Warriors (book series)

Warriors is a series of fantasy fiction books written by Erin Hunter. The series is about the adventures of wild cats as they try to survive in their forest homes. The series is made up of four mini-series with six books in each series. The first of these, called Warriors, was released in 2003, starting with the book Into the Wild. The authors were not planning to write another mini-series, but they eventually began the second mini-series. The second mini-series is titled Warriors: The New Prophecy and was published in 2005. The first book was called Midnight. The first book of the third series Warriors: The Power of Three, The Sight, was released on April 24, 2007.  The fourth series, Warriors: Omen of the Stars, began with The Fourth Apprentice on November 24, 2009. The fifth series, Warriors: Dawn of the Clans began with The Sun Trail on March 5, 2013. The sixth series, Warriors: A Vision of Shadows began with The Apprentice's Quest on March 25, 2016. The current series, Warriors: The Broken Code began on April 9, 2019 with Lost Stars. An eighth arc has been announced.

Seven field guides were also released. They give more information about the Clans (the groups of cats) that are not mentioned in the series. Thirteen "super edition" books have been released, with another announced to be released soon. These books are about double the length of the normal books. Fifteen "manga" books have been released. These are graphic novels that tell short stories not seen in the main books.

The series focuses on a group of cats called ThunderClan and their lives around four other groups. Each mini-series focuses on different characters.

Setting and characters

The original series and the first two books of Warriors: The New Prophecy are set in a forest that the authors have said was based on the New Forest area of England. 
The first six books center around Rusty, a kittypet (housecat) who joins ThunderClan, and finds out that there is a prophecy about him. The second series finds the forest in turmoil. "Twolegs" (humans) are destroying the forest, and a cat from each of the four Clans must go on a journey. Then, all the cats must find a new home. This involves mostly Leafpool and Squirrelflight, daughters of Rusty, now called Firestar. The third series, The Power of Three, involves Squirrelflight's "kits", Jayfeather, Hollyleaf, and Lionblaze, and the special powers that they have. The next series, Omen of the Stars, involves Dovewing and Ivypool. Dovewing has a special power, and Ivypool doesn't, but she trains in the "Dark Forest," their version of Hell, to try and be a better warrior than Dovewing. They must save all of the Clans, along with the three cats from The Power of Three. The next series, Dawn of the Clans, focuses on the creation of the Clans. A Vision of Shadows, the next series, focuses on Alderheart, who is Squirrelflight's son, along with Twigbranch and Violetshine, who are kits from SkyClan that were separated from their Clan at birth. They must find SkyClan and help them settle by the lake with the other Clans. This plan is complicated by Darktail, a very powerful and charismatic cat who has come to destroy all of the Clans. The Broken Code is the next series, which focuses on Shadowsight, Bristlefrost, and Rootspring. ThunderClan's leader has been replaced by an impostor, and StarClan is silent. It is their duty to save both Bramblestar and StarClan.

Warriors book list

Warriors: The Prophecies Begin

This mini-series focuses on the young kitten Rusty. In the first book, Into the Wild, he discovers a kitten named Graypaw in the woods. After a cat named Bluestar asks him to join ThunderClan, Rusty decides to leave his home in the town and join Bluestar's Clan - who she turns out to lead. There, he is given the name Firepaw. Some of his friends include Graypaw, Sandpaw, Dustpaw, and Ravenpaw - they become Graystripe, Sandstorm, and Dustpelt, but Ravenpaw is chased off due to his mentor's evil intentions. Firepaw himself is later named a warrior, Fireheart.

Fireheart finds out that a fellow warrior, Tigerclaw, has killed a cat in ThunderClan because he wanted to take this cat's position. Fireheart reveals this to his Clan in Forest of Secrets. Tigerclaw is then forced away from ThunderClan and lives as a lone cat in the forest. However, he is always watching for a chance to take revenge on Fireheart.

However, Tigerclaw then becomes leader of a rival clan, ShadowClan. He tries to get the four Clans to join and form one single Clan called TigerClan. When they refuse, he asks a group of city cats called BloodClan to fight the other Clans. However, this plan fails and Tigerclaw is killed by the leader of BloodClan.

The books in the original Warriors series are:

Book 1: Into the Wild
Book 2: Fire and Ice
Book 3: Forest of Secrets
Book 4: Rising Storm
Book 5: A Dangerous Path
Book 6: The Darkest Hour

Warriors: The New Prophecy

The next mini-series focuses on three cats: Brambleclaw, Squirrelpaw, and Leafpaw of ThunderClan. One night, in a dream, Brambleclaw speaks to the old ThunderClan leader, Bluestar, who tells him to meet with three other cats and to listen to what midnight tells them. He meets Tawnypelt of ShadowClan, Feathertail of RiverClan, and Crowpaw of WindClan, and together with their friends Stormfur and Squirrelpaw, they travel to the "sun-drown-place" (the ocean). There they learn that twolegs (humans) will destroy the forest because they want to build more thunderpaths (roads).
The six cats hurry back, but on the way, they meet some cats in the mountains known as the Tribe of Rushing Water. The tribe is being hunted by a large mountain cat, named Sharptooth. (mountain lion) . They think that Stormfur is the cat that is foretold to save them. In the end, it is Feathertail, Stormfur's sister, who kills the mountain cat, but she dies doing this. After leaving the tribe, the five remaining cats go home but find that the clans are worse than they had thought. The cats are all starving because the humans are scaring away all the prey and destroying the land. Firestar finally manages to convince the other clan leaders, (Leopardstar of RiverClan, Blackstar of ShadowClan, and Tallstar of WindClan, though he was willing) to come with him, and the four clans travel to a new territory by a lake.

But even though the cats are now safe, the trouble is not over. Squirrelpaw, given her warrior name Squirrelflight, does not trust Brambleclaw because he is friends with his half-brother Hawkfrost, son of Tigerstar and a rogue called Sasha. Leafpaw, now known as Leafpool, falls in love with Crowpaw, now known as Crowfeather. As the cats fight and fall in love, lots of badgers attack ThunderClan, making Leafpool make the choice to give up Crowfeather. It also results in Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight realizing how much they mean to each other. In Sunset, Hawkfrost wants to kill Firestar so that Brambleclaw can become leader. Brambleclaw realizes that he is more loyal to Firestar than to his half-brother, and he kills Hawkfrost to save his leader.

Book 1: Midnight
Book 2: Moonrise
Book 3: Dawn
Book 4: Starlight
Book 5: Twilight
Book 6: Sunset

Warriors: Power of Three

This series is about three cats - Jaypaw, Hollypaw, and Lionpaw. They are the kits Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw and they are also grandchildren of Firestar.

These three kittens are about to be ThunderClan apprentices. Hollypaw wants to be a medicine cat, and Jaypaw and Lionpaw will train to be warriors. However, Jaypaw is blind, and training to be a warrior will be hard for him. Eventually Hollypaw and Jaypaw switch roles after StarClan, the warrior ancestors, tell Jaypaw he needs to become a medicine cat. A few moons later, Lionpaw begins secretly meeting a WindClan apprentice, Heatherpaw while being trained by Tigerstar. Heatherpaw finds a set of secret tunnels under the ground and she and Lionpaw meet in them. Hollypaw finds out about this, and she and her friend Cinderpaw try to stop him from going to the tunnels. He eventually realizes that it is wrong to meet a cat from another clan, and breaks off the friendship. Then, three WindClan kittens get lost in the tunnels and Heatherpaw, Lionpaw, Hollypaw, Jaypaw, and Breezepaw have to save them.

In Outcast, the Tribe of Rushing Water is in danger from another band of cats in the mountains. Firestar sends the original New Prophecy cats, plus some extras, to the mountains to try to help them. Jaypaw meets the Tribe of Endless Hunting, the tribe’s ancestors, and realizes that the tribe is not all that different. In Eclipse, WindClan is not happy about ThunderClan taking in non-clan cats, so all four clans battle (Thunder and Shadow vs Wind and River), and the fighting is only stopped by an eclipse. A strange cat named Sol had predicted it, and Jaypaw thinks Sol is very powerful. After the battle, Hollypaw and Lionpaw get their warrior names, Hollyleaf and Lionblaze.

Sol tries to become powerful within the clans by convincing ShadowClan to stop believing in the Warrior Code. Jaypaw, Hollyleaf, and Lionblaze fake a sign from StarClan with Tawnypelt's kits to help to make Blackstar believe in his warrior ancestors again. Sol is driven out, and Jaypaw, after saving ThunderClan from a greencough, is given his medicine cat name, Jayfeather. When the clan is in the camp, a fire starts, and the three are trapped on a cliff. Squirrelflight tries to save them, but a warrior called Ashfur blocks the way. It turns out he was mad that Squirrelflight chose Brambleclaw to be her mate, and not him. In order to save the three, Squirrelflight has to tell Ashfur an important secret - Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Hollyleaf are not her kittens. Ashfur wants to tell all the clans, so right before the gathering, he is found dead in a river. The cats think Sol did it, so some of them go on a trip to a Twolegplace (a human town), find him, and take him back to ThunderClan. Meanwhile, Jayfeather is trying to find out who his mother is. After finding some clues, he realizes that she is Leafpool, and his father is Crowfeather. Hollyleaf is very mad upon hearing this, and she herself tells the cats at the gathering about it. She also tells her brothers that she killed Ashfur to protect them. Then, to escape what she did, she runs into one of the tunnels. It collapses, and though her body isn't found, it is assumed that she is dead.

 Book 1: The Sight
 Book 2: Dark River
 Book 3: Outcast
 Book 4: Eclipse
 Book 5: Long Shadows
 Book 6: Sunrise

Warriors: Omen of the Stars

The fourth arc follows prophesied cats Jayfeather and Lionblaze as well as a new addition, Dovewing, as they work with Dovewing's sister, Ivypool, to defeat the Dark Forest. The Dark Forest is home to the souls of cats who were evil in life and broke the Warrior Code. 

 Book 1: The Fourth Apprentice
 Book 2: Fading Echoes
 Book 3: Night Whispers
 Book 4: Sign of the Moon
 Book 5: The Forgotten Warrior
 Book 6: The Last Hope

Warriors: Dawn of the Clans 
The fifth arc details how the five warrior Clans came to be.
 Book 1: The Sun Trail
 Book 2: Thunder Rising
 Book 3: The First Battle
 Book 4: The Blazing Star
 Book 5: A Forest Divided
 Book 6: Path of Stars

Warriors: A Vision Of Shadows 
The sixth arc follows Alderheart and Twigbranch of ThunderClan and Violetshine of ShadowClan as they attempt to bring SkyClan, the lost Clan, back to the lake home of the other Clans.
 Book 1: The Apprentice's Quest
 Book 2: Thunder and Shadow
 Book 3: Shattered Sky
 Book 4: Darkest Night
 Book 5: River of Fire
 Book 6: The Raging Storm

Warriors: The Broken Code 
The seventh arc follows Bristlefrost of ThunderClan, Shadowsight of ShadowClan, and Rootspring of SkyClan as they try to purge an impostor from their leader, Bramblestar's, body. They also attempt to regain lost contact with StarClan, the spirits of warriors who have died. 
 Book 1: Lost Stars
 Book 2: The Silent Thaw
 Book 3: Veil of Shadows
 Book 4: Darkness Within
 Book 5: The Place of No Stars
 Book 6: A Light in the Mist

Standalone Books

Super Editions 

 Firestar's Quest
Firestar goes on a quest with Sandstorm to save SkyClan.

 Bluestar's Prophecy
Bluestar's life from kit to leader of ThunderClan.

 SkyClan's Destiny
SkyClan's life after Firestar leaves.

 Crookedstar's Promise
Crookedstar's promise to a mysterious cat leaves him with all the power he could dream of, but no one to share it with.

 Yellowfang's Secret
Yellowfang's ability to feel the pain of other cats has to be kept a secret to her Clan, but at what cost?

 Tallstar’s Revenge
Tallstar sets out on a quest for revenge on the cat he believes killed his father.

 Bramblestar’s Storm
Bramblestar questions his place as leader of ThunderClan as a large storm nearly destroys their lakeside home.
 Moth Flight's Vision
Moth Flight learns of her destiny as first medicine cat of the warrior Clans.
 Hawkwing’s Journey
SkyClan is sent away from their home. Hawkwing has to help them find the other Clans.
 Tigerheart’s Shadow
Dovewing is pregnant with Tigerheart's kits. She travels far away to find a safe place to give birth. Tigerheart has to find them and bring them back home.
 Crowfeather’s Trial
In WindClan, Crowfeather tries to understand his son, Breezepelt. When stoats come and hurt his Clan, Crowfeather needs to make peace with his family.
 Squirrelflight’s Hope
Squirrelflight fights for the protection of a peaceful group of female cats known as The Sisters, while worrying that she'll leave no legacy when she dies.
 Graystripe’s Vow
Long ago, Graystripe vowed never to leave his Clan, but as turmoil unfolds in the modern ThunderClan, he finds himself leaving it in the hopes of finding an answer to the problems they face.

 Leopardstar's Honor (unreleased)

Leopardstar wants what is best for her Clan, but has she gone too far this time?

Novellas 

 Hollyleaf's Story
Hollyleaf meets a strange cat in the tunnels beneath the Clans' territory.

 Mistystar's Omen
Mistystar struggles to cope with the knowledge that her medicine cat doesn't believe in StarClan.

 Cloudstar’s Journey
Cloudstar leads SkyClan on an ill-fated journey to find a new home.
 Tigerclaw’s Fury
Tigerclaw, exiled deputy of ThunderClan, seeks revenge on his former Clanmates.
 Leafpool’s Wish
Leafpool hides her kits from her Clan with the help of Squirrelflight.
 Dovewing’s Silence
Dovewing finds the loss of her powers nearly impossible to bear.
 Mapleshade’s Vengeance
Mapleshade seeks revenge on every cat who has wronged her.
 Goosefeather’s Curse
Goosefeather must cope with the ability to see the fate of living cats around him, including his own.
 Ravenpaw’s Farewell
Ravenpaw takes his mate, Barley, and Barley's sister's kits to SkyClan before dying.
 Spottedleaf’s Heart
Spottedleaf stands up for herself against the predator Thistleclaw.
 Pinestar’s Choice
Pinestar decides to leave ThunderClan and become a kittypet (house cat).
 Thunderstar’s Echo
Thunderstar struggles as the first leader of ThunderClan.
 Redtail’s Debt
Redtail's life was saved as an apprentice by Tigerclaw, but they slowly became enemies.
 Tawnypelt’s Clan
Tawnypelt takes her grandson on a quest.
 Shadowstar’s Life
Shadowstar prepares her Clan for her death.
 Pebbleshine’s Kits
Pebbleshine tries to defend her kits from harm while being stranded from her Clan.
 Tree’s Roots
Tree leaves his family to discover who he really is.
 Mothwing’s Secret
Mothwing struggles to keep her atheism hidden from her Clan.
 Daisy’s Kin
Daisy questions her place in the Clans as she realizes what a violent place the forest can be.
 Spotfur’s Rebellion
Spotfur leads a rebellion against the possessed leader of ThunderClan.
 Blackfoot’s Reckoning
Blackfoot was one of the tyrant Tigerstar's closest allies, and he struggles to gain trust as the new leader of ShadowClan.

Field Guides 

 Secrets of the Clans
Secrets of the Clans has a list of herbs, a tour of the camps of all four forest Clans, maps, stories, Clan mythology, Clan histories, prophecies, and a Catspeak to Humanspeak glossary.

 Cats of the Clans
Cats of the Clans has biographies and drawings of most important Warriors characters.

 Code of the Clans
Code of the Clans explains the reasons behind all the rules of the warrior code using 15 short stories.

 Battles of the Clans
Battles of the Clans explains all of the clans' battle moves and shows some famous past battles.

 Enter the Clans
Enter the Clans is Secrets of the Clans and Code of the Clans in one book.

 The Ultimate Guide
The Ultimate Guide is an expanded version of Cats of the Clans with more characters.
 The Warriors Guide
The Warriors Guide is an updated version of Secrets of the Clans.

Warriors manga

Graystripe's Trilogy
There is a three book manga series based on what happened to Graystripe between the time that he was taken captive by "twolegs" (humans) in Dawn until he returned to ThunderClan in The Sight.

 The Lost Warrior
 Warrior's Refuge
 Warrior's Return

Tigerstar and Sasha Trilogy

This series follows the life of Sasha, a kittypet who is forced to leave her home and who falls in love with a dangerous Clan cat, Tigerstar.

 Into the Woods
 Escape from the Forest
 Return to the Clans

Ravenpaw's Path
This manga series features Ravenpaw, a former apprentice of ThunderClan, and his adventures to take back his home from former BloodClan cats.

Shattered Peace
 A Clan in Need
 Heart of a Warrior

SkyClan and the Stranger
This graphic novel follows SkyClan four seasons after SkyClan's Destiny, and features Leafstar's experience having kits while leading her Clan through Sol's regime in SkyClan.

 The Rescue
 Beyond the Code
 After the Flood

Other Manga 
 The Rise of Scourge
A small kitten named Tiny eventually becomes the feared leader of BloodClan.
 A Shadow in RiverClan
Feathertail questions her place in RiverClan after the cruel reign of Tigerstar has ended.
 Winds of Change

Warriors play
Written by Vicky 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 shows a meeting between Leafpool of ThunderClan and Crowfeather of WindClan after the events of Sunset. The script was released to the public at www.warriorcats.com, the official site for the Warriors series. In 2009, another short play called Brightspirit's Mercy was released. This play was about the ThunderClan cat Jayfeather helping the other clans even though it is against the warrior code. This play was also released at www.warriorcats.com.

References

Other websites
The Official Warriors Site The official site of Warriors.
The Guttersnipe Author Kate Cary's personal site.
Warriors Wiki  A comprehensive Warriors Encyclopedia.

Warriors books