Hawkwing's Journey Discussion (unmarked spoilers)

[Dawnwing]

So, what did you think of the latest Super Edition?

- Gosh this was a depressing book. I liked that about it.  It was done in a... realistic way, I guess?  No cat was safe, young or old, and it was a variety of things that took them away.  It was also some pretty major characters, too.  And it started right off the bat with Duskpaw.  I think this book possibly has the highest body count of any book in the series so far.

- Good characterization overall, I felt.   Hawk x Pebble seemed sudden, but it was cute.  I also liked his friendship with Plumwillow after they lost their mates, and how it didn't have to be a romantic one. They were good for each other and I like the way Plumwillow said "We had a lot to talk about"; something about that line just stood out and made the characters feel more real.  Curlypaw was adorable.

- Disappointed that several cats seem to have vanished with no explanation from previous books.  Ravenpaw's Farewell made sense since Vicky said that she was pushing the character limit and couldn't put everyone into the novella, and could only list the ones that appeared in it in the Allegiances.  There were some in this that weren't in that one, but still: what happened to Egg, Petalnose, Shrewtooth, Rockshade, and Creekfeather?  And where did Mistfeather appear from? He was mentioned like once and seems to only have been thrown in, in order to appear in the main series.

- They were so hinting that Violet and Twig are his kits.  I wonder what will happen when they reach the Clans (and presumably defeat the rogues): get their own territory nearby?   Or split among them? 

[Ariel]

Just finished reading it.

Poor SkyClan. They have just gone through so, so much.

Yeah, I'm totally banking on that Violet and Twig are Hawkwing's kits. Lots of strong hinting at that. Now the questions is whether his kits will go live with him when SkyClan arrives to the lake or if they'll stay in their own clans (don't really see SkyClan splitting up and joining the other clans - they'll probably take that spot that Darktail had when he first came to the clans). And to think that the gorge is now free and open since Darktail left.

Lots of cats dying or leaving or being abducted. I mean, wow, and I'm sure they aren't done.

I can't wait to see how the other clans will react and how everything will settle down, should be interesting.

[Barkfoot]

- Disappointed that several cats seem to have vanished with no explanation from previous books.  Ravenpaw's Farewell made sense since Vicky said that she was pushing the character limit and couldn't put everyone into the novella, and could only list the ones that appeared in it in the Allegiances.  There were some in this that weren't in that one, but still: what happened to Egg, Petalnose, Shrewtooth, Rockshade, and Creekfeather?  And where did Mistfeather appear from? He was mentioned like once and seems to only have been thrown in, in order to appear in the main series.

I was wondering who Mistfeather is as well. And I miss the cats that are gone, but I'm okay with them being killed offscreen or whatever. 

I really enjoyed this book. Like, a lot. I love SkyClan, and it's sad seeing them so miserable, but I'm glad they're the focus of a book. And I'm glad the journey is so hard for them. It would really cheapen it if the journey had only taken like four chapters. And for some reason I actually enjoyed reading the travelling. Lately I've been tired of reading travelling stuff in warriors. In Sun Trail and Apprentice's Quest I felt bored by the constant replays of stuff we've seen. Cats cross thunderpaths, meet rogues, hunt in strange places, are chased by dogs and twolegs, etc. But in this book, none of that bothered me.

I wonder what Darktail's story could be? I assume he has some connection with either the forest Clans or BloodClan, which would explain why he wants to kill them all. I really hope he won't turn out to be the relative of anyone like Scourge or Hawkfrost or something.  That would be ridiculous. Maybe his dead friend (if such a cat actually existed and wasn't just a ploy for sympathy) has something to do with it. Maybe his friend was killed by Clan cats or something.

I was honestly surprised the Erins went with such a blatantly incestuous relationship with Pebble/Hawk. They're first cousins, which is usually the kind of thing the Erins tend to avoid.

Assuming Twigpaw and Violetpaw are in fact Hawkwing's daughters, do we think Pebbleshine is still alive? I kind of doubt it, but on the other hand I think it might be anticlimactic if she just turned out to have been hit by a car or something.

[Pinkeheart]

I haven't read it, and probably won't bother. People told me that Thunder and Shadow was amazing too, but that was average at best in my opinion. But just reading the summary on the Wiki depressed me. Its good that they brought back Anyone Can Die to the modern clans, Warriors was beginning to be way too predictable without it. Still though, I am shocked that they killed off Billystorm. And Firefern?! Seriously!? She was the best one out of Leafstar and Billystorm's litter, and she's the one that dies?! Why didn't they axe off Harrybrook?
And is it just me, or is the -heart suffix being WAYY too overused? In this generation, we have Stormheart, Blossomheart, Lilyheart, Alderheart, Cinderheart and Brightheart are still around....
And Hawkwing has a romance with his first cousin? Can't say I am surprised, I think the Erin's having given up on trying to keep track of that stuff long ago. Still, modern SkyClan has a deep gene pool, being made up of rogues and kittypets and SkyClan descendants, and yet they STILL managed to accidentally pair up two cousins? Erin's, this is just pathetic.
It's sad that they conviently forgot about so many cats. Rockshade, Creekfeather and Shrewtooth were among my favourites.