Warriors: Firestar's Quest
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| Firestar's Quest | |
 First edition cover |
|
| Author | Erin Hunter |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Warriors (novel series) |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | HarperTrophy |
| Publication date | August 21, 2007 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 528 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 978-0061131646 |
| Preceded by | The Darkest Hour |
| Followed by | Midnight |
Firestar’s Quest is a stand-alone book in the Warriors novel series by Erin Hunter. It follows Firestar, a fictional feral cat, on a journey to find the lost fifth Clan, bringing back Firestar’s perspective. It is set in between book six in the Original series and book one in The New Prophecy. Firestar’s Quest was first published in hardback on August 21, 2007.[1] The paperback edition was released on May 13 2008, and a Russian translation has already been published.[2] An excerpt of Firestar’s Quest was released to promote sales of the book,[3] which were very successful.[4] The novel has also received a good critical reception.[5]
Contents |
[edit] Overview
[edit] Background
All of the Warriors novels are listed as being written by Erin Hunter. Erin Hunter is a pen name for four people, Victoria Holmes, who creates the storylines and edits, Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, and Tui Sutherland, who write the books in turns.[6][7] Firestar's Quest chronologically is after the events of The Darkest Hour and is before Midnight.[8] Firestar's Quest was put under the title Warriors: Super Edition, as a special edition extra long book.[9]
[edit] Setting
In the forest of the warrior cats, there are four Clans of feral cats who follow StarClan, their spiritual ancestors. StarClan gives nine lives to leaders like Firestar, the leader of ThunderClan, whose mate is Sandstorm.[10] Firestar was raised as a kittypet, but chose to join ThunderClan.[11]
[edit] Plot summary
In Firestar's Quest, Firestar is troubled by a warrior ancestor he has never seen before. This ancestor, Cloudstar, begs Firestar to rebuild an exiled fifth Clan called SkyClan, which Cloudstar once led. Firestar and Sandstorm find SkyClan's old home deserted, so they must find cats to rebuild the Clan. Rats, which had exterminated the ancient SkyClan, nearly wiped out the rebuilt Clan. Though Skyclan is victorious, a SkyClan cat named Rainfur dies and Firestar loses a life.
During the novel, tensions rise between Firestar and Sandstorm over Firestar's deceased, first and forbidden love, Spottedleaf, a previous ThunderClan medicine cat. In the end the problem is solved. Firestar and Sandstorm leave the newly-rebuilt SkyClan and return to their own Clan. In the epilogue, Sandstorm's new kits are born. She decides to name one Squirrelkit (after her bushy red tail), and the other Leafkit (in honor of SkyClan's new leader, Leafstar, and after Spottedleaf.
[edit] Pre-release history
Firestar had narrated the first six books. For the later Warriors: The New Prophecy[12] and Warriors: Power of Three series,[10] other cats were chosen to speak. Fans[13] and a critic both disliked this move.[14] Firestar was chosen to narrate the special edition. Cherith Baldry wrote Firestar's Quest.[15] Gary Chalk illustrated the book.[5] Before the novel was released, the editor said Firestar's Quest was “utterly brilliant”.[15] Erin Hunter also said the novel was a chance to explore the old territories,[4] which had been left behind in the books in the Warriors: The New Prophecy series.[12]
To promote the book, an excerpt was released online on the Warriors website,[3] and later at the back of the Warriors manga volume Warrior's Refuge.[16] AuthorTracker emails mentioned increasingly Firestar’s Quest as the launch date approached.[4]
[edit] Sales
HarperCollins published the hardcover edition of Firestar's Quest and released it on August 21, 2007.[1] 150,000 copies were released.[17] The sales were very successful, sending it to bestseller lists. After the release, Erin Hunter went on tour to talk about Firestar's Quest with fans.[4] HarperTrophy, an imprint of HarperCollins, will release the paperback version of Firestar's Quest on May 13, 2008.[18] Russia has published a translation of Firestar's Quest.[2] The United States,[18] the UK,[19] and Canada have English versions of Firestar's Quest. Canada launched the book early on August 9, 2007.[20]
[edit] Themes
A reviewer noted themes such as "faith and responsibility" in the novel. The review stated these themes gave the story depth and compared it to The Bad News Bears and Major League, movies with similar stories.[21] Another critic noted similarly that the series was becoming more thought-provoking.[5]
[edit] Critical reception
A reviewer from Children's Literature gave a very positive review. In the review, Firestar's Quest was called a “fantastic extension” to the Warriors series, and near the end of the review, the critic said Firestar's Quest showed that the Warriors books had evolved “from simply entertaining to thought provoking adventures”.[5]
[edit] Sequel
After the publication of the novel, Holmes said the following about the possibility of seeing SkyClan again:[6]
"Yes they will! I'm planning the Super-Special for 2010 at the moment, and I think I can reveal exclusively and for the first time ever that it will be set in SkyClan. Yay! Well, it would have been a waste of all those lovely names and characters if we hadn't used them again."
[edit] Other
Apprentices made: Sorrelpaw, Sootpaw, and Rainpaw (Thunderclan), Sparrowpaw, Cherrypaw Rockpaw, Bouncepaw, Mintpaw (Skyclan)
Warriors made: Ashfur, Ferncloud (Darkest Hour- Firestars Quest) Brambleclaw (Thunderclan), Tawnypelt (Shadowclan), Stormfur, Feathertail (Darkest Hour- Firestars Quest) (Riverclan), Leafdapple , Sharpclaw, Patchfoot, Shortwhisker, Rainfur, Clovertail, Petalnose, Cherrytail, and Sparrowpelt (Skyclan)
Mentors made: Patchfoot, Cherrytail, and Sparrowpelt
Medicine Cats made: Echosong (Skyclan) and Littlecloud (Darkest Hour- Firestars Quest) (Shadowclan)
Leaders made: Leafstar
Deputies made: Sharpclaw
Kits born: Rockkit, Sagekit, Mintkit, Bouncekit, Tinykit (Skyclan), Spiderkit, Whitekit, Shrewkit (Darkest Hour- Firestars Quest), Leafkit, and Squirrelkit (Thunderclan)
Queen made: Ferncloud (Darkest Hour- Firestars Quest)
Elders made: Frostfur (Darkest Hour- Firestars Quest) (Thunderclan) and Skywatcher (Skyclan)
Deaths: Rainfur, Skywatcher (Skyclan), and Willowpelt (Thunderclan)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Warriors Super Edition: Firestar's Quest (Warriors) (Hardcover). Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ a b Послание (Russian). OZON.ru. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ a b WARRIORS: Super edition: Firestar's Quest. www.warriorcats. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ a b c d Erin Hunter AuthorTracker Message Archive. www.warriorcats. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ a b c d Firestar's Quest (Warriors Super Edition). Barnes and Noble.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ a b Erin Hunter Chat #4 Transcript - January 19, 2008. Wands and Worlds. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
- ^ Frequently Asked Questions. www.warriorcats. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
- ^ The Warriors Books. www.warriorcats. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
- ^ Books on Juvenile Fiction > Animals > Cats. Alibris.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
- ^ a b Hunter, Erin (2007). The Sight. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0060892012.
- ^ Hunter, Erin (2007). Into the Wild. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0060000028.
- ^ a b Hunter, Erin (2005). Dawn. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0060744571.
- ^ Transcript Of Erin Hunter Chat. Wands and Worlds. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ Midnight (Warriors: The New Prophecy Series #1). Barnes and Noble. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ a b Transcript of the Second Erin Hunter Chat. Wands and Worlds. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ Hunter, Erin (2007). Warrior's Refuge. TokyoPop. ISBN 978-0061252310.
- ^ On Sale in August - 7/23/2007. Publisher's Weekly. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ a b Warriors Super Edition: Firestar's Quest (Warriors) (Paperback). Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ Firestar's Quest (Warriors) (Hardcover). Amazo.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ Warriors: Firestar's Quest (Hardcover) by Erin Hunter. Amazon.ca. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ Book Review: Firestar's Quest. Wands and Worlds. Retrieved on 2008-04-05.
[edit] External links
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