Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Pheonix

Rusty has a fairly good life. He lives with a family of humans (or
Two-legs) that love him. He gets regular feedings, even if it's yucky
dry stuff. He even has his own little cat door to come in and out of.
Rusty isn't content, however. He dreams of catching mice in the forest
not far from his home. When a night's exploration of that forest ends
with a confrontation with the wild cats that live without human
interference, Rusty readily joins them and their clan. Renamed
"Firepaw", the cat learns that he has dropped smack dab into the middle
of a war. The clan he has joined is called ThunderClan and is ruled by
the magnanimous Bluestar. Other clans like RiverClan, WindClan, and
ShadowClan fight continually for dominance over a rapidly dwindling
food supply. ThunderClan needs recruits like Firepaw to stay alive, and
through their training the new cat is on his way to becoming a warrior.
Along the way he must face hunger, dismissal, and learn some shocking
truths about the animals he's agreed to join.



Hunter conjures up a well-thought out world in which cats have
their own system of governance. This is a kind of "Watership Down", but
with drawn out fighting sequences. The cats here act like cats. They
don't put on vests and waistcoats and discuss philosophy. They don't
stand on their hind legs or use their paws like fingers. These are real
animals. For the sake of keeping them alive, Hunter does create a kind
of Medicine Cat for each clan, who rubs natural herbs into wounds.
That's about as technically adept as these kitties get. At the
beginning of the book, the author presents us with two maps of the area
where this book takes place. A cat-view map lists everything in their
terms. A second human-view map makes it clear where exactly the cats
actually are.