A Starless Clans
| River |  |
| Sky |  |
| Shadow |  |
| Thunder | |
| Wind |  |
| Star | |
| Average Rating: | |
A Starless Clan is far from perfect, but despite its flaws it is a refreshing arc characterized by strong character moments and plot. On the surface, A Starless Clan appears to be a diet version of the Broken Code (ex. medicene cat having trouble with Starclan, a competent female warrior facing unrequited love, and an apprentice in love with said female warrior in a different clan). Thankfully, A Starless Clan moves away from rehashing the exact same character beats as the preceding arc by fleshing out its new characters. Sunbeam moves on from unrequited love to finding her own place in a new clan while trying to deal with a messy familial relationship; Nightheart grows from being an entitled angsty apprentice into his own self assured cat with his own legacy; and Frostpaw, my favorite, deals with anxiety and imposter syndrome to become a confident medicene cat ready to lead her clan to peace. The three leads not only form close connections with each other, but also clanmates and the antagonists.
On the subject of antagonists, A Starless Clan has new villians that are quite enjoyable to read. Splashtail is the classic bloodthristy and power-hungry warrior eager to take over the other clans and fueled by paranoia. Curlfeather is a calculated mother who, while loving Frostpaw, has no qualms manipulating her and refuses to take responsbility for any of her actions. Berryheart, the final antagonist, is possibly the most interesting and frustrating. She's Sunbeam's mother and incredibly xenophobic taking a sort of "patriotism to our nation first" type attitude at odds with the changes in the Warrior Code that now allow for clan switching. This creates a complex dilemma for Sunbeam who wants to remember her mother as the kind determine warriors of her childhood, and not the manipulative cruel cat willing to do anything to preserve the old ways of life.
The supporting cast and background plots were also strong. I LOVE that Brambleclaw stepped down and that Squirrelstar gets to lead Thunderclan alongside Ivypool. I love the park cats whose meditation makes it back into the books. I love that Tree got to be used as a mediator as originally intended. I love Lightleap, and how she's kind of a terrible friend with something to prove. I love that Whistlepaw and Frostpaw form a genuine friendship. I love that Tigerstar is a troublemaker with good intentions, and has no qualms calling meetings and bringing the clans together. I love that Sparkpelt and Finchlight make an effort with Sunbeam and that they are great "in-laws" to her.
With all these plotthreads and characters at play, it was nice that a Starless Clan took its time with its pacing. While not perfect, this arc avoids the pitfall of having a mid-series conclusion, and instead leaves the final confrontation for its final book. This meant the characters had a chance to form relationships, and conflicts festered and developed overtime. Unfortunately, some books did feel a bit like filler (mainly Shadow and Wind), but they weren't horrible reads.
Overall, I'm pleased with how a Starless Clan turned out. Although, it still makes me wonder how the clans will face conflict going forward. Each of the new arcs seems to conclud with clans realizing over and over again that they need each other, killing is wrong, and they are all more alike than they think. Borders are more relaxed than ever unless the plot calls for it, and it's hard to turn the clans into villians without jumping through hoops. Still, that all has yet to be seen, on its own this was a great read.
A Starless Clan - Super Editions and Novellas
| Ivypool's Heart |  |
Ivypool's Heart is one of the stranger Super Editions. It takes place concurrent to A Starless Clan which means it's, unfortunately, a traveling book. The pacing is so slow, and the actual plot beats ranges from incredibly boring to head scratching. Fading from the afterlife is reintroduced, and utilized to explain a mysterious missing clan connected to wildcats that everyone just conveniently forgot about. The rules governing remembrance and fading are convoluted at best. I am not enthused about a view retconned clan, but I'm willing to see where it goes.
Good character interactions kept me from losing my focus entirely. Ivypool’s grief over losing Bristlefrost is really well developed, and leads to a lot of great moments between her, Dovewing, Rootspring, and even Icewing. I like that she has a healthy relationship with her mate, Fernsong, and cats she cares about. There also cute moments between the cast as they proceed through their quest, and there is a surprising amount of continiuty. That said, like almost all Warriors books, the character dynamics never went as deep as I hoped.