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Warriors (novel series)

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Warriors
Boxed sets of the Warriors and New Prophecy series.
Warriors
Warriors: The New Prophecy
Warriors: Power of Three
Warriors: Omen of the Stars
AuthorErin Hunter
Cover artistWayne McLoughlin
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's literature
Fantasy
PublisherAvon Books, an imprint of HarperCollins
Published2003–present

Warriors is a series of children's fantasy novels published by HarperCollins. Though the books are published under the pseudonym of Erin Hunter, writing alternate between authors Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, and the newly-recruited Tui Sutherland, with plot ideas by storyline editor Victoria Holmes.[1] The series follows the adventures of four clans (ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan and RiverClan) of wild cats trying to survive in their forest homes. It currently consists of three miniseries, with a fourth announced, each containing six books. The first, Warriors, was published in 2003–2004, beginning with Into the Wild, and was followed by Warriors: The New Prophecy, published 2005–2006. The third, Warriors: Power of Three, has been underway since April 2007 and its fifth book, Long Shadows, was released on November 25, 2008.

Other books have been released to supplement the main series, including a lengthier, individual book, titled Firestar's Quest, two field guides, and several volumes of original English-language manga, produced as a collaboration between HarperCollins and Tokyopop. The series has also been released for the Amazon Kindle and translated into several languages.

Series

Warriors

The first series centers around the adventures of Rusty, a young house cat, who is taken into ThunderClan as an apprentice with the new name Firepaw - because his fur is red, the color of fire. As the series progresses, Firepaw becomes a warrior and receives his new name, Fireheart. As a warrior, Fireheart defends his Clan while trying to help the other Clans, and later becomes Leader of ThunderClan (and is therefore renamed Firestar). Tigerclaw, the main antagonist of the series, attempts at every turn to achieve power, through any means. The series contains six books: Into the Wild, Fire and Ice, Forest of Secrets, Rising Storm, A Dangerous Path and The Darkest Hour.

Warriors: The New Prophecy

The second series, called Warriors: The New Prophecy, centers around seven cats from the four different Clans: The ThunderClan representative, Brambleclaw, the ShadowClan representative, Tawnypelt (Brambleclaw's sister), the WindClan representative Crowpaw (Crowfeather), and the RiverClan representative, Feathertail, with Feathertail's brother, Stormfur, and the ThunderClan cat, Squirrelpaw (Squirrelflight), tagging along. There is also Leafpaw, later Leafpool (Squirrelpaw's sister, a medicene cat, who stays with the Clans. Stormfur goes along because he believes that he should always keep Feathertail safe. Squirrelflight comes because she notices Brambleclaw leaving, and promises to tell the Clan if she cannot come with him. The books show insight into their lives as they fight to save their Clans and find a new home. They encounter Midnight the badger, who can oddly speak like a cat. She sends the prophecy telling the cats to go to "The Sun-Drown Place." They first encounter the Tribe of Rushing Water. A group of cats similar ,and different, from Clans, that live behind a waterfall. The first part of the series centers around the prophecy that "Darkness, Air, Water, and Sky will come together...And shake the forest to its roots." The second centers around the prophecy that "Before there is peace, blood will spill blood and the lake will run red." The series was released from 2005–2006, and consists of six books: Midnight, Moonrise, Dawn, Starlight, Twilight, and Sunset.

Warriors: Power of Three

The third series, titled Warriors: Power of Three, follows three young cats named Hollypaw, Jaypaw, and Lionpaw, the grandchildren of both Firestar and Tigerstar and children of Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw. Jaypaw is blind, and is often looked upon differently by his Clan, but he discovers he has a unique power. He is currently training to be a medicine cat, while Lionpaw and Hollypaw are training to become warriors.[2] The series centers around the prophecy, "There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws." Jaypaw finds he can walk into the dreams of others, read minds, and send out a mind-reading power as where he can sense the presence of others cats in a fairly large range. Lionpaw realizes that he is unstoppable on the battlefield, most notably in the battle of the Tribe's invaders and when he comes close to nearly killing Crowfeather. Hollypaw doesn't know her power yet. The books in the series: The Sight, Dark River, Outcast, Eclipse, Long Shadows, Sunrise

Warriors: Omen of the Stars

The fourth series has been renamed as Omen of the Stars. The former series title The Fourth Apprentice will now be used as the title of the first book, instead of the former Book 1 title, Ambush. [3]

Other Warriors books

Super Editions

Firestar's Quest, a larger-than-normal sized book, was released on August 21, 2007. It covers the time between The Darkest Hour and Midnight, and answers many questions as to what happened in between the books, such as Longtail's blindness, Willowpelt's death, the birth of Leafpool and Squirrelflight, and how Sandstorm feels of the relationship between Firestar and Spottedleaf. The plot follows Firestar and Sandstorm, who leave on a quest after Firestar receives messages from an ancient fifth Clan. This Clan, named SkyClan, was forced out of the forest by the other four Clans when the Twolegs built their houses over their camp. Firestar and Sandstorm then begin to restore SkyClan, as its ancient leader willed Firestar to do.[4]

Three other books are to be released under the Super Edition name. The first will center around the life of former ThunderClan leader Bluestar before Firestar's arrival to the forest, the second will feature the modern-day SkyClan and the third will feature the early days of the Clans. Bluestar's Prophecy[5] will be released August 2009 [1], the Modern SkyClan Super Edition in 2010, and the Early Clan Days Super Edition in 2011.[1]

  • Firestar's Quest
  • Bluestar's Prophecy
  • SkyClan Super Edition
  • Early Clan Days Super Edition

Field Guides

Secrets of the Clans was the first field guide to be released for Warriors. This book gives more details about the Clans never written down in the books.[6] Cats of the Clans, featuring illustrations of the cats, was released on June 24, 2008.[7] Code of the Clans, expected to be released July 9th, 2009, is the next field guide.[1]

  • Secrets of the Clans
  • Cats of the Clans
  • Code of the Clans

OEL manga series

Graystripe's Trilogy

There is a three volume original English-language manga series based on what happened to Graystripe between the time that he was taken by Twolegs in Dawn until he returned to ThunderClan in The Sight. It has been published as the first part of a partnership between TOKYOPOP and HarperCollins.[8] The final volume was published on April 22, 2008.[9]

The Rise of Scourge

The Rise of Scourge was released on June 24, 2008. It is a single volume and not part of a trilogy. The story follows Scourge, one of the antagonists of The Darkest Hour and the leader of BloodClan, centering around his early years until he challenges the forest cats.[10] The authors have confirmed that Scourge is Firestar's half brother.

Tigerstar and Sasha's Trilogy

There is also a trilogy about Tigerstar and Sasha.[1] The first volume is called Into the Woods and was released on September 2, 2008.[11] The second volume, Escape From the Forest, is scheduled to be released December 23, 2008.[12] The third volume Return to the Clans is going to be released on June 9, 2009.

  • Book 1: Into the Woods
  • Book 2: Escape from the Forest
  • Book 3: Return to the Clans

Ravenpaw's series

It has been confirmed that another series will be released centered around Ravenpaw.

Setting and characters

See also: List of characters in the Warriors novel series

In the forest the cats call home, there are four Clans (ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan). Each Clan has a leader, given nine lives and the name of "star" by StarClan. StarClan is a group made up of the Clans' spiritual ancestors and gives guidance and even prophecies to the Clans. The leader appoints a deputy who will later succeed him or her as leader. Every Clan has a medicine cat, who communicates with StarClan and heals injured or sick cats. Most of each Clan is made up of warriors, the cats who fight in battles and patrol the borders, while following the warrior code. Warriors train apprentices to become new warriors. Old or impaired warriors become elders. When a female warrior has kits, she becomes what is called a queen. Kits cannot become apprentices until they are six moons (months) old.[13] The Clans each also have a medicine cat apprentice, who is normally trained at six moons old to become a medicine cat. Medicine cats gather every quarter moon to share dreams with StarClan at the Moonstone (forest home) or Moonpool (lake home). The Clan rivalries do not apply to medicine cats, and they have peace with each other, and usually help each other. Medicine cats can also be warriors who are fatally wounded or decide they want to be trained as medicine cats. This does not often happen, but it does, as in the case with one of ThunderClan's former Medicine Cats, Cinderpelt.

The cats in the Clans also have a special naming system. When a kit is given its name, it will end in "kit." When a kit becomes an apprentice, during the ceremony, the leader will change the "kit" to "paw." When an apprentice becomes a Warrior, the leader, with the help of StarClan, chooses a permanent ending of the name (-heart, -stripe, -pelt, -fur, -claw, -tooth, -foot, etc)(There are also some more original endings, like blaze, leaf, pool, feather, etc). When a deputy becomes a leader, StarClan performs a ceremony, in which the new leader must travel to Highstones (forest home) or the Moonpool (lake home) to share dreams with StarClan. During the ceremony, the leader receives nine lives from StarClan and the ending name of "-star". An example of this is when Fireheart becomes Firestar in the first series. Any cat in the Clan has the right to become a deputy, as long as it is a warrior and has had at least one apprentice.

The forest the cats live in is together with the world of humans. This allows interaction between the two species. One notable example of this is when humans, called "Twolegs" by the cats, began constructing a new road and new houses, and the four Clans were forced to leave and find a new home. Beyond the Clans' territories lies a mountain range, inhabited by the Tribe of Rushing Water. The Tribe was shown to be similar to the Clans, yet it follows a different set of ancestors, the Tribe of Endless Hunting. In a town near the Clans' old home lived a vicious group of cats called BloodClan, led by a cat called Scourge. Also living in the surrounding area are cats without owners or Clans, known as loners and rogues, and house cats, called kittypets.[14]

Critical reception

The first book of the series, Into the Wild, was generally received well, with reviewers calling it a "spine-tingling",[15] "thoroughly engrossing"[16] and "exciting ... action-packed adventure."[17] One reviewer praised the authors for "creating an intriguing world ... and an engaging young hero",[18] but another criticised the characters and imagined world as being "neither ... consistent nor compelling."[19]

The large number of characters involved in the series has been seen as a negative point; though one reviewer compared the "huge cast" to that of a Greek drama,[20] others wrote it was "hard to follow"[21] and "a little confusing".[18] The characterization has also been criticised as "somewhat flat"[21] and "limited essentially to each individual's function within the clan".[19]

As one reviewer put it, the cats in the series are "true to their feline nature",[15] leading some critics to jokingly comment that the books will "leave readers eyeing Puss a bit nervously"[22] and "[wonder] what dreams of grandeur may haunt the family cat".[17] However, this realism also means that the series contains a relatively large amount of violence,[18] with one critic stating that it is "not for the faint of heart".[20]

Several critics have compared Warriors to Brian Jacques' Redwall series,[15][19] though one commented that it was "not as elegantly written".[18] The New York Times called the series a "hit with young readers", specifically because of its "sprawling universe",[23] and indeed, many of the books in the series have appeared on the newspaper's best-seller list.

Awards

Into the Wild was nominated for the 2006 YRCA Awards,[24] but lost to Christopher Paolini's Eragon.[25] The Sight was nominated as the best Middle Readers book at Amazon.com's Best Book of 2007, and placed sixth out of the ten nominees, with six percent of the total votes.[26] The Sight was also nominated for the Children's Choice Book Awards.[27]

Themes

One prominent theme featured in the novel is the reactions different faiths have when meeting each other. This was inspired by the events of the September 11, 2001 attacks. To show this, the Tribe of Rushing Water was introduced in Moonrise. In an author chat, Holmes explained that the books never say that the Clans or the Tribe of Rushing Water are right about faith, because both are "equally valid". This leads to fear and suspicion between them because they are afraid of things they don't understand. Holmes finally said that "Ignorance is a very scary thing!"[28] Non-belief is also featured in the storylines.[29] Another theme shown in the books shows how characters can be a mix of good and evil. Holmes has said she is fascinated by these "shades of gray" in personalities. Her example of this was when Bluestar, a "lovely" cat, gave up her kits for her ambition. A third major theme, called nature versus nurture, relates to whether a person is born the way he or she will be, or if other things shape that. This theme ties into the "shades of gray" theme. Other themes that have been pointed out include family, loss, honor, bravery and death, loyalty, and following rules.[28]

Inspirations and influences

New Forest, which became the base for the forest the cats live in.

Authors

The authors have named several other authors as a source of inspiration when writing the novels. In an online author chat, Cherith Baldry, listed the authors that inspire her as including Tolkien, Ursula le Guin, and Shakespeare. In the same chat, Victoria Holmes stated that Jacqueline Wilson, Kathy Reichs and J. K. Rowling are some of the authors that inspire her. Currently, she is also working on a new series called "Seekers", a novel series about bears. It is in close relation to Warriors in terms of format but it is not affiliated.[1]

Other

There are some other influencing factors in the series. New Forest, a forest in southern England, became the base for the forest where the story took place.[30] Other influencing locations include Scottish Highlands and the Forest of Dean.[31] Nicholas Culpeper, a physician who used materials occurred in the natural world, has also had an influence on the Warriors series. His book, Culpeper's Herbal, is used as a source by the authors for the herbal remedies that the cats use in the books.[1]

Editions

Other formats

All of the Warriors books in the main series have been published as a hardcover, and several have been published as paperbacks. The manga volumes have only been released as paperbacks, while all other new releases are hardcover.[32] Starlight, Twilight, and Sunset are in an audiobook format,[33] spoken by Nanette Savard, whose performance has been praised.[34] It is unknown if any other Warriors books will be available in audiobook format. The books in the main series have also been released in an eBook format.[35]

Foreign editions

File:Japan-DPath.jpg
The Japanese cover of A Dangerous Path.

The Warriors books were first published in USA, then the United Kingdom.[30] Warriors is also sold in New Zealand[36] and in Australia.[37] Translations from English into other languages have been published more recently. Translations for languages such as Czech, Lithuanian, and Japanese have appeared,[31] as well as French, Russian, and Korean.[29] The Korean publisher, Kim-yeoung-sa, has only published the first six books.[1] Fandom even exists in Trinidad[31] and Singapore.[38] The first two books have also been printed in German.

Other media

Promotions

HarperCollins created a video to promote the Cats of the Clans book. It was made available on the Warriors website. A Warriors screen saver, E-cards, messages, A video on "How To Draw Graystripe" and a "How To Draw Manga" page are also available on the website. More recently, the Warriors Ultimate Leader Election was held on the website. The winner is Firestar; Erin Hunter will write a short story about him. [39]

Movie

There are currently no confirmed plans for a Warriors movie. The authors have talked to several film companies on the subject and have not yet chosen a company. It was confirmed at an Erin Hunter author chat that the film would be released around 2010 or 2011. The film would be computer animated using CGI; like a cross between the animation styles of The Chronicles of Narnia and Over The Hedge.

There are no confirmed voice actors or acting candidates at this point. All rumors regarding actors are most likely fan speculation and should not be taken seriously.

Short story

A short story called "Spottedleaf's Honest Answer" was released on the Reading Warriors website. It is about Spottedleaf talking about her love for Firestar. It gives information on what has happened in the Warriors series from Into the Wild to Firestar's Quest.[40]

Play

Written by Victoria Holmes for a tour, a play entitled After Sunset: We Need to Talk was first premiered on April 28, 2007 at the Secret Garden bookstore in Seattle, Washington. It details a meeting between Leafpool of ThunderClan and Crowfeather of WindClan after the events of Sunset, officially declaring Crowfeather's mate. The script was released to the public at the official site for the Warriors series.[39]

Games

Games can be found on the Warriors website. There are quizzes, the ability to consult StarClan for a Warrior name and Clan, and a New Prophecy game. [39]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Erin Hunter Chat #4 Transcript — January 19, 2008". Wands and Worlds. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  2. ^ "Erin Hunter Chat #3 Transcript — part 1". Wands and Worlds. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
  3. ^ "Victora Holmes (Erin Hunter) wedding!". Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  4. ^ Hunter, Erin (2007). Firestar's Quest. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0061131646.
  5. ^ "Erin Hunter Chat #5 Transcript — August 16, 2008". Wands and Worlds. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  6. ^ "Warriors Field Guide: Secrets of the Clans". harpercollins.com. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  7. ^ "Warriors: Cats of the Clans". harpercollins.com. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  8. ^ "Tokyopop and HarperCollins Set to Bring Erin Hunter's Bestselling Children's Series to Manga Format". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  9. ^ "Warriors: Warrior's Return". harpercollins.com. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  10. ^ "Warriors: The Rise of Scourge (Warriors)". harpercollins.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  11. ^ "Warriors: Tigerstar and Sasha #1: Into the Woods". harpercollins.com. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  12. ^ "Escape from the Forest (Warriors: Tigerstar and Sasha, No. 2)". LinkBaton. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  13. ^ Hunter, Erin (2003). Into the Wild. HarperCollins. ISBN 0060000023.
  14. ^ Hunter, Erin (2003). Forest of Secrets. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0060525590.
  15. ^ a b c "Hunter, Erin. Into the Wild". Booklist. 2003-02-15. Retrieved 2008-08-21. In this first spine-tingling episode in the planned Warriors series [...] sure to appeal ... to followers of Brian Jacques' ongoing Redwall series
  16. ^ Estes, Sally (2003-04-15). "Top 10 Fantasy Books for Youth". ala.org. American Library Association. Retrieved 2008-08-20.[dead link]
  17. ^ a b "Into the Wild (book review)". Publishers Weekly. 2002-12-23. Retrieved 2008-08-21. In the first exciting installment of the Warriors fantasy series [...] the stage is set for more action-packed adventure.
  18. ^ a b c d Alpert, Mary (2003-05-01). "Hunter, Erin. Into the Wild". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2008-08-21. The author has created an intriguing world with an intricate structure and mythology, and an engaging young hero. [...] The supporting cast of players is large and a little confusing [...] This is not as elegantly written as Brian Jacques's "Redwall" series
  19. ^ a b c Negro, Janice M. Del (2003-03-01). "Warriors: Into the Wild". Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. 56 (7): 277. Retrieved 2008-08-21. The author's attempt to create a hierarchical warrior-clan society falls a bit short: neither the imagined world nor the characters within it are consistent or compelling. Characterization is limited essentially to each individual's function within the clan, and the cast therefore remains cartoon cats engaged in territory marking [...] while the pace occasionally flags there are a lot of bloody tooth-and-claw battles here that may engage readers of the Redwall series.
  20. ^ a b Rawlins, Sharon (2003-10-01). "Forest of Secrets". School Library Journal. 49 (10): 167. Retrieved 2008-08-21. This exciting book is not for the faint of heart as it is often violent [...] It is reminiscent of Greek drama, with its huge cast of characters
  21. ^ a b Prolman, Lisa (2003-09-01). "Fire and Ice". School Library Journal. 49 (9): 214. Retrieved 2008-08-21. Readers not familiar with the first book may find this one hard to follow. [...] The characterizations of the animals are somewhat flat [...] and the plot's twists and turns seem mapped out and predictable.
  22. ^ "Into the Wild". Kirkus Reviews. 71 (1): 61. 2003. Retrieved 2008-08-21. Hunter debuts with a suspenseful animal adventure that will leave readers eyeing Puss a bit nervously. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  23. ^ Dwight Garner (2006-01-15). "TBR: Inside the List". nytimes.com. New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-20. The Warriors books are a hit with young readers, in part, because of the sprawling universe they open up.
  24. ^ "YRCA 2006 nominees". Pacific Northwest Library Association. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  25. ^ "YRCA Past Winners". Pacific Northwest Library Association. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
  26. ^ "Best Books of 2007". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  27. ^ "Warriors". katecary.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
  28. ^ a b {{cite web|url=http://www.wandsandworlds.com/community/node/124%7Ctitle=Transcript of the Second Erin Hunter Chat|work=Wands and Worlds>
  29. ^ a b "Erin Hunter Chat #3 Transcript — part 2". Wands and Worlds. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  30. ^ a b "Transcript Of Erin Hunter Chat". Wands and Worlds. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  31. ^ a b c "Warriors Gossip". The Guttersnipe. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  32. ^ "Warriors: Enter the World of Warriors". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  33. ^ "Warriors: Enter the World of Warriors: The New Prophecy". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  34. ^ "Sunset (Warriors: The New Prophecy, Book 6) (Audio CD)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  35. ^ "Ebooks written by Erin Hunter". Mobipocket. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  36. ^ "Into the Wild". harpercollins.co.nz. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  37. ^ "Warriors #3: Forest of Secrets". HarperCollins Australia. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  38. ^ "INTERVIEW: Erin Hunter". Writers Unboxed. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  39. ^ a b c "Warriors". www.warriorcats.com.
  40. ^ "Spottedleaf's Honest Answer" (PDF). Reading Warriors. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
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