Warriors: Omen of the Stars

Warriors: Omen of the Stars

The Fourth Apprentice Fading Echoes Night Whispers Sign of the Moon The Forgotten Warrior The Last Hope
Author	Erin Hunter
Illustrator	Wayne McLoughlin
Country	United States/Canada
Language	English
Genre	Children's literature Fantasy
Publisher	HarperCollins
Published	2009–2012

Warriors: Omen of the Stars is the fourth arc in the Warriors juvenile fantasy novel series about anthropomorphic feral cats. It comprises six novels published by HarperCollins from 2009 to 2012: The Fourth Apprentice, Fading Echoes, Night Whispers, Sign of the Moon, The Forgotten Warrior, and The Last Hope. The novels were written by Erin Hunter, a pseudonym that refers to authors Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, and Tui Sutherland, as well as plot developer and editor Victoria Holmes. Omen of the Stars details the experiences of Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovewing, who, as part of a prophecy, have special powers. The arc's themes deal with forbidden love and the effect that being different can have on relationships. Though the Warriors series has appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List, none of the novels in Warriors: Omen of the Stars has won a significant literary award.

Publication history

In the United States, hardcover and e-book formats for The Fourth Apprentice were published on 24 November 2009,^[1][2] Fading Echoes on 6 April 2010,^[3][4] Night Whispers on 23 November 2010,^[5][6] Sign of the Moon on 5 April 2011,^[7][8] The Forgotten Warrior on 22 November 2011,^[9][10] and The Last Hope on 3 April 2012.^[11][12] The first four books were also released on those days in an audiobook format, read by Kathleen McInerney.^{[13][14][15][16]} Paperback editions of each were released on 21 December 2010,^[17] 5 April 2011,^[18] 27 December 2011,^[19] 3 April 2012,^[20] 26 December 2012,^[21] and 2 April 2013,^[12] respectively.

Release in Canada generally preceded release in the United States by a few days. The Fourth Apprentice was released in hardcover on 24 November 2009 (same as the United States)^[22] and paperback on 13 December 2010.^[23] Fading Echoes was released in hardcover on 15 May 2010^[24] and paperback on 5 April 2011.^[25] Night Whispers was released in hardcover on 19 November 2010^[26] and paperback on 19 December 2011.^[27] Sign of the Moon was released in hardcover on 5 April 2011 (same as the United States)^[28] and paperback on 26 March 2012.^[29] The Forgotten Warrior was released in hardcover on 22 November 2011 (same as the United States)^[30] and 13 December 2012.^[31] The Last Hope was released in hardcover on 26 March 2012^[32] and in paperback on 25 March 2013.^[33]

Synopsis

The Fourth Apprentice

The Fourth Apprentice takes place approximately six months after the end of Sunrise, during the summer, when the four Clans are suffering due to a drought. In ThunderClan, sisters Dovekit and Ivykit become apprentices with Lionblaze as Dovepaw's mentor and Cinderheart as Ivypaw's. While out in the forest, Dovepaw speaks of seeing brown animals (beavers) up the river building a dam, causing the drought, but no other cat believes her. Lionblaze realizes that Dovepaw is one of the Three foretold in the prophecy "There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws", of which he and his brother Jayfeather are also a part. They each have a special power, and he realizes that Dovepaw's is the ability to see and hear things very far away, i.e., clairvoyance.

Lionblaze plans to travel up the stream and find a way to unblock it and bring the water back, a journey that would include a patrol from each Clan, and ThunderClan leader Firestar agrees. Lionblaze and Dovepaw are chosen to represent ThunderClan on the trip, and meet up with Toadfoot and Tigerheart of ShadowClan, Whitetail and Sedgewhisker of WindClan, and Rippletail and Petalfur of RiverClan. When they arrive at the beaver dam, they plan an attack on the beavers, but the beavers prove too strong, wounding many and killing Rippletail. The patrol creates a new plan that requires more cats, so Lionblaze and Dovepaw set out to find Seville, Jigsaw, and Snowdrop, housecats they met earlier on their journey, and convince them to help. The housecats agree and, with their help, the dam is successfully destroyed.

Meanwhile, back in ThunderClan, Poppyfrost, pregnant with Berrynose's kits, becomes worried that Berrynose does not love her, as he forces her to stay in the nursery. She leaves camp, but ThunderClan medicine cat Jayfeather follows her to the Moonpool, spotting his half-brother, Breezepelt of WindClan, following her too. Jayfeather attempts to comfort Poppyfrost, but is interrupted when Breezepelt shows himself again, attacking Jayfeather. Breezepelt declares that the rule forbidding the killing of a medicine cat no longer affects him because Jayfeather's birth occurred outside of the warrior code. The spirit of another cat, unknown to Jayfeather (Brokenstar), aids Breezepelt in the attack, but the spirit of Poppyfrost's sister Honeyfern comes to Jayfeather's aid and chases them away. She tells Jayfeather that she is proud of Poppyfrost and Berrynose, that Berrynose truly does love Poppyfrost, and that he is only terrified of losing Poppyfrost as he had originally lost Honeyfern.

Jayfeather tells Lionblaze about the tom that aided Breezepelt, and Lionblaze confesses to meeting Tigerstar, the antagonist from the original Warriors series, in his dreams in the past. They realize that Breezepelt must have been recruited by Tigerstar to help fight in a war between StarClan and the Dark Forest.

Fading Echoes

The spirit of Hawkfrost, Tigerstar's son, begins to visit Ivypaw in her dreams and teaches her battle moves, pretending he is from StarClan. Ivypaw, still jealous that Dovepaw is keeping secrets from her, decides not to tell anyone about Hawkfrost's training.

After days of rain, Dovepaw senses a tree on the edge of the hollow about to fall. She warns Firestar and the Clan, and they manage to evacuate the camp before the tree falls. However, Mousefur stays behind, refusing to give up on a mouse that she is eating. Longtail goes back into camp for the mouse, and Briarpaw goes back for Longtail. As a result, Briarpaw's backbone is broken, rendering her rear half permanently paralyzed, and Longtail dies.

The spirit of Tigerstar tells Ivypaw that giving a strip of territory to ShadowClan to avoid future conflicts has endangered ThunderClan. Ivypaw believes Tigerstar and tells Firestar that she had a dream from StarClan of ShadowClan invading because they believe that Firestar is too weak to keep his own territory. Firestar and the senior warriors decide to attack ShadowClan preemptively. During the battle, Lionblaze accidentally kills ShadowClan deputy Russetfur after she takes Firestar's seventh life.

Night Whispers

Jayfeather discovers upon unintentionally entering Ivypaw's dream that Ivypaw and Tigerheart are receiving training from the cats in the Dark Forest.

Lionblaze and Cinderheart decide to do an early border patrol and run into ShadowClan medicine cat apprentice Flametail, who is angry with Lionblaze for killing Russetfur in Fading Echoes.

Dovepaw later uses her power to listen in on Lionblaze and Jayfeather, who are discussing Ivypaw's training in the Dark Forest, then confronts Ivypaw about this. Ivypaw denies that it is wrong. Dovepaw wants to try to stop her from going, but Jayfeather tells her to leave Ivypaw alone for the time being.

Blackstar, leader of ShadowClan, asks Flametail and his mentor, Littlecloud, whether StarClan sent them a sign regarding the battle or not. When they reveal that there was no sign, Blackstar asks Littlecloud to go to the Moonpool to speak with StarClan. When Flametail arrives at the Moonpool, the spirit of Raggedstar, a former ShadowClan leader, tells him that ShadowClan must stand alone and not trust any allies.

In the Dark Forest, Ivypaw overhears Tigerstar telling Tigerheart during a training session that if Tigerheart cannot beat those "ThunderClan weaklings", he is nothing. Ivypaw, realizing that Tigerstar lied to her, flees. She then agrees to act as a spy on the Dark Forest for Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovepaw.

Flametail falls through the ice on the frozen lake while playing a game with other apprentices and begins to drown. Jayfeather attempts to save Flametail until the spirit of Rock, an ancient cat from before the Clans, appears and tells Jayfeather that it is Flametail's time to die. Jayfeather lets go of Flametail, who drowns.

Shortly afterward, Ivypaw visits the Dark Forest, now as a spy, and Brokenstar gives her a test to prove her loyalty. He instructs Ivypaw to kill the spirit of the now-dead Flametail, who is confused about no longer being in StarClan and does not know where he is. Brokenstar says a cat's soul does die, either slowly as he or she is forgotten, or by any blows that would kill a living cat. Ivypaw prepares to pounce, believing that she has no other option without revealing her disenchantment with the Dark Forest, but Tigerheart, who is Flametail's brother, stops her. Tigerstar, who is also Tigerheart and Flametail's grandfather, lets Flametail go, saying that he is not a threat.

Sign of the Moon

Jayfeather, Dovewing, Foxleap, and Squirrelflight visit the Tribe of Rushing Water when Jayfeather receives a dream from the ancient cat Rock, who insists he go to the mountains without telling him the purpose. While there, Jayfeather is sent back in time as his previous incarnation, Jay's Wing, to convince the Tribe's ancestors to stay in the mountains after journeying from the lake at Jayfeather/Jay's Wing's urging in Long Shadows. Realizing that the ancient Tribe has not yet gained a connection with their ancestors' spirits, he appoints the Tribe's first Teller of the Pointed Stones (also called Stoneteller, a role similar to Clan leader and medicine cat combined). He appoints Half Moon, then returns to the present day, where he appoints Crag Where Eagles Nest as the Stoneteller of modern times to resolve a crisis due to the current Stoneteller dying of old age without a successor.

The Forgotten Warrior

New ThunderClan apprentices Cherrypaw and Molepaw have a run-in with a fox, but an unknown cat saves them. Lionblaze investigates, finding Sol, a loner first introduced in Eclipse who previously predicted an eclipse then briefly convinced ShadowClan to lose faith in StarClan. Sol says that he saved the apprentices and is welcomed by some, but not trusted by others. When Sol disappears, Dovewing and Ivypool follow him into the tunnels and discover that he is trying to cause a battle between ThunderClan and WindClan. While Dovewing and Ivypool are spying on Sol and WindClan in the tunnels, WindClan warrior Owlwhisker almost discovers them, but Hollyleaf, who had not died in the tunnel collapse in Sunrise and instead lived in the tunnels in self-imposed exile, leads them to safety. Before she can re-enter the tunnels, Lionblaze arrives and convinces her to return to ThunderClan. Dovewing and Ivypool reveal that Sol is planning an attack on ThunderClan and that Hollyleaf actually saved the apprentices from the fox. In preparation, Hollyleaf teaches ThunderClan battle skills useful in the tunnels. When WindClan attacks through the tunnels, ThunderClan repels the attack, being more experienced in underground combat due to Hollyleaf's training.

The Last Hope

Jayfeather receives a prophecy informing him that there is actually a fourth cat in the prophecy. Dovewing believes Ivypool to be the fourth, Lionblaze believes it is Hollyleaf, and Jayfeather believes it is Mothwing, medicine cat of RiverClan. However, there is division in StarClan and therefore between the medicine cats due to the accusation that Jayfeather murdered Flametail in Night Whispers, making it difficult to speak to Mothwing. Jayfeather is granted safe passage, however, and she shows him a reed that has been smoldering for days, even after heavy rainfall. Jayfeather takes this as an omen to find the spirit of Flametail, although the divisions in StarClan make it difficult. When he finds Flametail, he convinces Flametail to reveal the truth: that he had drowned and was not killed by Jayfeather. This revelation resolves the divisions among the medicine cats, who then unite StarClan in preparation for the final battle with the Dark Forest. Former ThunderClan leader Bluestar tells Jayfeather that the fourth cat is Firestar. The final battle between the Clans and the Dark Forest then begins, with both StarClan and Dark Forest cats taking on corporeal forms. The battle ends when Firestar kills Tigerstar's spirit, but he dies immediately afterward and loses his last life.

Reception

A reviewer for Booklist suggested that fans of the series would enjoy The Fourth Apprentice and called Dovepaw a "reluctant heroine".^[35] A reviewer for Horn Book Guide praised the dramatic adventures and fight scenes.^[36] It was also noted that Fading Echoes explores how having special abilities can affect relationships.^[37] A reviewer for Booklist called Sign of the Moon a "bridge book", but praised Hunter for the quality of the novel and allowing readers to "get to know a few of the multitudinous cast" better.^[38]

Beth L. Meister and Kitty Flynn for Horn Book Guide noted in multiple reviews for books in the series that new readers would have difficulty getting into the story due to the amount of required background information and numerous characters. They also rated all six books four out of a six-point scale in which a rating of one is the highest.^{[36][37][39][40][41][42]} Meister also commented that themes often revolve around forbidden interClan romances.^[39]

References

Erin Hunter's Warriors series Main series Warriors: The Original Series Into the Wild (2003) Fire and Ice (2003) Forest of Secrets (2003) Rising Storm (2004) A Dangerous Path (2004) The Darkest Hour (2004) Warriors: The New Prophecy Midnight (2005) Moonrise (2005) Dawn (2005) Starlight (2006) Twilight (2006) Sunset (2007) Warriors: Power of Three The Sight (2007) Dark River (2007) Outcast (2008) Eclipse (2008) Long Shadows (2008) Sunrise (2009) Warriors: Omen of the Stars The Fourth Apprentice (2009) Fading Echoes (2010) Night Whispers (2010) Sign of the Moon (2011) The Forgotten Warrior (2011) The Last Hope (2012) Warriors: Dawn of the Clans The Sun Trail (2013) Thunder Rising (2013) The First Battle (2014) The Blazing Star (2014) Warriors: A Vision of Shadows The Apprentice's Quest (2016) Other literature Super Editions Firestar's Quest (2007) Bluestar's Prophecy (2009) SkyClan's Destiny (2010) Crookedstar's Promise (2011) Yellowfang's Secret (2012) Tallstar's Revenge (2013) Bramblestar's Storm (2014) Field Guides Secrets of the Clans (2007) Cats of the Clans (2008) Code of the Clans (2009) Battles of the Clans (2010) Enter the Clans (2012) Warriors: The Ultimate Guide (2013) OEL Manga Graystripe's trilogy The Lost Warrior (2007) Warrior's Refuge (2007) Warrior's Return (2008) Tigerstar and Sasha Into the Woods (2008) Escape from the Forest (2009) Return to the Clans (2009) Ravenpaw's Path Shattered Peace (2009) A Clan in Need (2010) The Heart of a Warrior (2010) SkyClan and the Stranger The Rescue (2011) Beyond the Code (2011) After the Flood (2012) Other The Rise of Scourge (2008) See also List of Warriors characters Authors Kate Cary Cherith Baldry Tui Sutherland Victoria Holmes Related people Wayne McLoughlin Dan Jolley James L. Barry Related series Seekers Survivors WikiProject