Warriors (novel series)

Warriors cats

Author	Erin Hunter
Language	English
Genre	Children's, Fantasy
Publisher	Avon Books
Publication date	2003
Publication place	United States

Warriors is a book series written by Kate Cary and Cherith Baldry, with their editor Victoria Holmes, under the pen name Erin Hunter. The series is divided up into other miniseries with six books each. The first of these miniseries, usually referred to as the Original Warriors, was published in 2003, beginning with the book Into the Wild. The second series was written under the title Warriors: The New Prophecy and published in 2005. The first and second books of the third series Warriors: The Power of Three, The Sight and Dark River, and two more books, Firestar's Quest and Secrets of the Clans, are due to be released in this year. A three volume manga series is coming as well. The title of the first volume is The Lost Warrior and the book was released April 24, 2007. The second volume, Warrior's Refuge, will be released in December 2007, followed by the last volume in 2008.

Warriors

Into the Wild

Main article: Into the Wild (Warriors)

In this book, Rusty, a common house cat joins the ThunderClan cats and becomes the apprentice Firepaw. At the end of the book, after Firepaw and the rest of ThunderClan drive an evil cat out of ShadowClan, he becomes a warrior and is renamed Fireheart.

Fire and Ice

Main article: Fire and Ice (Warriors)

In this book, Fireheart and his friend Graystripe are sent to find WindClan who have been driven out of their territory by ShadowClan.They also each get their own apprentices:Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw. Fireheart also brings his nephew, Coudkit, into the clan.

Forest of Secrets

Main article: Forest of Secrets (Warriors)

Tigerclaw's evil ambitions are revealed at last. He is exiled from ThunderClan and Fireheart is appointed ThunderClan's new deputy.

Rising Storm

Main article: Rising Storm (Warriors)

Fireheart's traitorous enemy Tigerclaw has been vanquished and exiled from ThunderClan-but Fireheart can't shake off the feeling that he's lurking in the forest,waiting for his chance to strike. That's not the only problem facing the young warrior in these blazing summer months,as he struggles to handle sinister omens,an apprentice with a shocking secret,and a devastated clan leader who is a shell of her former self.

A Dangerous Path

Main article: A Dangerous Path (Warriors)

Bluestar dies by saving Fireheart from a pack of loose, bloodthirsty dogs led by Tigerstar, the new leader of ShadowClan.

The Darkest Hour

Main article: The Darkest Hour (Warriors)

"Four will become two, Lion and Tiger will meet in battle, and blood will rule the forest," were Bluestar's words whilst she was giving Firestar his ninth life. Scourge, leader of Bloodclan, kills Tigerstar in two seconds by deeply clawing Tigerstar in his throat and belly, leaving him to die, because Tigerstar demanded Scourge to follow his orders.

Warriors: The New Prophecy

The next series follows a number of cats: Brambleclaw, a young ThunderClan warrior; Leafpaw (later known as Leafpool), the apprentice medicine cat of ThunderClan; Squirrelpaw (later Squirrelflight), an energetic ThunderClan apprentice; Stormfur, a fine RiverClan warrior; Feathertail, another RiverClan warrior, Stormfur's sister; and Crowpaw (later Crowfeather), an apprentice of WindClan, and Tawnypelt of ShadowClan, Brambleclaw's sister. This series takes place a year after The Darkest Hour.

Midnight

Main article: Midnight (Warriors)

Moonrise

Main article: Moonrise (Warriors)

Dawn

Main article: Dawn (Warriors)

Starlight

Main article: Starlight (Warriors)

Twilight

Main article: Twilight (Warriors)

Sunset

Main article: Sunset (Warriors)

Warriors: The Power of Three

This series, the third in the Warriors series, initially follows the prophecy: There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws. Firestar receives the prophecy in a cave from an unknown cat. Another variation of the prophecy states that the three will have "more power for good or evil than any cat that has walked the forest before." This is thought to possibly be because the kits are the grandchildren of Firestar and Tigerstar.

The Power of Three begins only six moons after the events in Sunset, as confirmed in an AuthorTracker e-mail. There will be six books in The Power of Three.

The Sight

Main article: The Sight (Warriors)

Dark River

This is the second book in the Power of Three series. Not much is known about Dark River. Following the recent five months in between book releases pattern, this book is expected to be released late August or early September, possibily with the release of Firestar's Quest.

In an excerpt of Dark River found in The Sight, Hollypaw, Cinderpaw, Mousepaw, Spiderleg, and Brackenfur are at the Sky Oak, and Mousepaw climbs up the tree, chasing a squirrel. Mousepaw suddenly becomes too terrified to leave the tree, and Cinderpaw goes up to coax him down. Hollypaw watches nervously, and Cinderpaw loses her balance as she saves Mousepaw from falling out of the tree. Cinderpaw slips from her branch and falls from it, landing awkwardly on the ground. Brackenfur rushes over to Cinderpaw, and Spiderleg orders Hollypaw to go back and fetch Leafpool. As she runs through the forest, Hollypaw worries that Cinderpaw might be dead.

For a while, this book was known as The Curse, and Dark River was the working title. However, in the back of The Sight, it is revealed that Dark River is actually the true title, not the working title.

Outcast

Vicky Holmes has currently said at a book signing that the next book of this series is called Outcast. She also said that this book is going to be about the Tribe of Rushing Water. Nothing else is known about this book, but it is in progress. It is rumored that the book will somehow involve Stormfur and why he and Brook came back to ThunderClan instead of the Tribe. It will be released in 2008.

4th Series

Vicky Holmes has said at a recent book signing that there is to be a fourth series. Nothing else is known about it at the moment except for it wont be released for a long time and everyone is very excited.

Book 6

Facts: There will be six books in the series as always, and this might be a book on the future of the Clans or, be about an Insiders Guide to all things OR, be about Hollypaw, and Lionpaw`s children.

• Main Characters: Unknown

Special Editions

Firestar's Quest

Main article: Firestar's Quest (Warriors)

Secrets Of The Clans

Main article: Secrets Of The Clans (Warriors)

File:SofhteC.jpg

The cover of Secrets of the Clans

Now the truth can be revealed

Look within to find:

1. The mystical origins and secret legends of the Clans.
2. An insiders' tour of the Clan camps and territories.
3. The histories and characters of each Clan, and information about their leaders and medicine cats.
4. Knowledge of cats outside the Clans.
5. The tenets of the warrior code.
6. Prophecies and omens, and how they have been fulfilled.
7. And many more truths about the secrets, beliefs, and daily lives of the cats of the Clans.

This book has been confirmed by both an AuthorTracker e-mail and a recent chat with Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, and Vicky Holmes. Aside from medicinal herbs, ceremonies, and events, the book will also feature large fold-out maps and black and white drawing of cats, based on their descriptions from the books.

Excerpt of the AuthorTracker e-mail from Harper Collins confirming the book:

I'm putting together a guide to all things Clan and feline that have featured in the books so far. Look out for Warriors: Secrets of the Clans, which comes out next year. It is been great fun to go back and revisit my favorite scenes and characters, and investigate some more unusual viewpoints. Ever wonder what StarClan thought about Bluestar's decision to give up her kits? Or how Fernpaw and Ashpaw really felt about leading the vicious pack of dogs away from their Clanmates? All will be revealed, I promise! -Erin Hunter

Excerpt from the chat in which Vicky answered:

It's going to be a kind of field guide to the entire world of the Clans, with information about all the things that have featured in the books so far, like medicinal herbs and ceremonies. But in addition it will have some pieces of history that haven't been mentioned, like how the Clans first came to be in the forest, and how StarClan feel about major events like Bluestar giving up her kits so she could be ThunderClan's deputy. I'm afraid there won't be any family trees because, er, we didn't pay enough attention to this sort of thing in the first books so we can't make sense of all the connections...

Vicky also revealed the illustrations:

Yes, it will, based on the descriptions from the books. They'll be in black and white, I think. And it will have a couple of tremendous fold-out maps - I've been working on sketch versions all week as a guide for the illustrator and it has caused a lot of laughs among my friends because I'm hopeless at art! I drew some sheep and horses in a couple of fields and then had to label them because they both looked like lumpy dogs.

An excerpt from an AuthorTracker e-mail revealed more details of the book's illustrations:

I've been doing a very exciting task this week: looking at the illustrations for The Secrets of the Clans, the insider's guide to all things Warriors which comes out later this year. As well as maps, we now have artwork for each cat and illustrations of key scenes like the flooding of RiverClan. It feels like such a treat to have a professional artist bring characters and landscapes to life.

The HarperCollins website tells us that this book is due out May 29, 2007.

• Cover: Shadowclan, Riverclan, and Windclan leaders in a starry background
• Center Cover: Firestar
• Border: Symbols for ThunderClan, ShadowClan, StarClan, RiverClan, and WindClan repeating respectively along the border

Warriors Manga

Editor Vicky Holmes announced that a three volume manga series is coming as well, and that it will explain what happened to Graystripe between the time that he is taken by Twolegs in Dawn up until when he returns to ThunderClan. The title of the first volume is The Lost Warrior. In the chat that revealed this, Vicky stated: ...There are going to be three manga novels coming out featuring Graystripe's adventures from the moment he is taken from the forest to...the moment he returns to ThunderClan! Yay! I've seen the script and some sample illustrations for the first book and it looks terrific. I had a lot of fun coming up with the story lines because Graystripe has always been a fascinating character for me. In the first books he was in danger of becoming Firepaw's stooge, the butt of jokes and maybe not the brightest cat, but he showed a much more complex side to his character when he fell in love with Silverstream and then took his motherless kits to join RiverClan...

The Lost Warrior

Cover of The Lost Warrior

When the Twolegs destroy the warrior Clans' forest home, Graystripe — deputy of ThunderClan — is captured while trying to help his comrades escape! However, Graystripe soon discovers that the captive life as a pampered kittypet isn't all that bad. The cozy Twoleg nest and his new, affectionate family help Graystripe put his Clan days behind him. Still, nothing compares to the life of a warrior, hunting for his own food and sleeping with his Clan mates, going on patrol and fighting enemy cats! With a new feisty kittypet ally and mate, Millie, by his side, will Graystripe ever find his way back to the Clan?

The manga was published by the distributor Tokyopop, and also said by Tokyopop, it would be released May 8, 2007.

Also, a recent article mentioned a special note would be added into The Lost Warrior. The article stated that:

According to TOKYOPOP, Warriors: The Lost Warrior will feature "a very special note" from the author to Warriors fans. Warriors: The Lost Warrior manga series, created by Dan Jolley and James Barry, tells the untold tale of the feline hero Graystripe: his life with humans and his ultimate quest to be reunited with his clan. Graystripe's story in the manga series bridges the gap between Hunter's "The New Prophecy" (the second series) and the next installment of the Warriors novel series Power of Three, the beginning of the third series.

The Lost Warrior was released on April 24, 2007. This is the same day that Vicky Holmes started her tour in the U.S.A.

• Cover: Graystripe and Millie facing three kittypets, one of them named Duke
• Center cover: Graystripe

Warrior's Refuge

Graystripe and Millie's journey to find ThunderClan has only just begun when the pair is faced with a series of obstacles that seem insurmountable. Getting out of Twolegplace alive isn't nearly as simple as expected, and Millie's unfamiliarity with life in the wild makes it a challenge for Graystripe to even keep them moving forward. But just when a temporary refuge is in sight, conflict with a tribe of barn cats threatens to break the travelers apart for good!

This is the second volume of the Warriors manga trilogy, most likely to be released in August 2007.

Volume 3

The third volume in the Warriors manga series is to be released in December 2008. The only thing currently known is this is the last volume, and Graystripe will have returned to ThunderClan.

Warriors movie

There are currently no planned Warriors movies or plans to make any, despite common rumors that have spread across the Warriors community.

As her answer to the main question of a movie possibility, Vicky Holmes replied:

Okay, this is a really important issue to clear up. I'm sorry to say that there are NO plans for a Warriors movie, even though we have had lots and lots of discussions with major film companies about this. This isn't to say that there will NEVER be a Warriors movie, but please don't get your hopes up! The reason for this is that the animated movies around at the moment tend to be larger-than-life, laugh-out-loud family films that adults can laugh at as well as kids - think Shrek or Cars. A Warriors movie would be much more serious, dealing with big issues like death and loyalty, which doesn't translate well to conventional animation just now. It might fit with a manga-style approach, but there isn't a mainstream market for this in the film world just yet. So we'll have to keep our fingers crossed!

Some websites have petitions demanding a Warriors movie.

See also

• List of Warriors characters
• Clan

External links

• The Official Warriors Site The official site of Warriors.
• The Guttersnipe Author Kate Cary's personal site.
• Writer Unboxed Interview with Erin Hunter.