. Let's move on now!
Rating: 4/5
Book Four: The Blazing Star
In this book, a lot of cats and prey fall ill under a mysterious sickness that can only be cursed by an herb called the Blazing Star. Clear Sky, though trying to make amends, takes in a vicious rogue named One Eye, who later ends up betraying him and taking over his group. The cats must now unite to defeat this new enemy.
I have such mixed thoughts on The Blazing Star, always had. I used to really dislike it, then liked it, and now I'm mostly neutral? First things first, the villain in this kicks ass. One Eye is a bit of a standard villain, but he's just so ruthless that he's bound to instill fear in you, or at least for the characters. I honestly kind of wish he did even more damange so he could be even more intimidating. But for what we got, he's already pretty damn twisted.
The characters continue to grow and we're introduced to my least favorite cat this arc: Star Flower, the love interest for Thunder who ends up manipulating him for One Eye's benefits. I always hated the subplot that drove Thunder and Lightning Tail, two cats who are practically brothers, apart over something as petty as a she-cat. That said, I genuinely don't like Star Flower. She should've chosen between her father or the cat she loved, not try and go this sneaky half-and-half way. If I were Thunder I'd have chased her away from One Eye's body instantly.
Then there's Clear Sky. What can I say, I guess he's trying? In a way. He still fucks up miserably, though. In this book he claims he didn't know that in book three Tom was stealing moor kits, when of course he did. Heck, he didn't even seem regretful back then, and now he's even trying to lie to himself that he didn't know just to avoid a feeling of guilt. That's not being responsible, that's just more manipulative. Then he allows One Eye, a cat he knows is absolutely vicious, to attack a kit. Seriously, what's wrong with this cat (Clear Sky)? That's just so fucked up. Yes, he instantly regrets his actions, but the fact that he let it happen is telling enough. I honestly don't think he still deserves to be leader of the forest cats after all he did. Even now that he claims to have changed he keeps making stupid fuckups like this. I just really dislike his character, probably the most after Star Flower.
But that said, the threat of the sickness (worsened by One Eye keeping all the healing herbs) was very real, and I liked the development for Thunder (aside from the whole Star Flower aspect) and Gray Wing quite a bit. Also, Tom did one good thing before dying. Congratulations, you're still garbage, though.
A book I'm ultimately very mixed on due to the things I really like about it and the things I intensely dislike. So, yeah, mixed bag for this one.
Rating: 3/5
Then there's Clear Sky. What can I say, I guess he's trying? In a way. He still fucks up miserably, though. In this book he claims he didn't know that in book three Tom was stealing moor kits, when of course he did. Heck, he didn't even seem regretful back then, and now he's even trying to lie to himself that he didn't know just to avoid a feeling of guilt. That's not being responsible, that's just more manipulative. Then he allows One Eye, a cat he knows is absolutely vicious, to attack a kit. Seriously, what's wrong with this cat (Clear Sky)? That's just so fucked up. Yes, he instantly regrets his actions, but the fact that he let it happen is telling enough. I honestly don't think he still deserves to be leader of the forest cats after all he did. Even now that he claims to have changed he keeps making stupid fuckups like this. I just really dislike his character, probably the most after Star Flower.
But that said, the threat of the sickness (worsened by One Eye keeping all the healing herbs) was very real, and I liked the development for Thunder (aside from the whole Star Flower aspect) and Gray Wing quite a bit. Also, Tom did one good thing before dying. Congratulations, you're still garbage, though.
A book I'm ultimately very mixed on due to the things I really like about it and the things I intensely dislike. So, yeah, mixed bag for this one.
Rating: 3/5
Book Five: A Forest Divided
The cats are splitting up into different groups, causing dismay within Clear Sky, who is of the opinion that everyone should unite rather than go their own way. Meanwhile, one of One Eye's followers called Slash is preparing for war.
This was definitely the most insufferable book out of them all so far. Even the ones I liked less like The Blazing Star had some good elements in them, but this one just felt empty.
Clear Sky annoys me to no end and I really don't want to read his POV anymore. I was hoping for a strong redemption arc, but instead he still constantly tries to boss everyone around and refuses to listen to any advice he gets. He then get together with the other worst character, Star Flower. So I guess they're a happy little item of characters I can't stand. I wonder what their demon spawns will be like.
This book is just a lot of meandering around with not a lot of actual plot happening. The cats are establishing what would later become their Clans, yes, but it just doesn't feel very interesting. We're supposed to have this rising threat of Slash, but he barely has a presence and therefore doesn't really sound all that threatening. A lot of this book is just going back and forth between groups with cats switching which one they want to join or creating their own. Thunder goes on like a million side quests in this one.
Things finally got interesting when the mother of Clear Sky, Gray Wing and Jagged Peak arrived, and refused to forgive the former for his actions. This I really liked, finally we were getting some actual stakes and Clear Sky got some comeuppance (he has never really been formally punished for his deeds, has he?). But then this bullshit happens where Shaded Moss' spirit visits Quiet Rain and says that Clear Sky killing Rainswept Flower was meant to happen. Excuse me? Those were decisions he made on his own, not driven by proto-StarClan (which didn't even exist before after the Great Battle). No amount of divine intervention is going to erase the fact that he chose to attack Rainswept Flower and he chose to kill her. It wasn't an accidental kill, either. He did it on purpose. And now it gets excused with this bullshit excuse? I cringed when I read this part so much.
Then of course in the end Star Flower gets taken away by Slash's rogues and I literally could not care less about this conflict. Am I supposed to feel bad for Clear Sky? Because I absolutely do not. Yes, Star Flower's kits are innocent, but I can't bring myself to care about this conflict whatsoever. We just know too little about this villain and Star Flower has had too little of an emotional turnaround for me to actually bring up sympathy for her in this case.
Just a lame book in the series. I really, really hope that the last book steps up its game.
Rating: 2/5
Book Six: Path of Stars
Slash and his rogues are running rampant, having kidnapped cats from the groups and stealing prey wherever they can. The proto-Clan cats now must find a way to work together and chase them out permanently in order to live in peace.
This was quite the disappointment for a final book. Usually the last books are the most exciting out of the entire Warriors arc, but this just felt very toned down. There's a couple of instances with the group cats clashing with the rogues, in rescues for example, but overall there was no grand battle or anything. Heck, the climax is literally just another rescue action to get a missing cat back even after we already had one in the start of the book with Star Flower.
The characters I'm still not thrilled about. Okay, so, I genuinely like Gray Wing. Wind Runner can be great, I like Tall Shadow, etc. But there's still Star Flower, who I genuinely couldn't care less about, and of course, Clear Sky. Do I still hate him? In this book, I honestly found him to be the most bearable out of the rest of the arc. That doesn't mean I like him in the slightest, it just means he was at his "best" in this book. I hope he gets better in Moth Flight's Vision, because he's still a very obnoxious character.
Gray Wing being dying from his sickness (a form of asthma?) is obviously very sad and I felt so sad for Slate, who'll now have to raise her kits on her own, but it felt like a decent way to close off the arc. Gray Wing's sickness slowly impacting his health more and more has been well-built up, and I think this is a first time in the Warriors series where a main character POV character really dies (Hollyleaf's fakeout "death" in Power of Three doesn't count). It's sad to see him say goodbye, but it's a good way to round up the arc, especially when the Clans get named.
Still, it doesn't feel like it properly ended the conflict. Slash's rogues just kind of vanish after Black Ear gets retrieved by the group cats. The lack of a real payoff to this conflict is just really obnoxious. I feel that maybe it may be touched upon in Moth Flight's Vision, which takes place after this arc? Either way, for the ending of a six-book arc this felt disappointing. Slash wasn't a great villain, but he was still supposed to be our "big bad" for the past two books. Not getting any real end to this conflict is so disappointing.
Rating: 3/5
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, this arc had a really strong start but slowly became weaker and weaker as time went on. I loved the first three books, then after the mid-arc finale everything just somewhat went downhill. Even if The Blazing Star, a book I'm not particularly fond about, had a really great villain going for it, but the rest of the book plus the last two just went downhill too quickly. I don't care about some of these characters' conflict, particularly Clear Sky and Star Flower. Slash is a particularly weak villain with no interesting presence, even for Warriors standards. Heck, the last conflict with Slash and his rogues isn't even fully resolves by the end of this arc.
Do I recommend it? I'd say, pick up the first few books and at least read until book three. Perhaps try book four as well, but if you can't get into The Blazing Star, I don't recommend you read any further. It's really disappointing to see an arc start off so strongly and end with such disappointment.
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