Let's return to the Bravelands! Spoilers ahead!
Thorn has figured out who is the culprit behind the murders in Brightforest Troop: none other than Stinger. Not only that, but a new Great Parent is revealed: the temperamental rhinoceros Stronghide now rules supreme, egging on each species to fight the other. Finally, Fearless must now find a way to survive in Titanpride under the rule of his father's murderer.
Definitely a much stronger installment than the last. It's still not groundbreaking, but I had so much more fun reading this and honestly often times couldn't tell where it was going, which is always a plus.
The characters are still varying, but I liked them better here than in the last book. I feel like Fearless and Thorn were a bit too much of a unit last book, with both having similar personalities. That's still kind of the case here, but with them not constantly hanging out together it's less obvious. Sky isn't all that interesting herself, either, but at least we get a major revelation regarding her in this book: she is the current temporary host of the Great Spirit before it'll move on to its next residence. Not only that, but Sky also has to be the one to find the correct host for the Great Spirit to pass to, which is a big deal.
I also felt really bad for Sky when Moon died. She herself doesn't have a very defined personality outside of being slightly shy, but her bond with Moon was a very defining characteristic of her. So when he died I definitely felt for her.
But the real treat when it comes to characters in this book is the main Big Bad himself: Stinger. He's not your average Erin Hunter villain, with most being a bombastic "kill everyone who is in my way" villain. Stinger, on the other hand, is a quiet master manipulator who knows exactly how to play his cards in any given situation so far. Each time Thorn thinks he's found a way to expose the evil baboon for his deeds, Stinger is always five steps ahead of him, even manipulating Thorn's former best friends Mud and Fearless against him, to the point that Fearless is about to execute him at the end, leaving us at a cliffhanger.
I can not express enough how much of a breath of fresh air this is after so many same-y Erin Hunter villains. Brokenstar, Tigerstar, Hawkfrost, Blade, Slash, One Eye and Scourge, for example, all fall into these categories. And there's no doubt more since there's so many Erin Hunter books. Remember, I still have to read quite a bit of Seekers and Bravelands, plus catch up on Bamboo Kingdom. I guess that in a way Stinger feels similar to the Warriors villain Sol or Survivors villainess Breeze, however Stinger is by far the best-executed example. I always found Sol to be very underwhelming after his initial buildup, and Breeze lost all respect I had for her as an antagonistic force once she started monologueing like a Saturday-morning cartoon villain.
So honestly, I'm very glad that for once, we get a memorable manipulative villain who is always five steps ahead. Of course, they can still ruin him in later books. Breeze was a great villain until she revealed herself to Storm, after all. But so far Stinger is by far my favorite villain in any Erin Hunter book.
The story is also slowly taking on more of a plot. It's still not quite there yet, but it's at least no longer plotless as the first book was. All of our main characters have a clear, defined goal now. For Thorn: exposing Stinger; for Sky: laying her grandmother to rest and finding the next incarnation of the Great Parent; for Fearless: growing strong until he can fight Titan to avenge his father's death.
So overall I'm really happy with this book. Is it perfect? No, but I had such a blast reading it I honestly can't wait to get to the rest of the series.
Rating: 4.5/5
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