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A review by smart_as_paint
Skyclan's Destiny by Erin Hunter
3.0
I still have a troubling question: What is Skyclan's Destiny?
Because there are many different stories mixing inside Skyclan's Destiny, but destiny is not one of them. Destiny implies higher purpose— a foretold inevitability. And the best destiny I can find is that Skyclan will go through hard times. Which hardly counts as a destiny. That's a Mothwing prophecy if I've ever heard one. Hard times are an inescapable side-effect of being alive.
This is a warrior book unlike any other. Well, I'm not sure if that's still true. My knowledge of the Warrior Cats isn't as complete as it once was. While I have never forsaken my Warrior honor, I haven't paid attention to the clans since Obamastar was leader. The Hunters are an industrious group of storytellers and I have better ways to light my time on fire.
But what I mean by "This is a warrior book unlike any other" is that there are no other clans. Skyclan is alone. And this simple concept has a ripple effect on the larger story. The other clans serve as counterbalance. They stand in opposition to the protagonists but also validate the existing power structures. They keep you accountable. Your traditions and customs are harder to question if there are three other, similarly sized, clans practicing them along with you. Crazy is only crazy when you're alone.
It has been six moons since Firestar left, taking with him the last true connection to the other clans. And now Skyclan's new leader, Leafstar, must do the best for her clan. Firestar taught Leafstar a warrior code and left her clear understanding of what that means: if you want to be a warrior cat, you need to follow the code. But Leafstar soon learns that things aren't so simple in Skyclan. The only other clan is a dead thing; Starclan only warns that hard times are coming.
And so, Leafstar and Skyclan must walk along a slippery fence. They must carry themselves by their own scruff. On one paw, they can decide which pieces of the warrior code are outdated. And break them without fear of repercussions. On the other paw, without the warrior code, they are just a group of stray cats. And the Twoleg world is often fatal to stray cats. This is compounded by the difficulties of leadership. Not every cat believes that Leafstar is doing what's best for the clan.
And what's incredible is how Leafstar's decisions are genuinely difficult. I felt myself aghast at her breaking the warrior code by allowing the kittypets to join the clan while sleeping in the Twoleg dens at night. These Daylight Warriors make sense but still make me uncomfortable. I've spent years taking Lionheart's comment as scripture:"You must either live with us and respect our ways, or return to the Twolegplace and never come back. You cannot live with a paw in each world." I want to yowl but I know that the Daylight Warriors are probably best for Skyclan. And that's the type of emotional investment that I live for in stories
And so this is a book about the privilege and terror of defining your own identity. It's an age old question with a feline twist. What parts of the warrior code should Leafstar choose to follow, knowing that each amendment weakens the warrior roots that hold up Skyclan's rain-soaked canopy? In short, Skyclan must create its own destiny…
Ah. I think I understand now.
Icestar. That sounds like an incredible setup. Why only three stars?
Well, dear traveler, because of the ending… and also some of the middle bits. In this cat's humble opinion, it sucks harder than a tick in Greenleaf.
The problem entirely revolves around A group of non-clan cats who come to visit Skyclan. They are brave and loyal and a tantalizing demonstration of what a functioning feline society could look like without the warrior code. But it turns out, these cats come with their own drama. And honestly? I don't care. It's too complicated and too quickly resolved for me to explain it here. I understand what The Hunters were trying to do: Sophocles with tails (Sophoclestale). It's a classical tragedy of love and loss and accidental death neatly wrapped up with some traditional Starclan ex Machina. And it all feels too auxiliary— too much like a side-quest for me to really care. And it distracts from the questions of self-determination which I find so engrossing.
There is a certain poetic beauty to this narrative failure. Skyclan's Destiny tastes of unfulfilled potential. The Hunters fall victim to the same fate that Skyclan wishes to avoid. They abandoned too many warrior traditions that define their own series. They spend too much time on a grand tragedy and forget that they were writing in a grand tradition. It stops feeling like a Warrior book and just becomes an unremarkable tale of squabbling cats.
Because there are many different stories mixing inside Skyclan's Destiny, but destiny is not one of them. Destiny implies higher purpose— a foretold inevitability. And the best destiny I can find is that Skyclan will go through hard times. Which hardly counts as a destiny. That's a Mothwing prophecy if I've ever heard one. Hard times are an inescapable side-effect of being alive.
This is a warrior book unlike any other. Well, I'm not sure if that's still true. My knowledge of the Warrior Cats isn't as complete as it once was. While I have never forsaken my Warrior honor, I haven't paid attention to the clans since Obamastar was leader. The Hunters are an industrious group of storytellers and I have better ways to light my time on fire.
But what I mean by "This is a warrior book unlike any other" is that there are no other clans. Skyclan is alone. And this simple concept has a ripple effect on the larger story. The other clans serve as counterbalance. They stand in opposition to the protagonists but also validate the existing power structures. They keep you accountable. Your traditions and customs are harder to question if there are three other, similarly sized, clans practicing them along with you. Crazy is only crazy when you're alone.
It has been six moons since Firestar left, taking with him the last true connection to the other clans. And now Skyclan's new leader, Leafstar, must do the best for her clan. Firestar taught Leafstar a warrior code and left her clear understanding of what that means: if you want to be a warrior cat, you need to follow the code. But Leafstar soon learns that things aren't so simple in Skyclan. The only other clan is a dead thing; Starclan only warns that hard times are coming.
And so, Leafstar and Skyclan must walk along a slippery fence. They must carry themselves by their own scruff. On one paw, they can decide which pieces of the warrior code are outdated. And break them without fear of repercussions. On the other paw, without the warrior code, they are just a group of stray cats. And the Twoleg world is often fatal to stray cats. This is compounded by the difficulties of leadership. Not every cat believes that Leafstar is doing what's best for the clan.
And what's incredible is how Leafstar's decisions are genuinely difficult. I felt myself aghast at her breaking the warrior code by allowing the kittypets to join the clan while sleeping in the Twoleg dens at night. These Daylight Warriors make sense but still make me uncomfortable. I've spent years taking Lionheart's comment as scripture:"You must either live with us and respect our ways, or return to the Twolegplace and never come back. You cannot live with a paw in each world." I want to yowl but I know that the Daylight Warriors are probably best for Skyclan. And that's the type of emotional investment that I live for in stories
And so this is a book about the privilege and terror of defining your own identity. It's an age old question with a feline twist. What parts of the warrior code should Leafstar choose to follow, knowing that each amendment weakens the warrior roots that hold up Skyclan's rain-soaked canopy? In short, Skyclan must create its own destiny…
Ah. I think I understand now.
Icestar. That sounds like an incredible setup. Why only three stars?
Well, dear traveler, because of the ending… and also some of the middle bits. In this cat's humble opinion, it sucks harder than a tick in Greenleaf.
The problem entirely revolves around A group of non-clan cats who come to visit Skyclan. They are brave and loyal and a tantalizing demonstration of what a functioning feline society could look like without the warrior code. But it turns out, these cats come with their own drama. And honestly? I don't care. It's too complicated and too quickly resolved for me to explain it here. I understand what The Hunters were trying to do: Sophocles with tails (Sophoclestale). It's a classical tragedy of love and loss and accidental death neatly wrapped up with some traditional Starclan ex Machina. And it all feels too auxiliary— too much like a side-quest for me to really care. And it distracts from the questions of self-determination which I find so engrossing.
There is a certain poetic beauty to this narrative failure. Skyclan's Destiny tastes of unfulfilled potential. The Hunters fall victim to the same fate that Skyclan wishes to avoid. They abandoned too many warrior traditions that define their own series. They spend too much time on a grand tragedy and forget that they were writing in a grand tradition. It stops feeling like a Warrior book and just becomes an unremarkable tale of squabbling cats.