Status
Available
Series
Genres
Publication
HarperCollins (2004), Edition: Reprint, 288 pages
Description
Fantasy. Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. HTML: Epic adventures. Fierce warrior cats. A thrilling fantasy world. It all begins here. Read the book that began a phenomenonâ??and join the legion of fans who have made Erin Hunter's Warriors series a #1 national bestseller. For generations, four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest according to the laws laid down by their ancestors. But the warrior code has been threatened, and the ThunderClan cats are in grave danger. The sinister ShadowClan grows stronger every day. Noble warriors are dyingâ??and some deaths are more mysterious than others. In the midst of this turmoil appears an ordinary housecat named Rusty... who may turn out to be the bravest warrior of them all
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User reviews
LibraryThing member alana_leigh
Rusty, a common house cat, decides to abandon his "kittypet" life when he's invited to become an apprentice warrior with Thunderclan, one of several clans of feral cats that hunt for their food and fight for their territory. Yeah, that's right. Clans of fighting cats. I think we have to chalk this
Um... Alana? I notice that you're reading a book with a cat on the cover. Now, it doesn't look like nonfiction, nor does the cat appear to be intended ironically... would you care to comment? Yeah... this is the first book from that insanely lucrative "Warriors" series that's so popular with the kids these days.
Oh really? What's the series about? Well, it's about clans of cats who live by a warrior code and battle for survival in the wilderness. Imagine warrior knights loyal to a king... but with fur... and tails. The first one is from the perspective of a house cat named Rusty who joins up with the Thunderclan and proves himself worthy of becoming a warrior as he protects the clan and his friends.
... Seriously? Yes, seriously.
So all the characters are cats. ... Does Rusty fight along side Fluffy, Rocketship, and Mittens? Actually, once Rusty joins the clan, his name becomes Firepaw. And all the clan cats have these double names like Tigerclaw or Spottedleaf or Bluestar.
... Are you making this up? I promise you, I'm not making this up.
Okaaay. I'll admit, I've heard of the series, but I don't think I really realized everything that it would entail. Get it? En-tail? You're hilarious.
There's a lot of these books, aren't there? There are approximately a zillion books in this series.
A zillion? A zillion books about anthropomorphic fighting cats? Who on earth is reading these? In the eight to twelve age bracket, it's more a question of who isn't reading them. It's a series that actually appeals to both girls and boys and here's why. One: it's about kittehs (which means all girls will read this). Two: they fight (which means lots of boys will read this). Three: have you ever heard of a little thing called Redwall by Brian Jacques? Now all the geeks will read this.
Hey! Don't knock Redwall! I'm not knocking Redwall at all, because Redwall is awesome, but you have to admit... while Redwall fans were not necessarily popular as children, they are voracious readers and if you had run out of books about mice, otters, and voles and you saw this series sitting right in front of your beloved Brian Jacques... well, cats aren't looking so crazy now, are they?
Well played... to the point where I'm wishing I had come up with this idea. I could be making bank. What mastermind conceived of this evil plan? The author is listed as Erin Hunter, but "Erin Hunter" is the pen name used by four women who write/edit this series. The idea was originally suggested to the editor by the publisher, who wanted a series about cats, and it all took off from there. The surname "Hunter" stems from the combined desire to come up with something that fits the series (and "Hunter" works pretty nicely) and the goal to tap into the Redwall market by simple shelf placement. It also means you don't break up the series by an author's last name if they were to all be shelved according to the individual author.
Okay, but really, while the book premise might seem wildly ridiculous to adults, I can totally see the appeal for children. Epic stories, a return to tales rather knightly topics of honor and loyalty, a huge cast of characters... yes, it's talking animals but the plots aren't focused on silly adventures. There's actual fighting and death, which means kids don't feel like this is some pandering story about kitty-cats where everything turns out okay in the end and Miss Whiskers is just sleeping. Young readers learn moral lessons about being dedicated to achieving their goals and rising above taunts and prejudice.
I'll admit that I may have, at times, wanted to insert various lolcats as illustrative aids and shout "Thundercats! Hoooo!" when the Thunderclan went into battle. My significant other refers to this as the "lazer cat" series. And no, there's no way I would be caught on the subway reading this book by another adult but that's the thing... I'm not the intended market; kids are, and as long as they're entertained, I'm totally fine with any epic series that keeps them reading. Sure, "Warriors" doesn't seem quite as literary as Redwall, though it's gotten nominated for various awards, and there's a really large cast of characters, but that only seems to invest kids in learning everything to conquer it all and diving into this new world. It's not another planet; the cats don't wear clothes. A kid could read this and very easily look at the family cat in a whole new light. Yes, the cats seem to have an impressive knowledge of herbal lore at their paw-tips, but to just injure cats in battle and then leave them to fester and die would be far too gruesome. Rusty/Firepaw is a fairly likable hero who certainly grows in skill and logic as the book progresses. His eventual path towards leading Thunderclan (which I'm guessing at right now) seems pretty clear. This is obviously set up for a series, but this has to have surpassed the wildest expectations of the publisher, given the huge fan base and large number of participating members on the fan message boards.
Here's the thing. Unlike some other young reader books, I can't really say that I would recommend this to other adults -- there seems to be an age limit for the obsession. Honestly, I would suspect there's an age limit from any true pleasure taken from these. After a certain age, if you're going to read about anthropomorphic animals, you want a little more from them. However, Warriors could prove to be a key stepping stone from much simpler young reader books to other, more intense fantasy worlds and giant epics. Hey, it might even help to improve the attention span of children if they manage to read all these books and remember the family trees and so on. Clearly Warriors has lots of fans and despite my good-natured teasing, this old-fogy can see how kids today might find this to be a truly captivating series.
Oh, and one last thing. Thundercats! Hooooo!
UPDATE.
Okay. I finished writing this review and then went out to dinner with my significant other. We sat down and almost immediately, my significant other's eyes locked on something beyond my elbow.
"That's yours, right?"
"What?"
"That." With his head, he motioned for me to turn and look. Behind us, an elderly couple sat and beside the older woman, a copy of Warriors sat with a bookmark in it. It was book six of the first series. x"I love it," she insisted when we asked. "I have cats and I'm a big animal lover. I think these books are wonderful." So I yield the point. Evidently adults do read these books for their own enjoyment. She wasn't even reading it to engage in a shared interest with a grandchild (as had been my hypothesis). It takes all kinds, evidently.
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one up to "things adults will probably never quite get" and accept it, but if you want more detail, here we go. To describe this book, I'm going to imagine a conversation with a friend of mine who would take a good amount of joy in subtly mocking me about this book while asking more and more questions so he might relish the ridiculousness.Um... Alana? I notice that you're reading a book with a cat on the cover. Now, it doesn't look like nonfiction, nor does the cat appear to be intended ironically... would you care to comment? Yeah... this is the first book from that insanely lucrative "Warriors" series that's so popular with the kids these days.
Oh really? What's the series about? Well, it's about clans of cats who live by a warrior code and battle for survival in the wilderness. Imagine warrior knights loyal to a king... but with fur... and tails. The first one is from the perspective of a house cat named Rusty who joins up with the Thunderclan and proves himself worthy of becoming a warrior as he protects the clan and his friends.
... Seriously? Yes, seriously.
So all the characters are cats. ... Does Rusty fight along side Fluffy, Rocketship, and Mittens? Actually, once Rusty joins the clan, his name becomes Firepaw. And all the clan cats have these double names like Tigerclaw or Spottedleaf or Bluestar.
... Are you making this up? I promise you, I'm not making this up.
Okaaay. I'll admit, I've heard of the series, but I don't think I really realized everything that it would entail. Get it? En-tail? You're hilarious.
There's a lot of these books, aren't there? There are approximately a zillion books in this series.
A zillion? A zillion books about anthropomorphic fighting cats? Who on earth is reading these? In the eight to twelve age bracket, it's more a question of who isn't reading them. It's a series that actually appeals to both girls and boys and here's why. One: it's about kittehs (which means all girls will read this). Two: they fight (which means lots of boys will read this). Three: have you ever heard of a little thing called Redwall by Brian Jacques? Now all the geeks will read this.
Hey! Don't knock Redwall! I'm not knocking Redwall at all, because Redwall is awesome, but you have to admit... while Redwall fans were not necessarily popular as children, they are voracious readers and if you had run out of books about mice, otters, and voles and you saw this series sitting right in front of your beloved Brian Jacques... well, cats aren't looking so crazy now, are they?
Well played... to the point where I'm wishing I had come up with this idea. I could be making bank. What mastermind conceived of this evil plan? The author is listed as Erin Hunter, but "Erin Hunter" is the pen name used by four women who write/edit this series. The idea was originally suggested to the editor by the publisher, who wanted a series about cats, and it all took off from there. The surname "Hunter" stems from the combined desire to come up with something that fits the series (and "Hunter" works pretty nicely) and the goal to tap into the Redwall market by simple shelf placement. It also means you don't break up the series by an author's last name if they were to all be shelved according to the individual author.
Okay, but really, while the book premise might seem wildly ridiculous to adults, I can totally see the appeal for children. Epic stories, a return to tales rather knightly topics of honor and loyalty, a huge cast of characters... yes, it's talking animals but the plots aren't focused on silly adventures. There's actual fighting and death, which means kids don't feel like this is some pandering story about kitty-cats where everything turns out okay in the end and Miss Whiskers is just sleeping. Young readers learn moral lessons about being dedicated to achieving their goals and rising above taunts and prejudice.
I'll admit that I may have, at times, wanted to insert various lolcats as illustrative aids and shout "Thundercats! Hoooo!" when the Thunderclan went into battle. My significant other refers to this as the "lazer cat" series. And no, there's no way I would be caught on the subway reading this book by another adult but that's the thing... I'm not the intended market; kids are, and as long as they're entertained, I'm totally fine with any epic series that keeps them reading. Sure, "Warriors" doesn't seem quite as literary as Redwall, though it's gotten nominated for various awards, and there's a really large cast of characters, but that only seems to invest kids in learning everything to conquer it all and diving into this new world. It's not another planet; the cats don't wear clothes. A kid could read this and very easily look at the family cat in a whole new light. Yes, the cats seem to have an impressive knowledge of herbal lore at their paw-tips, but to just injure cats in battle and then leave them to fester and die would be far too gruesome. Rusty/Firepaw is a fairly likable hero who certainly grows in skill and logic as the book progresses. His eventual path towards leading Thunderclan (which I'm guessing at right now) seems pretty clear. This is obviously set up for a series, but this has to have surpassed the wildest expectations of the publisher, given the huge fan base and large number of participating members on the fan message boards.
Here's the thing. Unlike some other young reader books, I can't really say that I would recommend this to other adults -- there seems to be an age limit for the obsession. Honestly, I would suspect there's an age limit from any true pleasure taken from these. After a certain age, if you're going to read about anthropomorphic animals, you want a little more from them. However, Warriors could prove to be a key stepping stone from much simpler young reader books to other, more intense fantasy worlds and giant epics. Hey, it might even help to improve the attention span of children if they manage to read all these books and remember the family trees and so on. Clearly Warriors has lots of fans and despite my good-natured teasing, this old-fogy can see how kids today might find this to be a truly captivating series.
Oh, and one last thing. Thundercats! Hooooo!
UPDATE.
Okay. I finished writing this review and then went out to dinner with my significant other. We sat down and almost immediately, my significant other's eyes locked on something beyond my elbow.
"That's yours, right?"
"What?"
"That." With his head, he motioned for me to turn and look. Behind us, an elderly couple sat and beside the older woman, a copy of Warriors sat with a bookmark in it. It was book six of the first series. x"I love it," she insisted when we asked. "I have cats and I'm a big animal lover. I think these books are wonderful." So I yield the point. Evidently adults do read these books for their own enjoyment. She wasn't even reading it to engage in a shared interest with a grandchild (as had been my hypothesis). It takes all kinds, evidently.
Show Less
LibraryThing member normaleistiko
One of the best of "chapter" books for children who like animals, especially cats. The chapters are about 5-7 pages long, so an excellent length for a child who reads well but is still a preteen, 11 or 12, even 13 years old. Of course lots of children a bit older like it too, but it is not full of
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wierd super heroes nor is it about current world problems. An entire long series follows the first book, Into the Wild. Show Less
LibraryThing member sarah-e
I have mixed feelings about this book. Not horrible, not great. I can understand the appeal, I liked it. I will probably read the next one at some point, but it leaves much to be desired in terms of literary merit.
The main character is interesting and the story moves quickly, but the plot is
The main character is interesting and the story moves quickly, but the plot is
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redundant and ultimately unfulfilling. I suppose there are loose ends left to draw readers to the next book, but it was not compelling enough for me to put the second installment very high on my list. Show Less
LibraryThing member wellreadcatlady
I like cats, I like books, and so many patrons request these books I finally gave in and gave Warrior Cats a try. I enjoyed it so much more than I expected. Rusty is a kittypet who wants more out of life and venture out into the forest where he runs into members of a clan of wild cats and decides
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to join. The book introduces the four clans, the customs, and dynamics of this world. The world building is amazing and I got completely lost into the story. I completely understand why these books are requested so often and I plan to continue the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member CursorsFury
This was a cute book; inventive, short and sweet. It was a good start to a series that has many fans. I felt though that the author gave too much information on plots that were not finished in this book instead of just hinting at conflicts that would later come to be the main plots in future books.
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I would have preferred if she spent more time concentrating on one conflict. Instead she left you wondering what was the main problem that would be resolved in this book versus the continuing "problems." I'm sure much of my dislike for aspects of this book also come from the fact that I am an adult reading a children's novel. All in all it was a nice read, but I hope the author settles into a better writing flow/pattern in her later books. Show Less
LibraryThing member velvetsnape
Cute series. You won't be able to put it down. This really explains why cats act the way they do. Kittys! lol.
LibraryThing member warriorcat190
This book is reccomended to all ages, boys, girls, and everything in between! And if you like cats, this is the series for you!!
~Dawnrunner~
~Dawnrunner~
LibraryThing member MerryMary
What a great read. "Kittypet" Rusty runs away from his soft life and discovers an intricate society of wild cat clans living beyond the reach of the village. He must earn his acceptance into the Thunderclan, and learn the ways of the wild and free. A wonderfully realized world.
LibraryThing member meki
This book is about a young cat who decides to go and join the the Thunder Clan who live in the wild. Htis is a really good book and i recommend it to everyone who thinks that there is a wild side to their little house cat.
LibraryThing member readingrat
A cute animal adventure series. The storyline tends toward the predictable but the non-stop action and the animal characters should make this series a hit with both boys and girls.
LibraryThing member dbree007
I really like this, surprisingly engaging and can't wait to read the next book in the series
LibraryThing member 9kd01bev
I rated this book a five because it has lots of action. It is A.R. It is worth 10 points. It is my reading level.
LibraryThing member jnilius823
This good book is about a cat named Rusty. Rusty wants to know more about the wild cats and what they do. So he goes into the wild and runs into three clan cats named Bluestar, Lionheart, and Graypaw. Bluestar is the leader of Thunderclan, where Rusty becomes a warrior clan cat. They give him a new
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name called Firepaw. There are four clans: Thunderclan, Shadowclan, Riverclan and Windclan. All of the clans are struggling on finding food for their clan cats. Show Less
LibraryThing member timspno
For generations, four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest according to the laws laid down by their warrior ancestors. But the ThunderClan cats are in grave danger, and the sinister ShadowClan grows stronger every day. Noble warriors are dying - and some deaths are more mysterious than others.
In this midst of this turmoil appears an ordinary house cat named Rusty...who may turn out to be the bravest warrior of them all.
Show More
In this midst of this turmoil appears an ordinary house cat named Rusty...who may turn out to be the bravest warrior of them all.
Show Less
LibraryThing member catsalive
An entertaining story. I can see that Rusty/Firepaw/Fireheart will have to become Firestar by the end of the Warriors saga. I didn't like it enough to get the next 5 books but it's a good YA tale & I love cats - even ones who don't appreciate being kittypets.
cover:
Fire alone can save our Clan...
cover:
Fire alone can save our Clan...
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For generations, four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest according to the laws laid down by the powerful ancestors. But the warrior code is threatened, and the ThunderClan cats are in grave danger. The sinister ShadowClan grows stronger every day. Noble warriors are dying -- and some deaths are more mysterious than others... In the midst of this turmoil appears an ordinary housecat named Rusty . . . Who may yet turn out to be the bravest warrior of them all. Show Less
LibraryThing member kimmiesh123
I love this series!!!!It's all about a household cat (kittypet)(Rusty) who meets warriors and decides to join their clan(Thunderclan).After Rusty joins Thunderclan,he recieves his warrior name as Firepaw.He befriends 2 other aprentices named Graypaw and Ravenpaw.I highly recommend it.
LibraryThing member Muv1
Rusty is a pet at the Twoleg place and has dreams of being the wild. He ventures out into the forest and meets Thunderclan cats, and now must decide where to go. To Thunder clan, or stay with the Twolegs? An exiting story about cats surviving in the forest.
LibraryThing member Craikenaiken
Absolutely LOVED IT!!! Liked it so much i have every book but the manga up to book 6 in the power of three series. ok so Rusty/Firestar is my favorite character out of all three series. The only thing that i didn't like is the more into the other two series you read the more the older characters
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get pushed to the back of your head and in a sense you kind of forget about them. I think Hunter should have some how incorporated them into the later books a little bit more. Other than that awesome series and i highly recommend them. Show Less
LibraryThing member littlebug
It's about a house named Rusty who one day went into the woods and met Thunderclan. They offerd him to join. So he did. Then his hole life changed. He was now called Firepaw. He trained with 2 other aprentices named Graypaw and Ravenpw. his teacher showed him hunting grounds.Also how to get fresh
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kill [ mice] . 1 day when he was hunting he had his fist fight with a Shadowclan worrior. Named Yellowfang. He took her back to camp. She use to be the old Shadowclan medicne cat. 1 day Firepaw was hunting and he met Smudge again. The next day Bluestar learned that Windclan has been driven out of their territory. next will be Thunderclan! Bluestar raveles to Mother Mouth with Firepaw, Graypaw, and Tigerclaw. To sleep naer the moon stone. Then Bluestar senses something in her vison.The they quickly headed back to camp. Show Less
LibraryThing member Citizenjoyce
This is the first book in a series for preteen readers. It follows the development of Rusty, a kittypet who leaves his soft home and twoleg owners to live in the wild with Thunderclan. It follows his education in catching prey and warrior training and his learning to value the warrior code. The
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book shows respect for friendship, motherhood and the wisdom of elders with interesting commentary about the use of herbs in healing. There's a strong emphasis on the consequence of allowing ambition to overshadow morality. All of these ideas seep in while the reader just happily follows along with the cats' adventures. I think there might be enough action to lure a few reluctant readers away from an hour or two of video games. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kata18
This is the first book in the series and a good one to start with. Recommended.
LibraryThing member savageknight
It took me way too long to get into the story and the plethora of similar-named characters actually made it confusing. Not the book I expected it to be which is a little disappointing. I have the other 5 books (as this was a set I purchased for my daughter) but am unsure at this point if I'll be
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reading them. Show Less
LibraryThing member lcherylc
Rusty is your normal “kittypet” (a.k.a. domestic housecat). He leads a rather luxurious lifestyle for cats. His “Two-leg” (human) owners take care of him, feed him, and bathe him. He decides to be adventurous and travel into the forest outside of his owner’s confines and gets into a fight
Well I’ll leave you right there! I’m off to read the sequel Fire and Ice. That is if I can actually get the book. I’m # 3 on the hold list.
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with another cat. Soon he learns this cat belongs to the Thunderclan, a group of feral cats who scavenge for food and protect their territory of the forest. He is given an offer of a lifetime-- To join the Thunderclan as an apprentice or go back to his “kittypet” lifestyle.Well I’ll leave you right there! I’m off to read the sequel Fire and Ice. That is if I can actually get the book. I’m # 3 on the hold list.
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LibraryThing member zmalensek
rusty is a cat who always loves to go into the woods.then he meets a cat named gray paw and decides he wants to join the dragon clan with gray paw and hunt pray.
LibraryThing member ladycato
I've heard a lot about the Warriors series for middle grade readers and wanted to judge them for myself.
The Warriors books are about anthropomorphic cats. This volume follows Rusty, a "kitty-pet" who feels the lure of the woods beyond his house. When he ventures there, he finds warriors known as
I didn't find it poorly written, but the plot is transparent. The bad guys are very bad and the good guys are very good, along with some silly elements like medicine cats who heal using herbs and apply cobwebs as bandages. In other words, I would have fallen head over heels for this story when I was about ten. I mean, come on. It feels like a Native American semi-mystical survival story with rival tribes of cats. As an adult... I won't be reading any more of them, but I can see the appeal for a certain age set.
The Warriors books are about anthropomorphic cats. This volume follows Rusty, a "kitty-pet" who feels the lure of the woods beyond his house. When he ventures there, he finds warriors known as
Show More
the ThunderClan. They are among four clans who have divided the forest into territories. To Rusty's delight, he's welcomed into the ThunderClan and begins training as a warrior. Of course, there are betrayals, an evil clan, and many other mysteries for the young cat to work through.I didn't find it poorly written, but the plot is transparent. The bad guys are very bad and the good guys are very good, along with some silly elements like medicine cats who heal using herbs and apply cobwebs as bandages. In other words, I would have fallen head over heels for this story when I was about ten. I mean, come on. It feels like a Native American semi-mystical survival story with rival tribes of cats. As an adult... I won't be reading any more of them, but I can see the appeal for a certain age set.
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Awards
Great Stone Face Book Award (Nominee — 2005)
Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — Intermediate — 2006)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2003
ISBN
0060525509 / 9780060525507
Other editions
Into the Wild (Warriors, Book 1) by Erin Hunter (Paperback)