Almost done with arc one! Spoilers ahead!
Thorn has now finally accepted his role as Great Father, however he is facing new conflicts with the golden wolves wreaking havoc among the Bravelands. Fearless is still determined to get his revenge on Titan all the while his pride won't cooperate, and Sky faces a conflict regarding her love for Rock.
This book is so far the weakest out of the entire first arc. It just feels like it drags. Honestly, I'm currently reading book six, and so far everything after book three feels more like an afterthought to meet a six-book quota rather than a whole continuous arc.
Book three ended pretty neatly, with most plot threats wrapped up. Sure, there was some room left open for more, but it overall would've been a good ending for the arc. Stinger is defeated, we know that we have a new Great Parent who'll likely do a good job, making Sky's quest fulfilled. The only thing that was really left open was Titan surviving, however that would've probably made for a good conflict for a second arc.
Like, I get that arcs of Erin Hunter books always count six, but over here that standard really feels like it's harming the series rather than benefiting it. If this arc had instead been spread into two good trilogies that'd probably have been way better than what we got here.
What happens in this book? Barely anything. We don't make any great progress regarding the golden wolves (except for the revelation that they're now being led by Titan), Sky re-unites with Rock (which sucks because their romance is one of the blandest and most forced I've read in an Erin Hunter arc so far) and Fearless loses most of his allies while still being on his quest to defeat Titan without making any progress.
Like, I get that they're building up his fight with Titan to the end, however it just feels like it drags, especially when there is barely any progress being made. Sure, in The Prophecies Begin, Firestar's conflict with Tigerstar also took six books to resolve (not counting anything that happens regarding the Dark Forest in later arcs for the moment), but there was plenty of side-conflicts going on all the while, and Firestar made actual progress in his defeat of Tigerstar. And it also helped that Tigerstar, while being a fairly standard Erin Hunter-type villain, was written competently.
Titan? He's boring as all hell. He literally does just feel like a Tigerstar 2.0, except for the fact that this time it's a lion instead of a cat. And also he's randomly turned insane, something that is barely even touched upon. Like what trauma did he suffer that caused him to snap? No clue, it just happened because the plot demanded for him to suddenly be insane.
Berry, who briefly turned into a villain in book four after being a very kind and caring character in the previous three books, also just randomly is back to her old personality here, without any proper development leading to it. Why did she become a villain for a few chapters in the first place if she was just going to return to her old personality in the next book so quickly? It just felt so forced. And of course she gets overthrown by her Crownguard, a plot point surely everyone and their nan saw coming because the characters in the guard were built up to be irredeemable assholes, anyways.
While I do still like some elements of this book (Thorn's character; Sky's dedication to the Great Spirit; the bonds between Fearless, Keen and Ruthless; some of the world-building), this one just overall was a slog to get through. The payoff in book six better be good. I hope Titan's going down. And fast.
Rating: 2.5/5
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